Peer Interviews

On October 10th, 2024, I had the opportunity to interview my peer, Peyton Piontkowski. Through a series of five questions, I aimed to delve into his artistic background, uncovering the influences, practice, and motivations that have shaped his journey as an artist. Getting insight into another's practice and journey as an artist was valuable, and it is important that we're all growing together as the next generation of artists.

What are your primary sources of inspiration, and how do they influence your work?

Peyton: The manmade world, buildings, signs—anything people have put down to make their lives easier and more convenient. The internet. How people have interacted with nature and have changed it to make life better for themselves.

Why are you doing what you’re doing?

Peyton: To document, to record, to remember, because it's fun, it's what I’m good at.

Do you practice one medium or do you experiment?

Peyton: I don’t know. I’m still learning. I’ve never painted yet, for instance. I’m mainly a photographer because it’s what I’ve been focusing on for the past year and a half, but I’m a student, and I’m still learning—it’s not necessarily who I am.

How do you define your success? What does success look like for you?

Peyton: Just being happy.

What advice would you give to somebody?

Peyton: Don’t beat yourself up because one thing went wrong. You’ll do it again and be able to fix it later. If it went wrong now, it doesn’t matter either way.