We were lucky to catch up with Allan Teger recently and have shared our conversation below.

Allan, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?

I had been the school photographer all through high school and college. Later, when I became a psychology professor I put my photography on hold except for family photos. When my teaching moved from social psychology (group dynamics, decision making etc.) to psychology of consciousness (meditation, eastern philosophy etc.) I wanted to see if I could express in art, the things that I was teaching. My first attempt to do this was the development of my Bodyscape photographs. In these images, the viewer becomes aware that it is possible to have two different perceptions at the same time. For about six years I did both teaching and art. When I left teaching it was a bit of a shock to have to earn all of my living from my art! I was showing my work at art festivals around the country, selling through galleries, and filling mail orders. I loved the feeling of working for myself. but I saw the conflict between showing the items that sell, and the need to express myself. I handled this by deciding that I would only show images that I felt good about – that I would not show something just to make a sale. Then, of those images that I showed, the ones that sold were the ones that stayed in the portfolio. This strategy has worked for me. After years of success, however, I realized that I needed to do something new also – so I continued with the bodyscapes and developed a series of other projects over the years. It is still a conflict though, when I need to decide whether to apply to an art festival with my new work, that I can not count on to produce sales, or my old work (bodyscapes) which I know will sell, but isn’t the same thrill as showing my newest work!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My art has always come out of my study of psychology, eastern philosophy etc. I don’t spend a lot of time checking out the work of other artists. I feel at times, that I have two different careers- one is the business of selling my work, and the other is the exploration and expression of my ideas. The bodyscapes (bodyscapes.com) involves miniature figures etc on the nude body – so that the viewer sees a landscape first, and then secondly recognizes the fact that the landscape is a body. The point of the work is NOT the body – it is the awareness in the viewer that we have a choice in our perception. I have also done another body of work – hand painted black and white photographs. These images are of old Americana – old amusement parks, diners and the like, as well as images from European villages – cafes, Venice Carnivale, etc. In these images (see my page in fine art america.) the color is subtle and it is not obvious that the color is applied over a black and white photograph. The result is that the image seems to trigger our memories – the way the scene would be remembered- if it had ever been seen in the first place! These images seldom include people – because my goal was to present a scene that includes the feeling of all of the people that could ever have passed that spot – the timeless moment, the energy of stillness.
Another body of work has been a series of images that include antique snapshots printed through a photo-transfer process onto watercolor paper. I added some rubberstamps, markings etc. to create an image that implies that these people from a bygone era were not that different from us today. The costumes change but the feelings and behaviors are the same in every age.
On my second website: www.teger.com, I am showing two bodies of work. The first is what I call “metaphor” – setups in the studio using doll house miniatures and other objects. Each scenario is a metaphor – such as a person in a cage suspended over a living room – a metaphor of the social isolation we felt during the covid pandemic. Soon this website will also contain my newest work: “counterpoint.” Here I have combined two objects – one natural/soft/beautiful with another object that is manmade/hard/utilitarian. It is the combination of the two that create a tension or contrast that is the real point of the work.
Each body of work speaks to my central theme – that our perceptions are subjective, and that when we realize that we have a choice in how to perceive the world, we open ourselves to new thoughts and feelings and expand our consciousness.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I switched professions – from academic psychology to art. The switch took some time to complete and required a number of major adjustments in my life. . . but I never regretted it. I was a professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. I had been in the academic world for 8 years since getting my Ph.D. I was told that I wouldn’t get tenure if I took the additional position of vice dean – directing academic advising. I was told that to take that position meant that I wasn’t a “real scientist” despite my having an NSF grant, running three labs, and publishing a lot. I was told that the science of psychology wasn’t at the point where we could actually help anyone! I took the position anyway. I didn’t get tenure and then was offered an expanded position in the dean’s office until political issues made the job untenable. So- I quit. I had no idea what I would do next. They knew I was right and they gave me a year’s salary to cover the time until I found a position somewhere else. The year passed and I had not found a job. I was told that I wasn’t a real counselor- I was really an administrator; I wasn’t a real teacher because i was a scientist etc. – The interviewing people could not accept that I was good at teaching, research, counseling and administration – and could do all of these together. I realized at that point that I needed to work for myself. I was tired of trying to justify myself to people who had very simple, ridged views of life and academics. I had just began my series of Bodyscape photographs and realized that I should move to a career in art – but that the time was not right yet for that – I had just begun my art!
The year of grace salary was over soon and I had no outstanding applications out for a position. At that point I received a letter from an old doctoral student who said that his graduate students were worried about getting jobs. He said that he told them what I had taught him – “do what is in front of you , decide what is important – and trust that it will work out.” I read his letter and thought – “I still believe this”. An hour later I received a call out of the blue from the National Science Foundation offering me a high paying position as a program director. This was what I needed – a chance to build up my art career before making a move. After some time at NSF I went to Boston University to teach counseling. After three years I was told that my courses in consciousness and eastern philosophy for which I had been hired, were “the sixties crap” – they fired me and I was free to pursue my art career – which at that point produced more income than that of an associate professor! It was scary at first to have to pay all of the bills for the family from nothing other than my art. But that was 42 years ago – and it has been just fine ever since!

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The best part of my career is being able to be my own boss. This cuts both ways of course .I am able to make my own decisions, but also have to accept all of the responsibility. What I do – both in art and business – is up to me. I have to make the hard decisions of balancing business (financial issues) with expressing myself as an artist. I have no one to answer to and no one to blame. Of course the art world can be difficult. But – having made this commitment, my life is under my own control. I believe that such a situation is very rare. I feel very lucky to have this opportunity.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.bodyscapes.com www.teger.com
• Instagram: bodyscapes_
• Email: alteger@gmail.com

Image Credits
Allan Teger