Jennilee Marigomen is a Canadian photographer from Vancouver, Canada. (b. in 1982)
We spent some time with her in NYC during the New York Art book Fair, here is an excerpt from our meeting!

You live in Vancouver, what relationship do you have with this city and the nature that surrounds it?
I have lived in Vancouver all my life. The city is plentiful in elements of nature and is surrounded by many beautiful mountains, beaches, trails, and lakes. Growing up, it was easy to take the accessibility of nature for granted, and I longed to live in a busier city. After travelling as an adult, I learned how lucky I was, which led me to focus on my natural surroundings. When I travel, my aesthetic and sensibilities seem to always say consistent, and my images stay for the most part, natural, calm and introspective.

Themes regarding the study of “everyday urban phenomenon” and the tensions between the natural world and urban intervention are recurrent in your work; is there a link to this location?
A large part of my photography is about the subtleties and displacement within nature and urban environments. Vancouver is a place where there is an ongoing tension between urbanity and natural intervention and vice versa, so you can find many interesting things on the shortest of walks. The slower pace of the city causes me to observe and reflect a lot, especially when I’m walking from one place to another. By being in that mindset, I can pick up on natural subtleties.

Even if light is a basic element in photography, natural light seems to be a huge component of your work; can you tell us more about that? Does Vancouver have a specific light?
I love the ephemeral nature of natural light. Light on its own stands as a beautiful subject, and I love photographing it as is. I do think that Vancouver has a specific quality of light. Because the days can be shorter here, the light is always moving. I am sensitive to the Pacific Northwest’s shorter daylight hours, and working indoors doesn’t help. When the sky is clear and the sun is shining, it feels like a breath of fresh air. I feel revitalized. Many people who live here seem to fall under the same spell. People stop their work for a moment to be in the sun. They go for a hikes, bike rides, and walks, knowing that the probability of weeks of rain is high. In David Horvitz’s book “Everything That Can Happen In A Day”, he presents a project that says “On a day the sky looks especially nice, show your admiration by releasing a balloon with a rose tied to the end of the string up into the clouds.” I guess in a way, my photography is showing an admiration to light.

There is also something very nostalgic in your images, what is your relation to time and the past in general?
That is an interesting question. You are right, I do prefer to take images that are more reminiscent of the past then about the future. It is easy for me to get caught up in thoughts of the past. I have never been one to plan too much ahead, and have always lived “in the moment”. Someone once told me that I see the world through “rose tinted glasses”. Sometimes I can be found alone and content, replaying fond memories in my head. I enjoy the warm safety and absoluteness of the past. I am also interested in where photography comes into play when it comes to recalling old memories. I don’t know too much about my childhood and rely on old photographs. I have one small childhood photo album. Because of this one album, it is hard to distinguish what is actually a memory, and what is a memory of myself looking at the photo as a child and imagining the details of when the photo was taken. Maybe what I remember is a mix of both imaginary and real.

You also collaborate as a photo editor / art director on 01 Magazine, what other photographer works are you looking for and interest you?
Some of my favorite photographers include Wolfgang Tillmans, Jason Fulford, Rinko Kawauchi, Ali Bosworth, Jason Nocito, Luigi Ghirri and Anders Edström. Through 01 Magazine and some slideshow exhibitions I have worked on, I have been lucky enough to work with and make friends with some of them.

You used to work for some clients & brands, how do you consider commissioned work compared to your personal work, does it modify your approach in this type of context?
While doing commissioned work, I try to stay as close to my personal work as possible. I only accept projects that align with my personal work. I have been lucky enough to work with great clients who let me do my own thing creatively. I look to photographers like Anders Edstrom, Jason Fulford, Ye Rin Mok, and Mark Borthwick, and their style and spirit shines through their commissioned work. That is the kind of work I want to make.

There are many events or collectives related to “women in photography” as if it was something specific. How do you consider this being a woman? Do you think it makes a difference?
I think it is great that these groups are about exchanging ideas and facilitating a dialogue amongst women in photography. When it comes to my work though, I personally don’t think about it too much.

You seem to be very present on social media outlets (tumblr, instagram…) and it looks like an everyday practice for you. How do you consider these media, how and why do you use it, what does it bring you?
Tumblr has been a great way to share inspirations. It has been a great way to see what other artists are up, new and old, and it has sometimes led to collaborations. I have been able to categorize my inspirations on tumblr with different blogs.
Happy Accident is where I share most of my inspirations. I started Shooting Gallery a year ago as an archive of videos of photographers working.
For the most part, I am self-taught, and learning about how other photographers work has been invaluable to me. I look at taking photos and sharing them on Instagram as a daily practice. The kind of photography I enjoy the most shows the individual viewpoint, spirit, and sensibility of the person taking the photos. I love it when I can look at a series of photos by someone and can tell that they have a great sense of humor. That is why I really like Instagram – for the most part, the images that come up on my feed are taken in the moment and show glimpses into how people think and what they find interesting. Through that, you can get a sense of people who are likeminded. The subject matter takes precedence over technique and equipment. I really like that honesty. It’s also just a way to share photos when I don’t have my film camera with me.

I remember that you often referred to Chance With Wolves (music blog), what is the place of music in your life and eventually in your work?
Walking is a very important part of my work. When I am walking, I am usually listening to music. That is when I am the most perceptive and in-tune with my surroundings. I’ve mentioned this before in a past interview.. but I remember one day last year when I was walking home from work with my camera. It is normally a 10 minute walk. There was a sweet light coming through the trees. I was in a pensive mindset, the right music was playing in my headphones, and I was taking everything in through my senses. I could hear the sounds of leaves rustling mixed with the camera shutter, the smells, the feeling of the wind on my skin. The stimulation of my senses brings me into a state of awareness that make me aware of the subtleties around me. The normally 10 minute walk lasted hours.
Chances With Wolves is group of wonderful New York based DJ’s, whose whimsical and magical radio show brings something out of me, especially when I am taking photos.

What do you think about fashion, is it something you are interested in, does it inspire you?
Fashion is a constant inspiration, especially when it comes to colour and lines. I studied fashion in university, so it has always been a part of my life.

Can you tell us some words about the diving pictures we used for the Ts collaboration?
The photo was taken on an August afternoon outside of Whistler B.C. Some friends and I had a picnic near a lake, despite the clouds looking dark and heavy. As people started leaving the lake, my friend John Paul spontaneously ran onto the dock and jumped into the water. Out of nowhere, it started hailing biggest balls of hail I have ever seen. The hail was the size of ice cubes! We hid under a small wooden parks board sign while everyone packed up what they could, and ran to our cars.

You were here for the NY Art Book Fair and you looked so excited to be here; what is your relationship to books and publishing in general?
Being in New York during the NYABF felt like a dream. It was great to meet the artists who I’ve been corresponding with for years, or artists who I have admired but have never met. It was also very inspiring seeing years of hard work by these people on display and seeing how they are presented. The pace of the city during the fair is also exciting and inspiring, and it’s great to come home with a fresh outlook.

I really enjoy working on book projects and highly respect it as a medium. I hope to do more in the future.

What about your future projects, any exhibitions or publications?
I have been working on a book with a few Canadian photographers, in collaboration with Tokyo based Twelve Books and Inventory Magazine. It is called “Queen of Tsawwassen”, the name of a ferry that connects Vancouver to Vancouver Island. My boyfriend (an Industrial Designer) and I have been exploring new ways to unite product design and photography. Also, the next issue of 01 Magazine will be out soon.

Conversation with Jennilee Marigomen, New York City 2012. Photography by Études Studio.

Click here to purchase the Jennilee Marigomen © T-shirt by Études

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EtudesBooks@colette#Paris
Exhibition and Book Launch. May 6th to June 1st

Book Launch – May 6th – 6pm/7pm

GOLD COUNTY REAL ESTATE
Bryan Dooley
Études Books N°4

VISTA
Colin Snapp
Études Books N°5

POLITICAL CHAOS
Paul Kooiker
Études Books N°6

colette
213 Rue Saint-Honoré
75001 Paris
www.colette.fr

Facebook event

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Études N°2 . ss 2013

“From light and shadow”

The Spring Summer 2013 collection gains confidence and insight as it explores new proportions through the work of silhouette and volume.  Standard seam lines are shifted, and garment cuts are amplified.  The body slowly disappears behind new shapes and draped fabric. The color range is soft as if it had faded over time, washed out with light. Worked in tonal shades, the colors create and preserve a chromatic harmony.  A seemingly pleasant landscape is revealed, disrupted by dabs of deep and powerful colors. The background canvas of the collection operates through dissimilarities and resistances.  It is the place of expression where patterns duel with solid colors, where fullness deforms the void, and finally, where shadows soothe the light.

A break in the clouds, a multicolored bird.

The images produced around this collection aspire to an undeniable tranquility: the spectrums of light endow a warm feeling of peace and quiet, and the background architecture creates a harmonious pattern of shadow lines. Every element of this tableau encourages a break in time.

We find ourselves nearby a tropical region, with its colors, its energy and its enchanting birdlife. The Scarlet Macaw interferes as man’s alter ego: perched on our shoulder, it brings us back to reality.

Unknown islands, life through super blue-tinted lenses, and sunburns.

The Canadian artist Robin Cameron and Etudes reflected together on the idea of color and pattern, which resulted in an improvised oil pastel print.

This canvas plays freely in the field of abstraction as it puts into motion naïve and raw shapes. It is a spontaneous work of art that evokes movement and cartography. Looking at it attentively, one can perceive an illustrative map of fragmented islands seen from the sky.

Last but not least, the collection gains from its collaboration with artists such as Brea Souders, Estelle Hanania, Ana Kras and Jennilee Marigomen who share one common feature: that of being a woman. Each chosen image invites us to evaluate the importance of light in our everyday life.

Click here to purchase Études N°2 collection

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Ana Kraš was born in Belgrade (Serbia) in 1984.
We had this intimate conversation at her studio in the lower east side NYC where she currently lives. She mostly works on furniture design projects, drawings and photography.

Can you tell us about your background, how was life in Belgrade?
Life in Belgrade was beautiful and very difficult at the same time. My parents had a photocopy shop and I would spend a lot of time there drawing, making paper sculptures and outfits, making custom notebooks for my buddies. There was a lot of paper waste that I could use for playing. I would make confetti too. I made my first magazine when I was 6. It was called Euro Show. Then later, when I was 7 or 8, I made one called Panda. Early childhood was lovely, and then the war started when I was 5 and it went on and on, changing forms, for over 10 years. There were some really ugly times. Everyone was suddenly poor and desperate. There were moments when with the monthly salary you could get only 1 liter of oil, or times when you had to wait in line for hours for a piece of bread. The political situation was very dark. When I was 15, NATO bombed Belgrade for over a month. All those things and much more, ruined the country in a way that I believe is impossible to truly recover from. Values have changed; the only people with money are people involved with politics. So many things are so deeply wrong. I miss Belgrade for so many reasons though. It’s a very special place, very rough and pretty to my eye. Some of the most incredible and talented people I know are from there; they are like secret jewels. Also my family lives there, as well as my best friends, so it’s very cozy and familiar for me to be there. Unfortunately I would never be able to do my work in Belgrade because it’s so poor and anything that is not a necessity cannot exist or grow there.

Jérémie and I came to your new studio in the Lower East Side NYC, can you tell us about New York, what brought you here?
I never planned to live in the USA, it happened as a surprise, I mean, I am truly still surprised that I am here! A few years ago, while I was on a vacation in Los Angeles, I met a man and we decided to stay in the states for some time. Prior to that I was always on the road – travelling a lot, mostly around Europe, and I was getting very tired of that. Then I spent some time in Los Angeles, and now I am in NYC. I am not good at making big decisions; I like to wait for things to happen to me when it’s time. I remember trying to think of where I would want to live, and there was no place that stood out as the right one. I liked many places in different ways so how could I pick one to commit to? I believed that I would end up moving somewhere for love and that’s how it happened at the end. At least it’s the most romantic reason to be somewhere.

You are a multidisciplinary artist, you design objects, you take pictures, you work as a model, can you explain to us how it all works together?
I like working on different projects in parallel. I make furniture and that is the most ‘serious’ and time-consuming part. I sometimes do graphic design and I sometimes draw or paint. I also take photographs. I don’t really work as a model but if someone asks me to do it and it’s paid right of course I say yes! Compared to so many jobs, it’s such easy money. I find it sad in many ways – that job is so overpaid for what it is. To answer your question how it works all together – I don’t know! Sometimes it’s smooth and lovely, and sometimes it’s a hectic disaster – very overwhelming, and I don’t have enough time to give to each of the fields. Also being your own boss is restless and difficult but also the best in certain ways. I never get to put my mind on a real vacation. Knowing what you do I guess you feel a similar way.

What brings you into designing and making objects and furniture, how did you start doing it?
My university introduced me to it, in a way. Growing up, I never really thought of that as a profession. I was never aware that someone’s job could be to make the bed I sleep on and chair I sit on. I really didn’t know that it existed as a profession. Since I was a little kid, I was always drawing and making stuff, and when it was time to pick the university – the university of applied arts was the natural choice. When I discovered the different courses they offered, I decided to try interior design and furniture because it sounded fun and something I never thought of prior to that moment. At first I thought I would switch to illustration or graphic design but then I really got into it and stayed.

You seem to be very attached to “the old side of things”, you build with your hands, you use old film cameras. Do you think the world goes too fast?
I would love for the world to be slower, but that’s not the reason why I make my lamps with my two hands. I do it simply because I feel that teaching someone to do it would take too much energy and this way I am in control from the beginning to the end. But that has to change and I am now learning to relax and hopefully soon some other people will be making bonbon lamps because I don’t have time to make enough. Some other furniture pieces I designed are made by carpenters, but usually in a very old fashioned, simple way. When it comes to photography – I don’t mind digital at all, it’s just not fun for me. I like to not be able to see the image immediately and I like how it becomes a surprise when you finally develop the roll. I also like that there’s a limit, so you don’t take 20 similar photos to pick one.

There is a certain type of light or non-light in your photography, “entre chien et loups” (in french) or at dusk time. This particular moment expresses the limit between the familiar versus the unknown, is it how you would describe it?
Oh I never thought of the light in my photographs! But now hearing you say that makes me think of how I actually love that kind of light. I like bluish dusk much more than sunlight. I am not sure why, maybe I find it more intimate. Even in total darkness when you take a flash photograph, you will capture things you wouldn’t be able to see with your eyes.

Can you tell us about the photography we use for the T-shirt, what’s the story behind it?
The pair of knees and hands belongs to my friend Kris, he was making a barbecue fire in a forest near Belgrade.

In your studio we listened to some very calm solo piano, what is your relation to music or sound?
There’s nothing that can influence the atmosphere such as the choice of music. Imagine two people sitting in a seafront restaurant and eating a grilled fish and then imagine a silent piano playing and then wild techno playing – those two situations suddenly have nothing in common. If I hear a loud fast music in a shop I never come in, nor in a restaurant. I hate eating food to loud restless music that is makes my heartbeat faster. While working, I usually play music with no lyrics because I find it easier to focus that way. It doesn’t have to be piano, but I really love piano solos by Dustin O Halloran, Eric Satie, Akira Kosemura, Hauschka,…

Do you have a lot of books? How do you consider printed matter?
I have been moving between cities and continents quite a lot in the last few years so my books are from all over the place. I love printed books but I don’t like how heavy they are when it comes to moving them. I try to edit my book collection to a few pieces that mean a lot to me, until the day I will settle down and build my own library. It’s always a beautiful sensation to touch a nicely done printed object, but often the content is not very interesting. There are so many books on so many things that are, in my opinion, not interesting enough to be a book topic. When I go to a bookstore, I end up liking many contemporary books because of the way they are made – nice paper, nicely designed, but I so rarely want to own one.

What are the new projects you are working on?
I am working on several new furniture pieces. They are in the process of prototyping and production. I am also making some bonbon lamps and preparing a solo show in NYC. Taking photographs always goes along too. I am also looking for a new apartment to move in (again!) and that’s a full time job! I am slowly furnishing my studio, making it nice, getting plants…

Conversation with Ana Kraš, New York City 2013. Photography by Études Studio.

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Daniel Everett, 32 years old, is an american artist/photographer native from Hudson (Ohio), he now lives in Provo (Utah).
We first discovered his work in 2009 when we published some of his photographs in Bruit de Fond / Background Noise, and we collaborated again with him for the Bartholomew show in 2011. It seemed logical for us to finally publish a book with his own work.
We’re delighted to present you some key elements in order to fully understand his work and to introduce you to his personality throughout this conversation. Enjoy!

What is your background (school, works)?
I received a BFA in photography from Brigham Young University, and then an MFA from the School of The Art Institute of Chicago. I’ve spent time working as an art assistant, graphic designer, missionary, architectural photographer, and digital art archivist. I’m now a professor of new genres at BYU.

Your work draws a thin line between sculpture and photography, you use the words image or sculpture to credit it; how do you link these two mediums?
I make the distinction purposely slippery in my work. When using those labels on the Internet you are simply requesting a certain perception from your viewer, but in my physical work I’m also interested in a similar kind of slippage. I’m interested in how a photograph changes when treated as a sculptural object and likewise, how the understanding of a sculpture changes when reduced to two dimensions.

Overall, in making my art I’m not concerned with finality. One of the advantages of working digitally is the ability to endlessly revisit and revise work without ever having to ultimately commit. So even after something has been publicly exhibited in a particular form, I’m still open to letting it evolve and exist simultaneously in multiple states.

How are they working together in an exhibition space?
In my shows I generally have photography, sculpture, video, and installation elements all interacting. Despite the differences in medium, everything I do comes from the same place conceptually and it makes sense to me to bring them all into dialogue. When preparing an exhibition, I’m constructing a kind of constellation – using the individual pieces as building blocks to organize something new that functions singularly. In that situation I’m very interested in questions of materiality and scale and the reciprocal relationships between pieces.

What are your actual thoughts and feelings concerning the non places, or anonymous spaces you photographed?
I’m still figuring that out. I think once I do, I’ll be done with it as a subject matter. I believe that all worthwhile work comes from a point of ambivalence or struggle on the part of the artist. In regard to why I feel drawn to that type of space, there is something very appealing to me about blandness, order, and the aesthetics of efficiency. Part of me wants to believe wholeheartedly in the promises and ideals of modernism, but I was born too late for that kind of thinking.

It seems that you have travelled a lot, was it mostly for photographic purpose or just for the wish of discovering new lands?
Yeah, I’ve been lucky enough to travel quite a bit as an assistant, and also on my own and with my wife. I don’t know how much traveling actually teaches me about the places I visit, but it helps dislocate me from my own context and allows me to see things from a better perspective. When I travel I do always bring photo equipment, but don’t always end up using it.

Do you consider yourself as an American photographer? Do you think you would be doing a similar type of work if you were living in Paris?
No, I don’t think of myself as an American photographer. In my work I’m trying to escape specificity, including the connotations of any particular location or culture. I would hope I’d be making the same work if I were from Paris, but then again I’m not really sure who I would be if I weren’t me – maybe that feels like an American answer.

You said you believe in utopia, which type of utopia and do you think it’s still possible? Is Art a utopia?
A part of me is drawn to the kind of all-or-nothing thinking that leads to manifestoes and compound-based communities, but I also know how those things always turn out. I think for the time being utopia is a personal thing, and maybe art can facilitate that, but as an institution art sometimes feels like just the opposite.

Looking at your pictures it seems that this world is empty, can you tell us about individuality?
I don’t like photographing people – they are too greedy as subjects. They are too specific. In regard to individuality – it feels in conflict or at least inconvenient from an organizational standpoint, but essential from a human one. I think that’s part of the struggle – wanting to both exist and disappear completely at the same time.

You like to bring digital and post prod elements in your final work, what role do these photoshop effects play?
I get tired of only talking about images in terms of what they depict – I also want to talk about them as actual things, in and of themselves. By retaining certain Photoshop elements in my work I’m seeking for a digital equivalent to a Lucio Fontana cut. I want to explore the materiality of a digital file – while also attempting to disrupt or undermine the content.

In The Ontology of The Photographic Image, Andre Bazin describes how the introduction of photography liberated painting from its need to depict reality. I think photography is finally undergoing the same process via these new technologies.

Your work is obviously digital, how important is printed matter for you?
At times, I feel very hesitant to make physical art objects because of how permanent they seem – I feel a sense of anxiety about having to care for something, or store it, or sell it, or encounter it again once my opinions about it have changed. That said however, I recognize that a print and a JPG are not equivalent. I don’t think one is inherently better, but rather they are different experiences and communicate in different ways – and I’m interested in both forms of communication depending on when they feel most appropriate.

How do you see your art practice evolving?
Lately, I’ve been trying to devote my energy to a few larger scale projects. I have a tendency to move in a number of directions at once and I want to counteract that by consciously slowing down the way I work. For now, I’m working on more sculpturally-based pieces that incorporate elements of photography and a new series of videos.

I also still think about quitting the Internet sometimes.

Click here to purchase the book STANDART EDITION by Daniel Everett – published by Études Books ©

© Daniel Everett for the images

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Nicolas Hosteing, 27 years old, is a French photographer, native from Gond-Pontouvre, a small town in the suburbs of Angoulême (France).He studied Art History in Bordeaux and then photography at the University of Paris 8 in Paris, where he currently lives and works. We’ve been following his work over the last 3 years and published his book MATADOR in September 2012.
We are glad to present you his work process as well as his vision of art and photography throughout this interview.

Matador is made of 3 parts that can be entitled: landscapes, helmet still lives and stunts. It seems that they were shot during different time periods and locations?
Bikes were shot before the landscapes, and helmets last. But in the end I was shooting stunts and landscapes in the same period of time. Helmets is the only part shot in a studio in Paris, for the other pictures, most of them were shot in different places in the south west of France, some of them where shot around Nice and others in the suburbs of Paris.

Each photographer or artist has a different work method, what’s yours?
The basis of my work is the interest for the idea of vanity, of what remains and what goes and what can possibly pass from the individual to civilization. I cross those questions with the traditional kinds of representation such as still life, landscapes and more specific things like the documentary aspect of photography. Then, I create pictures and organize the relations between them. This is why the idea of the work as one set matters a lot. That’s basically the general structure.

Can you explain how you build this body of work?
For Matador I wanted to work on the kind of myth that exists around the idea of the road as relayed by the cinema (let’s mention here as examples Duel by Spielberg, Mad Max by Miller, or Vanishing Point by Sarafian). From that general idea I collected different things: images of all kinds (paintings, photographs, film stills), quotes, objects… I started to become interested in the flowers that mark the places where people have died on the border of a road and to go to all kinds of motor-freak meetings. Here came the stunts. Shooting those pictures, I met a lot of bikers, spotted a lot of places and at the same time did a lot of snapshots. I started building the body of the series by hanging on one wall reference images and snapshots from scouted locations and on another wall images I was shooting for the Matador series.
I was playing around with these cheap prints, trying different image sizes and finding different relations between them. This building process, which implies considering the work as a set, resulted in Matador. It took more or less five years.

Do you consider this work as a series, if yes is this series finished, or would you consider adding some other parts to it?
Yes, it is a series and it’s finished. I made other works around the same topic for the number 41 of the online revue deratisme.com but they were made for that special occasion separately from Matador.

Was the idea of making a book something you had in mind for Matador? What is for you the perfect way of showing your pictures?
As I explained, the way of building the body of my work was to hang pictures on the wall. I was seeing it as an installation but not exclusively. I used this idea as a tool to build the series as a set. In the end the fact that photography offers many ways to broadcast is something that interests me a lot and books are obviously something I have in mind too. Moreover, I am very happy with the book!

For me, your images and especially the landscapes have a typical French feeling, was it something you wanted to convey?
Yes! Even if I’m not attached to the precise location of the work, it was important to have some elements that would give an idea of the location and the period of time in which it took place. This is another way to build links between images from the body of work and images the spectators have in mind. I’m very concerned by those links. You will be able to link things in different ways depending if, for example, you have in mind bike races, 70′s movies, French rap video clips from the 90′s or romantic painting.

The landscapes seem unspectacular, empty places between suburbs and country side, can you tell us more about those places, were you there on “non sunny” Sundays?
Earthworks due to roads modified all those landscapes. I just removed the road by the way I framed them. I saw a lot of very similar earthworks in the suburbs, the parking lots or the commercial area where I shot the stunts and I started to think of them as independent images. They were like a “décor”; something made to look like something it’s not. They always have something that reveals they’re not all natural: sometimes it’s a line too straight or a strange relief. I am interested in them for two reasons: they present an ambiguous relationship between waste and built-land and their topography and land shapes are fully mastered for a specific purpose, to develop the flow of traffic.
At the same time, they can be useless and have no designated function like for example a garden, park, or sports field … but they are still the scene of something, things are happening.

Between “the city” or “the countryside” which one inspires you the most?
I grew up in a suburb of a small town, in those places there is no city and no countryside. A Nike Air covered with mud, this is what inspires me the most.

I know you lived a time in Bordeaux and I always felt that there was a rich artistic scene emerging in this city. What do you think of this?
“Everything’s dirtier in the south”.

In relation to the text by Julien Perez*, I am curious to know how important is cinema, or moving images for you?
Cinema is looking at the world through the same dispositive as photography but their possibilities of building our perception of it are different. Basically cinema uses stories and different narrative elements to dig into the meaning of things when photography takes an image in the flow of reality and turns it into something like an object. From that point, some elements from movie making like mounting, traveling or rhythm are really important in my work. On another point, I am also concerned by the cultural background cinema represents as a source for stereotypical images. I talked earlier about wanting a French feeling in the landscapes, but I also thought about Westerns. It’s interesting that an image can bring a feeling of closeness while also having elements of somewhere else. This kind of impression allows the images to be linked to others.

Is that why Matador has its own narrative story?
It’s not the purpose but there is still that title and some explicit images. When you have images then a story is always possible I guess; maybe more under the form of a fictional interpretation than a proper narrative or dramatic story.

What would be the sound of smoke?
Silence.

How do you consider words or texts regarding photography?
To me photography is a propellant and text, when it’s linked to it, has to light the wick. I don’t like it much when the text talks properly of the pictures, when it’s a comment on them or when images are illustrating it. A text that goes with a photographic work has to take the same direction without facing or digging it.

You told me that you are working on a new series about hydroponics agriculture; could you tell us more about it?
For a while I worked on a set that I’ve called still life. Some parts of it are images about hydroponic culture and also a few landscapes. It is almost finished and an extract will eventually be presented in a small show in a few months. As it’s not all set for the moment I prefer not to tell much more about it.

Your series Hauka is about fashion counterfeits, what is your relation to fashion and what do you want to reveal through this series?
Hauka is a reference to the documentary The Mad Master by Jean Rouch. It takes place in Ghana which was an English colony in the middle of the 50′s and talks about the sects of the Haukas. During the rites of that sect, the members embody via trances figures from the colony such as the captain’s wife, the train driver or the governor. What amazed me at first in those counterfeits was the contrast between the obviously cheap quality of the scarves and shawls and the luxury brand names on it. This contrast turns the objects into some kind of strange totem. They show the fascination that people have for the idea of glamour, prestige, and exclusivity which is linked to the brand names by a strong long-term work on image. Those elements also mean economic power. So those counterfeit scarves and shawls are a desperate cheap projection in that world, the sign of somebody wanting to be someone else through the rules of another world: a big fiction. The link I’m making between the Haukas and my totemical counterfeits is the strange way to belong to a circle you’re out of anyway. It’s not really about fashion but more about luxury and the social and economic success each sign represents. I must say I am fascinated by the magnetic power of those signs.

Something to add?
I already have some pictures of hydroponics culture but for strange reasons not every home-gardener is okay to let me shoot their installation; I need 2 or 3 more. If somebody who reads this has an idea to help me find those 2 or 3 missing locker-gardens: don’t hesitate to contact me. And nothing in the pictures will be identifying; I swear.

Click here to purchase the book MATADOR by Nicolas Hosteing – published by Études Books ©

*The text by Julien Perez comes has a pamphlet inserted in MATADOR book.

© Nicolas Hosteing for the images

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SUPER by Études Studio

ÉTUDES has joined creative forces with SUPER (founded in 2007 by the folks behind PIG MAG) on an exclusive, limited editionpair of sunglasses specifically tailored to fit with the concept and lifestyle of the two brands. 

SUPER sunglasses are made to the highest possible standards, hand made in Italy by the best manufacturers and with the best materials. Their beloved Panama silhouette is reinterpreted in the contemporary ÉTUDES style, perfectly in sync with our classic, directional menswear line. Taking a nod from the ÉTUDES signature blue, this limited-edition Panama model has been produced in a ton sur ton deep cobalt blue, from the crystal acetate frame, to the top-notch Carl Zeiss lens, right down to the collectible box and authentic Italian leather case.

The bridge of the sunglasses features a geometric inscription of the ÉTUDES “E”, while the arms feature a delicate ÉTUDES inscription.

This bold, exclusive model is available in a limited number of pieces in select stores and online.

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Can you quickly introduce yourself?
My name is Robin Cameron. I was born in Canada and now I’m an artist living in New York City.

Looking at your work, it is relevant to note the different techniques you use, can you tell us about your approach to these different mediums and why you are not focused around a particular one?
My approach to the work begins with a specific idea and then that idea lends itself to the form. Part of what I’m trying to reconcile in my work is both the conceptual and the visual. I get bored easily and find by experimenting with new mediums I am always surprising myself.

The first time I saw your oil stick drawing was at the show in Redhook (Brooklyn) that portrayed the relation between Canada and NYC, can you give me some words about the Canadian’s in NYC?
That show was called 160km because most Canadians live 160km from the US border. It was an opportunity for a group of Canadian friends that are all artists to put together a show. There’s this kinship or magnetic quality in New York City where even if we don’t know each other back home in Canada we end up hanging around together here.

Can you talk about the mood you were in when you created the oil stick drawing, what were your feelings?
The oil stick drawings started when I was at a residency in Banff, Alberta. I had this large studio and a big table to work from. I had never worked on a drawing standing up so the first ones were based on the idea of walking while drawing. They are sort of a way to turn off the more analytical parts of my practice and just work with materials. I realized later that the drawings end up looking like what someone would think is art from the 1950s—almost like a parody.

We also met at conferences organized by David Senior (MoMa library) focused around art books and printed matter, how do feel regarding making books nowadays?
Yes I remember when you were doing JSBJ. I made zines when I was in school sort of casually with friends and then when I moved to New York I got more involved with the bookstore Printed Matter. The energy was open and friendly in the store, there is a great community around it. So I think David saw some of my zines and bought them for the library. I always felt that books were a way to have a show without a gallery. Also books were a way of focussing my practice by containing it in one object. Now I am attempting to turn my exhibitions into books where the installation is made up of book pages next to objects.

You seem interested in graphic design and typography as well, I am particularly thinking of the “grid sculpture” that has for reference Jan Tschichold’s work; how do you consider graphic design, is it part of your art practice or do you see it more as a commercial skill?
I think of design as a tool to communicate. Jan Tschichold used a lot of grids that were proportional in his work. I began making metal sculptures of these grids that would be typically unseen. I thought the underlying structure was beautiful. I have been working with a typesetter who hand letterpresses the book pages in the exhibitions, I think this kind of work is also important. Everything we interact with has been designed in some way.

The pictures we shot are from your solo show at Room East gallery, can you give us some words regarding the concept behind it?
The title of the show is “P-R-O-C-E-S-S-E-S”. These works all articulate a particular aspect of creative process. One of the works is a replica of a large shelving unit from the 1960s that is of modern danish design. I discovered an image of the bookshelf on ebay and instead of purchasing the shelf I decided to learn how to make it. With some assistance I went through the steps of building something that I had only seen in a photograph. For me the piece isn’t about the object on the wall but the learning process that I went through to produce it. In this sense it’s a non-ready-made—ready-made.

Another work in the exhibition is a borrowed non-reversing mirror from a mathematician R. Andrew Hicks from Philadelphia. Hicks has come up with an algorithm that creates a non-reversing mirror. He has experience in working with robotics and photography and is now working on a project to create a rearview mirror with no blind spot. I came across his work while researching for the show and became fascinated. What steps does someone go through to create a mirror of this kind? I spoke with Andrew at length about his process and included a paragraph about how the mirror was created as well as text that shows the mirrors properties. 

Can you tell us some words about the “meteorite” performance?
Sure, the piece is called “Heavy Heart” and it was performed at the book fair and my thesis exhibition. I found a meteorite that is the same weight as a human heart. The performance is the act of passing the meteorite and explaining the story. I wanted the work to feel like the moment someone telling you bad news and your heart sinks in your chest.

Can you tell me something you know is absolutely true?
Yves Klein agreed in 1962 to film the Documentary Mondo Cane. He thought that the film would raise his profile and art career. He was mistaken. The artist was so publicly humiliated that at the Cannes Premiere he had a heart attack.

Are you able to lie to someone?
No, I’m not a very good liar.

Do you like to travel?
I think I prefer coming home more than traveling.

I know you were obsessed with the French actor Jean Pierre Léaud, what can you tell us about him?
I worked on a project where I took stills from all the movies that Léaud had starred in and made a slideshow of these images. The slideshow was arranged in chronological order and began in 1959 with “The 400 Blows” and continued on to his more recent films. I wanted to figure out who was real—the characters that he played or the actor himself. I think this grew out of having a crush on him from all the french new wave films.

Your work involves text and writing, how important is it for you and can you tell us about a short story?
Most of my work begins with writing. I usually start with words and then move on to images. I’ve been working on some short stories that explained some of the works in the show at Room East. These were published in conjunction with the show.

What’s next for you?
I’m working on a two person show with Sebastian Black that will open in April at the gallery Bodega in Philadelphia.

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Études N°3 Launch@LENEWBLACK, Paris

Live performance by PEREZ (Dirty, Paris)

Installation by  Études Studio in collaboration with Pia Howell and Jeremy Liebman

Many Thanks to LENEWBLACK, DIRTY, NOVEMBRE MAGAZINE

More Pictures 

Event pictures by Luca Massaro

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Can you quickly introduce yourself?
My name is Christian Patterson. I’m an artist living and working in New York City.

Let’s talk about your most recent work Redhead Peckerwood. Your idea was to create a project that would be shown at first as a book, can you tell us why books offer more than any other mediums?
Redheaded Peckerwood has a strong underlying narrative that I knew would work very well in book form. But I always imagined the work as both a book and exhibition, and I wanted to utilize the unique qualities of each of those methods of presentation in a special, very specific way.

I decided to make the book first. The process of making the book helped me to fully realize the complete body of work and share it widely before mounting any exhibitions. Through the process of making the book, I learned the work inside out, and it has made the installations a piece of cake.

The book is a great way to present this work. You hold the book in your hands. It’s a bit smaller than the average photography book and feels good in your hands. You touch the pages and the inserts. You have to touch the inserts, fold them back or unfold them. They rest atop and partially obscure other images printed on the pages of the book. You have to interact with the book, and I think this makes the experience of the book more intimate and immersive.

You told me about the movie Badlands, which is also related to the story of the couple Caril Ann Fugate & Charles Starkweather. If it is the case, can you tell us how it has influenced you in your work for your own project?
As I made this work, I allowed my ideas to come to me from almost anywhere, as long as they related in some way to some version of the story — even if it was a version that only existed in my own head. The ideas could be based on reported facts from books, newspapers, interviews or court transcripts; from highly interpretive literary or cinematic accounts like Badlands, or based purely on my own imagination, which of course was completely interpretive. I think my work has more mythical or atmospheric meaning rather than any real basis in known fact. Badlands was my starting point but it ultimately ended up being just one of many, many different sources of inspiration.

The use of words, and hand painted letters is very relevant in your work, where does this come from?
I’ve always loved the playful side of language, or “word play” — double entendres, homophones, jokes and puns. I treasure my Dictionary of American Slang. It’s full of dirty words for dirty things.

I’ve also always loved artists who heavily featured letters, words and phrases in their work — starting of course with Ed Ruscha, but also including Tauba Auerbach, Mel Bochner, Bruce Naumann, Richard Prince and Christopher Wool, to name a few.

And I’ve also long been fond of hand-painted signs. When I lived in Memphis and worked with the Egglestons, I sort of inherited their interest in collecting old signs. They had acquired that interest from William Christenberry, and Christenberry had acquired it from Walker Evans. That’s quite a lineage of sign-loving photographers, huh? I’ve “liberated” a number of old hand-painted signs on my travels through the South. I’ve pulled commercial signs off old, abandoned buildings and religious signs off trees on the sides of country roads. I still love finding old signs but now that I’ve started making signs myself. That might become a periodic element in my work (see, there’s a little double-meaning word play — “periodic element”).

Shooting gun or shooting photography, what are the common points between these two notions and what about seeking “new targets” for both elements?
Now this is a conversation rich with analogies and double meanings. According to some quick research, the term “snapshot” was a hunting term in the early 1800s; it referred to a quick shot with a gun, taken without aim, at a fast-moving target. It wasn’t used as a photographic term until about 100 years later, soon after the debut of the Kodak Brownie and the casual, widespread use of handheld cameras. But in photography, there are so many analogies and shared terms. Ready? Aim…fire…shoot.

Run a Google image search of “camera gun.” There’s some crazy stuff out there.

Do you make lists? Things to do, things to look for, things to forget?
Yes, I make lists every day. It’s the only way I can remember anything. I’ve never thought about making a list of things to forget; I’ve heard of people writing down something they want to forget and burning it. I personally think this would have the reverse effect. But still, a list of things to forget is a pretty great idea. I might have to start one.

What is your relation to time?
I’m interested in the effects of time — memory, nostalgia, wistfulness, sentimentality and regret, to name a few. And in my work thus far I’ve often strived to make timeless images. I don’t mean that in an arrogant or self-aggrandizing way; perhaps “time-neutral” is a more appropriate term, but I like “timeless.” What I mean is that I sometimes strive to make images that bear relatively little evidence of the time in which they were made. I enjoy looking at other images that involve some sense of nostalgia; I’m just not sure if I want my own work to have too much of that feeling. I’d rather span time.

The artwork we picked for our T-shirt collaboration is issued from Redhead Peckerwood, can you tell us the inside story about those cowboy boots?
If you look closely at a few of the other images in the Redheaded Peckerwood book you’ll figure it out. It’s better that way. All I can say is that they’re the real deal.

How do you consider objects, older versus currentobjects, what is one of your favorite objects you remember having when you were a kid?
My father and I are both musicians — guitar players — and when I was just beginning to find my own way with music, my dad had a really nice collection of vintage guitars and he gave one to me — a 1964 Fender Stratocaster. I wish I still had that guitar.

When I was in your studio you were listening to Radio Nostalgie, do you like French old songs?
Oui oui. I don’t know anything about older French pop music but I love listening to Radio Nostalgie. It’s a great mix of classic American and French music. I highly recommend it.

You are not a designer however you designed your book, you’re not a typographer nevertheless you designed the fonts that were used for some of your signs, is there something you’re not and you would like to be?
There are so many things. I’d love to be a better drummer, or a really good pianist.

Your work is definitively related to America, what would you like to change in America at this point?
There are too many things to list. I’m actually really down on America right now. But that’s the strange beauty of America. In theory, we can change it.

You’ve worked closely with William Eggleston, what did you learn from him?
Everything that I learned from Bill that applies to photography I learned by looking at his pictures. Beyond that, I think I just learned to be myself. He’s an amazing artist. He does everything in his own way. And he doesn’t really like to discuss his work or his process. We spent most of our time together talking about other things — Memphis, Mississippi and music, or anything else other than photography, really.

One of your previous book is entitled Sound Affects, was a sound or music to listen to while looking at the work/book, what would it be?
I actually have a soundtrack for the book consisting of vintage Memphis rock, soul and weird music. Much of it was in a vintage jukebox I included in the first installation of the work back in Memphis. Visitors to the exhibition were invited to play whatever songs they liked while they viewed the work. It was my own Radio Nostalgie.

Your work balances between different time periods, what about your future projects?
I can’t say too much about my future projects — they feel like the distant future right now. I do think that some of them will somehow involve different time periods. I’m interested in time, among other things — the passing of time, its effects and even the confusion of time in my work. But in addition to all that, I think it’s essential to insert myself and make my own kind of work, in a contemporary way.

Conversation with Christian Patterson, Brooklyn  2012. Photography by Études Studio.

Click here to purchase the Christian Patterson © T-shirt by Études

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Can you quickly introduce yourself and how did you meet each other?
We are Brendan Baker & Daniel Evans. We’ve been working together for a couple of years now, since producing our first collaborative project whilst at university. We both currently live and work in London.

You work most of the time together, whether it is for your personal projects or your commissioned jobs, can you describe your collaborative process?
It’s kind of difficult to describe our process, it’s just quite natural. We’ll latch onto something and just run with it. Of course, it generally depends on what it is we are working on or the sort of outcome we have in mind.  For example, with Sleeping Through an Earthquake, we each carried a couple of cameras and then the collaboration predominantly came in the edit.

In other instances, we will both devise a concept and approach for a shoot. During this process we’re constantly bouncing ideas off each other in regards to everything. From set design and colour palette, to props and lighting, as well as how we want to interact with the subject.

Objects, or composition of objects are often the subject of your pictures, could you tell me more about the possibilities and limits of sculpture and photography?
Objects are useful when isolated in the still image. They’re powerful signifiers and connotation tools. The objects we use are generally familiar in their look or feel, but they are incorporated in an often surreal way which means they become kind of unsettling. This in turn calls the legitimacy of the photograph into question, negating any real solid context. 

In some series, you introduce portraits; how do you consider portraits in your work?
Initially, we avoided the standard portrait format in our work, instead opting to only show glimpses of the human figure with them never really fully engaged with the camera.

It’s only really in the last few months that we’ve begun to open up to the possibilities of the portrait. This is in part due to being given more portrait-oriented commissions but also down to a desire to apply our way of working to another aspect of image making.

Some of your series are kind of dramatic, like if something important has just happened, or is about to happen, can you explain?
Often images in our work have some sort of story behind them that we try to allude to. So implying a sense of drama adds narrative weight and makes the image more palpable.

The artwork we picked for the t-shirt collaboration is issued from a series called Moronic, could you tell me more about the choice of this particular title?
The title Moronic is clipped from the term ‘oxymoron’, a figure of speech upon which the series is based. An oxymoron is essentially an impossibility, a paradox almost. We selected a list of oxymorons that we found particularly interesting for various reasons and set out to try and create them. The idea behind the series is to bring in to question the ‘nowhere space’ that can sometimes exist between text and image. 

You use both color and black&white in your pictures are you more confident with a specific result?
Not really, it pretty much depends on what we’re doing and how we react to it. For example, a lot of the research that informed Moronic was B&W, so we both felt it right that we should work that way, it suited our purpose. But then with Sleeping Through an Earthquake, we mixed it up with both. We were each carrying a couple of cameras on this trip to India, one loaded with colour and the other with B&W. Which one we used depended on what we were doing or where we were.  

It seems that you’ve been shooting more fashion pictures lately, fashion week, or fashion shoot, how do you approach it?
The fashion side of things is pretty new for us. But we try to approach it in the same sort of way as our other work, looking for the odd or the abstract. It’s about looking for the simplicity and making it resonate.

What’s next for both of you guys?
Survive the apocalypse and don’t stop.

Conversation with Daniel Evans and Brendan Baker, London 2012.

Photography by Daniel Evans and Brendan Baker, portrait by Études Studio.

Click here to purchase the Daniel Evans and Brendan Baker © T-shirt by Études

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Can you quickly introduce yourself?
My name is Nicolas Poillot, I work in the field of photography and publication. I’m based in Paris.

Your photography work deals a lot with broken objects or abandoned places, how do you consider those elements and their importance in your work? Do you look for them or do they come to you?
As you said, my work deals a lot with broken objects and abandoned things, although I think that I can’t summarize it as such. Basically I take pictures of things that touch me, no real ideas behind it. It ‘s during the editing that I try to bring homogeneity and make sense with images. Obviously there are redundant subjects in my work. To return to the question, this is certainly related to finding something “beautiful & aesthetic” in opposition to what you have been taught or conditioned to. I think that I like things that can be described as “anomalies”. I don’t think this is a revolutionary theme in the world of photography but I just try to treat it my way, and give another dimension to it. I like to find, in my daily life, things that may seem trivial and draw some attention to it.

And finally I don’t know if I look for them or if they come to me, it’s above all an encounter.

You also work as a photo editor for Etudes Books and for other magazines? What type of photography are you particularly looking for these days?
As all, photography has its trends and it could be “difficult” to escape from them, even though you have your own sensitivities.

I don’t know if I search for a particular type of photography, but just something that will touch, surprise or amaze me, and that I have not already seen a thousand times. As in many mediums such as – painting, illustration, film or music – influences and inspirations are working bases for everyone. Once assimilated, it is necessary to digest it and forge your own identity with it. For example, we are very pleased and proud, in a way, to have published the work of Nicolas Hosteing through ETUDES Books. There is something very cool in his work, something amazing and offbeat. I think Nicolas has very instinctive work and MATADOR series has something shifted, in light of what we can see today in the world of publishing and photography. In my opinion, the photos of landscapes in his book are just incredible.

It’s also very interesting to work for other magazines. In this case my work may be different than what I do with ETUDES Books. These are other sensitivities and it’s interesting to be able to adapt to it, while reaching to bring something personal, despite some obvious constraints.

You like to collect books, can you give us a list of a couple of books that touched you this past year?
I don’t know if I collect books as a collector may have an obsessive relationship with it, but it is true that I like it and I have a certain amount. Although these books are not all released in 2012, here is a selection of books that have caught my attention this year:

- “A Living Man Declared Dead and Other Chapters” by Taryn Simon ( published by Gagosian Gallery )
– “A pocket companion to books from the Simpsons, in alphabetical orders” by Olivier Lebrun ( published by Rollo Press)
– “Domestic Sculpture Garden / Site of Desire” by Michael Strasser ( published by Fotohof Editions )
– “Loch im Spiegel” by Lutz / Guggisberg ( published by Editions Patrick Frey )
– “Matador” by Nicolas Hosteing ( published by Etudes Books )
– “Out to Lunch” by Ari Marcopoulos ( published by PPP Editions )
– “Strude” by Trine Sondergaard ( published by Museum Kunst Der Westküste)
– “Summertime” by Mark Steinmetz ( published by Nazraeli Press )

Your images of the “floating tire” comes from a trip you did in the US, can you tell us more about your trip?
The image of the ” floating tire” was taken in Detroit in may 2011, during a trip I made with my girlfriend Maud.

We just did a road trip loop from NYC with the following stops : New York, Vermont, Québec, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania.There is not much more to say, except that it was a very pleasant trip… I saw things that changed from my daily life and inspired me, and it was also important for me to share this with the person that is part of my life.

You are actually working on a book, with some images from that travel, can you tell us what the book is about?
Yes, indeed I am working on a book that will be published by Shelter Press for early 2013.

This book will be made with pictures of this trip, but not only. This is an editing of many of my images (already published or not) over the last 2 years. It will be called UTO PIA, in reference to a scene that I lived in Detroit during a trip.

I also like the notion of utopia, the stories, and the ideas it conveys. More specifically utopia is a literary genre which is close to the travelogue but whose concept is of imaginary societies, and I think this definition pretty much sums up the content of the work shown in this book. That said, once again, everyone can interpret images in their own way.

Finally I’m also happy to work with close friends on this project.

You are living in Paris, is Paris Magic?
” Ici c’est Paris ! “

I know you are into French Rap from the mid 90′s to early 2000, what about it?
It’s above all a joke between friends, I think….In fact I’m the only one still listening to French Rap nowadays. Even if I don’t listen to it exclusively, fortunately! I listened to a lot of French Rap during my teenage years and I feel affection for the period from mid 90′s to early 2000, you’re right. I think it was the golden age of French Rap. At that time France was the second rap producer in the world after the USA, which seemed unreal given the size difference of these two countries ! There was a real dynamic and a real freshness. Now all that has changed or maybe I am the one who has changed?

In short, all of this is obviously related to a certain nostalgia.

What are you working on now, what’s next?
First of all I would like to finish my book, which will be an achievement.
Also work on other personal projects and I hope to continue to publish books that simply excite me.

Conversation with Nicolas Poillot, Riga, Liege 2012. Photography by Études Studio.

Click here to purchase the Nicolas Poillot © T-shirt by Études

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Can you quickly introduce yourself?
My Name is Thomas Hauser, born in 1961. I´m an artist living in Berlin. I studied painting from 1982 to 1987. In 1988 I moved to Berlin worked as a painter and carried out some site specific art projects. In 2004 I switched to photography and I´m stuck with it since then.

Can you talk about your painting , and how it has evolved to the point where you are now focused in photography?
From the beginning I worked as a representational painter. My work was very much influenced by American post war artists like Warhol, Lichtenstein but also abstract painters like Frank Stella, Ad Reinhardt, Elsworth Kelly.
On the European side I got inspired by painters like Max Beckmann, Balthus, Ernst Wilhelm Nay.
It was pretty tough for me to get these influences together and find my own thing. When I discovered the influence of photography on painting (Richter, Polke, US-American photorealism) I started using magazine pages, ripped out of fashion magazines as a starting point for my own works. In 1995 I used a computer to make sketches for paintings for the first time. I scanned the found materials from magazines and created templates for big canvases in the kind of “painting by numbers games” for kids or hobby-painters. The next step was to use downloaded images from websites (mostly nude pictures from amateur sex- and pornsites). In 2003 I really felt uncomfortable to use other peoples images. Also the whole appropriation art movement became suspicious to me. My idea was to photograph my own images and use them for my paintings. To make it short: I took my first own images of a girl and from the beginning I didn´t feel the need to transform them into paintings anymore. It looked totally alright to me. I also got rid of the whole “influenced by, inspired by, looks like – discussion”. I used a medium I didn´t know much about – historical wise as well as technical wise. I even didn´t feel like an artist anymore. I felt really free.

Your photography is oragnised throughout series, how do you consider the concept of  a series?
I actually don´t see my work divided in series. It implies a beginning and an end. In the case of my portraits I have to give the whole project a structure (because there are already so many). In the first place this structure results from the chronological order of the photos. In the second place it results in the formal difference to the photos I did before. I like to see my portrait work as an archive. Each series is similar to a folder (or a shelf) in a big archive. And over the years it becomes bigger and bigger. I don´t have the feeling at the moment I will get tired to continue with it. The imagination of shooting portraits of girls (or flower still lives) for the rest of my life seems pretty attractive to me.
Even “Rauch/Smoke” is not finished, even if I haven´t worked on it for the last 4 years. Its all ongoing.

Can you tell us a little about how you went from a regular digital compact camera to a view camera?
Technically speaking, I have developed backwards. My first camera was a Nikon coolpix 5000. For vacations I bought my first 35mm filmcamera ( a tiny Ricoh GR). I was impressed of the quality of the scans that came out of the negatives. But I even like more the idea to have a real object where the information is stored in. I can´t explain that very well. I also like the fact that I have the possibility to work completely analog but also can digitalize it. I jumped up to medium film format and since 2008 I almost only use a 4×5 inch view camera. Now I am seriously thinking to purchase a 8×10. I love contact prints. Since 2 years I share a b/w-lab with 3 other artist and print everything on gelatin silver papers. I think for b/w it’s the only way. I can´t stand to convert digital color files into b/w.
But who knows – lately I started again with some experiments using a digital camera and a smart phone. I haven´t found the real tool so far. Cameras are truly something special. They seem to have their own life and speak to you.

You have done works with women, what is your relationship with your models, and what is the link between “November 2pm” and “Kuenstlerinnen” ?
Strictly speaking both “series” are one and the same thing (see above what I wrote about series). November 2 PM is the result of photographing girls over a period of 2 years. Kuenstlerinnen followed 1.5 years later. But I was photographing portraits all the time. The more interesting point would be to ask for the differences.
I find my models through announcements on a website. I don´t ask for photos or do castings. Everybody who applies gets a shooting which usually lasts 2 hours – that’s it. Sometimes I ask for a 2nd or 3rd sitting. In one case I photographed a girl for over 2 years. I´m not very interested in the person I photograph. I only want to get a certain image, a certain expression, a certain mood. The mood is the main thing. With some models it works wordless with others it is a real fight. I´m often surprised myself of how much I see the model as an object. Not in a bad way, but as soon as I´m under my darkcloth I don´t see an individual anymore. I see forms and colors and values and my only desire is to put that into one great image – one great moment – one great feel.

What expresses the neutrality of your pictures; grey wall, white wood chair, natural light, and the use of Black and White film?
Well, your question is already the answer – its about neutrality. My setting is simple.
I have 2 different backdrops. A dark grey one and a black one. Maybe 5 different chairs. And the natural daylight that comes through my studio windows. It’s staged but not too much. It’s natural but not too much. It’s somewhere in between all kinds of portrait setting you have ever seen. I also use color, but each time I compare two portraits I go for the b/w image. It’s maybe the neutrality that comes from b/w – the little difference in perception of time?
I don´t know – I like color very much but maybe I´m not yet good enough with it?

You told me you about your early morning walks in the empty streets of Berlin, what do you feel in those particular moments?
My early morning walks are actually Sunday morning walks. On Sundays cities change to a certain degree. The sound is different, there are almost no people on the streets and traffic is low. I can´t force the city to change to the point where I like to have it. I can´t give a city a form – like I can manipulate a model or a still life. But I have to find the moments and places when the city is nearly in a mood where it becomes close to what I´m looking for. It’s pretty much like shooting a portrait or a still life. But it’s much more difficult. I´m learning ….

Conversation with Thomas Hauser, Berlin, July 2012. Photography by Études Studio.

Click here to purchase the Thomas Hauser © T-shirt by Études

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Études N°1 or the beginning of a new form

The Etudes N°1 collection is a fresh start which combines experimentation and timelessness.
Taking inspiration from the classic men’s wardrobe, it plays spontaneously with details, colors and materials. The collection was created as a patchwork of different influences, both traditional and contemporary, opposing soft autumn tones to bright and contrasted colors; natural materials with classic or abstract patterns. Without confusing simplicity and easiness, Études reminds us that uniqueness can unfold in a single detail.

Click here to purchase Études N°1 collection

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CHUTE LIBRE
Aurélien Arbet – Jérémie Egry
08. 09. 12 – 27. 10. 12

NÉON
41 rue burdeau – 69001 Lyon

“Attitude”

Size : 43 x 47 in (110 x 120 cm)
4×4 car door and adhesives letters
2012

“99¢”

Size : 4 in (10 cm)
Pile of 99 coins of 1 cents
2012

“Chute Libre”

Size : 8 x 12 in (20 x 30 cm)
Print : Digital print mounted on aluminum and aluminum brace
Edition of 5 + 2 AP
2011

“Only Air”

Size : 27,5 x 40 in (70 x 100 cm)
Digital print and sport shoes
Edition of 3
2011

“Le Témoin”

Size : 39 x 47 in (120 x 100 cm)
Fake white brick walls on wheels
2012

“New Man”

Size : Large
Man shirt and 365 cigarette holes
2012

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Can you quickly introduce yourself?
My name is Travess Smalley. I am an artist living and working in New York City. 

Can you tell us a little more about your work, how you’ve evolved from photography, to collages, to digital print, to object and sculpture, how experimenting and using various mediums is important for you?
My art practice is a continual experimentation across mediums. My projects start out as undefined experiments that slowly take the form of images, videos, websites, or objects. Often I will make multiple versions of an experiment and pick the best one later. I enjoy the creative flow between mediums. I move through photography, sculpture, and computer graphics in a given studio session. 

Let’s talk about your book Capture Physical Presence *, what is the concept and technique used behind the work and how was it important to self publish it?
Capture Physical Presence is a book of collages that document the summer months of 2011 in my studio. I was working a lot with computer graphic printouts and various papers to make collages that I would scan back in to the computer. I was exploring color and learning how to create new textures. With a lot of the work from the book I was trying to create new dot patterns and new pixel patterns that have never been seen before. I want people to look at the images and be unsure about their origin. The book is about the blurring of digital and physical edges.

Self-publishing was more a matter of circumstance than choice. It wasn’t important that I publish the book myself. It was important to get these collages out in a printed form. I am very pleased with the finished product even though there were only 50 copies made. Luckily this year NP Contemporary Arts, a project space in downtown Manhattan, released a second edition. I’m thrilled that more people will be able to own the collages.

The book deals mostly with collages and digital prints? What do you feel when you see your artwork printed on fabric more specifically as a shirt?
I think the transition of my work from flat image to wearable textile is beautiful. I think my involvement with color and composition has a large overlap with what’s happening in textiles. I’ve always been influenced by the tenets of textile design even though I could never follow them without losing interest. Textiles are a way of giving three dimensional life to images, like some sort of optical sculpture puzzle.

You live and work in Jersey city, what is specific there and what do you like and hate about it? 
It’s dull in a really good way. It’s in the shadow of Manhattan’s Financial District. My housing is cheap and my studio is much larger, better stocked, cheaper, and less crowded than my old loft in Bushwick. The streets are quiet. I have some amazing Sichuan food a block away. Great tacos, too. That being said, when people ask where I live and work I usually just say New York City. I’m a bit tired of explaining Jersey City, geographically, to the unfamiliar haha.

You usually use abstracts tools such as new media, internet, scans, retouching… when i came to your studio you were actually making concrete things with your own hands, where do you position yourself between these different tools?
My digital studio practice is the yen, the physical studio practice is the yang. Basically the tools are everywhere and I am the conduit. I find that my work is freshest when I am moving between fields and mediums on a regular basis. My vases inform my photoshop files and vice versa. 

What can you tell us about the combination of flowers and vases?
Yeah. I have been making vases for a few years now. They have been a way for me to explore painting and sculptural forms. I spent years exploring drawing and how I related to it. Now I’m trying to understand how to create three dimensional objects.

If the word color was a sound or a noise or a song, what would it sound like?
I think color is analogous to sound. There are as many shades and hues as there are noises and melodies. But, if I had to give the word “color” a sound it would be “Crazy On You” by Heart. 

What are you working on now, what’s next?
In October: A solo presentation at Envoy Enterprises, a two person exhibition with Laura Aldridge at SWG3 in Glasgow and group shows at Favorite Goods in LA and Cell Project Space in London. I currently have works up in manhattan at two galleries. I debuted some new dual layer acrylic prints at Pablo’s Birthday as part of “Bright Lights After Armageddon” curated by Mark Brown. I also have some photographs being exhibited at Klaus Von Nichtssagend Gallery in the Lower East Side.

*from where was taken the artwork we printed for Etudes N°1 collection

Conversation with Travess Smaley, New Jersey, July 2012.f Photography by Études Studio.

Click here to purchase the Travess Smalley© shirt by Études

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Études presents some new books at the NY Art Book Fair

Études Books N°1
STANDARD EDITION by Daniel Everett

Études Books N°2
CAR CRASH STUDIES by Nicolai Howalt

Études Books N°3
MATADOR by Nicolas Hosteing

+ Book signing STANDARD EDITION by Daniel Everett – Friday, Sept 28 – 1:00pm

Click here to purchase the books

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Études collaborates with the French brand Paraboot and imagines two exclusive models developed around the idea of the monochrome. The designers concentrated on choosing and marking every detail that makes up the “Bleu Études” shoe so as to create two unique and low-key models.

Click here to purchase the Paraboot shoes by Études

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MATADOR
Nicolas Hosteing
Études Books N°3
ISBN 978-2-9533506-7-8

Photography by Nicolas Hosteing
Text by Julien Perez
Edited and designed by Études Studio
Published by Études Books, Paris
Image post production by Janvier
First edition, 300 copies
September 2012, printed in EU

©2012, Études Books for this edition and Nicolas Hosteing for the images.

To purchase the book

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CAR CRASH STUDIES
Nicolai Howalt
Études Books N°2
ISBN 978-2-9533506-6-1

Photography by Nicolai Howalt
Text by Torben Sangild
Edited and designed by Études Studio
Published by Études Books, Paris
Image post production by Janvier
First edition, 300 copies
September 2012, printed in EU

©2012, Études Books for this edition and Nicolai Howalt for the images with the courtesy of Bruce Silverstein Gallery and Martin Asbæk Gallery.

To purchase the book

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STANDARD EDITION

Daniel Everett

Études Books N°1

ISBN 978-2-9533506-5-4

Photography by Daniel Everett
Text by Jill Dawsey
Edited and designed by Études Studio
Published by Études Books, Paris
Image post production by Janvier
First edition, 300 copies
September 2012, printed in EU
©2012, Études Books for this edition and Daniel Everett for the images.

To purchase the book

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Études presents his Spring Summer 2013 Collection
MAN Paris – June 29th, 30th and July 1st
SEEK Berlin – July 4th – 6th
MAN NYC – July 22nd – 24th
Gallery Copenhagen – July 22th – 24th

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Can you quickly introduce yourself?
My name is Flemming Ove Bech. I am a photographer and print maker based in Copenhagen where I also run a curating/publishing project with my friend Johan Rosenmunthe.

Looking at your photography, you seem to be dueling between heavy colored and straight black and white or grey? Any thought about that, why go for one or the other, what are you interested in at that point?
For a long time I was really committed to color photography but when realized I was abandoning interesting scenes/motifs because of wrong or lacking color harmonies I took up shooting black and white as well.

I know you’re interested in shapes, can you tell me more about the shape of an iron chain? How does sculpture influence your photography?
I approach making images from a sculptural point of view. Resolving a three dimensional scene – compressing it onto a two dimensional surface – is where photography exists for me. Often time that means looking at the thing-ness of a given object and relating that to a background. In the case of the chain I was interested in the contrast between the brutal qualities of the steel chain and the soft bubble wrap surface rendered in a very soft light.

We met in New York, a city where you spent some time in the last few years, can you tell me about your experience here? How being a bike messenger in NY could have influenced your work?
NYC is one of the world’s epicenters for photography – so much great work and inspiring people are accessible to you and that is very inspiring. Chance meetings can evolve into dynamic relationships that grow into a global network of piers and mentors, as it seems that everybody is always coming and going.
For me personally riding a bike in NYC was a dream. I don’t know how people cope with the restrictions of the subway! I don’t know that there is any direct connection between messengering and my photographs other than the fact that the time on my bike lets me see so much and do a lot of thinking.

You are now living in Copenhagen, what is the best aspect of it?
Free health care is a stark and welcomed contrast to the US! Scandinavia is quite utopic in that respect when you return from a longer stretch abroad.
Re-connecting with friends here probably takes the cake, though. Oh yea, and you can drink alcohol outside!

I know you use a very particular camera, can you tell us about the close relationship you have with it?
What camera I use is important to me, however, totally irrelevant to others looking at the images. I believe that every artist should be super aware of capabilities and preferences of their tools as to elegantly communicate what they want.
Mostly I use a view camera that lets me control perspective and the plane of focus. This is how I found that I work best, however, for the experience of my work, how the image came to be is not important.

Tell me a little more about the Lodret Vandret project – How do you see your personal work in relation to this initiative?
Being the one to add value to something is fun and empowering. Johan Rosenmunthe and I decided that we wanted to present work that we found interesting – both on the wall and on the printed page.
Editing, designing and (re-)contextualizing images is what it is all about for us. Creating an experience with a space or in a book lets you rediscover and appropriate work – your own or that of others – in new ways and that is really inspiring. When I think about my work right now it is all about the book.

What are you working on now, what’s next?
Well, yea – BOOKS. Working on ideas for books, zines and related ephemera is what takes up most time. Printed matter is really where I see my work existing.
There are interesting projects in the works with Lodret Vandret also but again that is closely connected to my own practice.

Conversation with Flemming Ove Beck, Brooklyn, May 2012. Photography by Études Studio.

Click here to purchase the Flemming Ove Bech© shirt by Études

New work by Flemming Ove Beck : 

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Études Studio realises the art direction and photography for MAN tradeshow (Paris – Nyc)

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Études presents his Fall Winter 2012/13 Collection
MAN NYC – January 16th – 18th
SEEK Berlin – January 18th – 20th
MAN Paris – January 21st – 23rd

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