Interview with Robert Gregory Griffeth
The phrase "visual artist" is almost a misnomer for most contemporary artists working in that mode. This is because so many of them work from conceptual frameworks that are based purely in words. For some of them, the only access to their images is through the words that surround them. Robert Gregory Griffeth, described by some as an "outsider," may well be the antithesis of that.
His process of creating images seems to be about as purely visual as can be, and he is even reluctant to speak about his work after the fact. His process seems to be a kind of waking dream where he responds viscerally to images and avoids thinking too much about them. And yet, ironically, his imagery is heavily concerned with messages.
Robert's work could be described as elliptical, and it's interesting to note that he writes with lots of ellipses. It is also worth noting that "constructing the print" is an act of art making that is largely disconnected from photographing the elements that go into his images.
Mr.Griffeth doesn't talk much about himself, and he even prefers not to talk about his work — he generally leaves that to others. His work has been extensively exhibited and published. He has had at least seven solo exhibitions and thirty-two group shows since 1991. Publications include Libido, Shots, O!!Zone, Beet, Bizarre, Future Sex, Skin Two, and Pink Pages.
More of his work:
robertgregorygriffeth.com
Q: You have been described as a photography outsider. Is that fair to say, and is that simply because you are self-taught? How do you describe yourself?
I am just obsessed with outside art these days… I am obsessed with folk art collecting from time to time… outside whatever… my work, for some reason or another has had problems falling into the regular photo world… Maybe that is a reason... also, I did learn very little from classes, mainly how to develop film The visual was taken from years at book stores and magazine shops just looking at works.
Q: By various accounts, your work has taken a new direction. Did the idea behind this change of direction come about suddenly - a light bulb going on - or gradually?
This has happened over time… it seems to always have a dark overtone no matter what I do, that is just my nature but the way the work turns out changes here and there.
Q: One writer describes your new work as being based on the obsession that everything on earth is laced with codes and secret messages and all things may be the opposite of which it seems. That sounds a bit like a description of the main character in Darren Aronofsky's movie "Pi." Is it an accurate description? Is anything missing?
It might be the same. I somewhat remember that film from years ago… everything seems to have an underlying message… the whole intent of the message my not be as it seems. peopleread much more into some images than I intended. others never see what I think at all… it is rare that I ever hear what people think about an image…I never really care to know anymore.
I just do them, I really never care to talk with people about them or even have any one know I do the work, if I have to talk with them about it in person… I just does not interest me in any way these days. A few of these interviews is the most I will go there, and I don't do that very often. I do art so I don't have to talk... If I wanted to talk, I would try writing, I guess.
Q: You once mounted a show called "The Healing Soul: Ultra-Violence and Other Works of Danger." Part of the title seems to be an allusion to Kubrick's "A Clockwork Orange." Was it? How did the images in the show relate to the kind of healing you were speaking about?
Just letting the images out was a process... Those were darker times then for my works… too much outer influence made them darker...
The word ultra violence came from the film… I love films… I never watch TV… The only media I seem to have is music, films and several short bursts of news from the Internet. Several movies seem to be running here everyday at some point, whether I am watching them or not.
Q: Various descriptions of your work include surreal, dream-like, dark, disturbing, ugly, and degrading to women. Some have said it mines the tropes of pornography, while others think it makes statements about class and gender oppression. That sounds like a lot of confusion. What do you say your work is about, and what most interests you about the work that you make?
A lot of those statements are old from years ago... My work is about like a dream, just something that happens from the input of life, that when you're dreaming you have no control... The photos for me are the same… I shoot things on one end, then I take from that, and very quickly, it seems I just put things together then print from that.
Q: Your work seems to be compared often to that of Joel-Peter Witkin. What similarities and differences do you see? Are the two of you exploring related territory, or are these just surface comparisons?
Just surface, I think. I hear that often.
Witkin seems to have very direct direction for his work, from what I have seen in videos of him, but I don't know him or what he thinks really. I don't… It is just me letting it happen…
I may have a small idea sometimes but I let the work flow… The shooting of the images may be more direct, but the construction of the print is free form, with little direct thought… Most of the time I really don't want to think what made me put an image together… I like just walking away from the work and letting it live it own existence after I produce it.
Q: How much of the final image do you have in mind when you begin shooting, and can you describe your thought process in making an image?
It's a layer process… of old school film, which at some point I will have to work out another means, with the death of film these days. That is my thought process when I put together the image… is what do. I see in the layer… what layers work… I layer the visual, just like a musician would layer the sound.
Q: Your pieces are unique; can you describe your production process?
Again layer of different images… if you took a few hundred single images the layer combination is gigantic for a unique one of a kind image.
Q: Are you now presenting and selling your work exclusively on the web? How's that going for you?
It goes great when I want to sell something, but that is rare… Some days I want to have a gallery do that for me, and others, not. Selling has never been connected much to me and my work... Selling may really be a downfall for me as far as my photos and the future of them… I really care little about it. I just like doing it and people seeing the result… and the web makes that dream true to the extreme.
Q: Certainly, the finer details of your actual prints don't come across at 72 dpi. Has that been an issue for buyers, and how have you dealt with it?
I have never had a problem not once hearing that… So I have never dealt with it... If you want to see the extreme detail of an image, I guess the person who does needs to find an original… I don't scan them too large so they cannot just be stolen and used from the web.