Hosted by: Chapman University Argyros College of Business and Economics
May 15, 2024
In spring 2024, I was invited as the first podcast guest at the leatherby center for entrepreneurship and business ethics. due to technical challenges, we were not able to obtain a full recording of the podcast.
below is part 1 of the transcription from my transformative conversation with motion records founder, mohan awasthi.
Motion: Want to give yourself an introduction?
Alex: Thank you. My name is Alex Z. Mo. I’m a photographer by trade and I like to work with people. I like to explore creative and innovative ideas and I think that young people have a unique advantage where we have a pulse on culture and on many different happenings that are portrayed through media and just our own experiences that are quite unique to the world today. And I like to use my camera to explore those ideas.
Motion: Why do you think you chose the camera as your tool? Because there are a lot of different means of creative expression you know? And its a very subjective thing to be able to show any kind of art. Why was it the means of your creative route?
Alex: I think that’s a really interesting question. You know when I was a young kid, when my parents kept reinforcing in me “hey Alex, you’re good at this” you kind of start to believe it.
When I really started to dive head first into this and treat this professionally, what I mean by that is all other decisions I’m making revolve around the pursuit of excellence within this craft, whether it’s true or not, in my mind I didn’t have any other option. I really did believe that this is the medium through which I think about the world. And the best way for me to attack and be a force in the world is to double down on the traits that allow me to think the most clearly, allow me to tap into my subconscious, and observe the world with as open of a mind as possible. And I think that with the camera, the creation of images needs to happen in real time. So to overthink that process does lead to some level of paralysis.
I mean I’ve experimented with many different artistic media over the years.
Motion: Right.
Alex: Started with drawing, sketching, went into painting. I guess it was around middle school age when I realized that the person with the camera does grab a lot of attention.
Motion: Right.
Alex: There’s a certain level of a gravitational pull, because people do want to be seen. You know I think theres a really natural human instinct to want to be seen and want to be heard. And I just found the camera to be the most intriguing form of media, form of artistic expression. But that’s for me.
Motion: Right.
Alex: I think everyone does have that one vessel through which they observe the world and that vessel allows them to kind of curate all the different inputs that the world does give you.
I also have a strong affinity for mechanics and technology and it is really interesting that photography and now that I am diving into motion picture, there’s such a symbiotic relationship between technology and how you can use different forms of technology whether it be lenses or cameras, specific color science, in order to kind of refine and curate your image.
Motion: If I may ask.
Alex: Yeah.
Motion: So I remember you had gone to the Mexican Border recently actually.
Alex: Yes.
Motion: I would say out of nowhere, but I already know theres a lot more that came behind that, which I would love to get into later.
Alex: Yeah.
Motion: Something that was really interesting to me when you showed me the variety of photos you took. So I know you have different cameras. Whether you use a specific camera to only capture night time moments, an action moment, a scene. You’re talking about the technical differences in lenses, colors, all of that. How do you think you’re making use of that to evoque the emotions with the work you’re doing?
Do you want to talk about some of the projects you’ve done recently and how you’ve combined that?
Alex: Yeah. Sure. Thats a super interesting question. I haven’t really been asked that before.
What I found when I went to the U.S. Southern Border because I’m not familiar with that landscape and a lot of it is quite exploratory, within different environments, I’m unable to use certain cameras. Some of my cameras are simply larger in size or heavier in weight. Some are more obvious when I carry them around. So theres a necessary aspect of it where given different situations, I have to use a different tool because of the ways people are perceiving me.
With the camera, you’re directly shaping light. You know what I mean? The camera sensor is interacting with the way the lens is taking in and absorbing light. So with different lenses, different focal lengths, aspherical versus non-aspherical, you have the ability when you dive into photography to really explore what each of these technologies is able to do in terms of the final image.
Large part of it also is there are certain artists who I admire who are known to use a certain focal length. And all that kind of plays into my decision making, but ultimately when its on the spot, I kind of just go with my gut.
Motion: Right.
Alex: Whatever I feel is right.
Motion: Right.
Alex: Whatever aligns with the way I am seeing things in that moment in time. Sometimes I look back in retrospect and think hey I should explore this new idea or this new lens or use this lens in a different way. Position my camera in a different way.
Motion: Right. You let the artistic flow kind of control how you use them in a way.
Alex: Yeah. And I think when you’re flowing with it and not thinking about it too much, thats when I’m actually learning the most. You know? When I’m kind of getting out of my own way and not censoring or restricting myself based on whats been done before or what even I have done before, thats really when I kind of push and make the biggest breakthroughs.
Motion: You just used a very interesting phrase when you said you’re getting in the way of yourself.
Alex: Yeah.
Motion: How do you think you can use your connection to conscious versus subconscious because I know thats been a very interesting topic not just with us, but generally with a lot of people our age with mental health problems, mindfulness, there are a lot of ways people are using this perspective. How are you applying this with your work passion?
Because it doesn’t make sense how you can work 20 hour days, 24 hour days, consistently, repeatedly, look at the top of your game, have the energy and actually embody a healthy lifestyle with such unorthodox means. How does that make sense? Do you think that is subconscious versus conscious?
Alex: If we’re to talk about energy. You see this on social media all the time when young people have a bunch of health issues. Or they’re dealing with fatigue. Or they feel burnt out. And I really do think that there’s a level of misalignment between what they perceive deep down to be their purpose and what they’re actually working on. I think that disconnect does actually wear really heavy on the psyche. You know? Like it will kind of wear you down.
Motion: Right.
Alex: I really do believe this is what I’m meant to do and that provides me with unlimited strength. It really does provide me with unlimited energy and from my experiences recently, that energy does feed other people.
It’s really inspiring to me because when I get out of my own way, when I stop thinking about things, and when I really dive into placing myself in as much chaos and pushing myself to a quite manic state, that’s when I’m able to get out of my own way and I no longer have the capacity to doubt myself.
When you ask about my trip to the U.S. Southern Border, that was one of the big driving points for me in motivating me to go, and I knew it would be critical for the way I think about my practice. Specifically not thinking about it too much. Because when you are in that fight or flight mode, when you are genuinely concerned for your safety and survival, you have to be your best friend. You have to be your own greatest asset. That has been absolutely critical.
The subconscious, how I did come to this is I grew up as an athlete. You know, I played tennis in college and I grew up training in sports. And what you see all the time is when an athlete or a high performer tries to understand themselves too well, when they post-rationalize, when they try to figure out why what’s working is working, a lot of the time that’s when you do lose the magic. You know what I mean?
Motion: Yeah.
Alex: I think what all artists are striving for, ultimately, is a throughline and a signature that they can kind of seek and pull strength from to keep on persisting. And I don’t actually think it’s possible to reach a point where you can find your signature unless you’re working at a feverish pace, at kind of a manic pace.
Motion: Right.
Alex: And I do think that volume is ultimately the solution to all of these issues. If you are working at such a high volume and producing at a very fast pace, you will eventually find your signature. That signature is going to emerge from the chaos. And that’s kind of the big turning point I think for a lot of people and that’s what a lot of people are looking for.
Motion: If you think you’re producing at a high volume, balls to the wall, in one line of work, or in more layman’s terms, when you’re completely dialed in on one area or line of work, do you think not having any other options is what makes you succeed in that? How do you relate to your ability to turn on the blinders in what you do?
Alex: I think it's really difficult to be creative with a blank slate. If you’re to think about it, if you have to write an essay and there’s no prompt - very difficult. If you have to make a painting and you’re sitting in a white room with a white canvas - pretty difficult. At least its more difficult than having even one restriction. Right?
I think in the world that we live in today theres no shortage of opportunities. And really its kind of about finding the ones on a long enough time scale that fit best into your best skillset.
Motion: From a different lens, when you’re hyper focused on something, people call it obsession. What do you think you people who are obsessed, or some may say crazy over something, how can that give you the competitive edge?
How do you think that makes you different from someone who has the same skillset, passion? What makes the obsessed person, the crazy person, stronger than the other?
Alex: I think when you’re obsessed, those are the blinders that you need. You know what I mean?
Motion: 100%.
Alex: When your entire organism is hyper focused on a needle point towards one single goal, that does put the blinders on and you do start to limit and restrict certain things that just don’t make sense. A lot of it is quite subjective and very personal, but I think finding those limitations and honing in on one thing does actually reveal all the wisdom you really need.
When you’re trying to do too many things, theres tremendous value in that because I have been doing that for the past many many years. I’ve been testing out a bunch of stuff, even with photography. I’ve tried a number of different projects, a number of different environments where I’m working and all of that really does feed into improving my perspective.
This is something we were discussing earlier as well which is I think experience alone isn’t actually as valuable as people think. I think what you need through experience is a shift in perspective in whichever direction you would like to take things.
Ultimately, your perspective is your reality that you’re consumed with. That you’re living in. And if we’re to dial it back in to photography - photography is about perspective. Photography is quite literally about how you look at things, how you’re interpreting the world. In that I find a lot of energy and strength because it places me in a position of full accountability. That’s really why I love it.
I do feel like I’m in control of my own destiny in terms of how excellent I can be at doing what it is I set my mind to do. I think a lot of people are quite distracted by all the shinny objects in society that kind of lead you in a multitude of directions.
I think the people who I found to be the best friends, the people I resonate with the most, the people I have the most insightful conversations with, more often than not they’re individuals who dial in and focus on one specific thing. And through really focusing and exploring excellence in that one area, they’re able to extract a lot of wisdom.
When we talk about obsession, right? I think there are a lot of mental conditions that get diagnosed as issues or afflictions within someone’s personality. I never thought I had an addictive personality And I think if I were to go to a therapist they would probably try to mitigate it and try to fix it. Or try to help me understand why it is that I am that way.
But the way I see it, it truly is a superpower. I can’t imagine trying to compete against someone obsessed with another field and try to beat them at it when I have the confidence and the sense that my entire being is designed to tackle a problem that I have to go find what vessel it is that I am meant to solve it with.
I do resonate a lot more with helping people find that creative, artistic, business, whatever it really is medium that they do believe they’re meant to do. I think that is fundamentally the most important breakthrough that a person can find within their own life.
