AN Interview with art photographer ..

(JG): For those that don't know much about you, can you tell me some basic background stuff?? Where'd you grow-up? What did you do in school? How'd you get to where you are now, as an artist and as a professional?

Andrew Einhorn (Andrew): I grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia - Cheltenham High School to be exact. Home of Reggie Jackson, Benjamin Netanyahu, and artist Mary Ellen Mark. I went to Temple University in Philly, to start making movies and TV shows .. I studied radio, tv, film and journalism. I dropped classes I hated, played intramural hockey, went to basketball games, smoked pot, worked for the school newspaper, saw movies, took a semester in London, and traveled a lot.

Out of college I spent 5 years working for the Philadelphia Inquirer, as a photojournalist. I then tried Fashion, Travel, PR, and Children’s Photography, before experimenting with Nudes. At age 30, I moved to New York City, and began do a variety of things: video, film, photography, editing and comedy. I produced a TV show on Public Access, that combined all of these things. Most of my skills today, come from making that TV show. I learned how to edit, and put stories together. That’s my passion now. Telling stories through photos, video, and music. When I make myself happy, I usually make others happy.

As soon as I heard about Public Access - I got a show!

JG: How did the TV show come about? And who developed the concept? What inspired it?

Andrew: I had just started playing with video, when I moved to New York City. As soon as I heard about Public Access - I got a show! I thought it would be a great outlet for the video I shot up to that point, and a way to explore New York through my camera. And THAT’S what I used it for; I explored neighborhoods in looking for apartments; I found parks looking for beauty; and I attended events looking for comedy. It was a way of meeting people and getting familiar with the city. It also allowed me to start photographing New York girls, and share the photos with New York.

I began shooting Super-8 on rooftops as well, often varying the shutter speeds for funny effects. The concept was mine - I would mix film, video, and still pictures set to music, while covering events like a journalist. Each show would contain 5 or 6 themes, which would unravel over the half-hour. Everything would be light, and often funny, but sexy and educational. It was a way to express my viewpoints in life, which I love to do!

I made hundreds of Super-8 films, including women running around naked on rooftops ..

JG: Your first book, Naked Happy Girls was fantastic. How did that work come about?

Andrew: Most of Naked happy Girls came from my TV show in New York called Dog the Cat. Each week I would visit one or two girls, interview them, photograph them, and put them on the show. I would set the still photos to music, and mix it with the video. I also made hundreds of Super-8 films, including women running around naked on rooftops, or jumping on a trampoline. Mixed with the nudes, were stories about New York, which I covered like a journalist. Examples would be Mermaid Parades, Chinese New Years, Tattoo festivals or dog parades.


JG: I love the rapport you have with your models in the video's I've seen. Your methods are a bit unconventional - smoking pot with them, and sometimes getting naked yourself. Does this play into the rapport or is it just you having fun?

Andrew: It's absolutely both. I love to have fun. When I do, they usually do. Doing something together also evens the playing field a bit.

Marijuana plays a funny role in my life... There is no doubt it inspires creativity ...

JG: I greatly admire your open attitude about marijuana use. It's widely used by artists, always has been. Satchmo, the great Louis Armstrong reportedly smoked EVERYday! But very few are openly talking about it nowadays. Why are YOU so courageous? And what role does it play in your life and your art?

Andrew: I don’t think of my self as courageous. Just spreading the good word. Marijuana plays a funny role in my life. Its my happy pills. It helps me at times for depression, at times for creativity, and a times for social fun. There is no doubt it inspires creativity, but one shouldn’t depend on it. When I smoke with a model, its almost always at least half way thru a shoot. I often use it at a point where I want to find something new, a bit out of the ordinary, something that I normally wouldn’t have shot. It also makes happy faces on models. Especially when they are jumping on a bed or couch.

JG: You've been traveling a bit. Has that been for work or pleasure .. or both??

Andrew: I’ve been traveling mostly for work. I work with an another artist who makes installations, which I film and edit. I often have my own time where I can photograph some of the locals. I like that.

women tend to feel relaxed and pretty in the bath.

JG: Have you ever shown your photos in exhibition?

Andrew: I’ve really only had 2 exhibitions; one in Philadelphia and the other in New York, for Naked happy Girls. I’m sure I will have one again soon for Bubble Bath Girls. And it will have video as well photographs, as will all my future shows. But doing a show has just taken a low priority right now - I'm more interested in other projects, like TV shows, making money, and playing hockey. I am presently working on the Bubble Bath Girls DVD, which should be done by January 2006.



JG: Tell us about your new book, Bubble Bath Girls.

Andrew: Bubble Bath Girls is a collection of photographs, all taken in my home. It's based around the bubble baths theme, but includes photos before and after the bath. Like Naked Happy Girls, I wanted this book to be fun and sexy. Wet skin is beautiful thing, and women tend to feel relaxed and pretty in the bath. I wanted the girls to have fun too, so I asked them to bring over props, or things that reflected them as people. I also realized that fruit looks fantastic in color, and is fun to eat in the tub, so I had many girls eating fruit, or placing it somewhere on their body. I think the contrast of fruit, skin, and water, is amazing. I made sure to have a bigger variety of ethnic girls in this book. I wanted to represent the variety that New York has to offer. I love the end result of the book. Its like candy in a candy store. Sweet New York Butterscotch!

I made sure to have a variety of ethnic girls in Bubble Bath Girls . I wanted to represent the variety that New York has to offer.

View Andrew Einhorn's ONLINE EXHIBITS at Michelle7:
NAKED HAPPY GIRLS | BUBBLE BATH GIRLS.

Buy Andew Einhorn's books at Amazon.com:

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Buy: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.fr | Amazon.de | Amazon.ca