Week 41: Matthu Placek

The rotating gallery features the work of an emerging photographer as well as an interview with him/her, and will change every Wednesday. The gallery is based off ‘collective curatorship’, where the photographer from week 1 chooses and interviews a photographer for week 2, week 2 chooses/interviews week 3, etc. There is only one stipulation to the process: Next weeks photographer has to be someone he/she has not had direct contact with yet. Ideally, this will take the gallery on a linked tour around the Internet, and exploring and unearthing new photographers as it goes.

This week, Megan Mantia interviews Matthu Placek.

Megan Mantia: Matthu! I’m so excited to get to grill you for details on your stylish, crystal clear portraiture!  I’ve noticed you use a lot of old photography equipment when you work.  Does that provide challenges with film/development/ costs?  Where do you get old equipment that works so well?

Matthu Placek: Normally, I shoot with a large format 4×5 camera which, thank goodness, is not yet a relic. I’ve always shot a lot of polaroid which now constitutes a problem! Inherently, I don’t have such high expenses shooting 4×5 because the shot is well thought out before I’m “on set.” Knowing what the image is to be, based on the picture in my head, I’ll shoot 30 frames in total. In the end, I’m spending a hell of a lot less than if I were to rent a digital outfit. Using film, I know exactly what to do in order to make the idea a reality. To be honest, I have not yet wrangled digital in the way that suits my ideas….still I feel the digital world closing in on me quick!

MM: So you’ve shot some amazing people like Marc Jacobs, Richard Prince, Leona Lewis, Leelee Sobieski, & Julian Schnabel!!  Please, tell us fellow photogs how one goes about getting such insane models for portraits??

MP: I’ve been super fortunate in this respect to photograph artists I hold in high regard. Still, I’ve worked hard on personal projects which stay focused on subjects that bring something to my table. Artists have always been a point of interest because I can build on their work as well as their personalities. Leelee and Schnabel I approached directly to sit for a portrait. Schnabel’s portrait is one of a group of portraits in progress. The late architect Philip Johnson donated his estate to The National Trust for Historic Preservation and now serves as a museum of architecture. Johnson and his partner David Whitney were avid collectors of modern art with an impressive collection which can be viewed on the property in a gallery also designed by Johnson. My mission is to photograph all the living artists on the property that Johnson and Whitney collected. Persistence, good writing and getting Julian to jump in a cold pool in October were enough to get The Glass House on my side. Based on personal work such as this I’m then better able to be commissioned for commercial projects which suit my interests and/or aesthetic. Harper’s Bazaar UK approached me to shoot Marc Jacobs and Richard Prince together. Of course I was thrilled to do so. Alas, I had a mere 45 minutes to setup, shoot and breakdown. In the end, it all worked out just fine and I am super happy with the portrait!

MM: You shoot for the band Fischerspooner regularly right?  The world wants to know how you got over your initial crush on Casey Spooner!!!!

MP: When did you hear me say that!? Yes it’s true, I had a crush on Mr. Spooner after seeing Fischerspooner perform for the first time in 2000(?) at Gavin Browns Enterprise in NYC. They were doing 6 consecutive shows about 30 minutes each. I saw the first one and snuck into the last 5 shows. I then wrote, what has become, “the best fan letter ever” and Casey invited me for drinks with a couple friends. The rest is history. Although my crush turned into an artistic crush. I respect Casey and Warren’s view’s on entertainment, music and art a great deal. They’ve provided me with an enormous amount of inspiration and a lasting friendship….not to mentioned a wealth of documentation and portrait shoots with Casey.

MM: Who do you shoot for regularly in the magazine/ book/ gallery world?

MP: Most recently I’ve been shooting for Vogue, V Magazine, and The New Yorker. I work with Deitch Projects often with some of their artists. There are a few things coming out soon…a lot of the work I did on tour with Fischerspooner is running in an Italian magazine called MUSE and I’m working on a book of the images from the tour. I’ve just done a portrait for V and my first contribution to POP magazine due out in February. I love that month!

MM: It also looks like the bulk of shoots on your website are in exotic locations all over the world.  Do you travel a lot for work?  Do you ever take trips for personal photography missions?

MP: I’ve traveled quite a bit but I would not say I travel often, at least lately. I shoot a lot in New York. The FS tour would be the latest personal travel extravaganza. I’ve never really seen much of the states so that trip was really something!

MM: I heard a rumor that your mom has a psychic sense about her.  Can you tell us about it?  Has it effected the way you see the world?

MP: Not a rumor, that’s true. There’s not much to tell as it’s just a part of my life. Some kids grow up with PTA moms, I grew up with a mom who sees dead people. I can tell you one thing…I never got away with a damn thing growing up. She certainly showed and continues to show me how to look at the world in a positive way, to grow and accept change and lead a spiritual existence. I’m very fortunate and I feel this lifestyle influences my work a great deal. Especially when considering how I’ve been able to pull inspiration from dreams.

MM: What’s your weirdest favorite food?

MP: Cigarettes.

MM: Were you ever goth?

MP: I tried but failed miserably.

MM: OK last one- what are your feelings about current blog/photog culture and it’s effect on photography?  Do you protect your images from the all-access Web, or are you a free-love social networker?

MP: Blog culture is incredible I must say, in terms of reaching the 4 corners of the world. For example, the Leona Lewis portraits only ran in The London Sunday Times Magazine when commissioned. I never put enough effort into syndicating the images and feared they would never have been seen in the states. So I sent them to Perez Hilton as he loves her. He happily posted the images and for 2 weeks my website was hit thousands of times every day from people all over the world. The bloggers have a voice and it’s getting louder whether we like it or not!