25 February, 2007

MARTIN COOPER INTERVIEW FOR 180

Tell us a bit about your background and where you are now? A short biography...
I was one of those fortunate few who never had to figure out what they wanted to do. “It” picked me. When I was 9 or 10 years old, I knew that I would become a fashion designer. By this age, I was already designing complete collections and it seemed like my life was predestined. When I was 14, I was given special permission to attend the summer program to study fashion at the prestigious Parsons School of Design in New York City. That summer changed my life. I met other young people who were thinking just like me. I remember feeling so isolated in Columbia, South Carolina, which I was, but there is something universal about youth and talent. We were all on the same wavelength. That summer, I met a woman who would also change my life. Her name was Marie Essex, and she taught fashion illustration at the school, and taught everyone from Donna Karan to Marc Jacobs. She was the only one who really knew how old I was and took me under her wing like I was her own. I returned to South Carolina a changed person. I now had the map get me through high school and back to New York.

A few years later, I only applied to one college, Parsons, and was accepted. During my senior year in college, Calvin Klein was my critic, and I would later work for him in the later 80’s and early 90’s. Throughout, Marie Essex continued her mentorship with me until she passed in the mid-90’s. Marie introduced me to my wife Karen in 1990.

In 1994, I left Calvin Klein to work for Burberry, the British luxury goods company, where I am currently Design Director of Outerwear for the brand worldwide. After commuting back and forth from New York to London for 13 years, Karen and I recently moved to London 7 months ago.

How did you get into photography? Schooling or training?
As you can see, by profession, I’m a fashion designer. But by passion, I am a fine art photographer. Photography is the thing that gets me out of the bed every day, it’s the thing that makes my life right, it is my drug of choice.

I was a late bloomer in discovering photography, though when I look back, photography was always a part of my life. I am completely self-taught. I happened to stumble into photography because around 1990, I wanted to produce a photo-based book project about women, done by women. My role would be financier and art director to the project, but the team would be all female. Karen and I interviewed models and photographers for months, frankly without feeling that we had communicated the essence of the imagery certainly to the prospective photographers. Because of this frustration or inability to show a photographer...”this is what I’m looking for,” I approached one of our best friends at the time and asked her if she would agree to be my guinea pig in an attempt to shoot (nude) images with her on a Polaroid camera that I could then ultimately show a to photographer...”this is what I’m looking for.” Jane agreed, and was an excellent first model. I think it’s important for an artist, especially a figurative artist, to find people along the way during the very first stages of their creative development who believe in their vision or have a certain level of trust where that friend is willing to be a collaborator and model for that artist.

I worked with Jane for several months shooting Polaroids on a Spectra camera, and Karen, in all of her wisdom, just said why don’t you shoot the project yourself. That project was never realized, but the exercise actually served me better. It was just the right push of confidence that I needed to begin exploring my own voice as a photographer. I would have never thought in a million years at the time that I would start an artistic exploration in photography, and more particularly the nude as a genre. After all, I’m a fashion designer. 16 years later, I now love the fact that by day I spend my energies creating a language of clothing to dress and adorn the body, but by night, I reduce the layers and affectations down to the nude.

What are your areas of specialization? Tell us about that field? Any hints? What do you need to shoot it? For instance, if it's fashion or commercial do you use a team approach?
My work concentrates on the photographic female nude with a heavy emphasis placed on portraiture. Even the way that I shoot nudes, they are very “portrait- like.” For me, there is something very magical about figurative art, but, by the same token, it’s a genre can become banal quickly. When I’m in the process of creating an image, I constantly challenge myself to boil it down to what is the essence of this image. What is it that I’m trying to communicate to the viewer? I’m afraid to say that the images that lack content are the types of images that pull the genre down as a whole. We’ve all seen them ad nausium...nude woman in forest standing next to tree, nude woman in contorted pose next to rusted truck, nude woman is abandoned warehouse. I constantly ask myself (and the artists), “why is she there, and what is she doing?” When the work becomes trite, it cannot hold content, and when it cannot hold content, there is no challenge to the viewer. The viewer is subjected to seeing an image, or the genera of an image, that he’s seen over and over and over again.

Figurative art, especially where photography is concerned, is a relationship between an artist and a model that is based on trust. I’m always fascinated about that relationship because it is also symbiotic, meaning that both artist and model work closely for a duration of time for the mutual benefit of both. The artist cannot express his ideas without the collaboration of the model. And the model cannot ‘perform’ without the audience of the artist. With every project that I work on, one model always emerges out of the pack that typifies the essence of what that project or series is about, and the work is ultimately built around her.

Were you always interested in these or have you changed your focus?
My work has always been focused on the figurative nude. My life is very “female- centric.” As a designer, my career has been dedicated to helping women feel empowered through the choice of clothing she wears, or in the case of my photography, how is she is portrayed in simple, honest terms. It is important for me to make images of women that are healthy and positive.

I usually work alone with the model, and have done so for years. I do all of my own tech and styling and prefer this to a team. I like the intimacy of working one-on-one. I recently tried working with an assistant, but found it less productive for me. We film all the shoots in the studio for the historical record, so that adds an additional person to the mix. My wife Karen has filmed most of the shoots over the years.

On another note, I am married to a very exceptional woman. She is quite involved in my work publicly and privately. In the beginning, Karen did all of my casting. Now she plays a more background approach as advisor and sounding board. I think it is important for male photographers to involve their partners in their work on some level, because if she is not a supporter, your work will go nowhere.

Are you making a living at photography? Any hints for those starting out on how to make a living?
I enjoy making images for myself. If someone enjoys my work and wants to further their relationship with a piece by purchasing it, that’s wonderful. But selling is not the driving force behind my work. It really is really about the personal expression and the journey than anything else.

As a fine art photographer, it was important to find gallery representation earlier in my career. I found that search very much about being in the right place at the right time. Over the years, I’ve had a number of galleries represent my work, and perhaps, I always pulled the short straw and spent all my energies chasing gallerists to get paid, verses concentrating on producing the work. This by the way is an extremely common story among artists. The good thing about having gallery representation is that the work is seen in public. I have now chosen a slightly different model in the form of a private dealer. A private dealer is someone who does not exhibit work in a public space, but rather in a private space. An office. Usually dealers are known to “move” work. They usually have very strong relationships with art buyers and sell work very consistently. Since moving to this model 6 or 7 years ago, I haven’t had any financial issues, but of course, a private dealer’s biggest limitation is that they don’t work out of a public space. There is no “foot traffic” to speak of. It also helps that you build your career before you really approach a private dealer, or gallerist for that matter, so that you already come to them with a loyal following for your work. A dealer or gallerist will not invest in building your career at that level.
Another decision that I made early on was to donate all of the studio’s net profits to charities with an emphasis on breast cancer. So after all the models have been paid, the printing done, supplies and framing paid, all net proceeds are given away. It’s one of the parts of my life that I’m most proud of.

Who are your clients now?
I don’t have clients per se because I don’t shoot commercial work. But the one interesting thing about my collectors is that 95% of them are women. I think women feel that the images are self-empowering, and frankly, I don’t feel that my work is the type of work that generally appeals to a male collector because it isn’t hard enough or more overtly sexual or erotic. I think men look for a different type of image. I also enjoy taking on a few private commissions a year. They’re pretty fun, and I enjoy working with a woman who knows how to project herself. There’s something very sexy about that.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
I’ve learned to be extremely open to the future. When I was younger I wanted everything immediately. In many cases I still do, but I’ve learned to be open about the future. It’s difficult many times to rise above a situation and see the dynamics of why something is or isn’t working. Perhaps it isn’t working for a reason that hasn’t revealed itself yet. When I’m asked where I see myself in the future, I hope that I am still passionate about life, love and art, but above all I hope that I still have a curiosity about the things around me.

ABOUT THE SHOTS IN THIS STORY:

How did you get into this subject?
The Altis series didn’t start off as “The Altis.” It actually started as an ode to a dear friend of mine, a woman that I grew up with in South Carolina. We’ve known each other since we were 4 years old. I essentially wanted to create a body of work to be an ode to our friendship that would include an in- depth exploration of portraits and nudes. The problem was that she didn’t live in New York City and was only in the city maybe twice a year, so the project wasn’t going anywhere. This was 1994. When Karen looked at the images that we did do, she commented that the work had an Olympian feeling, perhaps there’s more to this series than just your friend. Ding! The light bulb turned on, and I started doing research on the ancient Olympic games, and in particular, women’s role in ancient sport. During the course of a year or so, I interviewed historians and anthropologists to understand what the games were really about. They were primarily a religious affair, and women were strictly banned from participating; a crime punishable by death. I felt that just based on gender alone, it doesn’t mean that one can’t excel in athletics, or anything else in life for that matter, so I made the choice to cast the project with all women as an expression of social and sexual equality.

Tell us about these particular shots? Are they personal work? Did they come from other shoots? What do they mean to you?
The 10 images are a very small selection from The Altis: Portraits of the Immortals series. This body of work represents a 10 year exploration that is loosely based on the ancient Olympic games.

Where did you find these models / subject matter?
When I first started casting many years ago, Karen did all the interviews because I was pretty shy about explaining my process, especially when it came to grooming! This was before the explosion of the Internet. During those years, I posted a ‘models wanted’ ad in The Village Voice (a local New York City underground newspaper) about twice a year. Today, I post my models wanted ad on craigslist.com, but I spend a lot of time weeding out the curious from the committed. I prefer to work with models that are referred to me by other models. The model can be the best scout and recruiter for a photographer because she already knows the process and what the artist expects and she is able to communicate this to other models in a way that is very real and frank.

Historically, I prefer to work with the same models over and over again. Most photographers prefer to work with a new face or model each time they pick up the camera. I’m the opposite. I feel that the longer I work with a model, the stronger the images become. I would say that there is a core of perhaps 10-12 models that I’ve been collaborating with for over 10 years. They have essentially grown up in front of my camera and they all have tremendous ownership about their collaboration with my projects.

For me, it is a large investment when I take on a new model, because of the consistency I need throughout my work. If I hadn’t told you that The Altis series spanned 10 years, you would never know it. Some of the models are 10 years older from one image to the next, but they look the same. When I pick a model, I can usually tell what type of longevity she’ll have with my work. During the time I was casting for The Altis series, I was very upfront with a model about the commitment she needs to make toward our collaboration. Many models pose nude for an artist as a fluke onetime thing, or to fulfill a fantasy, make their husband/ lovers jealous, etc. It’s very important to know why a model has come to your studio. It’s your job to find out. If I feel it’s a financial thing, I tell them it’s not the project for them (btw, I do pay my models, and never do time in exchange for prints, but freely give prints on a merit basis). If I feel it’s a curiosity thing, I tell them this is not the project for them. I love a model that understands why she has chosen to be in my studio and present herself in the nude. That she understand how her body moves in space. And I love a performer. I never seek a model for a sense of “perfection.” Perfection is so unapproachable. I like character and something that makes her both real and ideal at the same time. She doesn’t have to be experienced at all, but it’s everything to me if she wants to be part of the creative process and build images together in a collaborative way.

CONCLUSION

Do you have an overall style or aesthetic for your photography?
I think that I have always had a natural way of seeing and stylizing the world around me. It’s also what I do at the office, so it comes quite naturally. I knew that I wanted an old-world charm to my images, and not a modern, slick interpretation, nor did I want color, in the traditional sense. In the end, the stylization of an image, or anything, is a process of making choices and decisions. Do I like it lighter, or darker, do I like this way or that way.

I’m very much a non-technical photographer. I know this about myself, so I felt right from the beginning that I needed to focus my tools (camera, lens, light, film, paper) and streamline the choices so that I can concentrate on creating the work, and not get bogged down with the process. I spent several years researching 19th century toning recipes. The challenge was that the chemistry was essentially the same, but the papers are different today. So it took much trial and error to find the right chemistry combination to work with modern day paper. Tonings, especially split tones where I can achieve more than one color within a single image, became my forte. All of my images are black and white, but quite colorful in that 19th century way. This is all analog photography. There is no digital darkroom work in my photographs.

I shoot with 2 large format Sinar cameras; a 4x5 and 8x10, and I only shoot with Polaroid films. Though a certain discipline is attached to large format work; nonetheless, it keeps it simple at the same time.

Any final advice for young photographers?
Follow your passion right from the start. Don’t compromise at all. When I turned 40, I coined a little phrase for myself that meant a lot to me; Martin, “own your freakness!” What that phrase means to me is own whatever is the thing, subject, place, etc. that really turns you on. Don’t hold back. You will need that kind of creative “energy cell” to fuel a lifelong body of work, so don’t place limitations on yourself.

The way that that phrase has helped me is that I’m now focusing on 2 new projects that I’m intensely passionate about. One is about the Human Pelvis and why I feel it’s the most fascinating and controversial bone in the human body and the other is an exploration into a controversial 19th century historical figure, and will be quite a point of departure from my pervious projects. Both projects, and certainly the later, involve much more risk taking on my behalf than ever before. I’m owning my freakness.