Klara Johanna Michel: Cold, Calculated, Beautiful

While many of her contemporaries would opt for creating carefree imagery, Klara Johanna Michel heavily stylizes her subjects to seemingly echo the aesthetics of an early artistic movement. Please note that some of the images in this post are NSFW.

Statues are rarely perceived as warm, if at all. Yet, “cold” doesn’t always exclusively connote a negative meaning. As Michel’s style would prove, cold could also be something mysterious, alluring, beautiful. Working on film, she carefully and deliberately poses her subjects to resemble marble statues, with an overall look often resembling religious art. Not surprisingly, Michel admits to being influenced mainly by this as well as the work of the Italian painter Caravaggio.

This interview zeroes in on two particular works by the young Berlin-based photographer: her hand colored photographs and the series porn, the latter quite contradictory to her usual style as it marries the hardcore nature of pornography with the softness of long exposure photography.

“I like to admire the person who is in front of my camera. Put them higher than me. Show the cold, unemotional beauty in them as if they were made of marble.”
- Klara Johanna Michel

You have such a beautiful, fascinating, and overall one-of-a-kind portfolio. How would you describe your photographic style?

Thank you for your kind words. I’d define my style as ambivalent. The aesthetic beauty of my subjects tends to resonate with people who see my work. In general I can say [that I] don’t have a problem with this.

However, there is another aspect that I consider crucial: the cool, dark, almost religious atmosphere. Faces set in stone, whose beauty and dignity can almost cause pain to the viewer.

What do you usually enjoy taking photos of?

I predominantly photograph people. I don’t shoot spontaneously; sittings with my subjects are arranged and discussed. Sometimes, I shoot landscapes or still life. However, these function mostly as supportive material to the portraits. Urban spaces or realistic backdrops don’t draw my attention. In general, I try to avoid everyday content. My main concern is with my subject.

Your colored photos are completely fascinating. When did you begin doing this? How did the idea of coloring photos come to you?

I felt the need to bring more of myself into the pictures, to be closer to them. Manually retouching is incredibly satisfying to me.

What sets your work apart from the colored photos by other artists?

I consider my work my own. It therefore sets itself apart from others by default. I admit to having a variety of influences, both conscious and subconscious. However, these filter through me, thereby creating my individual take on things.

Please describe to us your entire process of making colored photos, from shooting down to the coloring itself.

I shoot [in] black and white, mostly medium format. I color the negatives by hand. How I do it depends [on the situation], but [how] exactly I’d like to keep to myself. But I recommend trying different things out, discover new techniques.

Another series that caught our attention in particular was ‘porn’, where it appears that you have made use of long exposure and/or double/multiple exposure in capturing the sexual act. Is this correct? Please tell us more about this series.

The porn series is one of my oldest, probably [photographed] about eight years ago. The idea was to soften the harsh imagery of hardcore porn by using long exposures.

What was your goal in creating it?

If I recall correctly, I wanted to work with things that I had an interest in at the time, namely pornography. I searched for scenes showing acrobatic positions and attempted to capture these [on photographs]. I was surprised by how much sensibility a long exposure can add to such images.

How did the shooting process go about?

It’s a long exposure of hardcore porn on screen. I shot it with my Nikon FE on color film.

Aside from these, what other photographic technique/s do you also usually do?

I experiment with different techniques and I learn more every day. I want to find more tools and ways to create. I’m now experimenting with large format photography.

What, for you, is the importance of shooting on film in this day and age?

Well, I have a digital camera but I never use it due to [me] never being happy with the results. It looks robotic to me. Analog works for me. It’s what I love. But maybe I just never concentrated on digital, [like how] I do on film.

What and/or who inspires you?

I love sculpture, plastic work, and Christian imagery. Caravaggio especially inspires me. The lighting in his images is fantastic. But I also find inspiration in music: psych, post, punk, garage.

Aside from photography, what else do you do?

I mostly spend all my time with my work. Apart from that I enjoy music and concerts. But I try to constantly organize and conceptualize shoots. At this stage I feel really fortunate because I have a lot of ideas, which now only need to be put in practice.

What keeps you busy these days? Are there any current and/or upcoming exhibits or projects that you’d like to promote?

Yes. I am studying photography and currently working on my final series. It’s going to be about Occultism and sects. The exhibition will be in July 2017 in Berlin.

I’m also doing a project with my dear friend Sophia M.A. Eisenhut, who’s an amazing illustrator and friend. We’re working on a booklet together. If you’re interested in getting a print, feel free to get in touch with us. You can find her site here.

All information and photographs in this article were provided to Lomography by the photographer and used here with permission. To see more of Klara Johanna Michel’s work, please visit her portfolio on Tumblr and Cargo Collective.

Previously: Hand Tinted Portraits by Klara Johanna Michel

written by Julien Matabuena on 2015-11-05 #people #lifestyle #film #interview #long-exposure #porn #hand-coloring #klara-johanna-michel