Nathan Kensinger 97Fs Tackles Environmental Issues in Film on Exhibit at Brooklyn Museum

“The Brooklyn Artists Exhibition,” on view through January, showcases the work of more than 200 artists selected from the borough. The wide-ranging show comprises primarily sculpture and painting, so a video piece about environmental pollution stands out.

Black Mayonnaise is a nine-minute experimental documentary about the Gowanus Canal, in Brooklyn. “The film is a somewhat surreal portrait of a cleanup the Environmental Protection Agency is doing in the canal, which is a Superfund Site and one of the most polluted bodies of water in the United States,” Kensinger says. ”The whole film was shot in slow motion and visits the toxic moonscape at the bottom of the canal.”

We talked more with Kensinger about how his experience at the College influenced his work and what led up to this current show.

What initially attracted you to Hampshire?

My high school was the opposite of Hampshire College, with a heavy focus on grades and tests and not much room for creativity or experimentation. I wanted something totally different and was drawn to Hampshire’s unique structure with the freedom to find your own academic path. I also wanted to try filmmaking and creative writing, which the College was known for at the time. Hampshire was actually the only college I applied to!

What did you study?

I studied film and creative writing and took classes in filmmaking, poetry, and painting, and several awesome video classes. I also took courses at the other four colleges, such as film theory and art history at Smith and memorable ones in documentary film history and the Literature of Madness at Amherst.

For my Div III, I directed a short documentary about the acquisition of the San Francisco Chronicle by the Hearst Corporation. I was working for the paper during the summers while at Hampshire, and they gave me access to film behind the scenes for a piece about media monopolies and the death of local newspapers.

“My time at Hampshire showed me how to work independently, how to tackle huge projects over the course of many years, and how to embrace uncertainty and experimentation.”

Were there particular professors who supported you?

I worked with Professor of Film and Photography Abraham Ravett my whole time at Hampshire, and he provided a huge amount of support and guidance, at the same time encouraging me to find my own voice. I was, at various times, a student in his filmmaking class, his work-study student assistant, a teaching assistant for his Film I class, and, one year, a leader of his filmmaking orientation trip. Abraham always asked great questions, which helped facilitate deeper conversations, and he introduced his students to some excellent experimental works.

Did your Hampshire experience have an impact on your current work?

Hampshire provided a foundation for all of the creative work I’ve done over the last 20 years. I moved to Brooklyn a couple of years after graduating and have been working as an independent photographer, filmmaker, artist, and journalist ever since. My work is mainly on environmental issues and climate change in New York City, and is rooted in documentary filmmaking and journalism.

My time at Hampshire showed me how to work independently, how to tackle huge projects over the course of many years, and how to embrace uncertainty and experimentation. My work has evolved in some unexpected directions since graduating (I didn’t do photography or environmental studies at Hampshire!), but there’s a clear thread that I can see, going back to my first creative projects there.

What would you say to a prospective Hampshire student?

Hampshire College is not for everyone, but if you think it’s right for you, now’s the time to go. Hampshire is still there, still offering something unique.

Still from film Black Mayonnaise courtesy of Nathan Kensigner