Andreas H. Bitesnich interviewed by João Miguel Barros

(post issued with the authorization of Museu Coleção Berardo)

Museu Coleção Berardo's Pocket Book Collection presents diverse written contents in digital form adapted to smartphone and tablet. Comprising a range of guided visits, interviews, and essays, this collection offers short, didactic, user-friendly readings on the Museum's exhibitions.

In the second publication of this collection, curator João Miguel Barros interviews artist Andreas H. Bitesnich in the context of the exhibition Deeper Shades. Lisbon and Other Cities.

João Miguel Barros. You started taking photos in 1988, when you were 24 years old. How did you first get into photography?

Andreas H. Bitesnich. My "real" interest in photography awoke when I met a fashion photographer who worked in Milan at the time. He showed me his work, and from that moment on I knew that this is what I have to do.

JMB. Your first exhibition was in 1993, and your first book came out in 1998. What was your main activity between 1988 and 1993?

AHB. I photographed as much as I could. Fashion catalogues and editorials, portraits, and worked a lot on my portfolio. I slept very little in these five years, as photography and art fascinated me more and more.

JMB. Is photography, or can it be, a form of artistic manifestation? Or to put it another way: where does the photographer end and the artist who uses photography as a form of expression begin?

AHB. I had a conversation with Philip Glass about that topic. And we agreed on the fact that this is what we do. This is a calling, rather than a choice. Photography is so much more than its surface. As in music, the lines are blurry, and this is exactly what stimulates your mind as the artist and the audience.

Andreas H. Bitesnich, Wotruba Church, Vienna, 2006

JMB. What were your goals when you started in 1988: to make photography your profession or to become an artist who expresses himself through photography?

AHB. When I began, I was new to the art/photography world. All I knew then was that I need to do this for myself. I also knew that I had to make a living. So, I was extra driven.

JMB. In 2018 you celebrated the 30th anniversary of your career, and there seems to be a coherent but evolving line throughout your entire body of work. Invoking the maxim popularised by Ortega y Gasset ("I am I and my circumstances"), what were the circumstances, the successes and failures, the ups, and the downs that helped you consolidate your consciousness as an artist?

AHB. Well, I always look forward. Every difficulty is a challenge for me and an opportunity to learn. There have been many situations when the road was bumpy, but overall it always turned out for the better. Some things that seemed terrible at the time led to exciting new paths. Change is mainly uncomfortable and often forced by the circumstance, but it always leads to a new way. I am grateful for that.

Andreas H. Bitesnich, Crossing tram tracks, 2018

JMB. Contemporary history recognises the work of great artists who have used photography to express themselves. Who inspired you? Who are your biggest influences in photography?

AHB. I guess Irving Penn was my main hero when I started getting into photography. Painters like Egon Schiele, Lucian Freud, Francis Bacon, or Jenny Saville are a great source of inspiration for me.

JMB. Why?

AHB. It is often just a colour or a shape that triggers my fantasy and stimulates me to get up and create something artistic myself.

JMB. Is the market insufficient to support an artist who does not have a professional alternative, such as working as a "commercial" photographer?

AHB. The art market has always been a strange animal. As an artist, you can’t wait for a fairy. You'd better support yourself. There is this quote that has a lot of truth in it: "If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen."

JMB. In recent years, photography fairs, based on the activity of commercial art galleries, have promoted works to the general public that would receive less exposure otherwise. Photo Paris is perhaps the best and most influential example of what I'm talking about. Yet, from year to year, the names of the "classics" remain the same, creating a perception that it is very difficult for young people to commercially break through. Is that your perception of the market?

AHB. Well, yes and no. Most of us enjoy seeing the "classics," but my impression is that there are always some new tendencies arising next to them. But just a few survive the test of time, and then they become "classics" themselves.

JMB. What can be done to change this state of affairs?

AHB. My impression is that it is changing. Just very slowly.

JMB. Photography as a work of art cannot yet compete with painting and sculpture in commercial terms. What is your assessment of this situation?

AHB. The value of art is always subjective. As the medium photography is now accessible for everyone, there is a natural gradient. But it is up to every owner of an art piece to ask whatever price they like to make them part from it.

JMB. Do you think the potential for unlimited reproduction of works and the lack of longevity of the media on which photographs are printed are significant reasons for the commercial devaluation of photography as an artistic product?

AHB. In theory, yes. But, in reality, there are often less copies of a photograph available on the market than the edition would make you believe. I am talking of prints originally signed by the artist. In fact, there are often estate stamped prints offered next to original artist signed prints. That confuses the market.

JMB. Have you completely surrendered to the digital or do you still develop works in the darkroom?

AHB. I switched entirely to digital in 2004. Before that, all was shot on film and mostly developed and printed by me. The digital medium offers a much wider range of technical possibilities. I love it. Of course, there is a certain strength in limiting your possibilities when you create art, but this will always be the case.

JMB. In a world in which digital is king, radically changing the way people relate to photography, are there rules that photographer-artists should follow in the editing and production of their works?

AHB. The beauty of art is that there are no rules. The main focus should be to listen to your inner voice when you create.

JMB. Where does the creative work of the photographer artist end and that of the digital editing artist begin?

AHB. To be a photographer/artist is so much more than taking the picture. The result is always the mirror of the creator.

JMB. Do you think that sometimes highly manipulated digital editing is one of the reasons why the marketplaces greater value on the work of photographers from before the time of Photoshop?

AHB. I don’t think this is the case. Of course, there are many different "stages" of digital manipulation. But I don’t think this is necessarily related to the value of an art piece.

JMB. You began by looking deeply at people and their intimacy through your work on nudes, which gave you a substantial public profile. Since 2011 you've started an extended set of projects about important cities under the name "Deeper Shades," revealing that which is hidden in plain sight. What motivated that change of focus?

AHB. My focus is to entertain myself. I think this is one of the wonderful freedoms of an artist. I have always loved "travel" photography, so I had this big archive of great photographs that I took over the span of my photographic life. One day in 2010, from one moment to another, it came to me that I should combine these works visually. After some experimenting, I found a technique that would suit my vision and work as a visual bracket that holds it all together.

JMB. You've published five books in the Deeper Shades series. You started in 2011 with New York, which was followed in 2012 by Tokyo, in 2013 by Paris, in 2015 by Vienna, and, finally, in 2017 by Berlin. 2019 is the year of Lisbon. Why these cities?

Andreas H. Bitesnich, City view with the Empire State Building, New York, 2011

AHB. I started with New York, as I had this vast amount of interesting works in my archive. I also travelled to New York in 2011 to create more images for this project. Visiting Japan was always a dream of mine. Because of the big success of the Deeper Shades New York book, I decided, encouraged by my friend Jeff See, to travel to Tokyo in 2012. I have always had a love-hate relationship with Paris, but found my love for it in 2012. I had always shied away from doing a Deeper Shades book about my hometown, Vienna. But I finally found my courage in 2015 to step out and do it. Berlin tickled my fancy for a while, as it is such versatile and big city. Especially after I learned that my mother was born there. I love these challenges.

Andreas H. Bitesnich, Girl and train, Tokyo, 2012

JMB. Do cities have their own personalities or are big cities basically "more of the same"?

AHB. The overall concept of my Deeper Shades series is to point my finger on the fact that so many "elements" of a city are visually almost identical. This is the result of globalisation, or however you want to call it. And on the flip side there are these unique sights that "crown" a city and make it visually so unique. I also love the challenge to photograph those so well-known spots and find my own visual interpretation of them.

JMB. I dare not ask what your favourite city is. I guess it could be Vienna, which is where you were born and grew up, despite your family's strong connection to Berlin. We all have a special relationship to the places where we are born. My question is whether any of the six cities in your big city project have left a special mark on you.

Andreas H. Bitesnich, Eiffel Tower II, Paris, 2011

AHB. I was asking myself why I had picked especially those cities. My guess is that each of these places has a unique story that connects me emotionally to it. And, after walking a city for many days, you somehow bond with it.

JMB. Cities are places of movement, conducive to both encounter and divergence and with intense urban and emotional noise. They are places where we are confronted with great cultural diversity, places where cliché deceives us and hides the substance of real life, especially for those visiting for a short time. Your photographs suggest to me the opposite: recollection, a certain melancholy, a deep intimacy, transforming big cities into small villages, not always inhabited, but usually rich in feelings and emotions. Would you agree?

AHB. You are right. Call me old-fashioned, but I am a romantic. And I believe that the main parameter for a photograph is emotion.

JMB. You also shoot in colour, but your books on cities are overwhelmingly made up of very grainy black and white images. Why is this? Do you think this better reveals the soul of a city?

AHB. My high contrast grainy black-and-white images help unify and glue the works together.

JMB. Is colour in photography a distraction?

AHB. I love to work in colour. There are periods when I exclusively see, think, and create in colour. But this is mostly preceded by a creative black-and-white phase.

Andreas H. Bitesnich, São Jorge Castle, Lisbon, 2019

JMB. In your book on Paris, you seem to give us a clue about the methodology you follow: "In the darkness, I am putting light in places where there was none. Illuminating dark corners enhances situations and throws them into new and surprising positions. This is where my fun begins…" My understanding is that you are also using the word "darkness" in a figurative sense here. In any case, if the "black" is the absence of light, as they say, don't you miss colour in this urge to illuminate darkness?

AHB. I love shapes, balance, and mystery. It is always great to leave some questions open. Japanese photographer Takehiko Nakafuji, a friend of mine, called me once a master of silhouette. There is always an open question in a silhouette. This keeps the people interested. I love it!

JMB. You were in Lisbon more than once to make the latest book in the Deeper Shades series. Speaking of Berlin, you said that cities can be "gentle and tough, small and big." What were you looking for and what did you find in Lisbon?

AHB. I came totally open to whatever the city had to offer. I got to know the warm-hearted people and the driving, forward energy of a new, younger generation. This energy pulls you forward. A wonderful experience!

JMB. If you had to, how would you characterise Lisbon?

AHB. My impression is that Lisbon is currently able to span the bridge between embracing the change and preserving the traditional. This results in a very charming mix.

JMB. Apropos of nothing or perhaps as a kind of summary of everything: are you happiest when you have a camera in your hand?

Andreas H. Bitesnich, Sunbeams, Lisbon, 2019

AHB. I love to create. This can have many faces. I enjoy the whole process from start to finish. This can be sometimes a lonely task, but it always leads to interesting encounters with great people.

JMB. What is a good photograph for you?

AHB. Like I said before, the emotional element has to be there. You have to be touched by a photograph one way or another.

JMB. Last question: what is your overall assessment after 31 years photographing people, places, and emotions?

AHB. The great thing about art is that the playground is endless. I still feel like a boy in the children's room. Curious to learn and discover something new every day.