Dori Oskowitz

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I was born in 1979 and grew up in the very New England town of Boston. The 3 minute walk to school took me 45 minutes each morning - I was late everyday. I would spend my jaunt staring at leaves or listening to snow crunching under my moon boots while deep in daydream. My teachers thought I might be autistic or partially deaf. I was neither. They sent me to a specialist who said I was just constantly curious. They bribed me with free ice cream for every day I arrived to school on time. I got 2 ice creams cones the whole year. I didn't eat either of them.

My dad was a doctor - he gave my first camera and taught me how to use it. My mother was a nurse turned housewife - she taught me how to argue. She also collected paintings and craftwork. A few of her pieces intrigued me to my core. In high school I watched MTV everyday. Music videos became my new daydreams. I also watched American Gladiator.

I went to Trinity College in Hartford CT, where the richest people I have ever met, lived, studied and partied in the poorest neighborhood I have ever seen. I graduated with an honors degree in Political Science and International Relations but my most memorable classes where in Art History. This is where I was first introduced to photographers like Nan Goldin, Walker Evans and Robert Mapplethorp. After graduation I decided to be an Investment banker - my Dad laughed at me.

In 2001 I moved to New York and went to film school at NYFA. I discovered directors like, Gus Van Sant, Woody Allen, Terrence Malick, the Coen Brothers, and Jim Jarmusch. Their work thrilled and invigorated me but it was the naive bravado of the other students that inspired and frightened me most. Studying at a school that encouraged creativity changed my life.

I moved to LA in 2004. Short walks still take me a long time. I look at the leaves - they are different now, mostly palm trees, but they move similarly in the breeze and still conjure day dreams. These day dreams have become my life and my work.