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INFO: Mat Levine.17.Albany, NY.
http://flickr.com/matlevinephoto
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The Photo Coterie: What art school do you plan on attending and why did you decide on art school or the school you want to go to in particular?
Mat Levine: Well, I applied to several different schools but the two that are on the top of my list are SVA and SUNY Purchase. SVA really looked like it was directed towards exactly what I want to do with the medium, and the the facilities are tight. As well as the obvious, the prime location and the connections that can be made from being surrounded by so many prestigious artists. As well as the growth as an artist that can be conjured from the surrounding environment. Secondly, I was impressed with Purchases facilities and the large community of fine artists that go there, it seemed to be right in my ball park. Although the location and social life might not be as stimulating, it is only a 30 minute bus ride into the city. In the end though it comes down to where i get into and of course the cash money.
TPC: From what we have seen of your work it seems that you tend to gravitate towards shooting outside. Why do you prefer to shoot outdoors rather than in?
ML: I don’t think I prefer one more than the other, that’s sort of the way it ends up. I don’t really go to any interesting places that are inside, living in upstate New York there is plenty to explore outside.
TPC: Are your photos more experience based or pre-meditated?
ML: Sometimes an idea will pop into my head and I will immediately write it down, but otherwise I don’t really have a specific motive when i go out and shoot. I enjoy exploring and seeing what something can lead me to, then it usually all comes together. That’s what gets me psyched the most, just having a something in the back of my mind or forgetting an idea that i wrote down, then something will set it off and from there it builds. Forgetting and rediscovering it is what keeps me shooting, having a new perspective each time.
TPC: What do you think the presence of a living being gives to a photograph?
ML: Having a living being in a photograph adds a whole new perspective, mainly to the viewer. I feel having a person in a photo lets the viewer perceive something that they are extremely unaware of, which is their own personal existence in the environment. It lets them see their own kind and how human and nature all interact. I think sometimes it shows people how everyone’s existence changes depending on the environment they are in. If i’m in the woods I am very important, if i’m in a crowd at the mall i am nothing. I don’t know, it confuses me sometimes but I enjoy that.
TPC: Is there anything going on in your life right now that you want to talk about?
ML: Shit, it is definitely an exciting chapter in my life. Finally moving on from something I don’t care about at all, to something that I care about with a passion. It is exciting and I really don’t know where it will go, but that’s the fun. Other than that I’m bumming about the start of the grizzly upstate winter and trying to do as much of nothing as I can. I’m really into it right now.
