Jack Khachatryan, a senior at the Waterford School, most recent photography portfolio delves into the intriguing fusion of abstraction and urban spaces encapsulated within urban scenes. When he trips the camera shutter, he skillfully captures the content with an abstract approach, evoking various emotions, from nostalgia to introspection.

“I feel like my freshmen and sophomore years at Waterford were simply doing photography to complete assignments that would happen in class,” Khachatryan said. “But for the last year, I’ve been able to focus on one body of work, which has become my abstract photography project for my senior year.” 

Recognized for his thought-provoking abstract urban scene photography, The Holladay Arts Council has selected Khachatryan as the Holladay Artist of the Month for October 2024, an acknowledgment of his talent and
artistic creativity. 

Abstract photography is a unique style of artistic expression that employs photographic equipment and processes to create images that are not immediately associated with the tangible world. Abstract photographers push the boundaries of traditional photography by skillfully manipulating artistic elements such as line, form, light, and color transforming ordinary scenes into unexpected and often unrecog-
nizable images.

According to Khachatryan he utilizes three ways to produce an abstract image. When shooting photos, he skillfully frames the content using abstract shooting techniques keeping in mind how different kinds of framing can engender different emotions. Through edit processing in the lightroom, he uses Adobe software to push abstraction possibilities and, in the darkroom, he uses chemical alternative processing. Additionally, he further explores abstraction through printing methods, such as using transfer film to print images on sheets of metal, wood or paper.  

Combining a passion for chemistry, science, and artistic creativity, Khachatryan’s academic career has led him toward biomedical engineering. He interned for one summer at the University of Utah College of Engineering, with an overlap in the College of Health, where he worked on a study involving Division 1 athletes at the university who had experienced a concussion. In addition, he has devoted his time to volunteering at Shriners Hospital for the last two summers, where he has volunteered as a wheelchair technician.

“One of the projects I worked on at Shriners was the Baby Bug,” Khachatryan said. “It is an electronically powered mobility device equipped with a joystick for control. It’s designed to provide children ages 3 months to 12 months with mobility support. The Baby Bug enhances opportunities for children who have diseases which have caused mobility impairment, but cognitively are fine, to reach key aspects of their social, intellectual, and physical development. It has been an incredible experience.” 

Recently, Khachatryan has been touring colleges across the nation. Competing on the Waterford row team and the lacrosse team, sports has been one consideration when deciding where to attend college.

“After graduation, I plan to attend college,” Khachatryan said. “I particularly enjoyed visiting Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. As a student at Duke, I could study biomedical engineering and photography. I’m into sports, which is a consideration when deciding. Also, my twin sister is interested in attending Duke, which would be awesome if we could attend the same university.”

For now, Khachatryan is in the process of brainstorming different photography styles and his next artistic body of work for the coming year. 3D installations, composed of photographs, which invite the viewer to step into a world within a world, has captured his interest.  

“I think I’ve been successful in overlapping the things I really enjoy, like the science and chemistry side, and being able to combine it with the art and photography side, Khachatryan said. “I’m in the process of brainstorming what body of work I want to work on this coming year, whether it be continuing abstract or experimenting with 3D sculpture made from photographs. Maybe I will end up exploring a different style of photography altogether. I’m really excited to see what the next body of work will be.”

When asked how he defines success as an artist Khachatryan says, “If I can capture someone’s interest with an abstract photo and they are then willing to take an extra 30 seconds out of their lives to actually internalize it and process the meaning, I have met with success.”

Khachatryan’s photography exhibit will be on display at Holladay City Hall through
October.

If you would like more information about Khachatryan’s art work, he can be reached by email at [email protected]

To view Khachatryan’s art work visit: https://jackkhachatryan.my.canva.site/ or Instagram: @jck_khchtryn

To nominate a Holladay resident for Artist of the Month, visit www.holladayarts.org/suggest-an-artist. λ