FORM FOLLOWS BODY

 

Interview with SYLVIE BLUM

You have been a model for 16 years being photographed by big names like Helmut Newton, Sieff, Bitesnich, Saudek and your later husband Günter Blum. How did this influence your photography and what made you switch behind the camera?

I always knew I wanted to become an artist since I was 4 years old. Working with so many great artists was of course an inspiration. I always loved photography and all the aspects that come together until an image is created. It is so much more than just clicking the shutter and snapping something out of the moment. I learned that if you want to create a timeless piece you have to be so much better. You have to be a master of your craft and you have to have that eye. The transition from model  to photographer was a natural move.

British Maxim once issued a pretty strong statement about you. Sylvie is the Ansel Adams of the female form.
Does it reflect a little how you see yourself?

Of course I liked that quote a lot. It tells me that I did something right. 

What other big photographers had a big impact on your style and in what way?

I think I have grown out of that shoes. There are some photographers I admire and most of them I have met in person, which is a nice thing.
I find my inspiration in my daily life and sometimes it is just that shadow on my studio wall that makes me happy. I do head games often. For example dividing a with people crowded chaotic place into light and shadows, lines, graphic elements or colors, to create an abstract image of a random situation.
I search for that all the time. It trains my eye and mind to search for that elements. The result is that if I need those elements I know how to find them.

You work as an erotic fine-art artist and a commercial beauty photographer at he same time. To what extend are you able to bring in your artist side into what your clients want from you?

I am in love with both aspects of my work. One has nothing to do with the other and then they are absolut the same.(If you follow me ;-) ) I always bring my experience and my professionalism into my commercial work and visa verse. Mostly there is a team involved on a commercial job and you develop the shoot together. It is a nice thing to be chosen, because the client knows and likes your work. I am professional and extreme hard working photographer. Leading a big team into a successful shoot is really something great.

Having lived in so many countries, what made you move to L.A.?

I moved to LA nearly 17 years ago. Its a crazy crazy city, where the light is beautiful and the weather even more... I have founded my white box studio in the heart of Hollywood and customized it with an outdoor area, with 30 foot ceilings and 20 skylights. I get a lot of work done here. But then before the lockdown I also used to work a lot in NYC, Paris, Munich and Frankfurt. So right now things are picking up again and it is nice to travel around a lot.

What do owe have to expect from you soon? What will be your next big exhibit?

I am working on many different projects right now. I prioritized on shooting a lot, because 2020 was a sad year and I had to stop shooting. I am very happy to be on set again, working with my people and muses .
Right now I am having my work exhibited in Vienna, Italy and Sweden.
The next exhibition tour is planed for 2022. In the meantime check for new work at the Fahey Klein Gallery Los Angeles