Jonathan Grado

Growing up in the 90s, everything from learning to walk, to opening my N64, to falling down was recorded on VHS tape. Anytime I did something remotely perceived as funny (me just trying to survive) I could see the look in my parents’ eyes that said "Bob Saget needs to see this."

Bob Saget, of course, was the host of America’s Funniest Home Videos. While I’m sure he would have enjoyed seeing me trip on my Batman cape, he had his own kids at home doing the same thing. One of them, Lara Saget, is a sculptor and artist who I was recently asked to photograph in her Brooklyn studio.

We became fast friends, mostly in between holding up sculptures that were much heavier than they looked (and a few that were exactly as heavy as they looked). We bonded over playing N64 with our dads, driving in Brooklyn, and the difference between being in front of and behind the camera. We both have a lot of on-screen experience when it comes to family. It’s not always easy but there is that “welp, just gotta do it” mentality. She’s much more natural on camera though.

A metalworker at heart, Lara had just finished a massive bronze and granite piece. The scale is quite something, with me immediately asking how did this get on the wall in the first place. Her Brooklyn studio was spacious (!) with plenty of room to create. There’s a makeshift rock garden in the back corner near the windows that I think I'd convince myself I could work in, but would end up just zoning out in.

While we shot a lot of photos, below I’ll just put a few fun ones. This is why I sometimes think about going to the gym, just in case I’m a sculptor in my next life.