Mike Spitz

BIO

I grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio, the youngest of three boys. With a Jewish upbringing, a social conscience was instilled in me early on which later influenced the kind of work I do and the art I create. In high school, I wanted to be an actor. I completed my BFA in Acting from New York University, and I spent my twenties in Chicago doing theater, commercials, and independent movies. I then became very interested in directing films. In my thirties, I wrote, directed, and photographed several shorts that have appeared in many film festivals worldwide and on international television. I had always been interested in psychology, and so I returned to graduate school to complete my Masters Degree in Social Work from Loyola University in Chicago. I now work as a licensed clinical therapist with children, teenagers, and families at Harbor-UCLA Hospital. Much of my professional life has been a balancing act between my career as a therapist and my artistic side. These two aspects of myself often find a way of merging in my work as a therapist, in the imagery I create, in my writings, and in my choices for subject matter that I photograph. I am a founding member of f9 Gallery, a photography collective in Culver City, California.

ARTIST STATEMENT

Photography allows me more awareness of the things I experience and observe, and it helps me make sense of the world by creating a meaningful interpretation of my life and my observations. The way I see the world is informed by my experiences as a psychotherapist and as a former actor and filmmaker. As a therapist, I strive to bring awareness, emotional healing, and a sense of repair and order to the lives of my clients. I cannot avoid or deny people’s problems, dysfunctions, nor the good that is inside them. The more I explore the world through my photography, the more I’ve noticed that my two professions merge. In some ways they are one in the same. When I photograph, I am drawn to the eccentric, the ugliness, the rawness of character, the roughness, and the outsiders who are different in some way. These qualities are what stand out for me in a subject. The imperfections and disorder in the personality of a place or an individual intrigue me. As a counselor and as a photographer, I come into contact with people I would not normally encounter nor speak with on a daily basis. This allows me access into a tenuous world that I want to explore. I want to capture people and places in a way that is lasting. Maybe it’s a primitive fear of loss, abandonment, or a need to hold onto things that are at the root of all photography. All I know is that photography allows me a form of expression that is deeply embedded, psychological, and feeds my soul.

BOOKS AND FILMS

Mike has published two books of photography:
"Etranger" is available at xlibris.com
"Crumbling City" is available at blurb.com