Black in the West: Brien Hollowell, a photographer
Christen Aldridge
Brien Hollowell wants to take people to church with his lens. For the past 8 years Hollowell’s camera has been his staff: to shoot stories and show how he sees the world. Hollowell has had opportunity after another from working and living in New York for a year photographing New York Fashion Week (NYFW), gaining Google as a client to moving back to his hometown Colorado and working with big names like Yoga Journal. Recently, Hollowell has had another great opportunity with his art in his exhibit “On for My City: A Photographic Memoir'' which premiered December 11th and runs to January 15th.
Photography has been his testimony. The tragic summer night of July 19th, the then 22-year-old was scheduled to see the Dark Knight Rises, the third installment to the Christopher Nolan Batman series. But an argument with his girlfriend forced his schedule to change. Instead of going to the theater, he ventured off to a concert where he saw a photographer taking pictures of the show. He decided to take a stab at photography and asked to take some pictures right then and there. It was at that very moment he was transfixed with photography. He knew photography was a ‘life calling’ when he realized that this form of art saved his life, as he avoided the Aurora Century 13 massacre when he chose to attend the concert that night instead.
“As a photographer, you are not called to be hidden. God gave me this gift to plant seeds of his love into people, through my commercial work to my passion projects”
After stumbling upon his life calling, the next thing for Hollowell was to hone and sharpen his gift, which he did at the Art Institute of Denver. After a few classes, a teacher was so impressed by his work, noted that his eye for keen details and composition was at a graduate student's level. God spoke to Hollowell telling him to make a switch from a Bachelor’s to an Associate's Degree, making him graduate in 2016. After graduation he had an opportunity to work and live in New York for a year after someone saw his work and encouraged him to move out there.
While he was in New York he worked with Google, NYFW and pushed himself as a photographer. “I would stand outside of the Adorama Camera store handing people my business card to see if I would get someone interested to work with me.” He was exposed to opportunities that widened his perspective on life, sharpened his photographic eye. “I loved my time in New York. I loved how, I, especially, was taken [in] by a group of Black photographers.” Hollowell’s connections with these creative photographers who looked like him empowered him even more as a photographer. After Hollowell’s year in New York, he set his sights to conquer photography in his hometown.
“A friend asked if I would be interested in having an exhibit at the Art Place. I got excited because I had tons of black and white photos in my archive that needed to be seen” and “On for My City: A Photographic Memoir” was born. Every picture in the exhibit is black and white to serve an artistic purpose and to fit what a memoir means to Hollowell. “For a memoir, you put pen to paper, black ink to white sheets. This is my memoir. The best way I can tell my story is through Black and White photos.” The exhibit has three phases of how he views Denver: Lifestyle, Architecture and The Voice. The lifestyle tells the story of the faces of Denver and the people in Hollowell’s life. From his younger cousins in mid-flip jumping on a trampoline, two kids: one Black and the other white playing with each other to a student athlete and a local activist. These photos allow visitors to get to know who Hollowell is as a man and a photographer. Next is the architecture of Denver. The Art museum, Esquire theater, The capital.
“I love the textures of these pictures.The composition of these buildings are dope”, Hollowell boasting about how beautifully shot his photos are.
Lastly the voice of Denver. Hollowell credits this to be his favorite part of the exhibit. These pictures not only depict the voice of Denver, but allows visitors to see his voice, what he has to say. From pictures of the George Floyd inspired Black Live Matter protest from this summer to Hollowell’s favorite from the entire exhibit, a picture he took for Colorado Public Radio of Martin Luther King Jr High School students who, after an aspiring trip to the African American Museum in DC, wanted Denver Public School’s history curriculum to have a better emphasis on African-American history
“I love this piece. These kids went to the district and demanded better for their education! Very inspiring”. Hollowell’s goal is for visitors to “be still and enjoy the process of what it takes to capture an image. Looking at a photo in real life removes the distractions that come with viewing art on social media. “I want people to study the image without being distracted by ads on social media. Photography does tell a story. I am telling my story through photography” his other goal with this exhibit is to show people that Denver is where creatives are born. He remembers growing up and people referring to Colorado as the “shoot em up state” due to Colorado being in the spotlight more than once when it involves school shootings. He hopes with his art it will get rid of that stigma.
Hollowell looks back at his 2020 and although it was hit with tragedy such as the death of his father and grandfather this summer, he also recognizes the blessings and is proud of what he accomplished in 2020, especially in the midst of a pandemic “I am ending the year how I started it, with an exhibit.” As for photography, Hollowell has no plans of giving it up. He continues to broaden his gift by transitioning his skill of still photography to filmmaking “moving from still shot to multiple frames”. Hollowell surely allows God to lead him in his art “God took me out of the shadows and pointed me in the right direction. I am a vessel. Everything I do is through Christ. God works through me as I take pictures and capture life moments”.
He constantly thinks about July 19th, 2012 and how he escaped death and found life with photography. He compares his life calling of photography to the development of 35mm film “I was developed just like how film is developed. Christ was my light, he came into my life in the darkest time and developed me to be better, to be seen. Developing my circle, developing my city at the same time”
Brein Hollowell’s photography is very important to Denver; it can create change and start thought provoking conversations among friends and strangers. As Hollowell puts it about the creativity in Denver “ There is talent in Denver as there are nuggets of gold in the hills” and Hollowell is most certainly a talented individual who makes Denver proud.
Black in the West
This piece is the very first edition of a series of deep dives into the lives of African-American professionals who are thriving in the west. Black in the West pieces will spotlight people who are becoming or have become part of the modern day story of Five Points.