ART, COVERAGE, EDITORIAL
Chelsea Boy at Heart, Marc Bluestein
Marc Bluestein: Self Portrait
Armed with hair cutting scissors, pizza, and his digital SLR camera, Marc Bluestein proves that Chelsea is not just a place in New York, but a state of mind. Marc is a very good friend of mine, and I have been watching him grow as an artist over the past two years. His work has been showed in Philly and in New York. Currently Marc lives in Lindenwold NJ, which is right outside of Camden and Cherry Hill. His photography style is reminiscent of Andy Warhol’s short films, bordering the line between art photography and documentary style photography. Marc shows us the way he sees specific individuals, whether it’s in a positive or negative light.
I decided to turn the tables and interview him because normally he interviews his subjects before photographing them.
Above: Me and Lady Valtronic at the Hotel Chelsea.
Q: Tell me about your transition or relationship from hair stylist to artist?
A: I would actually prefer to photograph people full time. I don’t see an exact parrellel…but hair and make up help represent someone, giving them their own unique identity. So when I photograph a person, I like to capture the way they represent themselves thru my photos.
Q: Who has been the most influential artist in your life?
A: I think people in general have been influential to my life because I always love to learn about people, I think its amazing how people truly vary in essence and who they are as a person.It can be their personality, or just “something” about them.
The most influential artist artist would have be be Andy Warhol, but skip that, I will have to go with Nico. I enjoy the concepts behind Warhol, but in terms of a life philosophy, and how I view the world and people, that would fall into the category of Nico, who is both cynical and playful in an Ironic sense.
Marc’s mother, a 60s mod goddess always and forever.
-That makes sense, you have tattoos in reference to Warhol and Nico.
Q: What sort of people do you choose to photograph? Is it just any person, or do you hand pick your subject specifically?
A: tend to hand pick my subjects specifically. Normally it can vary from someone I know personally, or someone I met a handful of times…like this random kid that works at WaWa. The people I lean towards are people that I am attracted to in a subconcious state. Maybe I find something about them that intrigues me, and I can’t put my finger on it. Or if it’s someone I know personally, I think it’s the nature of the person, and the depth that I feel and come to know from knowing the person for so long. I strive to capture an image of something that I find to be a representation of who that person is to me, or the light that I see them in.
Q: You photograph a lot of your work at the Hotel Chelsea? What is the connection you have to that place, and how does it reflect in your work?
A: Well I am gonna quote Big Ol Eddie Biel from Grey Gardens, “It’s the only place in the world I feel like I can truly be my self”, I feel like when I am in that hotel, I am in a complete comfort zone where it seems like I have been there my whole entire life. There is some sort of connection I have when I walk thru that hotel, it makes me want to create when I am there. So many of the artists and people that have lived there, I feel that their energies have attched them selves to the furniture, the walls, the art. The background of the Chelsea in my images plays a significant role in relationships to the people in the image. That hotel for some reason makes people feel like they can let go.
Q: Your images are often highly saturated in color. Do you think they would take on the same feel in black and white? Also, how do you feel about black and white versus color, film verses digital? Most of your influences come from before the digital era.
A: Color is essential for my photos. The over saturation is on purpose. I am not a very vibrant person in terms of fashion, I have a classic toned down look. However, when I look at a photo, I am always attracted to very extreme colors. I like it to look unnatural. I kind of get my color “fix” thru my photos.
Q:If you could photograph one dead person, and one living person, who would you choose?
A: Dead, Nico. Living, David Bowie.
Marc captures my love of wallpaper shirts.
Q: Do you see your work more as fine art photography or documentary?
A: I have been asked this before, and this is a good question. I think of what I am photographing as art, and the subject is a documentation. I am going to make up my own label and call it “Documentation Art”. I love the idea of documentary, it’s wonderful. I love documenting events. However, I play with the colors and the people I photograph who I see as living art….it creates a family that can’t be set into one category.
Q: What do you plan on doing in the future? Any up coming exhibitions or series?
A: I want to branch out and do more work with video. I would love to have more exhibitions. I can’t give an exact answer to this…so really anything can be next. Being a mortician can be next.
