An Evocative Conversation with Duane Michals

Photo courtesy of artist

Duane Michals is an internationally renowned American photographer known for his innovation that has made his photos iconic and his technique examples of mastery. He is widely known for his work with series, multiple exposures, and text. His work has been exhibited at the Scavi Scaligeri,  the International Center of Photography,  the Odakyu Museum, and his first exhibit was at the Museum of Modern Art. His work in photography spanning 50 years was celebrated in 2008 at the Thessaloniki Museum of Photography. I had the honor to ask Duane about his innovative process and his favorite photos over the years.

UZOMAH: You have had a storied career in photography, using self-taught innovation that brings out so much emotion.  What were some of the things that kept driving you outside of what was traditional?

DUANE: Curiosity and not growing up as a photographer.

U: What type of philosophies do you wish to convey in your photos?

D: Questions about the nature of being alive, from the enigma of consciousness, dreams and the human carnival.

“This Photograph is My Proof”

U: How has your technique of sequencing changed how you see life?

D: There’s no point of doing 4 or 5 pictures unless something happens.  I have a beginning, middle and an end.  I expand the decisive moment to before and after. 

U: How has the advancement of technology in photography dismissed tradition?

D: I love digital photography, f*ck film!  Digital photography frees me to produce a more perfect photograph, without the anxiety of the technical aspect of how to produce it. 

“A Letter From My Father”

U: How has your use of text help bring out the vision and purpose of your photos more?

D: The text enlarged my ability to express an idea. It fills in the gap where the photograph fails.

U: Can you please select eight photos that you would want to be captured as significant moments in your life as a photographer?

D: Chance Meeting, I Build a Pyramid, This Photograph is My Proof, A Letter from my Father,  Things Are Queer, Self Portrait Asleep in the Tomb of Mereruka Sakkara, Magritte, and Children in Leningrad.

U: You have done the artwork for albums for groups such as The Police.  Did you use the music of the band to develop a concept for the photo?

D: No.

“Children in Leningrad”

U: Can you discuss the differences and similarities you found in taking photos on location like in the Great Gatsby to when you were taking photos for Esquire or Mademoiselle and other projects?

D: Commercial work is defined by the needs of the client and when you work commercially, I adapt my same sensibilities to the client’s needs. I always trust my intuition.

“Magritte with Hat”

U: They say a picture is worth a thousand words.  What one word would you use to describe the art of your photography and what does it mean to you?

D: Blabbermouth.

U: How has the way art addresses masculinity changed since you first started taking photos? What do you think art can do to give a more truthful portrayal?

D: Art has never addressed masculinity, it always addressed femininity. Masculinity was never a legitimate subject. Yes. Art should just not depict the cliches of gender, it should bring insight into the question of gender.

“Self-Portrait in the Tomb of Mereruka at Sakkara“

U: How do you think the norms of gender have limited art, and in the process of making art? How did you go around that in taking your photos?

D: The norms of gender have only limited art because people have bought into those ideas. It's the artist’s fault. Simply by redefining the clichés of what art could be that I inherited. You either are defined by the medium or are redefined by the medium.

U: Has the moment ever presented itself where you just could not get the shot,... when what you saw just couldn’t be captured?  

 D: Yes, I’ve had some ideas that could not be transferred to a photograph. I’ve invented a new category of photography called Phoetry, which refers to photographers that are poetically inclined.

U: How do you use the lens to bring out the gravity of life to make it more obtainable to others?

D: Not as a documentation, but as an inquiry.  It’s about what something feels like, not what it looks like. 

U: How has the art of photography revealed a better lens for you to look at yourself?

D: I photograph my own truth.

More about Duane and his work and career can be found on DC Moore Gallery’s site.