Inspiration of the Week: Photomontage Artist Mattijn
One of my biggest inspirations and certainly one of the most interesting artists I’ve come upon on flickr, is photomontage artist Mattijn. If you’ve ever seen his work, you will undoubtedly remember it. He is well known for his extensive surrealist montages. I was absolutely thrilled when he agreed to do a Q&A for my little old blog! I had so many questions, I barely knew where to begin. Read on…
How did your journey into art begin, and more specifically, how did you begin doing photography?
A friend gave me a digital camera at a time when I was a bit stuck in my oil painting. I knew what I wanted to make, but it just didnt come out right. I started taking photos of landscapes and buildings and myself. At first, my idea was to make basic photo compositions that I could later turn into paintings, but I only ended up doing one. I found photography was a much quicker and cleaner way to realize my daydreams.
How would you describe your style of photography?
Some sort of crazy realism. I base it on what i see in reality, but I exaggerate certain elements and or diminish others. I’m also very much influenced by oil painting, from any period.
Where do you find inspiration for your work?
Its silly to say its all around, but it is kind of true, especially since my tool is a camera. But there are two types of images, the one where i have an idea and make sketches and then go out to find the right stuff to take photos of, and the one where I make something based on the photos I have taken throughout the day. But like any artist, it’s a mix of everything I see hear and read, combined with my own daydreams, thoughts and ideas.
You’ve developed a very defined aesthetic for your self-portraiture, usually montages of you and your cat exploring surreal settings, such as the ‘purple moor‘. How did this aesthetic develop for you? Was it a conscious choice or something that just sort of came about?
A bit of both. I didnt put myself or my cat in my first montages. The style and technique of my current montages started to take shape when I made my ‘From the Garden in my Mind‘ photo story. It’s all very rough compared to my more recent works and it’s closer to collage work then photomontage, but it shows many themes that you find throughout my later work: the clones, cat, woman, castle, little guy etc.
Self-portraits are often very personal expressions of an artist’s inner self. What do you wish to convey in your self-portraits? What drives you to do them?
I have different types. Sometimes its clearly not about me. I could put on a hoody to make it less personal, play a character in the background, or act in a certain way, but I do have some where I’m portraying my feelings. Mostly I just see myself and my cat as models for my work.
What is your process for creating photo-montages? On average, how long does it take to create a single piece?
It’s all very different with every image. Some images I make in an hour-just simple combinations (landscape sky thingy me and my cat)- those are a bit of a diary thing- where did I go, what did I see and how did I feel. Others take months starting by making sketches and slowly taking all the right photos and building it up in too many layers to mention. Some seem like a puzzle; Certain photos are just meant to be put together, and if you find the right pieces a concept will be revealed ;).
What led you to posting your photos on flickr?
Just looking for a place to show my work and get reactions through my website. I had views from all over the world, but I wanted to hear
opinions. I did enjoy flickr more before censorship and award ceremonies, but I still think its the best place to show and see todays (photo) art.
As an artist that works in multiple mediums, (photography, painting, music to name a few) how do you balance your time between these different forms? Do you find ways to combine these mediums together?
I shot videos during the day, made animations from them in the evening and worked on the music at night for three months for my last photo-animation ‘Mr. Hare & the Abstract‘. It worked very well, but it usually goes in periods. Sometimes I make a lot of montages and sometimes I spent a long time on one painting. Music with me is always a night thing.
Has your success as a photographer on flickr begun to translate into real world success?
Still working on that. I spend all the time I have on creating things. Besides that, I’m pretty inactive.
What tools do you use to capture your images?
Just my olympus sp-320. It’s not a very good camera, but it’s not about the photos, it’s what i do
with them, and for that, it’s good enough. I use photoshop for the editing.
Where do you hope to go next with your art?
I never look far ahead. I would like a photobook, not one of those expensive badly bound print on demand books, but a real one. I have been asked by some galleries to exhibit my work. Those are things I’m looking into at the moment
Do you have any advice for aspiring artists?
Well, I get mail from people who think it’s an overnight thing. And maybe thats possible with all the (free) advice that you can find anywhere and there are many (to my surprise) professional (photoshop) artists who love to share every little secret they know with everyone. But for me this slowly and naturally evolved into the style and technique of the works I make now. There are people on flickr who copy my compositions and ideas and post them as if it were their own. The only thing i can do is keep my photo secrets to myself so that at least my look is mine alone. So, no technical advice from me. My best advice is not for everyone: just daydream. Create things in your mind instead of using a computer.
Mattijn is a photomontage artist from the Netherlands, who also makes photoanimations oilpaintings illustrations and music. Please visit www.mattijn.com for more information.