In dialogue with Jeannette Montgomery Barron lighting up memory of the Eighties at the Collezione Maramotti

 

Artists such as Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat or Keith Haring have been photographed many times during the fabulous Eighties, by many photographers from all over the world. They lived in the golden era of photography, and they were amongst the perfect subjects to be snapped. However most of those photographers were commercial ones, thus well paid workers at the service of the press industry. That is the first reason why the photo portraits taken by Jeannette Montgomery Barron at that time – a selection of them is currently on show at the Collezione Maramotti in Reggio Emilia, along with a new book – are so unique. She certainly doesn’t belong to the group of commercial photographers.

 

The second reason can be found in the photography books Ms. Montgomery has published during the years: all of them are based on a specific part of her personal experience, from the understanding of her reflection (Mirrors, 2004) to the recent “My mother clothes”, in which Ms. Montgomery observes with daughter’s eye her mother’s life. It follows that when we look at an unrecognizable Alex Katz sitting on a sofa with his legs crossed, a mug in his left hand – while the other hand hanging as if it was a painting on a wall – we are not in front of a subject, but we are looking at a personal memory.

 

Cfa: Have you ever taught photography?

 

JMB: No, not really. But I do love teaching.

 

How would you describe today’s photography?

 

Are we talking about Juergen Teller, Wolfgang Tillmans, Cindy Sherman?

 

Mr. Instagram….

 

I love it. I’m addicted to Instagram. For me it’s like a sketch-pad, like a polaroid. It’s like blinking my eyes and taking pictures. And I love being inspired by what I see on Instragram.

 

It’s about sharing more than taking a single information.

 

It’s a bit scary. First I thought that people could steal my idea, but who cares? Do you like it?

 

Of course. I think we are becoming more and more metaphysical thanks to the possibility of sharing our thoughts and images…

 

I’d much rather share images than words so that’s my medium. Even though I sometimes put little texts too.

 

One of my topics for you would be the relations between form and information. I know you wrote a couple of books involving this link. On social networks this relations between information and image is very important.

 

For many years I though I couldn’t be a writer too. Photographers usually are not very good writers in my opinion. Sometimes they take themselves too seriously. But I just wanted to say what that photograph means to me, or just a passing thought that is related to that image. But no more than that. With my book SCENE (PowerHouse Books, 2013), I was telling the stories about photographing the artist. With My Mother’s Clothes (Welcome Books, 2010), the story of my mother. That was a little bit more. But with Instagram is just a quick snap… Last night the Rolling Stones were in town and I photographed these people’s feet.

 

What has the figure of the photographer become today?

 

I don’t know about others. For me I’m just recording the world around me right now. After the portraits, I really started to do that more. I photographed mirrors for ten years. They were basically self-portraits. Then I photographed my mother’s cloths, that was still life. What I am doing now is really just a journal of my life, what’s moving to me, or what means something to me.

 

Are you someone who is looking for information or someone who needs to communicate his own personal experience?

 

I guess I’m trying to figure out what is all about. I’m also very melancholic.

 

You are slowly becoming similar to a novelist…

 

Maybe…

 

What are you reading now?

 

I just finished Donna Tartt’s ‘The Goldfinch’. I thought it was unbelievable.

 

Have you met her?

 

I met her before. I want to photograph her. She is a friend of a friend of mine and we met. She is also a Southern. I am also from the South. That’s our connection too.

 

What have you learned about artists after photographing a lot of them?

 

A lot of them have big egos. (Laugh). Especially one. I can’t name any names.

 

They are normal people.

 

They are not normal people! Fortunately they are not.

 

What tips would you give to a student in photography?

 

You know, my son asked me this question. The main thing is don’t think that there isn’t anything new. Don’t get frozen by thinking William Eggleston has photographed that before, somebody else has done that before because that is really going to freeze you. You have to know that you can do something different. It will be a different permutation, maybe it will be influenced by that photographer but it will be yours.

 

Who is your favourite artist?

 

Out of all these that I photographed, probably Cindy Sherman.

 

Do you consider photographs as artworks or do you see a difference between artworks and photographs?

 

It depends on what type of photograph. But I do believe they are artworks.

 

Would you like to suggest a book on photography?

 

The one I really love is called ‘Photography after Frank’ by Philip Gefter.

 

Why?

 

They are essays on photographers that I find to be very accessible. I also like his writing. I picked it up and I thought that this could be really a great textbook for student. There is another book called ‘Photographs not taken’, which I like. It is about photographs you wished you had taken and why didn’t you.

 

Which is your favourite subject in photography?

 

Now it’s just what I’m seeing everyday. I’m obsessed with this.

 

What would be the perfect soundtrack for this show?

 

I like the instrumental work by John Lurie. I think it would be interesting.

September 7, 2014