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All Things Mellow in the Mind
Hand-pulled photogravure
5 3/4 x 8 3/8 inches (14.6 x 21.3 cm) image
15 x 13 inches (38 x 33 cm) paper
A poet, a philosopher, and a photographer, Michals has managed to merge his three muses into a single output for a highly distinct
and original body of work. Poems and short stories are paired with his images, and photos are grouped together into a story-telling
series. His photos are set-up and surreal, his writing is contemplative and philosophical, and in the end, Michal’s views
on life and the world around him shine through.
Born in McKeesport, Pennsylvania, in 1932, Michals grew up in a typical working class family. His father was a steel worker
like so many other men in PA, and his mother did not have a salaried job - her job was raising the family. He became interested
in photography at age 14 when he began taking Saturday afternoon watercolor classes at Carnegie institute in Pittsburgh.
In 1953, he received a B.A. from the University of Denver, and went on to enroll in the Parsons School of Design in 1956 with
thoughts of becoming a graphic designer. However, this only lasted a year, and he eventually dropped out to take various jobs
in the publishing field.
All the while, he maintained an interest in fine arts, with a high regard for surrealist artists such as Magritte and Balthus.
In 1958, during a three week trip to Russia, Michals realized his passion for photography. He used a camera borrowed from a friend
to take portraits of people he encountered during his travels. The work has been described as "plain, yet elegant," and
led to Michals' first public exhibition.
Eleven years later, Michals was making his living through commercial shooting, despite the fact that he never owned a studio. "I
prefer to photograph people in their environment," Michals said in his introduction to his book Album, a collection of his
portraiture. "I hate studios. The things that people choose to spend their lives with gives us clues as to whom they are
more than their hairline."
Michals proceeds to reveal a lot about his unique philosophy on portraiture in this essay. "Some photographers can be
very presumptuous about 'capturing' another person with their cameras," he says. "My portraits in this book have revealed
nothing profound about the subjects or captured anything. They were almost all strangers to me. How could I say anything about
them when I never knew them? What I did was share a moment with them, and now I share that moment with you, no more and no less."
Michals clearly has a very refreshing, down-to-earth attitude about his work. In interviews, he has said "I was lucky
because I never went to photography school and didn't learn the photography rules, and in not learning the rules, I was free.
I always say, you're either defined by the medium or you redefine the medium in terms of your needs."
In terms of his artistic work, it wasn't readily accepted at the beginning...but that did not faze him. "If I was concerned
about being accepted, I would have been doing Ansel Adams look-alikes, because that was easily accepted. Everything I did was
never accepted...but luckily for me, my interest in the subject and my passion for the subject took me to the point that I wasn't
wounded by that, and eventually, people came around to me."
Michals currently has more than 20 books in print, has had exhibitions in France, Great Britain, and the United States, and
has won numerous awards.
- John Vettese
If
you have any questions regarding any of the art or artists
here, or wish to discuss the possibility of selling
something you own, please contact the following:
Thomas Paul, President
P.O. Box 602
Woodland Hills, CA 91365-0602
Phone: (818) 884-7878
Toll-free: (877) 292-5858
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E-mail: tom@tpaulfineart.com
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