5/27/2017 Interview with photographer Suzanne RevyAlien, 2014 © Suzanne Révy Suzanne Révy documents the preciously fleeting moments of familial life, quiet observation filters through secrets held, hours of play, imaginary creatures, shadows on the wall, favorite toys, separate domains; the world of children and the world of parents, the passing of time in the photographer's household and the resonance with her own youthful memory. "What I found particularly intriguing when watching my children" says Suzanne, "was how they could so fully immerse themselves in whatever they were doing. I remembered the ability to be so thoroughly entranced as a child myself. I wanted to find that ability again, and indeed, there were moments when I felt like a child as I photographed my two boys." Thinking about light and how it moves through the house, Révy found that color did more justice to the environment of her children as they grow older then black and white. Camera's have changed to lighter equipment as a sudden, tragic loss entered Révy's life, "I had lost a nephew, and was feeling that the heavy medium gear I was using was becoming something of a barrier to feeling present as a parent." How light holds together in a room, how color changes as a world changes, moments in time become but memories and as they unfold we know how precious they truly are. Looking back; nostalgia is packed with tender emotion. Often we are reminded of our younger, more secret selves, Révy has found a way to paint those moments in, and while they don't last long, perhaps it's the sensation of memory itself that works wonders. "That moment was fleeting," says Suzanne, "and my boys are teenagers now. They seem to have gone into their rooms, and I’m not sure when they will be coming back out." AHC: What first drew you to photography? Was there a specific moment in your life or turning point where it became clear to you that you were being called to create? Suzanne: My mother had an art studio in a space above the garage at our house when I was quite young, so I grew up watching her draw and paint as we played with play dough and coloring books. We moved and for several years, she did not have a studio. When I was in high school, however, she finally had a studio space again, and at some point, she took a photography class. She turned a small closet in a corner of her studio into a darkroom. I was never one of those kids who found drawing easy, so I took a photography class at school. I loved it, and found it far less frustrating than drawing! In the end, I think I spent more time in my mom’s darkroom than she did. Model Plane, 2005 © Suzanne Révy AHC: Could you talk some about your overall process, themes & inspirations? Suzanne: After high school, I moved to New York City to attend the Pratt Institute, and earned a BFA in photography in the early 1980’s where I was immersed in making and printing black and white photographs. After Pratt, I worked as a photography editor in magazine publishing. With the arrival of my two sons, I left publishing, and began photographing them. I rekindled my interest in black and white darkroom printing, and finally found my voice in the medium. My two sons were the main inspiration, for the work I’ve produced over the last fifteen years, but am still influenced by the teachers I had at Pratt and the stories and photographers I worked with in publishing. The Pool, 2011 © Suzanne Révy In terms of process, I use medium format film cameras. When using black and white film, I process the film and make prints in the traditional wet darkroom. The color pictures are also made with film, but I use a lab to process the film. I then make low res scans with a flat bed scanner to review the film. When I find images I want to print, then I work with a lab to make a higher resolution Imacon scans to generate archival inkjet color prints. The Boat, 2007 © Suzanne Révy AHC: In describing your series Time Let Me Play, you write, beautifully, "I listen to my sons, and I watch them, but I do not always understand their stories, myths and secrets. When I photograph children, my own and others, I use the lens of the camera, a window if you will, to seek clues to the realms they have created. I am engaged once again in child's play, if only from a distance" I wonder does the process of taking these photos, observing these almost indecipherable mysteries through the lens, take you back, in time, to your own memories of your younger, mysterious self? Are there moments when the two experiences almost seem to meet in the middle, then and now, both come to life through the artifact of the photos? Suzanne: Essentially, yes. What I found particularly intriguing when watching my children was how they could so fully immerse themselves in whatever they were doing. I remembered the ability to be so thoroughly entranced as a child myself. I wanted to find that ability again, and indeed, there were moments when I felt like a child as I photographed my two boys. Backyard Toad, 2007 © Suzanne Révy The pictures also served to emphasize the two separate worlds that existed under one roof… my two sons had their world which was quite apart from the adult world that my husband and I inhabited. I was trying to enter their imaginary realms, but in the end, I’m not sure I really revealed their particular secrets, but found a way to describe the emotional pleasure kids take in their play. Fishing Pole, 2012 © Suzanne Révy AHC: Do you prefer shooting more in black and white or in color? I've heard it said that black and white tends to remove obstructions form the viewer, that color distracts, while B&W allows you to show the viewer exactly what you want them to see, do you find this to be the case, since I know you shoot in both mediums? Suzanne: I love both, but I tend to reach for one or the other depending on how I’m feeling and seeing my subject. When my children were small we spent a lot time in the back yard or at a small lake during the warmer months of summer. We had the usual cadre of plastic toys, which I always found somewhat distracting in color images, so I reached for the black and white film more and more. In addition to the natural settings and toys I was photographing, I was becoming increasingly aware of how light illuminated their gestures or how it highlighted their hair. I began to understand that I was seeing light in a very abstract way. The black and white film suited my vision at the time. Evolution, 2007 © Suzanne Révy As the kids got older, and we were in less natural environments like the local pool or amusement parks in the summer, I found that I didn’t quite like the look of black and white in pictures I made in those places. In addition to the changing ways my kids played and explored the world, I had lost a nephew, and was feeling that the heavy medium format gear I was using was becoming something of a barrier to feeling present as a parent. On a lark, I decided to use a Holga camera one warm day in May of 2011, and opted for color film. I loved the results, and continued to use it almost exclusively for the rest of that summer, and the two summers that followed. I realized that the optics of the plastic camera and lens seemed to reflect my own feelings… I was quite grief stricken over my nephew, but pleased that my pre-teen kids were still happy to be in my company. It felt like it would be a fleeting moment with my children. These pictures form my portfolio I call “To Venerate the Simple Days”. Motel Art, 2014 © Suzanne Révy That moment was fleeting, and my boys are teenagers now. They seem to have gone into their rooms, and I’m not sure when they will be coming backout. More recently, I’ve been photographing them with the same medium format gear I used when making the black and white work. I have photographed their changing bodies, interior spaces, ubiquitous technologies. This work is also made with color film, but having spent more time photographing them inside, I found myself again, thinking about light and how it moves through the house. As they grow into their adulthood, color feels a more emotionally appropriate choice for this work. The Galaxy in the Bedroom, 2014 © Suzanne Révy AHC: Who are some of your artistic influences? Is there anyone outside of the art world whose work has impacted your own, or who just generally inspire you, writers, filmmakers, musicians etc? Suzanne: I am influenced by numerous photographers from early practitioners like Juliet Margaret Cameron and Gertrude Käsebier to mid-twentieth century masters of street photography such as Helen Levitt and Garry Winogrand to photographers who photographed their domestic sphere such as Ralph Eugene Meatyard, Emmet Gowin, Sally Mann and Larry Sultan. There are several writers whose books have influenced me, Lewis Hyde’s The Gift, Marianne Hirsch’s Family Frames, and Rebecca Solnit’s A Guide to Getting Lost have all offered ways to think about art and art making which explores the personal. More recently, I love Teju Cole’s “On Photography” column in the New York Times Magazine and always look forward to when they appear. As an avid student of the history of art, there are numerous painters or sculptors who have influenced me. It’s important, I think, for any artist to find inspiration across many arts, and I could include a long list from the history of art here, but there is an artist whose work with light has been particularly inspiring to me. James Turrell’s installations, sculptures and architecture immerse viewers in light and space that is simply sublime. Magnified, 2005 © Suzanne Révy AHC: What is the first work of art/photography you encountered that took your breath away? Suzanne: In the week of orientation before I started freshman year in art school in New York, I visited the Museum of Modern Art for the first time. This was in 1980, and Picasso’s Guernica was still on view there. I did not know where in the museum it was, and when I walked up some stairs and then walked around a corner into the gallery where it was on view, it absolutely took my breathe away. It was the first time a painting had almost literally sucker punched me. It’s a powerfully expressive piece of art, and the slides and reproductions I had seen of it in my high school art history class had not done it justice. The following year, it was moved to Spain, and I haven’t seen it since. Wonder if it would have the same impact, today? Hammock, 2012 © Suzanne Révy AHC: Are there times when you become blocked creatively? What do you do to rekindle inspiration? Suzanne: Yes! And it can put me into a bit of a panic, and I’m certain that I’ll never make another picture… let alone a good one! In 2014, I returned to school for an MFA, which had long been on my bucket list. It was a productive two years, but after graduation last year, I found it difficult to make new work, and my children have become noticeably less available. Shaving Cream, 2014 © Suzanne Révy Over the last year, I found myself using my I-phone more and more, simply making and processing images quickly, and sharing them on Instagram. It’s just good practice… like a musician, to make pictures each day. The nice thing with the phone is it’s less precious (and expensive) than film, but keeps my eyes sharp. This past spring, I finally started to make more carefully crafted film images again. I think feeding the Instagram beast helped! The Ningen, 2014 © Suzanne Révy
AHC: Do you have any upcoming exhibits or new projects you'd like to tell people about? Suzanne: Our older son is heading to Virginia to attend college in the fall, and we’re planning a road trip, which will be a good opportunity for a photography project. Not sure how that will turn out, but I’m looking forward to seeing where my picture making will take me as we hit the road this summer. As for exhibitions, I’ll have one piece in the Soho Photo Gallery National Competition in NYC in July, and in August, and two prints will be included in a show called Eclipse curated by Christopher Rauschenberg at Blue Sky Gallery in Portland, Oregon. For more visit http://suzannerevy.com http://suzannerevy.blogspot.com All images © Suzanne Révy (Provided courtesy of the artist) Comments are closed.
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