The context seems pretty much the same for me, some two and a half years later. But some thoughts have changed as well. I'm posting the register of those thoughts.
I guess some of them remain unchanged on certain topics, but I am continuously challenging my own perceptions towards Photography and Art. Soon I will be able to describe how some of these thoughts have changed.
The interview has been recovered from my original first blog and was given while I was still living in Bogotá.
Here it is.
First in Spanish.
In English, below.
*
Fotógrafo.
*Entrevista Realizada y Publicada por:
*Universidad de la Sabana - Facultad de Comunicación Social
*(Bogotá-Colombia)
Universidad de la Sabana : ¿Qué hace de la Fotografía un Arte?
Miguel Gómez: Considero que el arte está presente de manera intrínseca en todos los seres humanos, pero sólo algunos poseen la capacidad de asimilarlo como una herramienta expresiva de la emoción y del pensamiento. Cuando una fotografía une, o conjuga emoción y la acción de pensar, pero por sobretodo cuando conjuga emoción, es en algo verdaderamente artístico. La fotografía comercial (y no solamente la concebida como Fine Art) puede en muchos casos representar emociones y a la vez tener el rótulo de Fotografía Artística. El trabajo de maestros de la historia de la Fotografía como Richard Avedon o Irving Penn quienes hicieron Fotografía de Moda y Comercial durante gran parte de sus carreras, refleja contundentemente que mientras haya en la imagen fotográfica la capacidad de representar y generar emociones, el resultado se convierte verdaderamente en un arte tan válido como la pintura o la escultura.
*Universidad de la Sabana - Facultad de Comunicación Social
*(Bogotá-Colombia)
Universidad de la Sabana : ¿Qué hace de la Fotografía un Arte?
Miguel Gómez: Considero que el arte está presente de manera intrínseca en todos los seres humanos, pero sólo algunos poseen la capacidad de asimilarlo como una herramienta expresiva de la emoción y del pensamiento. Cuando una fotografía une, o conjuga emoción y la acción de pensar, pero por sobretodo cuando conjuga emoción, es en algo verdaderamente artístico. La fotografía comercial (y no solamente la concebida como Fine Art) puede en muchos casos representar emociones y a la vez tener el rótulo de Fotografía Artística. El trabajo de maestros de la historia de la Fotografía como Richard Avedon o Irving Penn quienes hicieron Fotografía de Moda y Comercial durante gran parte de sus carreras, refleja contundentemente que mientras haya en la imagen fotográfica la capacidad de representar y generar emociones, el resultado se convierte verdaderamente en un arte tan válido como la pintura o la escultura.
UDLS: Cómo describe la evolución de la Fotografía durante el período 1950-2000?
MG: Fue un proceso de muchísimos adelantos técnicos y de masificación de la Fotografía como herramienta profesional y popular tanto en lo artístico como en lo comercial y [hasta] en lo lúdico. El hecho de que se profesionalizara también le dio un status. A la vez todo el mundo tuvo acceso a las cámaras fotográficas en este periodo, no sólo los profesionales, y fue muy común que la gente aficionada tuviera pequeños laboratorios y cuartos oscuros caseros. La fotografía también se legitimó como arte gracias al trabajo de grandes maestros como Alfred Stieglitz, Ansel Adams, o Edward Weston que a comienzos del siglo XX se esforzaron muchisimo para que luego otros como Helmut Newton, Cindy Sherman, Elliot Erwitt, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Jeanloup Sieff o los mencionados en la respuesta anterior, legitimaran el trabajo fotográfico a mediados del siglo y hasta el año 2000 como expresión humana y no como el simple producto del la operación de una máquina.
UDLS: Qué se necesita para captar la imagen perfecta en el momento perfecto?
MG: No se necesita la mejor cámara del mundo ni la mejor tecnología, aunque obviamente esto también puede ser determinante en algunas tomas, pero: Se necesita paciencia, voluntad y ojo, además de la necesidad casi fisiológica de lograr una buena imagen. El fotógrafo que no se satisface a si mismo no satisface a nadie tampoco. Debe ser complaciente consigo mismo y tener también siempre un fuerte sentido auto-crítico.
UDLS: Cuál ha sido la foto más difícil de tomar pero más satisfactoria para usted?
MG: Es difícil recordar una imagen de manera especifica cuando hay tantos negativos y copias rondando un archivo personal. Hay fotografías que pueden ser supremamente satisfactorias y podrían venir casi que del azar. Una fotografía en la que concientemente debí hacer un esfuerzo y logre el resultado deseado podría haber sido tomada en un túnel en una carretera en Venezuela, dentro de un vehículo en movimiento.
UDLS: Qué foto no ha podido tomar todavía?
MG: Creo que siempre la mejor foto habrá de ser tomada mañana. Todos los días tendré la necesidad de hacer una imagen mejor que cualquiera de las anteriores.
UDLS: Que le espera a la Fotografía Colombiana en unos años?
MG: Que el trabajo de los fotógrafos sea respetado y entendido como la memoria del país, sea a nivel comercial o artístico. Muchos fotógrafos han dejado de trabajar por el simple placer de obtener una imagen bella y más por la satisfacción del “cliente”, quien muchas veces no tiene una apropiada educación visual y se conforma con imágenes aburridas y simples. Por esta misma razón el concepto generalizado del ciudadano común hacia el fotógrafo es indiferencia. El reto es crear imágenes atractivas. Por otra parte, en Colombia el desconocimiento de la historia de la Fotografía es sorprendente, y no sólo de la Fotografía Internacional sino de la Nacional. Luis B. Ramos, Melitón Rodríguez y otros maestros [colombianos] han quedado en el olvido. El fotógrafo colombiano debe mirar en proporciones iguales hacia adentro del país como al extranjero. El fotógrafo debe enamorarse de su trabajo y conocer mucho más el trabajo de otros y entenderlo como esfuerzo mutuo y no como una competencia poco sana. El romanticismo por la profesión está muy desdibujado y hace falta más compromiso en este sentido. La fotografía es cuestión de observación permanente. En Colombia nos olvidamos de observar.
También espero que a la vez el sentido profesional de responsabilidad social y estético de parte de los fotógrafos colombianos como colectivo, sea cada vez más comprometido hacia la educación visual y la investigación, y que los resultados no vengan del azar y la improvisación, sino del amor por la profesión.
UDLS: Cuál es la misión del fotógrafo ante la realidad que está viviendo el país?
MG: Creo que en un país como Colombia y retomando el punto anterior, la misma condición social impide la observación de la belleza. Acá el trabajo fotográfico [la mayoría de las veces] o es publicitario, o es reportero. En la fotografía artística colombiana se está trabajando en muchos casos (no todos) de manera muy egocéntrica y con temas generalmente muy banales. Pero siendo este un país de paisajes, montañas y colorido absoluto por doquier creo que el fotógrafo tiene la responsabilidad de mostrar la belleza de las ciudades, la gente y los campos más que la responsabilidad de mostrar violencia, miseria o egocentrismo.
UDLS: Qué opina de la tecnología actual para tomar fotos?
MG: La tecnología hace las cosas aparentemente más sencillas. Esto es verdad en cuanto a la fotografía aficionada, pero no aplica para la fotografía profesional. Ayuda mucho pero implica cierto nivel de compromiso, La fotografía profesional que cuenta con la tecnología digital como fundamento implica un gran conocimiento de la teoría del color y de los sistemas de impresión además que un dominio completo de programas de computador y software de retoque. Además la manera de capturar una imagen en fotografía digital se diferencia de la manera análoga en la idea de exposición. Ahora se expone (se captura una imagen) de manera contraria. Se necesita mucho estudio, y la tecnología sólo brinda resultados satisfactorios con un permanente trabajo de investigación y dedicación. Los avances tecnológicos siempre son positivos. Pero al mismo tiempo, el trabajo manual de laboratorio y químicos tiene una calidez incomparable. Yo creo que la tecnología y lo que ahora muchos ven casi como artesanal en lo análogo siempre pueden ir muy de la mano y complementarse.
UDLS: Qué le hace falta y cual es la mejor virtud de la Fotografía Colombiana para ser reconocida a nivel internacional?
MG: La verdad creo que la fotografía NO es colombiana, uruguaya, argentina o norteamericana, o que se pueda clasificar como un fenómeno nacional. La fotografía es (y más en este mundo actual globalizado) una herramienta de expresión personal y no-nacional, así que a pesar de que el trabajo de un fotógrafo colombiano pueda diferenciarse bastante del trabajo de un fotógrafo iraquí o japonés por simples condiciones sociales o culturales, el valor que sobresaldrá no está dado tanto por la nacionalidad del autor sino el por la cantidad de corazón y buen gusto que ponga en su trabajo. La Fotografía Colombiana si la llamamos asi, ha contado con grandes exponentes. El trabajo reciente de Ruven Afanador está casi en la categoría de lo hecho por Penn o Avedon. Tiene mucho corazón y gusto.
UDLS: Se podría decir que su pasión es la fotografía, por qué y cómo vive ese sentimiento cada día? Cuál es esa razón que lo motiva cada día a tomar nuevas fotos?
MG: La memoria hace que uno sienta o piense que las cosas son mejores o peores de lo que son. Por lo general la Fotografía tiene la capacidad de mostrarnos el mundo que queremos o a veces, el que NO queremos. Ver una foto de la Segunda Guerra Mundial me hace querer que el mundo no sea [así], o lamentar que haya sido así. Ver una foto de un paisaje natural me hace sentir en paz. Yo tomo fotos y amo la Fotografía porque pienso, o sueño, que quisiera habitar cada vez idealmente en un mundo representado por alguna de las imágenes que detenga en el tiempo con la cámara.
________________________________________
A test shot (just found / Nov.2008) from the film days [1999].
[Some old Canon FD lenses and extension tubes]
Shot on Mamiya (medium format) polaroid film.
ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF THE INTERVIEW:
Universidad de la Sabana : What makes Photography an Art Form?
Miguel Gómez: I believe Art is intrinsically present in all human beings, but only few have the capacity to take it in as a tool for expression of emotion and thought. When a photograph conjugates emotion and the action of thought, but more especially when it conjugates emotion, it is something truly artistic. Commercial Photography (and not only photography regarded as Fine Art) can represent, in many cases emotion, and, it can be classified as Artistic Photography at the same time. The work of such masters in History of Photography as Richard Avedon or Irving Penn, who worked in Fashion and Commercial Photography throughout a big portion of their careers, strongly reflects that as long as a photographic image is capable of representing and generating emotions, the result becomes Art as valid as painting or sculpture.
UDLS: How do you describe the evolution of Photography during the 1950-2000 period?
MG: It was a process consisting of many technical improvements and at the same time it resulted in the popular expansion of Photography as a professional tool, both in the artistic and commercial fields (and even in the recreational ones). In fact, as Photography turned into a professional field, it gained a new status. Everyone had access to cameras during that period. It was not an exclusive tool for professionals and it was a common thing for enthusiastic people to have small, homemade labs and dark rooms. Photography gained recognition as an Art form thanks to the work and effort of masters such as Alfred Stieglitz, Ansel Adams or Edward Weston who at the beginning of the XXth Century, put a lot of effort so that others in turn, such as Helmut Newton, Cindy Sherman, Elliot Erwitt, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Jeanloup Sieff or the ones I mentioned in the previous answer, were responsible for consolidating photography from the 50's and all the way into the year 2000, as a human form of expression, as opposed to the simple result of the handling of a machine.
UDLS: What is required to capture the perfect image, and, at perfect timing?
MG: The best camera in the world is certainly not needed, nor the best technology, although this can be a determining factor for obvious reasons, and for certain purposes. But, patience, will and an eye, added to the almost physiological need to get a good image are the things that are required. A photographer who doesn't please him/herself does not satisfy others either. A photographer has to be self-pleasing and at the same time, have a very strong self-critical spirit.
UDLS: Which has been your most difficult, most rewarding shot?
MG: It is difficult to remember one single specific image when there are so many negatives and prints floating around in a personal archive. There are extremely satisfactory photographs that almost came out as a product of luck and chance. One photograph on which I had to do a conscious effort and achieved the desired result, could have been one shot inside a tunnel on a road in Venezuela, inside a moving vehicle.
UDLS: What picture have you not been able to take yet?
MG: I think the best picture has to be done tomorrow. Every single day I'll feel the necessity to do an image that tops all the previous ones I've done.
UDLS: What is the outlook for Colombian Photography in the coming years?
MG: The work of photographers has to be understood as the memory of the nation, be it commercial or artistic work. Many photographers have stopped working for the simple pleasure of getting a beautiful image and keep doing it more each time for the satisfaction of a "customer", who most of the time does not have a proper visual education and is easily pleased by simple and boring images. On another note, the prevailing ignorance of History of Photography in Colombia is rather surprising, speaking both on the international and local evolutions of the medium. Luis B. Ramos, Melitón Rodríguez and other Colombian masters are sadly stuck on oblivion. A Colombian photographer should look out of, an inside the country in equal proportion.
A photographer has to be in love with his/her work and must try to get to know the work of other photographers and understand it as a mutual effort and not as unhealthy competition.
The romanticism for this profession is vanishing, and more commitment in this sense would be desirable.
Photography is a matter of permanent observation. In Colombia we keep forgetting about the action of observance.
I also hope that the professional sense of responsibility of Colombian photographers (as a collective) in social and aesthetics, results in a more committed visual education and investigation, and that the results of these efforts don't come as a matter of chance and improvisation but rather from the love for this profession.
UDLS: What is the mission of a photographer facing the country's current reality?
MG: I believe that in a country as Colombia, and according to the previous point, the actual social condition stops people from noticing beauty. Photographic work here is done most of the time for advertising or graphic reportage purposes. In Colombian artistic Photography on the other hand, most (not all) of the work that is currently being done is very ego-centrical and most of the time touches very superficial topics. But with a country as this, full of natural resources and colourful landscapes, I believe the photographer's responsibility is to show the beauty of the cities, the people and the villages or countryside rather than more violence, misery or egocentrism.
UDLS: What is your opinion on today's technology for shooting pictures?
MG: Technology apparently makes things easier. This is certainly true for non-professional Photography, but not as much for professional Photography. It does help a lot, but it requires a level of commitment if it is to be embraced. Photography that relies on digital technology on a professional level needs a good quantity of knowledge from the user: Theory of colour, printing systems knowledge and software tools must be mastered. The way of capturing an image in the digital process is opposite from the analogue method, regarding exposure. Much time is required to study all these topics and technology can only provide satisfactory results if it is accompanied by hard work and research. Technological progress is always positive. But at the same time, manual work with chemicals in the dark room has an incomparably warm look and feel. I believe that technology and manual craft can always go hand in hand, and benefit each other.
UDLS: What is Colombian Photography lacking, and which is its greatest virtue in order to be internationally recognised?
MG: I honestly don't think that photography can be classified as Colombian, Uruguayan, Argentinean or North-American, or that it can even be classified as a national phenomenon. Photography is (and even more nowadays in this globalized world) a tool for personal and non-nationalistic expression. In that order of ideas, even though a Colombian photographer's work can be quite different from that of an Iraqi or Japanese photographer (due to simple cultural and social differences), the value that will prevail in his/her work will not be given by his/her nationality but by the amount of heartfelt input and taste present in it. Colombian Photography if it can be called that way, has had great representatives. The most recent work from Ruven Afanador is almost at the same level of what was done by Penn or Avedon. It is heartfelt and it has a good amount of taste.
UDLS: One could say that Photography is your passion. Why, and how do you experience that feeling day by day? What is the reason that moves you to create new photographs?
MG: Memory makes us feel or think about things being better or worse that what they really are. Generally speaking, Photography has the ability to show us the world the way we want it to be, and sometimes the way we don't want it to be. Seeing a picture shot during World War II makes me want the stop the world from being that way, while seeing an image of a natural landscape makes me feel at peace. I shoot pictures, and I love Photography because I think (or even dream) that I would like to be an inhabitant of a world represented by any of the images that I freeze in time with my camera.
Universidad de la Sabana : What makes Photography an Art Form?
Miguel Gómez: I believe Art is intrinsically present in all human beings, but only few have the capacity to take it in as a tool for expression of emotion and thought. When a photograph conjugates emotion and the action of thought, but more especially when it conjugates emotion, it is something truly artistic. Commercial Photography (and not only photography regarded as Fine Art) can represent, in many cases emotion, and, it can be classified as Artistic Photography at the same time. The work of such masters in History of Photography as Richard Avedon or Irving Penn, who worked in Fashion and Commercial Photography throughout a big portion of their careers, strongly reflects that as long as a photographic image is capable of representing and generating emotions, the result becomes Art as valid as painting or sculpture.
UDLS: How do you describe the evolution of Photography during the 1950-2000 period?
MG: It was a process consisting of many technical improvements and at the same time it resulted in the popular expansion of Photography as a professional tool, both in the artistic and commercial fields (and even in the recreational ones). In fact, as Photography turned into a professional field, it gained a new status. Everyone had access to cameras during that period. It was not an exclusive tool for professionals and it was a common thing for enthusiastic people to have small, homemade labs and dark rooms. Photography gained recognition as an Art form thanks to the work and effort of masters such as Alfred Stieglitz, Ansel Adams or Edward Weston who at the beginning of the XXth Century, put a lot of effort so that others in turn, such as Helmut Newton, Cindy Sherman, Elliot Erwitt, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Jeanloup Sieff or the ones I mentioned in the previous answer, were responsible for consolidating photography from the 50's and all the way into the year 2000, as a human form of expression, as opposed to the simple result of the handling of a machine.
UDLS: What is required to capture the perfect image, and, at perfect timing?
MG: The best camera in the world is certainly not needed, nor the best technology, although this can be a determining factor for obvious reasons, and for certain purposes. But, patience, will and an eye, added to the almost physiological need to get a good image are the things that are required. A photographer who doesn't please him/herself does not satisfy others either. A photographer has to be self-pleasing and at the same time, have a very strong self-critical spirit.
UDLS: Which has been your most difficult, most rewarding shot?
MG: It is difficult to remember one single specific image when there are so many negatives and prints floating around in a personal archive. There are extremely satisfactory photographs that almost came out as a product of luck and chance. One photograph on which I had to do a conscious effort and achieved the desired result, could have been one shot inside a tunnel on a road in Venezuela, inside a moving vehicle.
UDLS: What picture have you not been able to take yet?
MG: I think the best picture has to be done tomorrow. Every single day I'll feel the necessity to do an image that tops all the previous ones I've done.
UDLS: What is the outlook for Colombian Photography in the coming years?
MG: The work of photographers has to be understood as the memory of the nation, be it commercial or artistic work. Many photographers have stopped working for the simple pleasure of getting a beautiful image and keep doing it more each time for the satisfaction of a "customer", who most of the time does not have a proper visual education and is easily pleased by simple and boring images. On another note, the prevailing ignorance of History of Photography in Colombia is rather surprising, speaking both on the international and local evolutions of the medium. Luis B. Ramos, Melitón Rodríguez and other Colombian masters are sadly stuck on oblivion. A Colombian photographer should look out of, an inside the country in equal proportion.
A photographer has to be in love with his/her work and must try to get to know the work of other photographers and understand it as a mutual effort and not as unhealthy competition.
The romanticism for this profession is vanishing, and more commitment in this sense would be desirable.
Photography is a matter of permanent observation. In Colombia we keep forgetting about the action of observance.
I also hope that the professional sense of responsibility of Colombian photographers (as a collective) in social and aesthetics, results in a more committed visual education and investigation, and that the results of these efforts don't come as a matter of chance and improvisation but rather from the love for this profession.
UDLS: What is the mission of a photographer facing the country's current reality?
MG: I believe that in a country as Colombia, and according to the previous point, the actual social condition stops people from noticing beauty. Photographic work here is done most of the time for advertising or graphic reportage purposes. In Colombian artistic Photography on the other hand, most (not all) of the work that is currently being done is very ego-centrical and most of the time touches very superficial topics. But with a country as this, full of natural resources and colourful landscapes, I believe the photographer's responsibility is to show the beauty of the cities, the people and the villages or countryside rather than more violence, misery or egocentrism.
UDLS: What is your opinion on today's technology for shooting pictures?
MG: Technology apparently makes things easier. This is certainly true for non-professional Photography, but not as much for professional Photography. It does help a lot, but it requires a level of commitment if it is to be embraced. Photography that relies on digital technology on a professional level needs a good quantity of knowledge from the user: Theory of colour, printing systems knowledge and software tools must be mastered. The way of capturing an image in the digital process is opposite from the analogue method, regarding exposure. Much time is required to study all these topics and technology can only provide satisfactory results if it is accompanied by hard work and research. Technological progress is always positive. But at the same time, manual work with chemicals in the dark room has an incomparably warm look and feel. I believe that technology and manual craft can always go hand in hand, and benefit each other.
UDLS: What is Colombian Photography lacking, and which is its greatest virtue in order to be internationally recognised?
MG: I honestly don't think that photography can be classified as Colombian, Uruguayan, Argentinean or North-American, or that it can even be classified as a national phenomenon. Photography is (and even more nowadays in this globalized world) a tool for personal and non-nationalistic expression. In that order of ideas, even though a Colombian photographer's work can be quite different from that of an Iraqi or Japanese photographer (due to simple cultural and social differences), the value that will prevail in his/her work will not be given by his/her nationality but by the amount of heartfelt input and taste present in it. Colombian Photography if it can be called that way, has had great representatives. The most recent work from Ruven Afanador is almost at the same level of what was done by Penn or Avedon. It is heartfelt and it has a good amount of taste.
UDLS: One could say that Photography is your passion. Why, and how do you experience that feeling day by day? What is the reason that moves you to create new photographs?
MG: Memory makes us feel or think about things being better or worse that what they really are. Generally speaking, Photography has the ability to show us the world the way we want it to be, and sometimes the way we don't want it to be. Seeing a picture shot during World War II makes me want the stop the world from being that way, while seeing an image of a natural landscape makes me feel at peace. I shoot pictures, and I love Photography because I think (or even dream) that I would like to be an inhabitant of a world represented by any of the images that I freeze in time with my camera.
