NAU NUA: GREG GORMAN

Searching out the truth

Greg Gorman, Cadaqués . Photo by © Joshua Smith

The new exhibition by photographer Greg Gorman opens on 30 September at the IMMAGIS gallery in Munich under the title "It is not about me", which inevitably leads us to wonder how much of the artist is in his work. It is a selection of portraits curated from Gorman's same title book released in 2020 from among his extensive and impressive catalog, the result of a fascinating career that turns 50 years old. His iconic portraits have made him a benchmark photographer: Alfred Hitchcock, Tom Waits, Al Pacino, Laura Dern, Grace Jones, Mick Jagger, Michael Jackson ... Musicians, actors, directors, contemporary artists, in front of the attentive, respectful and personal gaze of Greg Gorman, always looking for the truth of the being portrayed person and his own.

The exhibition "It's not about me", is it not really about you?

I put my energy into the subjects and take a backseat in terms of their persona. I want their personality to come across -not mine. How I interpret the images at hand is what is most important to me.

How was the selection process for the exhibition after 50 years of a long career?

I spent a year and a half going through over 160 large boxes of negatives and transparencies. Then I stepped back for a bit to let it all sink in,before making my final selects.

What do you remember about that photograph of Jimi Hendrix during a concert in Kansas City in 1968 and how do you feel right now about it?

Well it wasn’t a very good picture, however it triggered something inside me - making me realize that the magic of that initial image coming up in the developer would affect me forever. Probably like the pot I had smoked that night did as well. It was the hippy era and pot was certainly the drug of choice for a Jimi hendrix concert.

50 years working on photography, the world has changed a lot, of course photography, ut as a photographer, how do you see your evolution from your early works, how have you changed as a photographer?

I’ve spent the better part of my career developing and honing my style, so in many ways I feel I have been true to my craft and haven’t changed so much. Of course when I first began and was searching for my voice, I tended to over light and shoot with a much more straight forward approach, my personal style focussing more on strong highlights and harsh shadows is more where I am today.

The list of portraits selected for the exhibition is extraordinary, and very diverse in terms of personalities and what they represent. How do you deal with such diverse and, in some cases, complex personalities?

That’s the challenge of being a personality photographer. Being able to come up or down to a subect's comfort zone certainly helps in getting that connected portrait, by winning their trust and confidence.

Isn't there an excess of control of the image that an artist wants to project to the detriment of naturalness?

A lot of that depends on the purpose of the portrait and who is really in control and what the objective of the actual shoot is.

The balance between finding the truth in the person portrayed and the temptation to manipulate the image must be difficult. Is it more so today?

I always search out the truth and the underlying personality in my portraits-at least that is my objective. Some personalities want to be over retouched because that is how they perceive themselves and that is really too bad.

Still fascinated by photographic art?

I still love taking pictures but that has changed a great deal in the last years. I lost my passion for that kind of work. I spent 50 plus years doing commercial work and fine art male and female nudes. I turned to education and more fine art photography to hold my interest and keep my passion alive.

I write this interview listening to news about Afghanistan while reviewing celebrity and fashion portraits. Have you ever thought about making social denunciation photography reports?

I’ve never seen myself as a photojournalist although I often ask myself what relevance my work as a personality photographer honestly has in the big picture. I have so much respect for all of the photojournalists out there who are truly making a difference.

What are your future projects?

I am just finishing a book with my dear friend, gary johns where we have put together quite an interesting project of still life photographs of voodoo and fetish dolls but with a total spin. Can’t really go into this now, but I will be shopping a book deal when I am in Germany in a couple of weeks.

If you had to portray your life, what would the resulting photograph look like?

I guess that really depends on which part of my life because one photograph couldn’t possibly capture my life. Currently it would be a photograph of the calm at sunrise a beautiful lake or stream presents asI love the out of doors and fishing is a passion.

GREG GORMAN . IT'S NOT ABOUT ME

Exhibition at IMMAGIS GALLERY in Munich on view through 30 November 2021

An interview by Juan Carlos Romero

For further information about the artist please visit www.gormanphotography.com