Henry Horenstein

by Samantha Weiss

Henry Horenstein has been a major figure in photography since the 1970s.  If you've studied photography, chances are you've read one of his text books.

His work has shown in The Smithsonian National Institute and innumerable galleries.

His photography books include Aquatics, Canine, Creatures, Honkey Tonk: Portraits of Country Music 1972-1981, Humans, Racing Days, and most recently, Close Relations.



Chief Magazine: Henry, we've know each other for a year and a half and in that time many many exciting things have been going on for you. Firstly, you have a book coming out this month with Powerhouse Books, Close Relations, of some of your first photo ever taken. What's this all about and how did it come about?

Henry Horenstein: I've always liked these pictures, but never had a chance to publish them before. I was moving my studio a year or so ago and I came upon a box of 8x10 prints I made at my parents' 35th anniversary party in the early 1970s. I remember resenting having to take the pictures. My attitude (with a capital "A") was: I am an artist, not an events photographer, damn it!

Any particular memories from these photos stand out?

Looking at the pictures 30-plus years later, I loved so many of them. The style. The people. And, of course, they were of family, many of whom had passed on.

The idea of this book being a document of a specific place and time in your life, your friends and your family, and your existence is pretty interesting to me, especially with the big trend now of photo blogs documenting every aspect of peoples; lives. Do you feel like these photos serve a similar purpose for you?

So I put them together and showed them around. Some people were very enthusiastic; others looked at me like I was looney. Slowly, I began to re-edit, including some photos of friends from the same period, turning the focus away from a look at one family to a look at an era—the early 70s.

I wasn't thinking blogs really, though that is an interesting point. But I am not very interested in personal exploration in my work, or for that matter, in my life. I was really thinking of the collection as a history. I was a history wonk as a kid, winning them history prize in my high school. Then I went on to study history in the late 60s at the University of Chicago, and thought I would be a historian until I became interested in photography. I still read history and that's my primary reference in much of my work.

How did you first get interested in photography? Was there a moment when you were like, "Yes I want to be a photographer" or "Yes, I am a photographer"?

My interest in photography stemmed from lots of things. It was the late 60s and the times they were a changin', as Dylan sang. Spending my time in the library stacks became much less interesting to me than going out to take pictures and spending my time in the darkroom, which I loved. Besides, I was getting many more dates as a "photographer" than as an "historian."

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Last March I had the chance to see your show HONKY-TONK at the Smithsonian National Institute. I remember once you said to me your two favorite things in the world are country music and horse racing, but you don't play an insturment and you don't always win at the track. The photos in that show were of the greats of country music, from the groundbreaking early artists to the new sounds of the counter culture. What was it like being able to take those photos? Were you aware at the time of the historical impact they would have? Did you ever imagine they would wind up in the Smithsonian?

The photos in CLOSE RELATIONS were taken when I was a student at Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), where I transfered after being kicked out of Chicago, due to participation in political rallies. I also started doing the pictures in HONKY TONK at that time, so they are kind parallel projects, taken in very much similar styles. Of course, I had no idea the country music pictures would be shown at the Smithsonian—I probably didn't know what the Smithsonian was—but I was VERY aware I was recording history. I knew very little about art at the time, but a fair amount about history (and music), so that's where my thinking naturally drifted.

With HONKY TONK, I was trying to record a dying culture; to a degree, I succeeded, but I didn't realize how much of that culture would be preserved and really enlarged on by future generations. With CLOSE RELATIONS, I was just trying to make good pictures of available subjects (friends and family). But putting the book together, I realize how much of an historical meaning the work has taken on. I now see a lot of my students' work that way: What will these look like in10, 20, even 30 years from now.

That leads to the follow up question about horse racing. I know you own part of a race horse, and also have a book "Racing Days" of pictures from the races. How did your pony fare this race season? What inspires your pictures form the races and more over your photos of animals in general?

My current horse (25% interest), Stone Candy, is mostly enjoying life at the farm, eating carrots, being groomed, nursing a mild injury, and flirting with the stallions. She won 2 of 4 races earlier this year at Philadelphia Park, and probably figured she'd done enough for one year. My interest in racing comes mostly from gambling, which I love. I also made two books on racing in the 1980s, RACING DAYS (about the track life) and THOROUGHBRED KINGDOMS (about breeding farms). About 10 years later, I started photographing animals, land and sea, in a totally different (and non-documentary) style. As far as I can tell, the bodies of work have little in common, other than the person pressing the shutter button.

For the past year and half, everytime you are here in NY, I have been attending numerous burlesque and sideshow events to photograph. Tell me something about this project. What got you interested in this subculture? I know you mentioned a book of these photos, can you tell me something about that?

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The burlesque thing started when I was photographing nude models for a book called HUMANS.  Several of my models worked in and around burlesque, and asked me to come to their shows. I had already been
photographing informally a couple of friends who did a drag night at Jacques, Boston's last remaining drag club (and a place where Nan Goldin shot in the 70s). I started shooting burlesque and drag and then moved onto fetish and sideshow acts. The style is somewhere between my animal and nude photos and documentary, a little reminiscent of Brassai and an early hero of mine, Ed Van Der Elsken, a wonderful Dutch photographer. It isn't intended as a history, but, as I've learned, the way we look at things has a way of changing meaning over time.

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What's next for you then? New shows? New books? New work?

Other projects:  I am also working on a strictly documentary project I call Inside/Outside, about longtime American citizens (not immigrants) who choose to live outside of our mainstream culture. Stay tuned.

In the past, your work has been film, and prodominetly black and white. I know lately you have been shooting some things digital. What are you thoughts on the move to digital? Are you planning on making "the switch"?


Film for black and white. Color for digital. That's where I am now. Digital has so many advantages and quality-wise it is very very good. Black-and-white film still has a look that I really prefer, especially in low-light. Of course, all this is very subject to change.

Who are some of your inspirations? Who's work are you into right now?

As for influences, i am usually more affected by music, film, books, sports—things other than photography. There are a lot of photographers working today that I like, but I always go back to Brassai, Lange, Sander, Arbus, Weegee, etc.

Any good new music I should be checking out? Or old music i don't know about yet for that matter?

New music? Always. I like Hayes Carll a lot. Open Road, a bluegrass band that just split up. You know, whatever's hip at the moment.

Website

www.horenstein.com

Photos

Courtesy Henry Horenstein,
HONKY-TONK,
Humans,
of himself as a young man.