The Work That Made Me: Courtni Poe
Courtni Poe is a director and photographer based in Los Angeles, California. Formerly known as a professional dancer, her work is most notable for its compelling conceptual narratives, innovative and energetic multi-media formats, and a fresh approach to advertising and marketing through direction, photography, movement direction, and more.
She is also the founder/editor in chief of GASP ZINE. GASP ZINE is a print publication and gallery dedicated to showcasing artists nationwide and translating art and the world around it to GEN-Z.
天美棋牌> The ad/music video from my childhood that stays with me鈥
Courtni> Oh gosh! This would take me hours to write. I was so impacted by commercials & MTV as a kid. The first time I saw '' by Christian Aguilera (Directed by David LaChapelle) totally rewired my brain. I vividly remember old Nike commercials like (2001) and the . Also, we don鈥檛 talk enough about how iconic the used to be!
天美棋牌> The ad/music video/game/web platform that made me want to get into the industry鈥
Courtni> I know I talk about him 24/7, but every single thing has done is the reason why I decided to start taking directing seriously. I never planned to be a director or photographer. I was a professional dancer, and then, during the pandemic, my career shift happened when I made my print publication.
David has been inspiring me since I was 12, which carried over when my career as a director/photographer began. I was so impacted by seeing his insane art direction, use of props, colours, and dancers! It all was so fascinating to me. I spend a lot of my time with him now and watching him in his process is the coolest thing ever.
A lot of people don鈥檛 realise everything he does is analogue. He doesn鈥檛 edit or use any AI in anything! That inspires me a lot in my own work to create the things I want to see versus digitally engineer them. Everything about David and his path has inspired me to want to be the artist I dream of becoming.
天美棋牌> The creative work that I keep revisiting鈥
Courtni> I鈥檓 really into and work鈥攁s well as Sam Youkilis. 鈥淏IRD鈥 was recommended to me to check out recently. It blew my mind. It was the first time in my life I saw a film and thought, 鈥淭hat鈥檚 exactly how I want my work to feel to people.鈥
It was so intentionally chaotic and handheld; it made me dizzy, it made me cry and feel anxious, and it made me laugh. Then you get those few moments where everything is calm, and you feel like you can take a breath. I really like art that takes a long time to 'get to the point', so a lot of my inspiration lately comes from art that makes me feel like that.
In addition to this, I watch a lot of French films. I know I鈥檓 very late, but I鈥檓 super inspired by Eric Rohmer鈥檚 films. And when in doubt, I鈥檒l watch a full ballet on YouTube. Music wise鈥mmm鈥h yeah! That Beabadoobee record is insane. I think it will be #1 on my Wrapped this year. A lot of that music has inspired new work for me. That band 'TENNIS', too. So cool.
天美棋牌> My first professional project鈥
Courtni> Nike '' Campaign (2021). That job changed my life, literally. It鈥檚 still, to this day, the biggest photo job I鈥檝e ever done.
天美棋牌> The piece of work that made me so angry that I vowed to never make anything like *that*鈥
Courtni> I don鈥檛 know if I should be honest. I鈥檓 sensitive to a lot. The hardest thing about our times is that we鈥檙e on social media 24/7, so I鈥檓 always seeing work that makes me reactive. I try to replace this reactivity by making things that feel good and look to those who inspire me. Sorry if this answer sucks, haha. Art is so subjective, and I don鈥檛 wanna piss anyone off.
天美棋牌> The piece of work that still makes me jealous鈥
Courtni> I would do anything to direct a Louis Vuitton or Versace Fashion Show or campaign. So, I am always inspired by everyone who鈥檚 doing it now. I can鈥檛 wait for it to be my turn.
天美棋牌> The creative project that changed my career鈥
Courtni> Nike 'Own The Floor' (2021). I was not a photographer or a director before that project. Nike hired me on that after seeing my print publication, GASP ZINE. It was an intense four-day shoot, and I was just winging it. At that moment, it kinda felt like the world decided I was a 'photographer.'
Then, the following year, Nike asked me to direct this social basketball series. I didn鈥檛 realise what that meant. I showed up on the shoot day, went to the agency, and asked, 'Who鈥檚 directing this?'. Mind you鈥e had weeks of planning. But I thought I was only doing photos. Their eyes got wide, and they both said, 'You are?...Right?'. I remember at that moment being like, 'Oh shit, how do I direct?' But talent was already walking on set. So once again, I winged it. LOL.
I owe Nike a lot because they genuinely created this path for me in such a unique way, and I am so thankful.
天美棋牌> The work that I鈥檓 proudest of鈥
Courtni> I made a music video for a friend of mine, Sofia Valdes, called '' We had basically no budget and shot it in my hometown with one DP and one PA. Shot it in one hour. Finessed an entire arena and horse show. It turned out beautifully and was such an important reminder that not everything you make will have a lot of support. You just need good friends and passionate people who say YES!
天美棋牌> I was involved in this and it makes me cringe
Courtni> It has nothing to do with my career at the moment. I was a dancer for Nickelodeon on a tour that shall not be named. It was the last job I did before I shifted. I won鈥檛 tell you anything else, lol.
天美棋牌> The recent project I was involved in that excited me the most鈥
Courtni> I just directed what I鈥檇 consider a 'big girl campaign' with Carmelo Anthony that comes out soon. I鈥檓 so stoked about that, and I think it鈥檒l be a cool way to show the direction I鈥檓 moving toward in 2025!
