English
"Even when dealing with reality, I try to make it look like fantasy or theater. That's what makes it art for me."
An interview with Andres Serrano by Julie Ault
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JA: You almost invariably use a straight-on, direct point of view compositionally. You also seem to be a purist when it comes to wanting only what you see through the camera to construct the image. You don't use digital enhancement, special effects, and as far as I know, you don't even crop when printing-all cropping takes place through the lens. Do these rules or habits speak of a photographic philosophy you adhere to?
AS: Even though I consider myself a conceptual artist, I am a traditionalist when it comes to photography. I like to use film and shoot straight. No technical gimmicks or special effects. What you see is what I saw when I looked through the camera. If I've dazzled you with lights and colors, it's because I've dazzled you with lights and colors. Ideas are more important than effects. And effects are always better when they're real. In Lori And Dori, for instance, the conjoined sisters are dressed like fairy tale princesses evoking a dreamy and surreal landscape of the mind. But they're real. Other times I have to make things look real, even if they're not. In White Nigger, a man is made Black through make-up, while a child is "hung" with a harness. Ezra Pound once said, "Make it new." I do. And make it real, too. The trick is not so much coming up with ideas, as how to make them work. When I first tried to photograph my ejaculations, for instance, I kept shooting and missing. After about eight times of getting back black film I realized that I needed a motor drive on my camera. I would start shooting film before I felt myself coming, and was able to shoot a roll of film in seconds. Invariably, there would be one shot, and one shot only, of my ejaculate. In Vagina Dentata (Vagina with Teeth) the teeth - they were shark's teeth - kept falling out. I had to keep pushing them in to keep them from coming out. After a while, they stayed in place. When the shoot was over, I tried to get them out, but they were stuck. I then realized that the glue that kept them in place was dried menstrual blood.
JA: I'm also interested in whether or not you identify with any photographic traditions such as documentary, street photography, etc.
AS: In America, I felt I was reporting the news. I was documenting what I saw, starting with September 11th. I was reading the news and watching TV like everyone else. Of course, not everyone sees the same thing, even when they think they do. But I attempted to chronicle a moment in time that stretched into three years. And of course, I did it my way. Without ever really knowing who I would get, or what it would mean. Ultimately, America became a puzzle that fell into place, in very unexpected ways.
Page [1] [2] [3] [4]
Page [1] [2] [3] [4]
JA: You almost invariably use a straight-on, direct point of view compositionally. You also seem to be a purist when it comes to wanting only what you see through the camera to construct the image. You don't use digital enhancement, special effects, and as far as I know, you don't even crop when printing-all cropping takes place through the lens. Do these rules or habits speak of a photographic philosophy you adhere to?
AS: Even though I consider myself a conceptual artist, I am a traditionalist when it comes to photography. I like to use film and shoot straight. No technical gimmicks or special effects. What you see is what I saw when I looked through the camera. If I've dazzled you with lights and colors, it's because I've dazzled you with lights and colors. Ideas are more important than effects. And effects are always better when they're real. In Lori And Dori, for instance, the conjoined sisters are dressed like fairy tale princesses evoking a dreamy and surreal landscape of the mind. But they're real. Other times I have to make things look real, even if they're not. In White Nigger, a man is made Black through make-up, while a child is "hung" with a harness. Ezra Pound once said, "Make it new." I do. And make it real, too. The trick is not so much coming up with ideas, as how to make them work. When I first tried to photograph my ejaculations, for instance, I kept shooting and missing. After about eight times of getting back black film I realized that I needed a motor drive on my camera. I would start shooting film before I felt myself coming, and was able to shoot a roll of film in seconds. Invariably, there would be one shot, and one shot only, of my ejaculate. In Vagina Dentata (Vagina with Teeth) the teeth - they were shark's teeth - kept falling out. I had to keep pushing them in to keep them from coming out. After a while, they stayed in place. When the shoot was over, I tried to get them out, but they were stuck. I then realized that the glue that kept them in place was dried menstrual blood.
JA: I'm also interested in whether or not you identify with any photographic traditions such as documentary, street photography, etc.
AS: In America, I felt I was reporting the news. I was documenting what I saw, starting with September 11th. I was reading the news and watching TV like everyone else. Of course, not everyone sees the same thing, even when they think they do. But I attempted to chronicle a moment in time that stretched into three years. And of course, I did it my way. Without ever really knowing who I would get, or what it would mean. Ultimately, America became a puzzle that fell into place, in very unexpected ways.
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Andres Serrano. America and other Work
Hardcover 11 x 14.5 in., 368 pages
$ 70.00
$ 70.00
A portrait of post 9/11 America(ns)
Ethan Hawke, 2004. (c) A. Serrano