Bruce Gilden on tough guys, Obama, and his cats.

[Juan Valdenebro]

Emotions are precisely what I don't feel at all seeing his photographs. But in the modern world I guess there's public for everything, even for his public agressions too... I honestly think his work is inferior to thousands of other photographers, and his attitude both while photographing and while promoting himself with non photographic arguments, reflects what he really is... But let's wait some decades and hear time speak.
Cheers,
Juan

 

[NY_Dan]

The Bruce Gilden quotes below resonated with me the most. It's interesting that with Gilden's fame, he still has to hustle to survive -- more than one might think.

So all my shooting has been going on outside my hometown of New York. I mean, if someone wanted me to shoot here, if I got a commission here in the city, I could do it.

What I mean by that is you have to be somewhat—I won’t use the word “sneaky”—but... if people know you’re taking a picture and it’s supposed to be candid, you won’t get the picture many times. So you have to be smart and shrewd.

Magnum helped me to get editorial work, which I had never really done before. But then with all this time spent at doing editorial here and there, I didn’t pursue the art market as much as I should have.

But also as you get older things change. My form of photography is very athletic, and I can still do it ok, that’s not a problem. Of course, you can’t bend as low, and you’re not as fast. That’s the concession to age. On the other side, on the positive side, you have more experience. So you know how to get what you want.

And one from the interviewer (that I've said in a similar form for years) ISP I recently read a quotation from environmentalist Derrick Jensen that said basically that if aliens came to Earth, systematically deforested the planet, killed 90% of life in the sea, we’d declare war on them. But for some reason when corporations do that for profit, it’s generally accepted.

Occupy Wall Street? I went down to lower Manhattan for the protests, and I think you had the wrong people for the right job, at least here in New York. Half the people down there were high on drugs, running around, and playing flutes. They looked like they’d just rubbed their chests on the ground for the last three weeks and didn’t take a bath.

I think the scary thing, not only for street photography but for the world, is that everybody’s becoming the same. The cities are more homogenous now, the shops. If you go, god knows where, you see a Starbucks. People wear the same clothes. The world is smaller. They all listen to the same music. People more and more are losing their individuality.

 

[Vics]

Wonderful interview! Thanks for posting that.

 

[bonatto]

This thread was not intended as publicity for Bruce Gilden. Though his views, on photography or otherwise, may be polarizing, he is entitled to them, and I posted the link because it presented his thoughts in a very concise and straightforward way. The interview succeed in satisfying my own curiosity, and further, will perhaps contribute towards broader discussions on some very slippery notions - "street photography", "identity" and "photographing the modern society".

I find that the intimate considerations of individual photographers can make for interesting reading. Whether I appreciate the work or agree with the views is a question apart. Paul Caponigro's work is not necessarily up amongst my favourite, but his thoughts on photography in general and his recollections of a career running in parallel to the Ansel Adams phenomenon sheds light on an important element of the craft, the photographer himself.

Bruce Gilden, likeable guy or not, has produced work that has received widespread recognition, from Magnum and beyond. His work in Haiti and Japan with the Yakuza offer undeniably unique takes on difficult subjects. I look forward to seeing "A Complete Examination of Middlesex", "Foreclosures", not so much - and you're welcome to feel otherwise. 🙂

I'm glad to hear some of his words resonated with readers, or that at least it has been an interesting read, it certainly was for me.

 

[kbg32]

"I think the scary thing, not only for street photography but for the world, is that everybody’s becoming the same. The cities are more homogenous now, the shops. If you go, god knows where, you see a Starbucks. People wear the same clothes. The world is smaller. They all listen to the same music. People more and more are losing their individuality."

Yes, Dan, this was very good, as were the other quotes.

Whether one likes his work or not, I believe it will stand the test of time.

 

[Sejanus.Aelianus]

If you go, god knows where, you see a Starbucks. People wear the same clothes. The world is smaller. They all listen to the same music. People more and more are losing their individuality.

That's one view but, over here on Airstrip One, there's still a great deal of individuality in cities; even more so in towns and villages. The same is true of the one other European country of which I have current first hand knowledge, Austria.

I admit to being no fan of his style but even his own pictures are at odds with that statement.

 

[santino]

Bruce who...?

 

[Bob Michaels]

............ Okay, he doesn't like politicians, a lot of people do. But why in the world did he photograph all the New York City mayoral candidates for the New York Times Magazine? .......

Do you think that maybe he needs money to put food on the table and pay the rent just like just everyone else in the world?

You are not thinking he is making any money doing street work, documentary projects in Haiti, or documentary projects about foreclosures, are you?

 

[Jubb Jubb]

Gee, he is even worse than I thought.....

He says: "I do prefer people who are—even if I don’t like their politics—who say what they’re going to do, even if I can’t stand it, like Bush (W.). I couldn’t stand him, but at least he said he would do this, and he did it. I don’t like Obama. " Okay, he doesn't like politicians, a lot of people do. But why in the world did he photograph all the New York City mayoral candidates for the New York Times Magazine? Even worse, he "liked all of them on a one-to-one basis. Some more than others. But they’re politicians." What the f***? He likes them but dismisses them just because they're politicians? Gilden is a hypocrite, sorry.

I think it's called making a living. These photographers don't earn a lot of money from book or print sales, they're not rich.

 

[Jubb Jubb]

Ahh woops, it's already been said above.

 

[noisycheese]

... I like people who tell the truth. I hate politicians...

The redoubtable Messr. Gilden is a man after my own heart. 😀

 

[NY_Dan]

Since yesterday I've been thinking about how I would respond to a Bruce Gilden question (the one where he discusses the workshops he gives) "I always ask people, “Do you think your pictures are good?” I would reply no because after a year of posting photos on Tumblr, I'm lucky to get 3 or 4 likes per photo. And although I may think my pictures are good, society has spoken with it's silence. And while I earn my living as a photographer, and occasional get paid very well for a days work, and the clients are quite happy, as a profession it's been a hand to mouth existence. There is internal verification and external verification and if the two never meet at the same point, then the internal verification may be suspect. On the surface Gilden's question is simple, but in reality for a photographer it's a loaded question. And it cuts through a lot of bs. So kudos to him.

 

[ndnik]

Very nice. He likes to provoke, that's clear, but there's a lot of insight and truth in that interview.

-N.

 

[jsrockit]

I would reply no because after a year of posting photos on Tumblr, I'm lucky to get 3 or 4 likes per photo. And although I may think my pictures are good, society has spoken with it's silence.

Dan, you are working on large bodies of work... "likes" mean nothing. They are instant gratifications and the more bokeh/cliche, the more likes one seems to get. Your work might just need to sit around for years before showing its value to others. Keep on keeping on.

 

[kbg32]

I find "likes" have nothing to do with the quality or vision of ones work. I am in the same boat as you Dan. I don't work from just doing one image to the next. My images are all parts of large bodies of work or projects. I am sometimes still surprised by what is "popular" on some sites. I have a blog that has steadily grown in its followers over the last two years. Not a great amount of followers, but it continues to grow. All one can do is hope that the work they do will connect with others. Even if it is with just a few. The one thing I want to achieve in the next two years is having more dialogue with those that view my work. This is something that Gilden has managed to achieve. His question is not out of the ordinary.

I had a teacher years ago who asked the very same question to those in class. Amazing to think that quite a few thought much better of themselves then they really were. When it came down to really doing the "work", really putting the time in, questioning oneself, and opening themselves, they were the first ones to quit.

 

[Hsg]

If you want likes and followers and all the other bs of social media, then take photos of sexy women, nude women, sexually provocative photos of younger women, anything to do with sex and implied sexuality.

Look at the main page of youtube, look what is it that billions are watching and you get a sense of humanity, its taste and how much people care about 'art'.

 

[Sejanus.Aelianus]

Look at the main page of youtube, look what is it that billions are watching and you get a sense of humanity, its taste and how much people care about 'art'.

I think it depends on what you define as art. :angel:

 

[Hsg]

I think it depends on what you define as art. :angel:

Any from of communication that does not require these to make its point:

😎 😛 😉 🙂 :bang: 🙄 😡 :angel: 🙂 🙁

 

[noisycheese]

Since yesterday I've been thinking about how I would respond to a Bruce Gilden question (the one where he discusses the workshops he gives) "I always ask people, “Do you think your pictures are good?” I would reply no because after a year of posting photos on Tumblr, I'm lucky to get 3 or 4 likes per photo. And although I may think my pictures are good, society has spoken with it's silence. And while I earn my living as a photographer, and occasional get paid very well for a days work, and the clients are quite happy, as a profession it's been a hand to mouth existence. There is internal verification and external verification and if the two never meet at the same point, then the internal verification may be suspect. On the surface Gilden's question is simple, but in reality for a photographer it's a loaded question. And it cuts through a lot of bs. So kudos to him.

Does that really matter? JMHO but my answer to that question would be NO. When I photograph for myself, I photograph for myself - not for others.

If I am photographing for a paying client, that is another matter. What they think of the photos they have paid me for does matter.

 

[DougFord]

Looks like Bruce is having fun, earning a living taking photographs.