18/07/2024
Extract in English | Interview with .
IN CONVERSATION WITH SWISS PHOTO ARTIST Hannes Schmid
Few figures have shaped the American myth of adventure and freedom as much as the Marlboro Man, this wild, romantic, smoking cowboy created by Hannes Schmid for the to***co company Philip Morris in the 90s and 00s. Already in the 80s, the Swiss-born photographer made an international name for himself as a reporter and photographer of rock legends such as ABBA, Queen, Kraftwerk, Nina Hagen, and Depeche Mode. His pictures stood out not only because of their subjects but also because of the unusual staging—images that had to be clearly arranged but still looked like reportage photos. Today, Hannes Schmid is primarily active with his Concerned Photography and as a beacon of hope. In 2012, he founded the humanitarian aid organization "Smiling Gecko," which aims to help the poorest in Cambodia through economic and ecological cluster projects to achieve a better future. We spoke with the photographer about myths, staging, and his life's work.
YOUR PICTURES OF THE MARLBORO MAN (A CAMPAIGN PHOTOGRAPHED FOR THE TO***CO COMPANY PHILIP MORRIS IN THE 90S TO 00S) WERE A PHENOMENON, A MODERN ICON THAT FUELED THE PUBLIC'S LONGING FOR FREEDOM AND ADVENTURE. WHY DO YOU THINK PEOPLE WERE SO FASCINATED BY IT?
Basically, it's simple: people automatically associated the image of the Marlboro Man with the American dream of freedom, adventure, and independence. This advertising-effective stereotype, which became a myth, a cult figure, was well received by men and women in the dutiful everyday life of the 1950s and 1960s up to the 90s—it created an identification figure. The exciting thing was that you couldn't tell from the shots whether the pictures were staged or actually real.
WOULD THIS SUCCESS BE REPEATABLE TODAY?
I don't think so; it was a different time. Today, everyone who owns a smartphone is automatically a photographer. The relationship with the image has completely changed. I think the only place where the image still has meaning today is in art. Ironically, art initially "disposed of" photography—we were banned from all major art houses. It wasn't until the 19th century that photography was recognized as its own aesthetic art medium and elevated to a new art form.
HOW DID YOUR EARLIER PICTURES OF THE MARLBORO MAN AND THE ROCK STARS CHANGE YOUR OWN ATTITUDE AND YOUR PHOTOGRAPHIC WORK?
What I am today, I am because of the photography of that time. A whole generation was inspired by the spirit of departure back then. That fascinated me and shapes me to this day. I wasn't interested in the music, not the fashion, but the people, the stories behind them. This approach has remained to this day.
HOW DO YOU CREATE IMAGES THAT ARE SO MEMORABLE THAT THEY ENTER OUR COLLECTIVE MEMORY?
Just do it! At that time, I realized that in order to make a picture, you have to live it. That's why the experience was always the focus for me, not how the picture would turn out in the end. I am a practitioner and still live this excessively today. I hardly know any photographers who practice this in the same way. But maybe I was just in the right place at the right time.
YOU SAY IT'S DIFFERENT TODAY. IS THERE A SUCCESS FORMULA THAT YOU CAN GIVE TO YOUNG PHOTOGRAPHERS ON THEIR WAY?
In general, I strongly distinguish between analog photography and digigraphy. Photography is a film, a chemical process. The film has an emulsion number; there is only a limited quantity of this film. This means the film is limited in quantity and color reproduction. Ultimately, the film has a grain, which makes it unique. In digigraphy, however, there are almost no limits, neither in exposure nor in colors. Here, pixels are the elements of the digital film, and the image is edited at the end via Photoshop or other digital programs. I can only recommend every young photographer to go back and photograph with film. Not that everything should be shot analog, but simply to establish a different relationship with the image.
Für diesen Beitrag haben wir ein Interview mit dem Schweizer Reporter und Fotografen Hannes Schmied geführt. Erfahre hier mehr.
