Interview with FLORENCE MONTMARE

Spirit & Flesh: How would you describe your style and how did it evolve?

Florence Montmare: I am drawn to ambiguous situations and places and also to dreams. I remember reading this Shakespearian quote when I was little: “We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded sleep.” I thought it meant we were made of some kind of dream weave…I still do believe that.

S&F: What are you looking to capture as a photographer?

FM: I hope to distill an essence of a feeling or state of mind. With people I think it is fascinating how the camera can capture fi ne nuances in a face, as if revealing the persona they choose to show me at that moment in time.

S&F: What keeps your motivated and inspired?

FM: Film and music…and I love this beautiful city that we live in! New York brings both inspiration and perspiration and the wonderful and sometimes strange meetings with people feel meaningful. I think it is bewildering how the camera gives me the license to stare.

S&F: What inspired you to participate in this project for “Still Here” issue of S&F and where did you draw the idea from for the shoot?

FM: “Still Here” is such a good theme and resonates with where I am at the moment (and where I hope to be). I thought of the notion of time and stretching time and thought about three fi lms: Chris Marker’s La Jetée (entirely made out of still frames), Maya Deren’s Ritual in Transfi gured Time and Tarkovsky’s last fi lm The Sacrifi ce. The Sacrifi ce is very apocalyptic and the opening shot is the longest take Tarkovsky ever did. In the fi lm an announcement is made declaring an impeding world catastrophe. After this point the family sits quiet in waiting. The feeling of time stretching is immense (accentuated by the long takes). My favorite cinematographer, Sven Nyqvist, is the master eye of this fi lm. It is set on the island of Gotland/Fårö, my childhood summer paradise, which is a very powerful barren landscape. It is quite unsettling, but I love the beautiful, simple setting of this fi lm and the mood that it invokes.

S&F: How did you set the stage, so to speak, at the photo studio?

FM: I shot at a storefront in Harlem that was redesigned as a temporary house, the place was so intriguing, it had everything: a bedroom with dreams coming down from the ceiling, a sitting room, a kitchen and a bar, and even a garden in the back made out of astro turf. We moved between the different setups and spent the most time experimenting in the bedroom scene and garden. It felt as though we were playing house, and the models, who sometimes needed to act rather than pose, related to each other like an artifi cial family. It was an inspired collaboration and everyone was very involved.

S&F: What qualities were you looking for in the models?

FM: I always like to use models that look interesting more than merely representing the classical beauty. I also wanted to reference the Russian/Swedish types in the Tarkovsky’s film The Sacrifice.

S&F: What did you learn about yourself during this project?

FM: How much I love collaborations and the exhilarating feeling of when you dare trying out a new idea, without knowing exactly how things will turn out. This happens a lot on locations. I really enjoy researching the project and scoping out the creative possibilities and experimenting. Setting up an entirely new team and trying to set them free: stylist, makeup and hair, set designer, models. I enjoyed every bit of it.

S&F: What’s next for you? What types of projects would you like to be involved in?

FM: I am working on a new shoot for a music artist that I am really excited about! I would like to get more involved in photo and video projects to work with artists, designers and brands who strive to raise social and political awareness through their work.