Interview by Xing Jiang of Photoworld China Magazine:
1. Could you firstly introduce your background to our
readers? And when you begin to photograph this project, were you looking for an
older model?
I am from the United States, the city of Westerville, Ohio. From a very young age, I always knew deep down that I was going
to be a photographer. I would spend all day in the darkroom in High School and
shot a lot of Polaroids as a young kid. I
moved to San Francisco in 2005 to get my Masters of Fine Arts at the San
Francisco Art Institute. All of the photographs in this series were shot in and
around San Francisco from 2007-2012.
2. You call your project “non-motion picture” and “walk-through-movie,”
what’s your opinion on the difference between still pictures and motion
pictures (movie)? Some people believed it’s difficult to tell complete story by
photography, because the photography is static, silent, and they are just
fragment.
Yes, that is a real hurdle and the main aspect that I am
trying to figure out. This is my first walk-through-movie and with this series
I had to use 135 images. In a way, with this series, I am trying to teach the
audience how to look at these images differently, knowing that a specific story
precedes and will come after each still photograph. There is more than meets
the eye with these images and the audience must look deeper to see the
foreshadowing and back-story that will gradually unfold.
The reason that I choose to shoot film is because the
quality is 40x sharper than the average 35mm movie (828 megapixels). This
allows for a sharper-than-real-life aspect when they are viewed in person,
leaving the viewer with a much richer and engaging experience than traditional
films. For instance, when looking at a print, you can see Gilda's eyelashes,
veins in her eyes, wrinkles, a hair on her sweater, etc. which allows the
viewer to feel like Gilda is really there in the room with them and to feel an
emotional connection to her journey in the story.
3. How long did it take you to plan the project?
Besides that aspect, I do it because I see a niche of the
museum experience that is untapped. I want to bring the movie experience to the
museum in the form of 'walk through movies'. This is basically my first and
most essential idea. I invented the idea of a 'walk through movie' – large-scale
photographs displayed in sequence in a museum - in 2001. It just took me the
past 14 years to grow as a person both technically and conceptually to be able
to materialize it.
4. What is your role when you stand behind camera facing
Gilda?
In regards to 'You and Me,' I am the writer, producer,
director, set designer, and photographer. When I was on set with Gilda or
any of the other three actors, I become the director. The lighting and stage is
all set before hand. All there is to do is capture what I have envisioned. I
always drew out "storyboard" drawings that were overly specific.
There were no accidents with any of these images. The final product is exactly
how I drew it out, for better or worse. For my next 'walk through movie', I
will have some more spontaneous moments hopefully.
5. What did you most want to tell with your story?
My narrative isn't the traditional story. Mine is, yes,
influenced by real events in my life, but the main aspect of the story is
really conceptual. The idea that movies and fictional books control, dictate,
and shape our lives. For example, the atomic bomb, credit card, iPod, etc. were
all fictional ideas written about long before they were reality. In order to
nonverbally explain this idea, I used the film Sunset Boulevard in my story to
subliminally shape Millie's dream narrative.
6. How did you get the idea for shooting each scene?
The story is the one thing that never changed through out
the process. Some of the images changed and evolved technically but the core
story and sequencing was always the same. The story was at my essence and came
very organically. I just trusted my vision and went for it full-steam.
Subconsciously though, the story is based on things that I
experienced with my Grandmother. During this Thanksgiving, she told me a story
about my real Grandfather when he was a Navy Seal in World War 2. These vivid
recollections of hers make him feel as if he is still there; this is the same
feeling that I wanted to express through my pictures.
7. What is your greatest feeling after shooting this
project? Do you have any expectations as to the reaction of readers when they
read your project?
From my article in the San Francisco Chronicle recently, I
was flooded with great emails. One of the most touching emails that I've
received was from a lady who runs an 80-years-and-over acting class. She wanted
to recruit Gilda for this. So, hopefully she will be able to continue her
acting career at 88 years-old.
8. Did you have some difficulties when shooting the
project?
Creating full-focus photographs - 90% of the photographs
are in full-focus meaning that everything from the foreground to background is
in complete focus. I achieved this by shooting multiple exposures of each scene
and then combining them back together in Photoshop. The goal was to 'remove all
of the blur' that is an ingrained aspect of photography. One would think that
this visual style would make the photographs seem flat, however this really
gives the viewer a perspective that has never been experienced before and the
exhibition prints feel 3D.
9. How do you evaluate a photo as good or not good?
I don't feel that I am in any condition to judge what is
and isn't a good photograph. I don't judge, or think about, other artist's work
at all. I'm only concerned with progressing and creating a more engaging museum
experience. Therefore, my main concern is to excite the audience and myself.
10. Have any particular photographers had an influence on
you about the concepts and techniques of shooting?
I haven't really seen any photographers doing the kind of work that I'm interested in: full-focus photographs,
interactive movie, and scripted narratives. But, the author that really
influenced and touched me is Roberto Bolano, the chilean poet and author of
'2666.' In 2009, I read all 14 of his english translated books. His loose,
confident-in-himself writing style really allowed me to accept that I could
create a visual story where the viewer is switched back and forth between what
Millie (protagonist) is thinking and doing without a heavy-handedness.
11. What is your usual work and life like currently? And
how would you evaluate yourself?
I am an artist but am not able to pay my bills solely from
my art, so as we speak I still go to work 9-5 week days. When we were shooting
this project I would go to my job during the day and then shoot/ scan/
composite/ etc. at night after work and on the weekends.
My
evaluation of myself is that I created something that has never been done
before. But, I am still learning and am going to start shooting
my second 'walk through movie' entitled "Blazer" in 2015.
