Talks | Photographer Matt Sundin
In life, there are advantages and disadvantages to any given situation. In the case of fashion and photography the disadvantage is after a period of time, having seen much of it, very little continues to impress you. But talent does exists, and the advantage on the other hand is that when you come across it, it lights up your life, both visually and on an enigmatic level. This was the case when I came across the work of New York fashion photographer Matt Sundin. I recently sat down with him for a one on one talk about his upbringing, point of view and what's on the horizon.
3 words that describe you
I'm very nostalgic, punctual, and tall.
You majored in music and political science. What led you to fashion photography?
My background in film and directing led me to photo. I was shooting more and more projects that people began to label as beauty or fashion and I realized it would be a lot easier in some instances if I was conveying my ideas with photography instead of film, which is often a much more involved and timely process. With all the moving parts of film you have to wait for larger budgets or beg a lot of friends to do you favors, whereas with photo all of a sudden I was able to spend a Sunday afternoon with just my camera and a model, and this was great.
Does either fashion or photography run the family?
Neither but I think I come from a family of solid appreciation for arts and music. They helped me to discover a lot of things growing up mainly through lots of traveling, and exposure to music and film.
From Seattle to NYC; What are your thoughts on New York
I've been in Paris for 4 weeks so of course I’ve been reflecting on the contrasts with NYC. I think I realize how much freedom we have in New York to do what we like socially and creatively. The problem can be that with the freedom there are also few restraints so one may tend to overdo it! Also I don't need to be the millionth person to complain about how its changing but New York in general is in a serious flux...And its not just NYC but a global symptom so I'm not really sure where you go to escape that. It’s still the one place in the U.S. with more or less worldwide respect.
You mention grunge on your site, how does that play in your work?
It’s mainly an indicator of my age as I got to experience the tail end of grunge. It also was a huge identifier for me growing up before Seattle became the yuppie capital of the world. My older siblings and their friends would get me tickets or let me in the back door of downtown clubs so I got to hear a lot of those musicians. But I was playing classical music my whole life and I think that’s what mainly influences my work.
You do both Photography and Film. How do they defer, or do they?
I discovered photography through filmmaking and at the moment they are very similar for me with what I’m shooting i.e. pieces with a strong concise energy. I find that the one is continually building on the other -- I just made a 30 minute film about the New York City ballet and I was using so many things I’ve learned specifically from photography so I think it’s a very fluid thing. The short fashion films I've also been doing are about a broader experience of the same editorial image where you get to add sound and movement and of course at 24 frames per second you witness a broader range of performance. With films you have to be just as careful as with a single image, and I don't think that some photographers who have started playing with it really understand that yet. You have to move beyond that initial jolt of visual magic and understand the differences about how you direct a model for a photograph compared with a film, and where you place the camera, and how to edit. There's a huge difference between a behind-the-scenes video and an editorial film that can stand side by side with a photograph in terms of its relevance. They're two completely different things.
You're shooting some of the most promising models coming down the line these days. I like to know what your first breakthrough into the industry was.
I think photography began for me 1 year ago with a test I took in my apartment. It has all the same energy that I've been emulating throughout the year. I never shoot a girl unless she can represent the idea I’m after since the work is really about her and the emotion first, and not a particular lighting setup or some gimmick. I think some bookers see that and they encourage me with more range from their boards now.
This, I believe, is a profound understanding, for an artist to have; for your work to represent an idea, or if I may say: to have your work reveal an insight into something that, possibly, only you were able to see. Speaking of Ideas, Picasso once said "You have to have an idea of what you are going to do, but it should be a vague idea." I find this, all together, a very intriguing affair. Do you have any more comments about this thought of "idea"?
There are two kinds of "ideas" in this respect. The simpler and more accessible version is more conceptual and structured while the other is more about discovering a point-of-view. When I was younger I reached for gimmicks and technical problem-solving to mask a lack of the latter "idea." I still have to work at the point with things that I'm less sure about. You can practice the surrounding steps while you wait for the real ideas to reveal themselves. And of course the technical discoveries will serve you well but entire mediocre careers are built on the former without accessing the latter. When you get the truth idea you don't have to work as hard because you channel something far more interesting and universal. You can see the early and very technically competent work of Picasso in Barcelona, but its not the work that made him famous.
You mentioned the word relevance, earlier, in reference to an editorial-film that can stand side by side with a photograph, and wanted to see if there is also a relevance between the surreal and the real, in your work?
I think the surreal is the carrot at the end of the stick when you're doing something like fashion photography. There are many constructs whether you like it or not. Even if you strip away all the clothing and makeup and sets you're still shooting absolutely transcendental beauties. I think when you focus your attention on the honest parts of that process and take it away from interfering contexts, you open yourself up to find the surreal. Its a place beyond the surface of your construction where you transcend more complex feelings from the image.
My favorite subject of yours, so far, has been of the young model Camille. She and your approach transformed me somewhere out of the realm of reality, where words might fail to, and be sufficient, to explain. It was very mysterious and magical. Any comments on that shoot, which also included a video?
The shoot was interesting in that we shot in my former concrete Brooklyn studio on a cold snowy day and I had blocked out most of the light coming in. I think my favorite photos I take are the ones where I create a mirror. Some models, like Camille, have a way of showing parts of myself back at me. Other girls occasionally do this with their innate and genuine confidence and they act as I did when I was 14 and completely free of self-conscience. Camille did it because she is an old soul and makes no effort to hide or exploit that.
Some favorites:
-Magazine
I'm still learning about magazines and trying to find those with a consistent editorial vision that doesn't lose guts over time.
-Movie director
I'm pretty content with the greats: France (Tavernier), Sweden (Bergmann), Poland (Kieslowski), Russia (Mikhalkov), Italy (Fellini), England (Nichols or Beresford), Japan (Kurosawa)
What's next for you?
I'm in the middle of editing several directing projects for the New York City Ballet that I shot throughout the year. I’m also contemplating the next bend in the road photographically speaking so I’ve been starting some new projects and collaborations that I hope to fulfill by early 2009. They will be about using what I've learned in a busy year and making sure they're my own.
Thank you for your time. It's been a true pleasure.
Fabulous interview!!!
Fabulous interview!!!