Kylie Tarburton
About Me:
My name is Kylie Tarburton and I’m a graduating senior at Arcadia University majoring in Media and Communications with an individualized concentration in screen media and multimedia publishing. For as long as I can remember, my passion has always been in the field of photography. I even said, when I was 4 years old, that I wanted to be a photographer when I grew up. Since I was 10, I carried a camera around my neck everywhere I went; it is perhaps the most important thing that I own. This love of mine translated directly into my thesis project. What truly brings me joy is being able to share my work with others in whatever form that looks like; there is something about a photograph that projects so much emotion and I believe it will always be a timeless art form. In addition to taking pictures, I love to travel, collecting decks of cards along the way, spend time with friends and family, and play soccer when I find any opportunity. In the future, I hope to pursue a career in photography or videography in a school setting.
Thesis Abstract:
What is home? What defines home? These are the questions that I started strongly thinking about during the pandemic when I spent a lot of time with my family in my childhood home. Being born in Vermont but having only lived in New York and Pennsylvania, the word home resonates with me; I am not someone who has spent all my time in a single “home.” I would 100% consider myself a homebody (with a love for travel) and in my book, home is a place where you are with the people you care about. But then I am faced with another question, what isn’t a home? Nostalgia is a word that shines through in this, “used to be home, used to be there” kind of way. But is it possible to portray nostalgia in a photograph? I am fascinated by these opposing themes, the presence of people in a home and the absence, yet presence, of people, in places that are not usually considered “home.”
The inspiration for this book truly came from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. I put a ton of thought into the project from the concept to the layout. And now that it is finished and I have officially completed my first full body of work, I just keep wondering about more forgotten spaces and all I want to do is photograph them.
Please enjoy virtually flipping through my new favorite book ever.
Blog Posts
Kylie Tarburton: Blog #5
The last year and a half has been really, really hard, from being kicked off campus at the end of junior year, to not living near my closest friends all summer, and then not getting to step foot on campus during the entirety of my senior year. But I think perhaps the...
Kylie Tarburton: Position Paper
Magazines have faced a lot of controversy for a variety of reasons though most commonly, the issues are surrounding photographs and the use of them in this digital world. In the last few years, Vogue has been under scrutiny due to their misrepresentation of women of...
Kylie Tarburton: Blog #4
As the end of the semester nears, I have officially sent my photo book to be printed but I leave this poem below that I wrote to accompany my photographs. Pictured above is the cover image and one of my favorites that I took for this project. Forgotten. an open...
Kylie Tarburton: Blog #3
The past few weeks have been quite productive. I ventured to a tiny town in New York for a photo shoot and will be traveling a bit South to find more abandoned/run down places, but now I am beginning to concern myself how many photos I would like to include in my...
Kylie Tarburton: Blog #2
I don’t know if you know this about upstate New York, but it snows. A lot. And it’s cold all the time. Given that my photographs will mostly be taken in outdoor locations, the weather has been a major hurdle that is finally becoming less of a problem as we start...
Kylie Tarburton: Blog #1
Picture a home. It doesn’t have to be yours nor does it have to be a ‘traditional’ home. Most likely, you’re not picturing the perfect, cleanest place. Maybe it’s a bit messy with scratches in the floor, but I guarantee that you feel some nostalgia when you think...