Interview
Michael Frank
Michael Frank is a commercial photographer with over 30 years of studio and location experience. After many years of freelance corporate, advertising and portrait work with national and international clients, as well as owner of a rental studio in Milan Italy, in 2007 Michael moved to London and subsequently took a number of short courses on photography, art and architecture at Central St. Martins. This led to further academic study with the MA course “Photography & Urban Cultures” at Goldsmiths University of London, which he successfully finished in 2012.
A 2012 Leica Price shortlist, an Overall Winner of the Wellcome Image Award 2015, winner of the 2016 Wellcome Image Award as well as publications on international magazines is some of Michael recognitions for his photographic practice. Some of his most recent work was part of the 2016 “Designing Bodies” exhibition at the Hunterian Museum in the Royal College of Surgeons as well as the 2019 “Science Photographer of the Year’ exhibition hosted at the Science Museum in London.
What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?
“I am a professional advertising photographer. I was born and raised in Italy in a family with German heritage. I started a photography apprenticeship in Stuttgart, Germany straight after school, at the age of 17. After successfully completing the apprenticeship, I returned to Milan to start my career. For several years, I was a freelance assistant for various studios and photographers. In 1994, I co-founded a photography studio where we have interacted with domestic and international clients such as Mondadori, Disney, Fininvest, Mediaset, Alfa Romeo, Bassani Ticino, Vimar, Cairo Editore, Volkswagen, L’Oreal, Fernet Branca, Ferrari, Paul&Shark, Telecom Italia, Henkel, Nestlé, McCann Erickson and many more. After getting married, I relocated to London, but still keep my studio and clients in Milan.
London has a very vibrant and exciting art world. I took short courses like Photography, Art and Architecture at Central St. Martins, the Magnum workshop and Introduction to Curating Contemporary Art at the Chelsea College of Art and Design.
I co-founded and launched a photography gallery called Gasket-Gallery. The idea was to take photographic and sociological theory beyond the lecture theatre, to a broader audience. In 2015 we decided, after 3 very intense years that gave us insight into the art dealer world, some very positive response from the media and clients but not enough turnover to keep on going, to close down the gallery and focus on our own art practice.”
What inspires you most?
“There is no single source of inspiration, rather, I find inspiration from all kinds of mediums: films, music, books, paintings and sculpture. My aim is to make photos full of meaning and expression, whilst devoid of any distraction or unnecessary visual items.
In other words, I’m inspired by beauty and simplicity. Beauty in the sense of perfection, which doesn’t necessarily mean ‘perfect’. There can be perfection in a rusty can or a dying flower.”
How would you describe your work?
“My work is a constant struggle for balance and perfection. I find it difficult to describe my own work, believing that art should speak for itself.”
"I don’t have grand political or sociological themes, although any type of art is a statement. I want to engage people with everyday life objects, showing them in a different light. An old knife becomes something new and unexpected, while withered flowers gain new life beyond the ephemeral beauty.
"
Which artists influence you most?
“My medium of choice is photography, and my earliest influence came from the great photographers from the past. These include The whole Group F64 with Edward Weston, Sonya Noshkowiak, Willard Van Dyke, Imogen Cunningham, Ansel Adams and Irving Penn for his superb still life and portraits. I look to Man Ray and Moholy-Nagy for their modernist approach to photography, Rodchenko and Lissitzky for Russian avant-garde. Others are Robert Frank’s seminal work ‘The Americans’, from the 50’s. Italian photographers like Ferdinando Scianna, Berengo Gardin, Oliviero Toscani, Luigi Ghirri, Mimmo Jodice and Japanese photographers such as Hiroshi Sugimoto. More contemporary inspiration would be Gursky, Jeff Wall, Gregory Crewsdon, Zhang Huan, Eggleston, DiCorcia, Wolfgang Tillmans and more.
Kurosawa and Japanese art such as Hokusai are a big factor in my art practice. Modernist painting like Giacometti, Morandi, O’Keefe and Rothko have a big appeal to me. Rodin if we talk about sculpture.
But if I had to narrow it down to two names, it would be Irving Penn and Giorgio Morandi.”
What is your creative process like?
“My creative process can be quite a mess. I have months where I’m not taking any photos or working on any project, but this doesn’t mean that I’m not mentally taking notes. I need some ‘detox’ time where I go to exhibitions, read books or exchange ideas with friends. All this serves as ‘humus’ or breeding ground. Once I form an idea and have direction on how the final product should look like, the actual process is quick. This is how I’ve worked for the past 40 years.
An example of this is my ‘Homage to Irving Penn and Giorgio Morandi’. It took me a few weeks to prepare and paint the background, gather all the props and decide how to combine them, but only two days to shoot 10 photos.”
“My quest for simplicity comes from my admiration of Japanese culture, and the idea of traditional aesthetics called wabi-sabi, the acceptance of transience and imperfection.”
What process, materials, techniques etc do you use to create your artwork?
“I start with visualizing what the photo will look like in my head, then choose the camera and lenses accordingly. I have two different camera systems: Fuji GF for very sharp and crisp images, and a Hasselblad for more ‘pictorial’ images.
Normally, a still life will start with an object that caught my attention. I usually paint my own background and create my own props, such as the clay bottles pictured above for the ‘Homage to Morandi’ series. Depending on the subject and the feel I want to achieve, I choose between the available natural light, or if I want more control I will work with a flashlight.
Although I fully embrace the digital workflow which gives us a lot of freedom and possibilities, I always set up a shot with the old-school mantra ‘get it right in camera’. I use Photoshop only to tweak colors and mood, clean up things and prepare for printing. I do my own inkjet printing, as I like to experiment with different paper qualities, such as handmade and coated paper for a different outcome.”
What’s your favourite artwork and why?
“I don’t really have one. So many artworks - photos, paintings, music and film have played a very important role in particular chapters of my life. But if I had to name one, it would be Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei). Although it is a body of work containing 36 wood prints, I consider it a single artwork made of different chapters. The one that stands out for me most is Kajikazawa, Kai province.
I love how Hokusai managed to convey the force of elements, the struggle and hardship of the fisherman, and the sheer beauty of the landscape by using one color only, Prussian Blue. There is a subtlety in the tonalities and gradation of the print that enhances the power of the waves; the image is devoid of any superfluous brush stroke or element. Although it’s about Mt. Fuji, I find that the narrative is more about the human condition. It is a very compelling image that doesn’t tire you to look for the details.”
What is an artist’s role in society and how do you see that evolving??
“From my point of view, there is no one prefixed role for an artist. It is a bit like journalists, depending on the inclination. You have investigative journalists, tabloid journalists and sports journalists. What unites them is the desire to tell a story. Some in political and engaging matters, others in a light-weight fashion, but quintessentially they want to tell a story. I think the same goes for artists. My art is not politically or socially engaged. I would like my art to give the viewer enjoyment and calm, maybe in a difficult moment, in the same way it gives me joy and mindfulness in creating it.
An artist’s role won’t change in future. But how to reach and promote your art and message is changing, and will continue to do so with advancing technology. Social media has already changed the game, although not always for the best. The way an artist can self promote today was unthinkable 10 years ago. Virtual reality, although still in its infancy, will push the boundaries even further.”
Have you had any noteworthy exhibitions you'd like to share?
“I have had various opportunities to show my work, both as myself and under the Gasket-Gallery umbrella.
Personal exhibitions and publications:
2019:
‘Science Photographer of the Year’ exhibition hosted at the Science Museum in London.2016:
Part of the ‘Designing Bodies’ exhibition at the Hunterian Museum in the Royal College of Surgeons.2015 & 2016:
Overall winner of the Wellcome Image Award.2012:
Shortlisted for Leica Price.Gasket-Gallery activities:
2014:
Promoted some of the represented artists in participating at two art fairs respectively in Milan and Berlin.2013:
Hosted ‘Leap-Second’ in London. Leap-Second explores the in-between - those instants that might affect us unconsciously. It draws attention to moments that slip our notice, focusing our gaze on the relationship between time, space and perception.
Collaboration with the Viennese Galerie Ruberl. The resulting collaboration between Gasket and Galerie Ruberl provided artists presented in Adrift with the opportunity to present photographic work with a strong sociological basis in an established fine art gallery in a new way.2012:
Hosted a collective photography exhibition, ‘Adrift - The Unfamiliar Familiar in Modern Society’ in conjunction with the 2012 Urban Photofestival, curated by Paul Halliday with Goldsmiths College.
Hosted a panel talk focusing on the theme ‘Where did everybody go?’ Urban photography devoid of human presence, an artistic choice?”
