The Kansas City Star

Tim Engle wrote a wonderful article about my work for the Sunday edition of The Kansas City Star.  There is a nice Q&A section, as well as photographs of me working on my latest Horror image, called DEVIL, which I will be releasing online later this week, just in time for Halloween!

Turkey Interview

Here is the English translation of my recent interview with Baris Yarsel, Editor in Chief of Futuristika Magazine in Istanbul, Turkey.

Before starting, can you tell us a little about your interests in Fine Art and Photography, which one are you more keen on?

My interest in Photography goes deeper than my interests in other mediums.  I never refer to myself as a Horror Artist, but always as a Horror Photographer.

It seems as if you prepare your photo sets to make us feel as if we are in a Horror movie.  You seem to prepare the masks, make-up, sets, lights, etc. like a director or a writer about to tell a story. What is your actual process in taking these shots?

I do approach my photo shoots like they are small movies.  The first step is to establish the concept for the image.  I rarely make any kind of sketches. What I prefer to do instead is write a short treatment, or description of the photograph. I include notes on camera placement, equipment and prop needs, and a list of friends I might want as models for the photograph. Years can pass before a concept actually goes into production.  It usually takes me weeks or even months to get prepared. Sometimes, if the concept will allow for it, I will seek out a location to use.  Other times, I have no choice but to build a set in my photo studio.  I style the sets, selecting colors of paint, patterns of wallpaper, and what furniture and props to use. I often sneak totems from my own childhood into the background.  I cast my models and explain to them what they will need to do for the picture. I use halloween masks and props I find online, taxidermy, mannequins, and more recently, masks and prosthetic appliances that me and my friend Jason Coale have made ourselves.  I have talented photography friends and family members that I sometimes draft as assistants for the actual day of the shoot.  While my images are not photoshop collages, I do prefer to shoot everything digitally.  The work I’ve done this year was shot on a digital Hasselblad camera with a PhaseOne back, loaned to me by my friends and sponsors at Digital Labrador, a photography lab and rental house here in Kansas City. Finally, I make sure that the image is as perfect as possible while preparing it in photoshop for printing.

Do you remember when you first became interested in Horror?

My mom took me and my sisters to go see POLTERGEIST when I was a little kid.  That movie became our obsession.  For fun, we would act out scenes from the movie.  My youngest sister Sarah always got sucked into the closet.

According to you, “Horror tells us that our belief in security is delusional, and that the monsters are all around us.”  Besides the literal meaning of this verse, I also see it as a political view.  If our belief in security is delusional, who are these real-life monsters according to your point of view?

In the Horror genre, the Monster operates as a metaphor.  The Monster represents the forces of chaos in the world that threaten the stability and security of your life.  Real-life examples would include death, illness, irrational violence, plague, terrorism, social collapse, and even wicked people.

Primal and pre-adult phobias in children are the focus of your work. Do you think that childhood nightmares are more real when we see them in your photographs?  Is fear more real in a child’s nightmare?

There is a lot to be said for the power of a photograph.  Photography is more real than painting.  While we can all relate to the idea of a monster hiding under the bed, or in the closet, we’ve never seen a photograph of it before.  The effect can be potent.

Childhood fears are very primal. Fear of the dark, fear of hands grabbing you, fear of mouths eating you.  Very young children are more likely than older children and adolescents to fear things that are not real, in the sense that their occurrence in the real world is impossible, such as monsters. The line between reality and fantasy is still fuzzy.  Fear for a child, if you remember, can be very intense.

I believe that the different cultures of the world have different approaches to fear, based on each culture’s unique heritage of history, folklore, and myth.  And looking at your photographs, despite their universal nature, I also see a touch of American Horror movie taste. Does that wide cinematic genre effect your work in general?  What do you think about, say, eastern folk/horror tales, such as stories about jinns, dragons, giants, etc.?

I was raised on American Horror movies.  Being an American, my work cannot help but reflect the Horror iconography of American culture and psychology.   

Do you have any art idols or basic inspirations (cinema, literature, music, etc.) for creating such marvelous atmosphere?

I am inspired by Horror films. THE MASK OF SATAN, POLTERGEIST, EVIL DEAD 2, and THE SHINING are all amazing works of art.  I like looking at illustrations of fairy tales.  I love vintage cartoons.  Disney is my favorite, but I own everything that Chuck Jones and Tex Avery ever made.  I watch them with my kids. These interests coalesce in my work.

Being more specific, your photographs are so literate and I know that you studied English Literature.  Who are your favorite writers?

Kurt Vonnegut, William Blake, Alan Moore, Henry Miller, Edgar Allan Poe, Albert Camus, Stephen King, and the poet W.S. Merwin.

On the technical side, how do you use Photoshop in your work?  

As much as possible, I try to shoot everything live in front of the camera.  I use Photoshop to finesse details and to adjust color and contrast for printing.  If there is gore or nudity involved, as was the case with my recent photograph FACE, then I will shoot my daughter on set separately and use Photoshop to graft her onto the final image.

I have heard that you have been working on your first short Horror film, BLACK LULLABY.  How is it going? When will we have a chance to see it?

It has all been photographed.  Every six months or so I work on the edit a little bit more.  It will be about five minutes long.  I’m hoping to finish it by next summer.

I know that The Little Girl is played by your daughters.  The Little Girl in your work represents innocence, maybe?  Did you think about using a boy instead?  Also, not to offend, but I’m curious, is there a different subtext or metaphor in using a blond blue eyed little girl?

By using a little blond girl, I am hoping to reference other classic fairy tale figures, like Goldilocks or Alice In Wonderland.  The Little Girl is an archetype for Innocence, as well as Vulnerability.  There is also a deliberate subtext to the work about child predation.  Using a little girl, as opposed to a little boy, helps make this subtext more readily perceived.  In images like WOLF and CLOSET, there is the idea of the boogeyman as a child molester.  As a father of four daughters, this is my own deepest fear. Those images touch a deep nerve in some people. I’ve received hate letters, and have even see a couple of people start to cry.

Have you ever photographed a music band’s artwork?  Who would you want to photograph?  If you ask me, you would be well suited for Black Sabbath.

I do shoot conceptual artwork and portraits for bands and musicians. That is my main source of income.  

My Dad owned the original Black Sabbath album.  I grew up listening to it play on the record player.  I remember being completely fascinated by the cover artwork for that album.   It was a green witch with black eyes standing in front of her creepy house, surrounded by black winter trees, at the end of a red sunset. I honestly believe it’s had a lasting effect on my work.  I fantasize about remaking that photograph.  It would be my contribution to the Horror-Remake trend.

As a commercial photographer, I am more interested in how a band or musician looks, than what they sound like. Marilyn Manson or Michael Jackson would be dream jobs. 

As far as I know, you started your career with wedding photography. Do you still have time for wedding photos?

Every so often I get pulled out of retirement.  I still enjoy shooting weddings, but I have no time for meetings or album orders anymore.

Any bedside books or magazines?

I like my Turkish magazines.  Futuristika all the way, baby.