Ben Knight hardly needs an introduction. And although he now calls Salida his home, he will forever be a Telluride artist in our eyes. For those of you who haven't had the chance to know and love Ben, we hope at least you have had the opportunity to check out his latest film, Damnation. If not, stream it now on Netflix!
In the meantime, here is a little bit of THIS OR THAT, with Ben Knight.
Film or digital?
"I lost my shit the first time I saw a photo magically appear on a blank piece of paper in the darkroom when I was fifteen or so. It was shockingly cool. It seemed like something you could only learn at Hogwarts. I was already obsessed with photography, but that sent me over the edge. God knows I needed something to focus on then, because I was sucking at stuff that I found less fascinating. I still have strong opinions about kids learning photography with film — I don’t think there’s any other way to have a true respect for the craft. I still feel a sense of guilt for not learning to shoot moving pictures the old school way too."
Bacon or Sausage?
"Sausage and Bacon can both be screwed up so badly. One bite of delicious sausage can be ruined for me the second I chomp down on some weird hard thing, presumably a tiny piece of bone. I’ve never loved bones in my mouth. Bacon can either be a blissful, mildly crunchy, toe-curling mouth orgasm or a limp, chewy, nitrate-ridden nightmare sandwiched wet between a perfectly good burger and a stale bun. Good bacon should be dipped in Ketchup — that, I know for certain."
Bike or Skate?
"I spent the majority of my youth being chased like a dog and occasionally fined by bored-shitless campus police at UNC in North Carolina. I wouldn’t trade those days for anything. I learned that if you just stand there and wait for them to get within several feet of you, and THEN skate like hell, it made the chase much more interesting. We knew where their cars could and couldn’t go, and all we had to do was haul-ass out of their jurisdiction and then wave at them. I think that issue with authority has stuck with me, because I still seem to have a problem with trails that don’t allow bikes."
Sweet or Savory?
"I realize this question isn’t about cats, but I just wanted to talk about cats for a second. I love my cats, but my cat birdie has a bizarre poop issue. She doesn’t really have that built-in instinct to cover her poops up. She dives out of the litter box as if she’s just dropped a live grenade, and then runs over by her food bowl and fervently scratches at the floor for no apparent reason. Anyway, I have a sweet tooth. It’s become a problem now that everyone has decided that sugar is an evil gift from Satan."
Summer or Winter?
"The older and grumpier I get, the more my allegiance to winter seems to fade. Avalanches suck, I hate them. I used to feed off that nervous energy I’d get in the backcountry, but now it mainly just gives me anxiety. I don’t think I’ll ever quit winter, it’s too beautiful to quit — but I think being drunk off one beer in late evening sun with friends after a bike ride is my current idea of heaven."
Home or Away?
"I like to hide, from everything sometimes. E-mail, this interview, work, people I don’t know, people I know, people who know they are intelligent, the sky, compliments, books, criticism, encouragement, canned peas, large groups, dogs, voicemail, texts, water… it’s a longer list than I thought, Jesus. Anyway, Home is my favorite place to hide. Travelling is more exhausting to me than amazing, but I do it for work mostly, so maybe I’m just doing it wrong. I’m not out there ‘finding myself,’ or anything romantic like that… I’m mostly just hiding behind a camera and trying to figure out how to tell a story."
Book or magazine?
"I basically can’t read. I mean, I can read, but I don’t read. It’s arguably one of my top 75 biggest flaws. I read most of Harry Potter and most of The Monkey Wrench Gang and a book called Diary of a Part-Time Indian… other than that I mostly just read the things my friends write. I suck so bad at reading, Sometimes I go cross-eyed before I can get past that page that tells you what year the book was published. I’m just so visual I guess. I like movies, a lot, and good pictures in magazines."
Black or Cream?
"I can’t fathom what coffee must taste like without cream and three heaping teaspoons of sugar. I really can’t. I tried it once and had a difficult time forcing myself to swallow it. I keep thinking I should switch to black, but I’d just be doing it to look hard like a river guide or soft like a hipster — so I guess I’ll just keep being myself and infusing it with creamy white shit secreted by a hormone loaded cow and the aforementioned evil gift from Satan."
Sunrise or Sunset?
"If I see a sunrise it’s because I was forced to by something work-related or I forgot to take NyQuil. I’m nocturnal I think, and sunrise is the best time for sleeping. I have to admit though, every time I see a sunrise I say to myself “I should do this more often…” and then I giggle to myself and say “yeah right.” Morning is like a whole other mysterious world that I know very little about. I hear it’s nice."
Want more? Check Ben's links.
https://www.filmandmusic.com/articles/break-the-rules-a-conversation-with-ben-knight/16
www.feltsoulmedia.com
https://instagram.com/ben_knight/
www.benknight.com