Today we’d like to introduce you to André Hermann.
Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
In a previous life I was an Art Director working for a magazine publisher in Los Angeles. My under grad was in graphic design. Yet photography was a hobby I flirted with on the side. I spent a lot of my time photographing abandoned houses in my hometown, the High Desert, Lancaster, California. I had no interest in photographing people. I was fascinated with what they left behind; writing on the walls, junk, and other detritus. My fascination with these domestic remnants would grow into a life-long passion for photographing and documenting the lives of people.
Funny enough, my photography became more vocal and powerful than my design. I quit my job, moved to San Francisco to get my MFA in photography. I would spend rest of my time learning to document the human condition, telling people’s stories.
Please tell us about your art.
I like to think of myself as a visual anthropologist. Ya, I know that sounds cliché. But as a formally trained documentary photographer, I guess I really am. I photograph everything. Nothing is overlooked. I photograph trash, people, places, things, and events. We are so busy these days lost in the now of our device’s interconnectivity that most fail to see the beauty of life happening around them. I want to share those flickers of moments that pass with each blink of the eye. People don’t people watch anymore. I want to show them what they’re missing. I want my images to be a mirror that reveals to the audience a little of themselves reflecting back. I have covered many diverse social topics, from homeless metal thieves, rare diseases, food justice, underground urban dining events, inner city boxing, and semi-pro wrestling. My fascination for street photography and the iPhone is a a love affair that has no boundaries. It has spawned a nation-wide book project, and an exploration into combining old historical processes with new technologies to challenge the viewer’s understanding of what photography still is and what it has become.
Choosing a creative or artistic path comes with many financial challenges. Any advice for those struggling to focus on their artwork due to financial concerns?
Where there’s a will, there’s a way. In art school we always joked about lying, cheating and stealing to get what you needed to do the work that would fill your book that’d get everyone’s attention and lead to an amazing job or client. Not that anyone actually did any of that. The lying, cheating, stealing, Hahaha. But seriously, it’s all about creativity, problem solving, and improvising to get the tools and materials you need. How can you exploit what you currently have to get to started?
Contact Info:
- Website: www.andrehermannphoto.com
- Email: shutter_se7en@mac.com
- Instagram: @shutter_se7en, @foood_fiend_5, @fishing_duck, @f_stop8
Image Credit:
© André J. Hermann
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