/ photographer / Interview with Michael Werner on 09.04.2008
Q1 What was it like for you when you were growing up? Did your parens encourage you to become and artist / photographer?
I grew up as an only child here in Hanau, Germany. I was always a quiet child, I think I always had a creative aspect to my personality; I used to create my own worlds with toys and figures. It is a small town here and not the most exciting environment, of course even in the 1960s the town was still being constructed after the war. My parents had no real interest in art, although my father took a lot of snapshots and home movies. We seemed to always have cupboards full of cameras! Originally I was more interested in graphic design and was determined to become a designer. When I started formal study in my early twenties, it turned out that photography was part of the course. My parents gave me the most amazing, precious present I have ever received, which was a Cannon A1 35mm SLR camera, and this was the start of my exploration of photography. At the time it was one of the best cameras you could get, and getting such a present was amazing. So actually in this way, my parents gave me a kick start into photography, even though they would never have encouraged me to be a full time artist, for their generation the security of a steady job and career was much more important than artistic expression.
Q2 I would like to talk about One for the Album, what I find interesting is that you began shooting the tourists themselves. What is the most interesting thing for you to take pictures of people in public? Why didn't you take a professional model to pose?
The most interesting thing for me is that I am fascinated by the excited faces of the people as they stand in front of these sites, the happiness on their face when someone takes photos of them. This spontaneity is something you cannot create on demand, it has to be authentic and real. The excitement of being in a place they have never been before, or only know from books and movies and suddenly they are at the site, but now they are actually there and want to leave some kind of mark that says "hey, I am here!" It's a particular energy, and yet its something you can find in every country in the world, people posing in front of things, even things the locals find surprising that anyone could find interesting! With a professional model you could never get the result of true excitement and it would be a fake impression of something you can't transpose. The factor of the unpredictability of discovering people doing their own thing adds a lot to the series for me, an absolutely important factor, because its authentic. The truth of their experience is what makes the image fascinating, it's a step outside of the relationship between the subject and their photographer, who share a meaning in that time and place that we can only guess at but which has to be genuine. Otherwise its just another postcard shot or fashion shoot. The series is about the people and their experience, not the specific place where they are.
Q3 What is your favourite story for creating Lands of milk and honey? What exactly is the idea for creating the collection?
This series started to form while walking through the glorious city of Paris and noticing how people were relaxing and resting within these glamorous, stylised parks and palaces. For me the city itself is like a land of milk and honey, showing off the glory of victory and history, the beauty and the glamour. So it was for me that it started being a land of milk and honey personally, I imagined the emotions many people could have because of experiencing the celebration of life – lazing, having picnics, being within beautiful surroundings, like the biblical land of milk and honey where the people had no more need to travel or work, it was a land of reward and abundance where there was no pressure and no work. Looking at the photos at home in the studio I was amazia because the photos showed exactly the emotions that I'd had myself and what I'd imagined a "land of milk and honey" would look like. I was fascinated when I wondered around the Eiffel Tower and saw all the people happy and relaxed on the lawns, having picnics, just being happy and watching the tower change its colours, seeing this landmark so magnificent and impressive in a way that could never be really captured in a book or on a postcard. The people sitting there was probably the first moment of inspiration really, just sitting and thinking only of the beauty of that moment and forgetting everything else.
Q4 Where would be the next land of milk and honey and why?
I think lands of milk and honey can be found in many places! The next trip I am planning to make is to Berlin, because I believe there is a very special creative energy there, as well as it being a very green city with lots of parks and nature where people can relax and enjoy themselves. There are also a lot of architectural features there which may be perfect locations for this series. Also, Berlin is a young feeling and energetic city with a very complicated history and I hope that something of this within the photos I can take there. I also have some trips to Paris planned for 2009 and think that there are many more opportunities for good images there. Actually I would very much like to continue the series in Japan, unfortunately I have only had a brief one day stopover in Narita 3 years ago, but was enchanted by the feeling of this place and would love to explore how the people of Japan create their own lands of milk and honey. Symbols such as the enormous soft drink vending machines that line the streets, the rows of shoes outside the bathhouses, the particularly Japanese aesthetic for gardens and public spaces, I think these also are signposts to lands of milk and honey and I am looking forward to the next chance to explore them in greater depth. Of course, some of the more famous sites such as Mt Fujiayama are equal to the Eiffel Tower in symbolism of peacefulness and sense of "place".
Q5 What do you look out for when you are shooting?
Usually when I am out shooting I have a particular project in mind, and I go and work on that series. I go specifically to places and have a clear intention of what I want to shoot. But of course there are always situations or things along the way that capture my attention and I have to take photos of. These are images that are unplanned and I don't know at the time what they are good for, if they fit into a series. It usually happens that they find a way into something, even a project that isn't yet in my mind. It could be something that underlines a cliché about a place or a culture, or something that is absolutely contradictory to the popular clichés. For me these are the two necessary outlooks for being professional as a photographer, good planning and clear intentions for what you hope to find plus openness to being spontaneous and open to discovering inspiration by chance.
Q6 Do you have any favourite camera or equipment to work with?
My first camera is something I still treasure, but until the start of 2008 I worked with the Cannon EOS 1N, and was very happy with it because I knew it very well and it was like an extension of my hand for me. A few months ago I changed to the Cannon EOS 5D, which I also now love, and mostly use wide angle lenses for my projects. Maybe in the future I'll try different formats such as middle format, and I'm even tempted to try out a large format camera for some projects. The camera has to fit the project you are working on of course. I usually work with natural light instead of studio or artificial light, even for studio work where possible.
Q7 Is there a dream project you would like to do?
A dream project for me would involve travel to new countries and discovering new projects and inspirations on the way. I would be fascinated to visit South Africa for example, but at the moment continuing the Lands of milk and honey in other countries and cultures is my dream. It started in France, has continued in Austria and now Germany. As I said, Japan, Africa, wherever, it would be a dream. Travel is so important in opening the mind to other cultures and people and their ways of thinking and understanding the world. These new experiences let you grow as a person and challenge you, and so of course this personal experience is going to influence your work and somehow be revealed in the photographs you take.
Q8 What projects are you currently working on?
My current projects other than Lands of Milk and Honey and One for the Album, include "the Caravan moves on" is another facet in exploring landmarks and the tourist trail. Its about the large tour groups that seem to appear almost everywhere, crowds of people who seem to be without individual identities, who arrive in busses, jump out and take very similar photos of the place and each other, then its back on the bus and swiftly on to the next stop on the itinerary. Its something very curious and interesting. I'm also still adding to various other projects using digital collages and these kinds of processes, creating something that doesn't actually exist and is therefore totally new.
Q9 Who are your favourite artists?
I love the works of Nan Goldin, Stephen Shore, Mitch Epstein, Alex Soth, Henri Cartier Bresson, William Eggleston to name but a few. There are so many, for example all the people who are contributing to my 2waylens project, they are so inspirational and generous.
Outside of photography, painters such as Cy Twombly, Jeff Koons, and Matthew Barney and Ed Ruscha of course, are also favourites.
Q10 You have been travelling all over the world, do you have any recommendations for our readers to visit?
Australia is high on my list, the natural landscape is so incredible and the people are welcoming and I've made a lot of friends there. Closer to home for me, I love Austria especially the mountainous areas and then also France as you can see from my photography. The romantic Rhine valley here in Germany is also spectacular and worth visiting when you are in Europe.
Michael Werner was born in Hanau, Germany. In 1981 he commenced study in Graphic-Design at SgD Darmstadt under Prof. Müller-Linow, graduating in 1983. During this time his first drawings and paintings were created, strongly influenced by surrealists such as Dali and Magritte. These works have featured in several exhibitions in Germany and elswhere in Europe, including his first solo show at the Museum Hanau, in 1988. In 1995, Michael changed his medium and since then his main focus and passion lay in the field of photography. These works have been shown in many exhibitions in Germany and the USA. The group show, "Das Magische Quadrat", (The Magic Square) which he organized and curated, lead to the awarding of a grant from the Hessische Kulturstiftung (Cultural Art Foundation of the State of Hesse) allowing Michael to work and live in their studio in New York City during the summer months of 2000. In 2003, again in the role of artist, organizer and curator, Michael collaborated with the GCCES-Goethe Center for Central European Studies and the Rice University in Houston/Texas to produce the group show "Hessen to Houston" at the Rice University. In 2004, Michael made his first visit to Australia and in 2005 commenced living and working part time in Sydney while maintaining a studio and home base in Frankfurt, Germany. He is currently continuing work on several evolving series. The artist's works are in several private and public collections, such as the Museum Hanau, Germany and published in many catalogs to the exhibitions.
Houses, buildings, our homes, the nests we create for ourselves: they are like a protective shell and make us feel safe. They are designed in every imaginable shape, fitting every form. We spend most of our time in these boxes both physically and emotionally and even when we leave the world, we leave it in a box. This series is dedicated to our homes, the boxes we live in. Uncoupled from the forces of gravity, floating in weightless space like starships. There is no precise up nor down, no entry, no exit, just a floating object full of mystery and beauty.
This series is about beauty, style and glamour. The perfect sky, a manicured formation of perfectly designed clouds, and the most glamorous and stylish dog you can imagine: the Poodle. The incarnation of artificiality and contrived beauty, with their perfectly groomed cuts, icons in themselves. It is pure pop art with a sense of humor, but also a sincerely loving dedication to this fantastic dog, who is considered to be the most intelligent of all breeds, as well as the most beautiful and glamorous of course!
/ photographer / Interview with Michael Werner on 09.04.2008
