Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Spooner
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My name is Michael Spooner, and I’m a Prince George’s County, MD native and current Miami-Dade County, FL resident. I like to describe myself as a multifaceted person, on an exciting path of self-discovery. As a doctoral candidate, photographer, sound curator, music writer, and fitness enthusiast, the common thread of my current pursuits is the desire to document, interact with, and make sense of the communities that I am a part of. My interest in documentation stretches as far back as age 5, when I started working on an animal encyclopedia to compile information and photos of my favorite animals. My parents, aunt, and grandmother, spotting these interests, provided me with enough books to fill a small library and a digital camera to feed my voracious desire to consume and create knowledge. In photography, I found a cool way to document the experiences of me and my high school friends as we came of age in the D.C. metropolitan area. Around this same time, I also began to pour myself into music exploration, devoting countless hours to re-discovering, dissecting, and analyzing the forgotten songs of my childhood, like Outkast’s “Hey Ya!” and Earth, Wind, and Fire’s “That’s The Way of the World” to name a few. The more energy I poured into my hobbies, the deeper my love for them became and the stronger my bonds with my communities became as well. The community-oriented nature of sports enabled me to connect with wide varieties of people, whereas the individual nature of my sound curation and music writing provided me with the opportunity for much-needed introspection and alone time. Other hobbies, like photography, afforded me the ability to be as introverted or extroverted as I pleased on any given day. Some days, my camera would lead me to intimate gatherings with the people I love the most, and on others, it would take me to unnamed streets of a random city, wandering aimlessly with my headphones in.
Over time each of these activities would help me to learn about the world around me and how I fit into it. Throughout my life, I have learned to center my creativity to make sense of my path as an individual. As my world has expanded, I have been increasingly reminded of the importance of building and maintaining community and documenting the world around me. As a 25-year-old still trying to make sense of the world around me, I take comfort in leading with creativity and authenticity and letting the world reveal itself to me on its own time.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
There have been a few potholes and bumps along the road but I would say that my journey has essentially been a scenic one. Figuring out who I am has been fun, much like shopping for new clothes. I spent a lot of time trying on labels to see how they fit me, keeping some, and discarding others. In this age where what we do is synonymous with who we are, I initially struggled to create work that reflects my essence. However, in time, I have learned that to create good work, I need to put myself, my experiences, and my passions at the forefront of my creative process.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
My favorite subjects to photograph are nature and architectural structures and my main goal as an artist is to capture the world around me, as I see it. Fittingly, my bio on my photography Instagram currently states “life through my lens.” When taking a photo, I pay particular attention to the balance, lines, and color profile of the composition, and my photography can be identified by warm, saturated, yet photorealistic edits. My maternal grandmother gave me my first few photography lessons and I essentially took things from there and continued to teach myself! I am most proud to have developed a consistent editing style and creative process that is authentically and wholly my own. I believe that my focus on the composition as a whole, rather than just the subject, sets me apart as a photographer.
As a sound curator and music writer, I seek to share my love of music with as many people as possible. Every month, I curate 16-song mixes incorporating various genres and artists to develop a cohesive narrative embodying the energy, events, and experiences of the month. I parse down and sequence over 700 songs into the final 16-song playlist that my networks eventually see. I consider it a labor of love for my personal networks who tune in and as an expression of appreciation for the music that we use to make sense of the lives we live. This year, I also began writing Pitchfork-style music reviews to improve my creative writing ability and to ensure that I was being more than a passive consumer of this art that I enjoy. Though I am not a music writer by training, this practice has encouraged me to interpret art on a deeper level, and to appreciate the labor that artists undertake to provide us with the projects we listen to. Regarding sound curation and writing, I am most proud of my ability to communicate my experiences and opinions, while still centering the artist’s original vision. In the music space, I believe that I am set apart by both my deep appreciation for music and the time I devote to developing mixes and writing reviews. I have often spent several months working on these projects, emphasizing my willingness to transform this reverence into something tangible.
Any big plans?
My top priority at the moment is to complete my Ph.D. in Industrial-Organizational Psychology and use my training to support the well-being of the communities that I will work with. As a photographer, I plan to continue to gain additional skills, learn new methods to support my ever-expanding creative vision, and most importantly have fun. I also hope to engage in collaborative work with other artists on a large-scale endeavor. As a sound curator and music writer, I aim to continue to increase my ability to understand and interpret the art that I love so much. Ultimately, I would love to write a panel and dabble in production. I also hope to continue to use sports as a medium for community development and social change, as one of my long-term goals is to operate a soccer program that contributes to the academic and athletic excellence of youth in the D.C., Maryland, and Virginia area. As I continue my journey, I plan to be a person who contributes meaningfully and positively to the spaces that I am involved in.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://spoonerjpg.myportfolio.com/welcome
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/spoonsarchives/
- Other: https://linktr.ee/spoonsarchives
