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Jim Roll (aka superjimmer) was a literal rock star before he was a photographer.
Guitar or a lens, he makes magic.
His photos don't have digital filters or photoshop. They have wine. Hot sauce. Double exposures. Chemical treachery.
They are fun. Unique.
Just like Jim...
First of all, Jim Roll is his actual birth name, which is kind of awesome given that he uses rolls of film and has recorded rock and roll albums.
For real. Below are a couple of his album covers.
Yes, @superjimmer is indeed ready to hang.
Jim was born in Oak Park, outside of Chicago.
He was destined to be big.
Literally.
He was an ELEVEN POUND baby from a 19 year old, 5’ 2” woman.
Clearly, the genes were brought to you by dad, who was a 6’ 5” football player.
Born big, growing big, Jim was pushed to do sports, but he was always more drawn to creative endeavors.
He joined the football team in college but ended up sitting underneath a tree (Ferdinand style) until the coach found him and asked if he intended to practice.
“Nope.”
Instead he focused on music.
He finished school with a degree in social work, but never really put it to use. Instead he wrote and recorded music.
In the 90's he released multiple albums.
While the tunes were liked by both fans and critics, he never made it big.
His song "1955" (listen below, it's great!) was on a Levi’s compilation album that came in the jeans.
Jim knows how to get in your pants. 😆
youtube.com/watch?v=jyHihy9oghg
Eventually he migrated from touring with his own music to producing it for others, allowing him to settle in one place.
He got his masters in social work at the University of Michigan, where he still lives today.
You can see the natural beauty of the area in his photos.
In Jim's words:
"I’ve been able to work in creative fields my whole life, which is paradise, but I've never 'made it' financially. I have two kids. I have a house. Some nice tools. But I drive a 2004 Prius. I still have to work to eat. I'm not rich, but I'm happy."
A few years ago, he was feeling a little worn down audio wise, working on other people’s music.
His ears were tired.
So he started dabbling in prints and photography, experimenting.
After selling photos IRL for a bit (people do that?!?) a friend Jim plays tennis with encouraged him to get into NFTs.
When COVID hit, as happened to many of us, the world opened by NFTs drew him in.
Jim got full into the web3 flow in October of 2021.
He started on Tezos. (Pro tip: you can still get his early work for pretty cheap on that chain).
In January of '22 he jumped into Solana after @wgarrettdavis and @taylorlarroc started posting his work and asking when he'd mint some pieces on SOL.
As I've heard multiple times now, there’s a certain amount of warmth and generosity he found in the Solana ecosystem that caused him to make a home here.
We're a bunch of degens, yes, but we're degens who care about each other.
I first heard of Jim through Le Dao. 🥐
Curator extraordinaire @quincy_sol brought it to the group, proposing a whimsical, faded picture of dandelions.
Needless to say, I loved it, as did everyone else.
We promptly bought it.
Overall, Jim has a hell of a resume in his first year.
Collected by both @_ledao & @BigBrainGallery.
He's been featured on @exchgART.
And he's part of both @The_URS_ and @MinistryArt.
(This is his 🔥 piece for the 7th and final URS drop.)
As soon as Jim did an edition, I was all over it. Had to get one for myself.
Thinking of that, and given the state of flux we're in with editions on SOL as we figure them out, I asked for Jim's thoughts on editions.
His response was thoughtful...
"Prints have been a pretty standard part of photography for a century. On Solana though, it’s still so unsettled, still finding a balance.
On one hand, doing an edition can be wonderful, as it allows for a cheaper entry point for fans that can't afford 1:1's.
But you have to know your saturation point.
You might be able to make some money, but you don’t want to devalue yourself as an artist or the work that prior collectors have purchased. It’s not worth sacrificing the long term.
For me, I did a few but now I’m done for a while."
When I asked him what under the radar artists I should follow next, @minghua was on the tip of his tongue. Looking at the mesmerizing work below, it's easy to see why!
He also mentioned @seminomaden & @Vegarifi.
twitter.com/miinghua/status/1565343509791805445?s=20&t=jKiyNMo5JWgm9rT-LAnDWA
What's next for Jim?
What's next is RIGHT NOW.
The first piece in Jim's new series is currently up for auction.
Whereas before he exposed nature on nature, he is now doing nature on top of technology. And exploration of how we can juxtapose the two disparate worlds.
He wants to spend a while leaning into the series, the intersection of tech, home life, and nature.
This first piece is digital on digital double exposure, a picture of a circuit board viewed through trees.
(The auction link is at the bottom of this thread.)
There will also be film, of course. He'll use various lenses, from purpose built ones to broken pieces of glass.
He'll use super 8 video for video and stills. VHS tapes. Radio tubes.
You name it.
MP: "Wait, what will you do with a radio tube?!"
Jim: "Crush it up and see if the chemicals mess with the film."
MP: “Could you crush it ON the negatives with a hammer and see what the scratches do, or is that insane?”
Jim: “That's just it. There are no rules. So hell yes!"
What he won't use is Photoshop. He wants to embrace the spectrum of technology but hold to that limitation.
The process is one of chaos and randomness.
His desire is to keep it "primitive."
I hope he keeps exploring boundaries.
It takes skill and an eye to properly frame a picture, to elevate from a suburban dad with an iPhone to an actual photog, and Jim pushes that even further. He uses techniques and ideas that go beyond that first level of skill... into magic.
As promised, if you're interested in the first piece from his new series, here's the link! It ends today, Sept 8th, at 5pm.
exchange.art/single/5dX4Z2g7JHL4Nc7ETtrQjN4tHoGDfTJig7RnBhXov1ek