Description

Chromogenic print, signed in ink in the margin, signed, titled and dated in pencil verso, 66 x 87cm (26 x 34 3/8in) Literature: The Art of André S. Solidor, AKA Elliott Erwitt, 2009, pp. 32-33 Questions from Elliott Erwitt (E.E.) to André S. Solidor (A.S.S.) E.E. Mr Solidor, what influences your fine art? A.S.S. Cindy Sherman is my muse. Man, do I love her self-portraits. And then Mapplethorpe with those suggestive flowers and tacky chaps, and Helmut with his naked ladies (Helmut Newton), and then Andreas Gursky and the Dusseldorf boys with their dinosaur - sized snaps, and last but not least Beethoven, and Mrs Kopplowitz, my former landlady. E.E. Easy to understand Beethoven and the Dusseldorfers, also Cindy Sherman, but Mrs Kopplowitz? A.S.S. Mrs Kopplowitz had faith in me from the very beginning. She believed in me and my art. With Beethoven, it was a candy wrapper with the image of Ludwig that seared an unforgettable image in my brain that made me dedicate my life to recreating that special feeling. E.E. What advice and words of wisdom do you have for the new crop of wannabe photo artists? A.S.S. Learn the craft of altering fine pictures. Photograph famous people exclusively. Master the craft of cellular telephone photography. Don't cut your hair. And dress eccentrically. E.E. But judging from the Art of André S. Solidor you do not seem to be following your own wisdom. A.S.S. Are you suggesting I am a wannabe photo artist? E.E. At the risk of further irritating you, Mr Solidor, why the fish smoking a cigar? A.S.S. A photographer has got to have a sense of responsibility, an obligation to society. My photographs of smoking fish are a forceful declaration about the perils of tobacco in our society at large. It strongly suggests that if you smoke, you could become a fish head. The Art of André S. Solidor, AKA Elliott Erwitt, 2009, p.3