Name: Alex Kronenberg
age: 18
Country: Australia
Website: www.flickr.com/yuriyonson
At which age did you start creating art? And why do you feel compelled to create?
I always used to do these really detailed drawings when i was little. I mean, all kids draw, but i was totally obsessed with it. I made these little compendiums that played out weird little fantasies. I loved drawing catastrophies and disasters, especially train-crash related ones.
I only started to take photos seriously a few years ago. My dad gave me his old Pentax K-1000 and a five minute course in exposure. After that i just taught myself to shoot by trial and error. And i guess what compels me to shoot now is that i'm totally hooked. I work at a minilab and i hover over the C-41 out the back when i develop my film, waiting for my negatives to feed out of the machine. I can hardly wait and get really excited just looking as each exposure on the negative comes out slowly in a long row.
What are you inspired by? And who do you look up to?
I'm inspired by the cinema among other things. i like the idea of life through a lens, that the ordinary and the everyday can look beautiful and dramatic. Dead birds on the side of the street inspire me. I like Brick walls. My friends. I look up to photographic artists like Grergory Crewdson and Leon Levingstein and Bill Henson. I admire photographers with compelling and cohesive bodies of works. To take something that could just be a snapshot and transport that into the realm of fine art is something that i aspire to and am still learning how to grasp. It feels like alchemy sometimes.
Which influential artist would you like to ask for advice?
Dead or alive? I would get Diane Arbus to teach me about street-photography. And Miles Aldridge to give me a lesson in studio lighting. And I’d like to hang out with Man Ray
If you had to put up one piece of artwork on your wall and stare at it for a year, who would it be by and why?
Probably Jeffrey Smart. I have a poster of his painting ‘Truck and trailer approaching a city’ that’s been on the wall in my bedroom for a lot longer than a year and I am by no means sick of it. I think the static composition and the photorealism of it make it sort of restive and peaceful to look at.
Tell us about your creative process.
Usually it involves putting film in my camera, putting it around my neck or shoulder or in my bag and walking out the front-door. If it’s a studio project, though, there’s a whole ‘nother kettle of fish. However I haven’t done a studio series for about a year now.
Do you ever find weird connections between life and art?
My art is all about my life. And the lives of others.
As an artist, are you Technical or passionate?
I wouldn’t say passionate. More impulsive. More snap-happy. Once you get a feel for exposure and development and printing and scanning it becomes second nature and you’re free to just have fun with shooting.
What frightens you most about your art?
That all of my street photography isn’t really art at all, but snap-shots with no real artistic integrity.
Do you dream about your artwork?
Recently I’ve had a few dreams where I’m taking photos, but for some reason I can never get the shot I want. In one I was trying to take a photo of a building, but every time I looked through the lens it had moved, or changed shape, or disappeared altogether. I’m sort of chasing this building, climbing ladders to get a better angle, and then the lens cap is on, and then I’m out of film, I never get the shot.
Which of your own works are you most proud of/ is most meaningful to you and why?
I like the still life series I did for my end of school major work. And I did this crazy project with a taxidermized fox that was so much fun. I really want to do some more projects like that, but I find it hard to find the impotus. Recently I guess there a whole bunch of shots that I adore, of my family, of my friends, of my city. I went up to Coffs Harbour for a week at the start of the year and shot a roll up there that fills my heart with warm fuzzy feelings.
What kind of career do you ultimately want? And what kind of career do you think you'll end up having (or already have) realistically?
Who are you, my dad?
Who are some of your heroes outside of the visual art stream?
Laika and Yuri Gagarin.
Country: Australia
Website: www.flickr.com/yuriyonson
At which age did you start creating art? And why do you feel compelled to create?
I always used to do these really detailed drawings when i was little. I mean, all kids draw, but i was totally obsessed with it. I made these little compendiums that played out weird little fantasies. I loved drawing catastrophies and disasters, especially train-crash related ones.
I only started to take photos seriously a few years ago. My dad gave me his old Pentax K-1000 and a five minute course in exposure. After that i just taught myself to shoot by trial and error. And i guess what compels me to shoot now is that i'm totally hooked. I work at a minilab and i hover over the C-41 out the back when i develop my film, waiting for my negatives to feed out of the machine. I can hardly wait and get really excited just looking as each exposure on the negative comes out slowly in a long row.
What are you inspired by? And who do you look up to?
I'm inspired by the cinema among other things. i like the idea of life through a lens, that the ordinary and the everyday can look beautiful and dramatic. Dead birds on the side of the street inspire me. I like Brick walls. My friends. I look up to photographic artists like Grergory Crewdson and Leon Levingstein and Bill Henson. I admire photographers with compelling and cohesive bodies of works. To take something that could just be a snapshot and transport that into the realm of fine art is something that i aspire to and am still learning how to grasp. It feels like alchemy sometimes.
Which influential artist would you like to ask for advice?
Dead or alive? I would get Diane Arbus to teach me about street-photography. And Miles Aldridge to give me a lesson in studio lighting. And I’d like to hang out with Man Ray
If you had to put up one piece of artwork on your wall and stare at it for a year, who would it be by and why?
Probably Jeffrey Smart. I have a poster of his painting ‘Truck and trailer approaching a city’ that’s been on the wall in my bedroom for a lot longer than a year and I am by no means sick of it. I think the static composition and the photorealism of it make it sort of restive and peaceful to look at.
Tell us about your creative process.
Usually it involves putting film in my camera, putting it around my neck or shoulder or in my bag and walking out the front-door. If it’s a studio project, though, there’s a whole ‘nother kettle of fish. However I haven’t done a studio series for about a year now.
Do you ever find weird connections between life and art?
My art is all about my life. And the lives of others.
As an artist, are you Technical or passionate?
I wouldn’t say passionate. More impulsive. More snap-happy. Once you get a feel for exposure and development and printing and scanning it becomes second nature and you’re free to just have fun with shooting.
What frightens you most about your art?
That all of my street photography isn’t really art at all, but snap-shots with no real artistic integrity.
Do you dream about your artwork?
Recently I’ve had a few dreams where I’m taking photos, but for some reason I can never get the shot I want. In one I was trying to take a photo of a building, but every time I looked through the lens it had moved, or changed shape, or disappeared altogether. I’m sort of chasing this building, climbing ladders to get a better angle, and then the lens cap is on, and then I’m out of film, I never get the shot.
Which of your own works are you most proud of/ is most meaningful to you and why?
I like the still life series I did for my end of school major work. And I did this crazy project with a taxidermized fox that was so much fun. I really want to do some more projects like that, but I find it hard to find the impotus. Recently I guess there a whole bunch of shots that I adore, of my family, of my friends, of my city. I went up to Coffs Harbour for a week at the start of the year and shot a roll up there that fills my heart with warm fuzzy feelings.
What kind of career do you ultimately want? And what kind of career do you think you'll end up having (or already have) realistically?
Who are you, my dad?
Who are some of your heroes outside of the visual art stream?
Laika and Yuri Gagarin.
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ReplyDeletehow exciting!
do you think my moniker works out okay>?
yeah! totally.
ReplyDeleteyou always come up with the best names.