Intervista Ivars Gravlejs

a cura di Riccardo Scattaglia, studente di fotografia presso l’Accademia di belle Arti di
Bari

1. In ”Photographer without Camera” and in ”Latvian Girls and Boys” the subject of the photos
are completely unaware of being part of a photo project and that makes them a great look of
a cultural context; how much do you think you take from this context to create a project?

As with parasites, the goal is to swallow as much as possible without any ethical bias. Social media is full
of completely unconscious readymades. We just have to wait for a creative curator to classify,
organize, reposition or join the treasures. 

2. As well as ”Pat & Mat”, the animated series, are there other shows or comics you consider inspiring or a starting point to create a project? And what do you think should be the first impression on that type of content?

 Not only the formal but also the social and political aspects of Pat and Mat’s work must be taken into
account. Artists critically comment on broad social and political contexts. With a do-it-yourself attitude, they appear as parodies of the do-it-yourself principle and can be seen as the opposite of over-intellectualized art. They are against standardization, laws and perfectionism in culture and against the concept of economics and behavior. I also like the American comic book Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson.

3. The theme of sex seems recurrent in your projects, like in ”Angle of perception of visual
information in contemporary time” or in ”Mobile”, so how do you approach ”sex” in your
works? 
 
“Sex” as a theme does not dominate my projects at all, but at the same time, I’m fascinated by the banality of porn and beauty of genitals.

4. By teaching, have you learned something from your students? And what do you want your
students to understand the most with your lessons?

 Despite sometimes confusing and funny misunderstandings in the course of teaching, I still show students an experimental approach, encourage thinking about photography through other media and try to cultivate the often lost motivation of a young photographer.