Connor K. Gilmore (b. Los Angeles 1997) is a photographer focusing on the use of light and dark as it relates to photographic exhibition. He is a graduate of the Stanford Art History Department class of 2021 and a recipient of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Research’s Chappell Lougee Scholarship Grant. His project One Step From Infinity showcases both the images and lightbox technology designed as part of his work supported by the grant. 

As a student at Stanford, he complimented his studies in art and art history with music theory and film, arts that still inform his work today. In 2019, his groundbreaking work “Migration” was included in Stanford’s 6th Annual Undergraduate Juried Exhibition, and received wide acclaim. In the same year, he was awarded the Chappell Lougee Scholarship, which provided time and funds to produce One Step From Infinity, a solo exhibition of his core work.

ABOUT CONNOR K. GILMORE

ARTIST’S STATEMENT

For me it started in the dark. Small stars coalescing into constellations that outlined the faint dust of the milky way galaxy were my first objects of artistic intrigue. The emptiness, the fullness; the connection to everything out there and the experience of just myself. It was this mystery of the night that compelled me to explore further.

The beauty that I saw in the night, I began to see everywhere. What were once ordinary scenes and objects echoed with a vibrancy that could only be respected through photography. Fully embracing the nocturnal spirit, my work fell into the will of the night. Only in its wave did I shoot and edit new work.

Even in the light I saw dark. Darkness as a way to highlight the most important emotional elements became the new dichotomy of seeing for me. What I once saw as landscapes became fields of abstract darkness; what were once scenes of normal life became avenues to alternate realities.

For my project One Step From Infinity, sponsored by the Stanford Chappell Lougee scholarship, I sought to replicate this kind of seeing experience by having the images become activated through light. The only solution was the transparency in lightbox. I believe the lightboxes that I have designed showcase the strangeness and the beauty of my images, and bring the viewer one step from infinity.