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Q1 Could you introduce yourself? What was your early inspiration?
I started to work as a photographer right after school at the age of 20. today I am 35 and photography helped me to see and discover our world. I am always curious.
At the beginning photography was just a way to earn some money after school. Later on I discovered the strength photography has, to tell stories of our daily life and to make people think about it and themselves.
Q2 Please tell me about your book, 'Coney Island'? what is the concept behind it?
There is a long tradition in photographing Coney Island. Dorothea Lange, Weege, Diane Arbus or Bruce Gilden worked there. All their work was done many years ago and it was all in black and white. I wanted to bring back coney island to the present time in colour.
I also see coney island as a metaphor for decline as well as survival. Coney Island was built as a setting for short-lived sensory amusements, and as such is an embodiment of transience. |
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Decades of exposure to the forces of aging and decline have inscribed the complementary aspects of joy and melancholy into this primal image of the amusement park. Maintaining the same balance between sensitivity and curiosity that typifies my other projects, I wanted to captured the essence of this place where times and cultures merge in striking photographs.
Q3 Color and locations for 'Coney Island' are just beautiful, Why did you decide to use lost and sorrowful amusement park, Coney Island and its surrounding people as the subjects?
From the first minute, when I arrived I fell in love with the morbid charme of coney island.
It is very much a symbol for me of the American dream of technologically engineered leisure and spectacle looks. I am very interested in America. You see the influence of this countries' culture and politics all over the world and most Americans are even not aware of it. |
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Q6 Could you tell us little bit about your new project in Japan?
So far I didn't manage to photograph in Japan, but I am planning a project. I am very interested in Japanese culture. I like very much some Japanese photographers like moriyama or tomoko sawada. I love Japanese movies from ozu to kurosawa and also old samurai movies like the okami series or crazy new movies like survive style 5+. I read books of murakami or banana yoshimoto. And not to forget I love Japanese food and sake. So Japanese culture is somehow a part of my daily life. It is clear for me, that I have to come to japan to experience it myself. and I am planning it for some years already, but so far it never worked out...... other jobs, no money, personal things...... At the moment I am looking for a residency in Tokyo. I applied for one (but didn't get it so far). I would like to have a look at daily life and achieve dense images that transcend the realm of the documentary and serve as metaphors for the condition of societies and the people who live in them today. |
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Also I would like to include digital video in my new work and combine it with my photographs in exhibitions. I think japan would be a great place to start with that,
Q7 You are from Germany, could you tell me about photography industry in your country?
Well, I was born in Germany and I live in Germany, but I am Austrian citizen. There are many photographers in Germany and also a lot of good ones. There was the famous Becher school (Gursky, Struth and Ruff were the most famous students), but there are also other good universities and schools that teach photography. And not to forget the self educated photographers, like myself. The interest in photography is getting bigger. Photography festivals are founded, galleries and museums exhibit more photography and video work. Still the interest in documentary photography is not as big as the interest in artistic photography. |
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Peter Granser
copyright: peter granser / courtesy galerie mennour, paris
coney island is published as a book by hatje cantz, ISBN 978-3-7757-1776-2
( German/English 2006. 100 pp., 72 color ills., 28,70 x 28,70 cm, hardcover )
http://www.granser.de |
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Photographer Peter Granser has been published the master piece collections such as "Sun City" and "Alzheimer" in past years and has received high acclaim from all over the world. This new project that Granser published, "Coney Island" from Hatje Cantz is about Coney Island where is known as a beach resort/amusement park in New York back in the days. But now it just a lost and sorrowful place. "With the years Coney Island changed from a promise of a better future to sorrowful place. It is a symbol for me for the a symbol of the changes of American society" said Granser. This is a irony that when America used to have a bright hope and dreams, but currently the country has various problems that might lead to the collapse of the world.
However in this collection, color is just so beautiful, composition and subjects he took reminds the summer time when Coney Island had a bright hope and power. If a person who have never been to Coney Island and see this collection, surely they would love to visit this place.
Grenser is an enthusiast about Japanese culture such as movies, literature and food. Actually he is looking for a residency in Tokyo to experience the real Japan and plan to do a new project.
He will have an exhibition of「Coney Island」at Galeria la Fabrica in Madrid, Spain from March 8th. |
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With the years coney island changed from a promise of a better future to sorrowful place. It is a symbol for me for the a symbol of the changes of American society. Interesting is also that in a place where you go to forget your daily troubles symbols of the us fight against terror arise (the recruiting station, shoot saddam, the plastic heroes).
Q4 How did you start as a photographer?
I met a fashion photographer once and was fascinated by this "new world" of photography. Soon I found out, that fashion is not that interesting for me, but documentary photography.
I am self educated and i started to work as a photographer for a little local newspaper, later on bigger newspapers and magazines. In 1995 I started to work on my first smaller personal project. At that time I only worked in black and white, but discovered colour for me in 1997. I experimented during the next 2 years with different films and cameras and started my first big personal projects "sun city" in 2000. |
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It was published as a book by Benteli, Switzerland. My projects "Alzheimer" and "Coney island" followed and where published as books, too. Today I work most of the time for my personal projects that are exhibited in galleries and museums. But I do assignments for magazines and companies, too.
Q5 What do you look out for when you are shooting? Where do you usually get your inspirations for your works?
I observe our daily life and the desires and problems of our societies. Like the aging of the industrialized societies (the result were the projects "sun city" and "Alzheimer"). Or our longing for leisure like I did in "Coney Island". When I work I need a lot of time. I walk around, observe and photograph, if I think it is worth it. I like to come back to the same places, to get a distance, look at the work I did so far. Discuss it with collegues and friends and continue to work on the subjects during a 2nd, 3rd or 4th trip. |
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Q8 Do you have any favorite camera or equipment to work with? Do you ever use digital?
Since 8 years I only work with a medium (square) format camera (Hasselblad). But like I said before I am very interested to combine my photography with digital video.
I photograph all my personal work on negative film and do handmade prints. I like the colors and the print quality much more. So far the digital prints didn't convince me. I used digital only twice for assignments. I am quite old-fashioned in that way.
Q9 What's coming up in 2007? Any plans for exhibitions?
The exhibition of my Coney Island work at Galerie Mennour in Paris, France just finished. The next exhibition will be at Galeria la Fabrica in Madrid, Spain from March 8th on. |
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Then there are group shows in Rouuen, France (Alzheimer), at Villa Merkel in Esslingen, Germany (German cowboys), at a festival in Stuttgart, Germany (Coney Island) and another single exhibition at the Stadtmuseum Muenster (museum of the city of muenster), Germany (Alzheimer).Further my galleries will present my work on fairs: Dfoto in San Sebastian, Spain and Rai in Amsterdam, Netherlands. That's it for the next 6 months.... but it is enough work.
Also I would like to finish my latest project "Texas" that focuses on politics and religion in the biggest US state. I hope it will be my 4th book........
Q10 Any message?
Try to enjoy the beauty and absurdity of everyday life!
......and if you are bored have a look at my website: http://www.granser.de or at the website of poc:
http://www.pocproject.com It is a European group of 23 photographers and video artists, that I am a member of..... |
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