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Interview With Eva Mueller and Her New Series of Photographs Black Face
At ODETTA Gallery
229 Cook Street, Brooklyn, NY 11206
On View Through The End Of This Week
March 1, 2016 - March 6, 2016
Black Face from Eva Mueller on Vimeo.
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Interview With Photographer
Eva Mueller
I was recently invited by my friend Eva Mueller to her opening exhibition of Photography
at The ODETTA Gallery in Bushwick Brooklyn called Black Face.
We had featured her work before in The New York Optimist as it was undeniable that this was not your average run of the mill fashion photography one might see in the pages of Vogue.
Although Eva has been featured in a countless number of fashion magazines worldwide and worked with the top names in the music industry, this is not what drew me to her work.
It was her uncanny ability to capture the souls of her subjects.
In her many series of photos which can be viewed on her website there is theme within her compositions
of other wordly wisdom that may or may not have existed within the subjects themselves without the aid of Ms. Mueller’s finely tuned lens.
Fortunately she agreed to do a interview with us on this incredible new series of work
which by the way can still be viewed at The Odetta Gallery through the 6th of March.
TNYO: Eva, is it just me or are there others who looked at these beautiful portraits and said man this is just great art! I mean I must be oblivious but I immediately focused in on the eyes and the beautiful luster of the black paint you used on these subjects. It was not until I was outside smoking a cigarette that I was alerted to the other implications to the content of this work.
A black male model and I had a brief conversation about your work.
I asked what do you think of these photographs, he answered I don’t like them at all.
At first I was going to walk away as he obviously was offended and was probably looking to let off some steam, but then he explained why these images upset him and it was like the whole idea behind the work opened up to me. He went into the obvious connotations of black people in the media from years ago until today and of course I now understood exactly what he was talking about.
Yes it’s true there is extreme racism in the entertainment business and many other facets of our society and yes, it targets African Americans but racisms foul and wiry arms reach out way beyond the parameters of African Americans, it breaks down into categories and finds fault in all walks of life. Jealousy hatred fear to name a few are things we have been dealing with since the beginning of time there is no escape and there is no end in in sight at least for the next 50 years or so in my opinion.
But I wax on, i could write this whole article based on the lack of understanding and evolution within our species. But please allow me to get to the question.
TNYO: What is this series of photographs Black Faces and why have you created them? What kind of preparation went into this work,
What is your stance (Stance immediately sets the tone for this answer lol) on racism in America and globally? Does this project play into your ideas and ideals on racism?
Eva Mueller: when I conceived Black Face I lived in Harlem the epicenter of African-American culture historically spoken. There I felt more than living in other areas that black people are still 2nd class citizens in this country and mostly subjected to lower income, poor schooling, lesser career opportunities, etc. all that being based on skin color. I thought, what if we all had the same skin color? Would that keep us from judging other people based on skin color. I invited a longtime friend and muse a black dancer and writer to sit for me first. I painted her face black I photographed her close-up and I like the outcome and decided then to turn it into a series of portraits of people of all races. When I told that friend that i was planning to continue my Black face series, I had chosen the name in a straight forward manner, I was photographing black painted faces after all. That friend then informed me about the meaning of Black Face in the US and that there is no way I can call by project by that name because of its emotional charge and the associations people draw from it. I decided to call my series Black nevertheless and take on the emotional charge the term comes with. I’m happy I did as it invited a lot of constructive discussions and dialogues.
TNYO: What Kind of paint was used on your subjects?
Eva Mueller: It is water based theatrical make-up that applies easily and comes off easily.
TNYO: What are the ethnic backgrounds of your subjects? Were they chosen because of their backgrounds their personality or the look and shape of their faces?
Eva Mueller: I tried to cover most ethnicities and races as my project addresses the global aspects of racism not just the black and white issue in the United States. I photographed asians, blacks, native americans, indians, middle easterners, whites and mixes thereof.
TNYO: I see there is a book connected to this project can you tell me a little about this.
Eva Mueller: it's actually an artist portfolio or collectors box in an edition of 10 that consists of 20 prints 10x14in featuring the 20 faces in the morph video along with a sleek all black usb flash drive containing the video.
TNYO: can you tell me about the video which at first glance looks like a photo as it moves so slow
Please describe the technical name of this type of video is stop motion etc..
Eva Mueller: The video consists of 20 faces with a total duration of 10:31 minutes. These faces
continuously morph one into the next at a slow pace with barely perceptible
shifts as the faces change. Each transition from face to face lasts approximately
30 seconds. Its a very trippy piece as you don’t see anything change until it happened already. The morph was programmed in collaboration with Bojan Furlani.
TNYO: ODETTA Gallery is a lovely place and seemed to be a fitting space for this project.
Were you satisfied with the turnout of the opening, the space and the overall result up to this point of the exhibition?
Eva Mueller: Yes absolutely!!! We packed the house. Also the fact that we are 4 artists showing helped. I was thrilled that my former assistant and now great photographer in her own rights, Samantha Primo filmed a segment about my Black Face and the opening for Bric tv (https://youtu.be/hzlxgp8Pxts) hat showed me getting ready for the opening, people approaching the work, the opening and the context of the project within the north american culture. I had the most amazing conversations and discussions with friends and strangers since the opening. Even people who approached me with preconcetion, once I explained where I’m coming from and what my intention is, people understood. Many understood just by looking at the work.
TNYO: How much do these photographs cost?
Eva Mueller: The Collectors Folio costs $ 2200, the framed prints are 23x31in in a edition of 5 and cost $2100 and the video piece which consists of the TV monitor, the usb key containing the video file and the hand-cut and -welded blackened steel frame plus wall mount in an edition of 3 costs $7500
TNYO: Where are you from Eva and does this influence and affect your art?
Eva Mueller: I was born and raised in Bavaria Germany. My biggest influence artistically was the Bauhaus movement which originated in 1919 in Germany which unfortunately had ended long before I was born but it's philosophy and minimal aesthetic is completely relevant for me and I keep coming back to it.
Interestingly a few people who came to see Black Face referred to August Sanders coal miner portraits which stem from the same time.
TNYO: Will you take this project on tour?
Eva Mueller: I am planning to crowd fund the project so I can invite 80 more people of all ethnicities and races to get painted and photographed for Black Face and describe the experience. I'd like to get a short documentary done to capture the process of me painting the sitters and to capture their first reaction when they see themselves painted in black for the first time. it's always complete honest amazement that words can't describe. Ideally I’d like to get some famous people who have a big audience to participate and eventually produce a coffee table book and short documentary.
TNYO: Do you have a new project in the works?
Eva Mueller: yes, I do. I will show my GenderFuck series about gender fluidity at the Prince Street Annex of Leslie-Lohman museum sometime this or early next year. I'm working on a still life series with big black penises paired with flowers and also in a Happy Ending project. Oh and then there is a porn short that will be released hopefully in late spring. Its an inspirational piece aimed at older women but also everybody else as an encouragement to realize your dream and live your fantasies.
TNYO: I know you are a very busy artist are there any other art forms that you take part in?
Eva Mueller: sometime I add video to my art projects. occasionally I get cast in an art movie or music video or take part in a friends performance piece.
TNYO: Do you have any advice for young artists who want to make a living making art?
Eva Mueller: Make sure you have a source of income or funds that make you independent in your start - up years. It will buy you more independence and freedom to produce your art and stay true to your vision until you make it.
TNYO: Do you see an an end in sight to racism or the long list of infallible plunders humanity seems to continuously cook up?
Eva Mueller: I'm a natural optimist (that's why I love the name of your site!) so I really believe we entered a different area where people are opening up. The fact that transgender has entered mainstream and people have the freedom to choose their sexual identity and orientation without repercussions at least in many parts of the world I hope the white elephant of racism (pun intended) will fade from our landscape hopefully sooner than later.
TNYO: If you were not an artist what would you be?
Eva Mueller: A pornstar or a hooker.
TNYO: Does music play a big role in your creative process?
Eva Mueller: Sometimes it does. I'm a house and electronica head so I'm most of the time on soundcloud or Spotify but very often I enjoy to work in complete silence.
TNYO Was there a soundtrack that played in the background while you were creating this work?
Eva Mueller: there may have at times but the work was created at different times in the span of 2 years. Music didn't play a defining role in this work. I find often concentrating so much on visuals the audio department of my senses gets shortchanged.
Thank you Eva for an unforgettable experience get down to The ODETTA gallery in Brooklyn before the closing of this wonderful show
and make sure to follow Eva as she continues to blow our minds with her thought provoking work.
The University of Arkansa has purchased Eva's video piece "Black Face" for its permanent art collection!!!! Heliotrope closes after this weekend. So please come by to celebrate with her this weekend and get tripped out by the video! ODETTA gallery is open Fri 1-6, Sat 1-10!!!
(Thats when we celebrate in the evening) and Sun 1-6.
Eva Mueller
I was recently invited by my friend Eva Mueller to her opening exhibition of Photography
at The ODETTA Gallery in Bushwick Brooklyn called Black Face.
We had featured her work before in The New York Optimist as it was undeniable that this was not your average run of the mill fashion photography one might see in the pages of Vogue.
Although Eva has been featured in a countless number of fashion magazines worldwide and worked with the top names in the music industry, this is not what drew me to her work.
It was her uncanny ability to capture the souls of her subjects.
In her many series of photos which can be viewed on her website there is theme within her compositions
of other wordly wisdom that may or may not have existed within the subjects themselves without the aid of Ms. Mueller’s finely tuned lens.
Fortunately she agreed to do a interview with us on this incredible new series of work
which by the way can still be viewed at The Odetta Gallery through the 6th of March.
TNYO: Eva, is it just me or are there others who looked at these beautiful portraits and said man this is just great art! I mean I must be oblivious but I immediately focused in on the eyes and the beautiful luster of the black paint you used on these subjects. It was not until I was outside smoking a cigarette that I was alerted to the other implications to the content of this work.
A black male model and I had a brief conversation about your work.
I asked what do you think of these photographs, he answered I don’t like them at all.
At first I was going to walk away as he obviously was offended and was probably looking to let off some steam, but then he explained why these images upset him and it was like the whole idea behind the work opened up to me. He went into the obvious connotations of black people in the media from years ago until today and of course I now understood exactly what he was talking about.
Yes it’s true there is extreme racism in the entertainment business and many other facets of our society and yes, it targets African Americans but racisms foul and wiry arms reach out way beyond the parameters of African Americans, it breaks down into categories and finds fault in all walks of life. Jealousy hatred fear to name a few are things we have been dealing with since the beginning of time there is no escape and there is no end in in sight at least for the next 50 years or so in my opinion.
But I wax on, i could write this whole article based on the lack of understanding and evolution within our species. But please allow me to get to the question.
TNYO: What is this series of photographs Black Faces and why have you created them? What kind of preparation went into this work,
What is your stance (Stance immediately sets the tone for this answer lol) on racism in America and globally? Does this project play into your ideas and ideals on racism?
Eva Mueller: when I conceived Black Face I lived in Harlem the epicenter of African-American culture historically spoken. There I felt more than living in other areas that black people are still 2nd class citizens in this country and mostly subjected to lower income, poor schooling, lesser career opportunities, etc. all that being based on skin color. I thought, what if we all had the same skin color? Would that keep us from judging other people based on skin color. I invited a longtime friend and muse a black dancer and writer to sit for me first. I painted her face black I photographed her close-up and I like the outcome and decided then to turn it into a series of portraits of people of all races. When I told that friend that i was planning to continue my Black face series, I had chosen the name in a straight forward manner, I was photographing black painted faces after all. That friend then informed me about the meaning of Black Face in the US and that there is no way I can call by project by that name because of its emotional charge and the associations people draw from it. I decided to call my series Black nevertheless and take on the emotional charge the term comes with. I’m happy I did as it invited a lot of constructive discussions and dialogues.
TNYO: What Kind of paint was used on your subjects?
Eva Mueller: It is water based theatrical make-up that applies easily and comes off easily.
TNYO: What are the ethnic backgrounds of your subjects? Were they chosen because of their backgrounds their personality or the look and shape of their faces?
Eva Mueller: I tried to cover most ethnicities and races as my project addresses the global aspects of racism not just the black and white issue in the United States. I photographed asians, blacks, native americans, indians, middle easterners, whites and mixes thereof.
TNYO: I see there is a book connected to this project can you tell me a little about this.
Eva Mueller: it's actually an artist portfolio or collectors box in an edition of 10 that consists of 20 prints 10x14in featuring the 20 faces in the morph video along with a sleek all black usb flash drive containing the video.
TNYO: can you tell me about the video which at first glance looks like a photo as it moves so slow
Please describe the technical name of this type of video is stop motion etc..
Eva Mueller: The video consists of 20 faces with a total duration of 10:31 minutes. These faces
continuously morph one into the next at a slow pace with barely perceptible
shifts as the faces change. Each transition from face to face lasts approximately
30 seconds. Its a very trippy piece as you don’t see anything change until it happened already. The morph was programmed in collaboration with Bojan Furlani.
TNYO: ODETTA Gallery is a lovely place and seemed to be a fitting space for this project.
Were you satisfied with the turnout of the opening, the space and the overall result up to this point of the exhibition?
Eva Mueller: Yes absolutely!!! We packed the house. Also the fact that we are 4 artists showing helped. I was thrilled that my former assistant and now great photographer in her own rights, Samantha Primo filmed a segment about my Black Face and the opening for Bric tv (https://youtu.be/hzlxgp8Pxts) hat showed me getting ready for the opening, people approaching the work, the opening and the context of the project within the north american culture. I had the most amazing conversations and discussions with friends and strangers since the opening. Even people who approached me with preconcetion, once I explained where I’m coming from and what my intention is, people understood. Many understood just by looking at the work.
TNYO: How much do these photographs cost?
Eva Mueller: The Collectors Folio costs $ 2200, the framed prints are 23x31in in a edition of 5 and cost $2100 and the video piece which consists of the TV monitor, the usb key containing the video file and the hand-cut and -welded blackened steel frame plus wall mount in an edition of 3 costs $7500
TNYO: Where are you from Eva and does this influence and affect your art?
Eva Mueller: I was born and raised in Bavaria Germany. My biggest influence artistically was the Bauhaus movement which originated in 1919 in Germany which unfortunately had ended long before I was born but it's philosophy and minimal aesthetic is completely relevant for me and I keep coming back to it.
Interestingly a few people who came to see Black Face referred to August Sanders coal miner portraits which stem from the same time.
TNYO: Will you take this project on tour?
Eva Mueller: I am planning to crowd fund the project so I can invite 80 more people of all ethnicities and races to get painted and photographed for Black Face and describe the experience. I'd like to get a short documentary done to capture the process of me painting the sitters and to capture their first reaction when they see themselves painted in black for the first time. it's always complete honest amazement that words can't describe. Ideally I’d like to get some famous people who have a big audience to participate and eventually produce a coffee table book and short documentary.
TNYO: Do you have a new project in the works?
Eva Mueller: yes, I do. I will show my GenderFuck series about gender fluidity at the Prince Street Annex of Leslie-Lohman museum sometime this or early next year. I'm working on a still life series with big black penises paired with flowers and also in a Happy Ending project. Oh and then there is a porn short that will be released hopefully in late spring. Its an inspirational piece aimed at older women but also everybody else as an encouragement to realize your dream and live your fantasies.
TNYO: I know you are a very busy artist are there any other art forms that you take part in?
Eva Mueller: sometime I add video to my art projects. occasionally I get cast in an art movie or music video or take part in a friends performance piece.
TNYO: Do you have any advice for young artists who want to make a living making art?
Eva Mueller: Make sure you have a source of income or funds that make you independent in your start - up years. It will buy you more independence and freedom to produce your art and stay true to your vision until you make it.
TNYO: Do you see an an end in sight to racism or the long list of infallible plunders humanity seems to continuously cook up?
Eva Mueller: I'm a natural optimist (that's why I love the name of your site!) so I really believe we entered a different area where people are opening up. The fact that transgender has entered mainstream and people have the freedom to choose their sexual identity and orientation without repercussions at least in many parts of the world I hope the white elephant of racism (pun intended) will fade from our landscape hopefully sooner than later.
TNYO: If you were not an artist what would you be?
Eva Mueller: A pornstar or a hooker.
TNYO: Does music play a big role in your creative process?
Eva Mueller: Sometimes it does. I'm a house and electronica head so I'm most of the time on soundcloud or Spotify but very often I enjoy to work in complete silence.
TNYO Was there a soundtrack that played in the background while you were creating this work?
Eva Mueller: there may have at times but the work was created at different times in the span of 2 years. Music didn't play a defining role in this work. I find often concentrating so much on visuals the audio department of my senses gets shortchanged.
Thank you Eva for an unforgettable experience get down to The ODETTA gallery in Brooklyn before the closing of this wonderful show
and make sure to follow Eva as she continues to blow our minds with her thought provoking work.
The University of Arkansa has purchased Eva's video piece "Black Face" for its permanent art collection!!!! Heliotrope closes after this weekend. So please come by to celebrate with her this weekend and get tripped out by the video! ODETTA gallery is open Fri 1-6, Sat 1-10!!!
(Thats when we celebrate in the evening) and Sun 1-6.
http://www.evamueller.com/#/_
http://evamueller-art.com/
http://www.hazyvision.com/#/
http://www.odettagallery.com/index.html
http://evamueller-art.com/
http://www.hazyvision.com/#/
http://www.odettagallery.com/index.html