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Portraiture Photographer, Duane Michals
BY
TAXI
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TAXI You mentioned you dropped out of Parsons, went into publishing…you have a pretty fairytale-like career, truly inspiring for up and coming talents. Any words you have for these young people?
Duane Michals I think the most important thing for young people is to be curious. I think that separates me from other photographers is curiosity. As I get older, I become more and more curious. I don’t take anything for granted, I question everything, I don’t know who in me is talking now. Once you stop being curious, then you’re dead. You’re breathing, but you’re dead.
The other thing is to be able to take risks. Because if you don’t take risks, then you might as well get back to your mother’s womb and don’t get out. And in the entire history of universe, you will not be duplicated. You are more important than Jesus, you are important than Andy Warhol,
you’re an event in the universe, you know how amazing that is? And since you’re here, and since you’re going to be alive for, say, 70, 80 years, check it out.
Photographers never have questions. They never photograph what they can’t see, and the most important things in life are what you can’t see. They are your desires, your lusts, your dreams, your griefs. Don’t show me a photograph of a woman with her eyes closed, show me what it is to feel like to lose somebody. People show me of a photograph of a woman crying, anyone can photograph a woman crying, but the question is why is she crying. You can’t photograph the nature of her grief, how do you do that, I don’t know. It’s important to know what is she feeling, not what she looks like. It’s important.
TAXI It’s intriguing you used the word ‘curious.’ I personally felt you were a little more ‘rebellious’.
Duane Michals Well, I feel most people are being defined by the media. Or they redefine the media in terms of their own needs. I think most photographers are being defined by photography, they want to be like someone else before, and they end up taking pictures like them. I didn’t, I redefined media. I brought sequences, broaden the sights of moments, I did the moment before, and the moment after. I spread the sight of moments from one picture into the three pictures. I didn’t agree with the right of photography, because I found photography failed. I can show you a picture of my mother, my father and my brother and they are all smiling to the camera.
Duane Michals I think the most important thing for young people is to be curious. I think that separates me from other photographers is curiosity. As I get older, I become more and more curious. I don’t take anything for granted, I question everything, I don’t know who in me is talking now. Once you stop being curious, then you’re dead. You’re breathing, but you’re dead.
The other thing is to be able to take risks. Because if you don’t take risks, then you might as well get back to your mother’s womb and don’t get out. And in the entire history of universe, you will not be duplicated. You are more important than Jesus, you are important than Andy Warhol,
you’re an event in the universe, you know how amazing that is? And since you’re here, and since you’re going to be alive for, say, 70, 80 years, check it out.
Photographers never have questions. They never photograph what they can’t see, and the most important things in life are what you can’t see. They are your desires, your lusts, your dreams, your griefs. Don’t show me a photograph of a woman with her eyes closed, show me what it is to feel like to lose somebody. People show me of a photograph of a woman crying, anyone can photograph a woman crying, but the question is why is she crying. You can’t photograph the nature of her grief, how do you do that, I don’t know. It’s important to know what is she feeling, not what she looks like. It’s important.
TAXI It’s intriguing you used the word ‘curious.’ I personally felt you were a little more ‘rebellious’.
Duane Michals Well, I feel most people are being defined by the media. Or they redefine the media in terms of their own needs. I think most photographers are being defined by photography, they want to be like someone else before, and they end up taking pictures like them. I didn’t, I redefined media. I brought sequences, broaden the sights of moments, I did the moment before, and the moment after. I spread the sight of moments from one picture into the three pictures. I didn’t agree with the right of photography, because I found photography failed. I can show you a picture of my mother, my father and my brother and they are all smiling to the camera.
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My mother and father hadn’t had sex in 40 years, they had a turbo marriage and they actually disliked each other. And when they are standing to have a photograph taken, they lie. Most photographs are lies. People never question. I was the one because of my needs, or my photography. I have to redefine photography to express what I needed to say.
TAXI What do you think is the future of Photography?
Duane Michals I’ve discussed about this in my book. Unfortunately, when I started as a photographer, in the 50s and 60s, photography was never about money. People became photographers for the passion, there were no photography schools to speak of. There was no museum showing photography, if you sold the picture for five dollars, we would be amazed.
All the people in my generations were passionate about photography because there were no big rewards but now photography is a big business, people are getting hundred thousand of dollars, there are photography schools and every museum has a photography department. I never thought photography could be corrupted because the money was never there. Photographs go for hundred thousands, three hundred thousands, it’s corrupt. I think photography should be paid for, but if you pay for more than what the photograph is about, then it’s corrupt.
TAXI What is the one thing you can change to shape the direction of the future in photography?
Duane Michals I don’t do that. I did a book called Questions Without Answers, and I told my assistant “Ask me questions. We spent a lot of time together but you never asked me any questions.” Then I had to ask her questions...what is life…what is death…what is universe…what are memories… or every aspect of life in the giant mystery. But photographers are around, just photographing observable facts, but to bring insights, or else it’s simply documentation.
You have to bring insights, not photograph into somebody’s face that you know nothing about, and pretending that if you blow it up seven feet by eight feet, there’s something, but it’s nothing. There’s a difference between falling in love and reading love stories. Photographers are always reading love stories about other people’s lives. But it’s falling in love when you know what you’re experiencing, and that I believe the only true knowledge is by experience, the rest is bullshit. Photography is about questions, not answers. And most photographs are about answers.
TAXI What do you think is the future of Photography?
Duane Michals I’ve discussed about this in my book. Unfortunately, when I started as a photographer, in the 50s and 60s, photography was never about money. People became photographers for the passion, there were no photography schools to speak of. There was no museum showing photography, if you sold the picture for five dollars, we would be amazed.
All the people in my generations were passionate about photography because there were no big rewards but now photography is a big business, people are getting hundred thousand of dollars, there are photography schools and every museum has a photography department. I never thought photography could be corrupted because the money was never there. Photographs go for hundred thousands, three hundred thousands, it’s corrupt. I think photography should be paid for, but if you pay for more than what the photograph is about, then it’s corrupt.
TAXI What is the one thing you can change to shape the direction of the future in photography?
Duane Michals I don’t do that. I did a book called Questions Without Answers, and I told my assistant “Ask me questions. We spent a lot of time together but you never asked me any questions.” Then I had to ask her questions...what is life…what is death…what is universe…what are memories… or every aspect of life in the giant mystery. But photographers are around, just photographing observable facts, but to bring insights, or else it’s simply documentation.
You have to bring insights, not photograph into somebody’s face that you know nothing about, and pretending that if you blow it up seven feet by eight feet, there’s something, but it’s nothing. There’s a difference between falling in love and reading love stories. Photographers are always reading love stories about other people’s lives. But it’s falling in love when you know what you’re experiencing, and that I believe the only true knowledge is by experience, the rest is bullshit. Photography is about questions, not answers. And most photographs are about answers.