A brand new venture, ATTA offers limited-edition fine art photography prints from celebrated image-makers around the world. Photographer: Brooke Nipar
Andrew Joseph: How do you stay creative and inspired?
Bill Hannigan: I continue to practice photography myself. The work I do is very solitary. I travel alone and use a large format camera, which necessitates a slow and thoughtful process for each exposure. One of the bodies of work I continue to develop is a series of night landscapes. I spend a lot of time roaming, looking for an image to make and then the photograph itself often involves exposure times of 20-45 minutes. Everything slows down and is still. I believe time alone is essential to reset your mind and rejuvenate your spirit.
AJ: What was the last book you read and how did it inspire you?
BH: I don’t know if inspiration is the best way to put it, but the last book that I could not put down was In The Distance by Hernan Diaz, which my daughter gave me a while back. It is beautifully written, and at times, the beauty of the writing is directly at odds with the violence or desolation in the story. I apparently have a type when it comes to novels because it’s my favorite read since The Road by Cormac McCarthy.
AJ: What is your favorite aspect of your job?
BH: In all the work I do in photography, curating is essential. It is by far the aspect of my work I enjoy the most and it is the foundation of ATTA. Working with members of my team and directly with our photographers to select work for the inaugural ATTA collection was a joy. And the great part is it is ongoing; we are constantly looking at work and we’ll have new releases on a rolling basis.
ATTA curates timeless photography prints that bring storytelling, style, and soul into your space. Photographer: Matthew Sprout
AJ: How do you stay organized while working on multiple projects?
BH: I don’t. I have three separate photography businesses that I oversee, not to mention three kids. I have an amazing partner in life, and I have a great team, many of whom have been with me for a decade or more — my wife of 25 years. Without all of them, chaos would rule.
AJ: What’s your favorite cocktail?
BH: A classic Old Fashioned, that I make. It’s a simple drink, but also has a world of options to suit the mood. Add black walnut bitters in the fall, a dash of single malt scotch for some peaty-ness or use hot honey for the sweetness to add some fire in the winter. Endless variations. Nothing better. And I’ll reveal my secret, use Griottines brandied cherries from France if you can find them. Takes it to another level.
AJ: Style (or design) icon and why?
BH: Style icon, Patrick Stewart. A quick online search will explain why. Legend.
AJ: Best advice you’d give your teenage self?
BH: A little self-promotion is not a bad thing. I’ve spent a lot of my career promoting the work of others, and I’ve done that very well. I am terrible at promoting myself and my own work. Growing up in Canada, humility is a key cultural characteristic and it’s taken a long time to understand it. Still working on it — even right now, answering these questions!
ATTA brings museum-quality photography into everyday spaces with exclusive, limited-edition prints. Photographer: Magda Biernat
AJ: Favorite place to view art?
BH: I really enjoy discovering smaller museums in cities I visit. Living in New York the access to art is incredible but so too are the crowds. I love walking in other cities and including stops to see art. Some recent highlights were the Menil Collection in Houston, The Phillips Collection in D.C. and in Paris the Picasso Museum and Deyrolle — which is technically not a museum but a must visit.
AJ: Favorite scent?
BH: Burning leaves. I grew up in the woods, and every fall, we’d clean the yard and burn all the sticks and leaves in our fire pit. It would often be wet from rain and the leaves would smoke and smolder, giving off an amazing smell. The epitome of fall to me.
AJ: What is your favorite place to find inspiration?
BH: Amazingly, my mother still lives in the house I grew up in. As I just mentioned, it is in the woods. From a young age, I would spend time in the woods alone. There is something in those moments of being still in those woods that I have carried with me my whole life. Being able to get back there a few times a year and reconnecting with that feeling is very inspiring and grounding. Any other place that evokes that feeling is inspiring to me.
Headshot photo by Stephen Brule.
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