Exclusive interview with Ralph Gibson

Ralph Gibson is one of the most celebrated American photographers, having achieved worldwide recognition in his career for more than four decades.

Ralph Gibson is one of the most celebrated American photographers, having achieved worldwide recognition in his career for more than four decades.

Although he is often classified as an “artistic photographer”, in his exquisite works there is nothing obscure or elitist. Ralph focuses on fragments and details and this process revolves 631more on perception than on the narration of a great story, a personality or an event. His bold and graphic style is instantly recognizable. He approaches his subjects with extreme seriousness, fuelled by the passion of a lifetime for philosophy, art history and artistic criticism. As a result, he is a constant source of inspiration for other photographers and artists in general. Illustrious in individual expression, Gibson urges photographers to develop a personal style following their own instincts; as he did when he moved to New York, leaving behind commercial photography to find himself as a photographer, as other artists who made the Big Apple a place from which to achieve the American dream did.

On this interview, Ralph retraces his long journey for us by talking about his creative processes, some memories and newest projects. [Official Website]

© Ralph Gibson

You briefly referred to documentary photography as ‘documentary truth’. This was discussed in a video about your early involvement in documentary and street photography. However, when I view certain pieces of yours (specifically in relation to your performance work) I am reminded of the Spanish film director ‘Victor Erice’ and his film ‘Dream of Light’. The film is important because it deals with this symbiotic relationship between painting and film. Do you believe that your performance pieces reflect this fluid relationship between photography and music, culminating into one final piece? 

The short answer is yes, I believe so.  I have been a musician for longer that I have been a photographer. I learned guitar at 13 and photography at 17. I play every day, but at a certain point when I was in art school, I realized I had to commit to one or the other. I chose photography but I continued to play through my entire life, switching between styles.

I studied  music theory and harmony for 10 years. I compose music for the guitar and perform these compositions in concerts with my videos projected in the background. You can see examples of these on my website under th Performance link. Following that, I noticed that the context of the music is very important, even more so if it accompanies images. There are photographs whose inspiration came from melody.

There’s a relationship with tonalities that interest me. The concept of harmony or “of something that is harmonic” refers to the order of things and how they flow in accordance with their surroundings; It implies a sense of peace and beauty, of balance in a reality that is often chaotic. That musical concept is also applied in photography, and this is how you can also see the symbiotic relationship between painting and film that you mentioned.

I use the guitar and music to extend photography. I want it be part of my art. A symbiosis between the two forms; sight and sound.

Your earlier work seemed to deal with elements of documentary photography, street photography and even photojournalism. However, as your various bodies of work begin to move on, and you start to explore notions of the human body I am confronted with photographs that seem to bridge this idea of surrealism and cinema. Even going back as far as your 1972 series ‘Déjà vu’, was it your intention (from then on) to begin to explore compositions and subjects that fit under this umbrella of cinema and film?  

Photography has a relationship to reality as it started in a documentary way. You see, when I was younger, I was (very briefly) a documentary photographer. Most of my early photographs, which were taking during my time as a student in the San Francisco Art Institute in California, were street-documentary pictures. 

Then, I came to New York and magazines were immersed in “photographic truth”. That was the rule back then and one had to ask things like “who’s paying for the pictures?” when taking photographs. 

During that time, I worked with Robert Frank and not long after, I established myself as an independent photographer. As I forged myself as a photographer, I was becoming more and more aware that I wanted to photograph things as I saw them, so I started working on “Somnambulist” which explored my surrealist tastes.

So yes, exploring this dynamic was among my intentions.

Continuing from my previous question on this subject. Your most recent collections “The vertical horizon” and “Amsterdam” emphasise the abstraction which some of your images in previous collection had, even further. Focusing on specific objects, markings and elements of the human body ever closer. Are you currently still interested in abstraction? 

Yes, I’m still interested. Since 1960 I have wanted to move closer to the subject [of abstraction]. I embrace the abstract in photography because I’m not interested in the full-figure. I want to abstract forms. I did a series called ‘Quadrants’ in 1975. Every picture was made at one-meter distance to the subject and, when talking about this, a question comes to my mind: if close to the subject is a formal concern, what are you trying to photograph? 

I ask that because, part of abstracting an item comes from “going macro” on it. Getting close in order to achieve a compartmentalizing of the subject. You get close and personal with the details of a person, place or thing by shortening your distance.

With these images, are you attempting to highlight something personal and to convey a certain story or message or are you solely interested in the relationship between materials, objects?

Art is discussed in terms of form and content. The real content of my work is ‘how I look at things’. In a strong photograph what you are seeing is not necessarily in the photograph.

There’s also the issue of subjects and context. If I show you a beautiful nude of a beautiful woman and said “this woman is as beautiful as…” you’d see it a certain way. If I take that same picture but used a different title such as “still no cure for breast cancer” your perspective would definitely change. 

Honestly, I just wanted to make photographs you could look at for a long period of time. Longevity is the hardest thing to build into a photograph; and I wanted my photographs to last, to have a great depth in content. Definitely, a non-ephemerous work.

One body of work which I find fascinating and that I feel is a culmination of many of your interests in photography and music is the ‘Light Strings’ collection. Initially when looking at these images the first thing which they seem to resonate with is Picassos cubist work. A specific image of a shadow of a hand that seems to grace a red or orange guitar emphasizes this poetic narrative. Could you expand on how this body of work came to be and maybe your thought process behind capturing specific guitars?     

I have always done photographic projects of things that interest me. 

I’ve been friends with Andy Summers since 1983. We always wanted to collaborate on a project and we thought of this one. When I started working with Andy, my mind thought of Picasso. I thought that his relationship with the guitar was not only because of his magnificent form, but also because of its feminine form.

He was a Spaniard, and the Spanish have a relationship with the guitar unlike any other culture. He was referring to Spanish culture when he worked with guitars. He was able to do something with the shape, just like he did with all his other works.

We both paid attention to the form of the guitar and the relation it has with the human body, much like Picasso did; the way it imitates the human curves, to create a poetic study of the guitar and its anatomy. 

Just as a final question to conclude this interview, is it possible to know a little snippet of what you’re currently working on. If it’s within the realm of music, film, short performances etc?

Yes. I am making a big book about Israel. I was invited to do a commission in the Holy, sacred land. I’m making very abstract pictures of the oldest country in the world. 

Asides from that, I completed a 400-page layout of all my work taken from 1971 to the day. It’s a long project.  There’s also a series called The Vertical Horizon and it’s almost finished. You will see some of those pictures on my website. I already have 4 shows booked for this year and two books. 2020 will be a productive year.

Francesco Scalici

A recent MA graduate from the University of Lincoln, Francesco has now focused on landscape photography as the basis of his photographic platform. An author for DODHO magazine, Francesco’s interest in documentary photography has turned to writing and has had various articles, interviews and book reviews published on platforms such as: ‘All About Photo.com’, ‘Float Magazine’ and ‘Life Framer Magazine’. Currently on a photographic internship, Francesco has most recently been involved in the making of a short film titled: ‘No One Else’, directed by Pedro Sanchez Román and produced my Martin Nuza.

More Stories

New Orleans to Nashville by Benjamin Angel

New Orleans to Nashville by Benjamin Angel

A large part of modern music is born in the cities located between New Orleans and Nashville. New Orleans (Louisiana) is the birth place of jazz music. It is still packed with jazz clubs around the Faubourg Marigny and on the (in)famous Bourbon street.
Frozen by Romain Tornay

Frozen by Romain Tornay

Queen Nature simultaneously revealed two rare phenomena. On the one hand, the temperature remained below the freezing point for fourteen days, which was no longer measured in a quarter of a century.
Erotic Photography by Marco Tenaglia

Erotic Photography by Marco Tenaglia

Erotic Photography, His photographs are balancing on this fine and sometimes tricky line between fashion-beauty-glamour and erotic-sexy-trashy
https://www.dodho.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/bannerpr.jpg

We invite you to participate in the first edition of the Portrait Photography Awards. Our call is open to any artistic interpretation of portrait photography.

https://www.dodho.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/BAnImage.jpg

ImageRights provides intelligent image search and copyright enforcement services to photo agencies and professional photographers worldwide.

https://www.dodho.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/mono2022.jpg

The best 100 images along with the winning images published in the yearly book “Monochromatic – Best Photographers of 2022”

Call For Entries #24 | After 23 editions and more than 100 published photographers, our print edition has proven to be a simply effective promotional channel.

Crossing Home: A Skier’s Journey

Crossing Home: A Skier’s Journey

For travellers, life on the road ultimately winds to an end, and the compass points towards home. In the series finale, after excursions through ski cultures across the globe, Chad Sayers and Forrest Coots go back to the beginning - British Columbia.
Veterans of Spetsnaz : Portraits of Secret Soldiers by Dmitri Beliakov

Veterans of Spetsnaz : Portraits of Secret Soldiers by Dmitri Beliakov

2009 marked the 30th anniversary of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and 15 years since the war in Chechnya broke out. In both conflicts the Russian Special Forces (Spetsnaz) played key, front-line roles.
Nikhail Asnani; Light painter

Nikhail Asnani; Light painter

When I performed and photographed this work I was in the mindset of longing to experience more friendships but also explore my romantic side in the LGBT community a little bit more.
A World of Lights by Pepa Torres

A World of Lights by Pepa Torres

“A World of Lights" is a series of images that started 4 years ago, taken in various parts of the world, utilising diverse luminous objects that I find on the streets, camera movement and long exposure techniques.
Natural world and David Santiago

Natural world and David Santiago

The photographs of David James are known thanks to its artistic and journalistic skills. At age 16 he started his expertise in photography and has since toured over 60 countries with the sole obsession of capturing images of the natural world fascinating.
Jennifer Orhélys ; Visual recreation of the unconscious

Jennifer Orhélys ; Visual recreation of the unconscious

Jennifer Orhélys's work also explores how human interact to natural space and captures the fragility of the natural environment. So she translates her relationship with the nature, in geometry, colors, and stagings of light.
The fisherman by Sonia Fattori

The fisherman by Sonia Fattori

A gaze into the soul To know, to make myself known and to know myself ... The fisherman welcomed me in his life, in his family and in “his” lagoon: a transitional environment, land and water that is not yet sea.
The obsession with photography of Lisa Shalom

The obsession with photography of Lisa Shalom

Photography isn't just a hobby for me; it's an all-out obsession that may require a stint in rehab. Then again, I might prefer to be locked in a clinic with a bunch of photographers with a level of passion that matches my own.
The reticule by Xenia Fedorova

The reticule by Xenia Fedorova

My grandmother Antonina had passed away a long time before I was born. Mom has kept her leather reticule with all its contents. I wanted to write a letter to my grandmother, to share with her what happened in the life of her relatives after her belongings sunk into oblivion at the bottom of the bag.
Burning down the house by Norman Behrendt

Burning down the house by Norman Behrendt

The project 'burning down the house' offers an in depth look at Berlin’s graffiti writer scene for the first time. Against the backdrop of publicly accessible and non-accessible surfaces being continually written upon
MiRelLA by Fausto Podavini

MiRelLA by Fausto Podavini

MiRelLa is the story of a woman, a mother, a wife, a grandmother. Mirella is 71 years old, she spent 43 years of her life with the only person loved. 43 years of sharing, difficulties, laughs and beautiful moments
Garage Project by Vanessa Filley

Garage Project by Vanessa Filley

The Garage Project began in 2011 when, each morning, I would take my two small children and two large dogs on a long walk, exploring the alleys, streets and beach front of our town.
Belfast Punk by Ricky Adam

Belfast Punk by Ricky Adam

The Warzone Centre was a youth & community centre in the city of Belfast, Northern Ireland. It was an all ages venue that originally opened in 1986 with the help of Belfast’s new centre for the unemployed and run by punks.
New York by Christopher Tamas Kovacs

New York by Christopher Tamas Kovacs

In this series “New York” Christopher confronts the use of color which is quite a departure from all of his previous works which are in black and white, in fact, he is well known as the creator of the all black and white fine art photography.
The mirror by Robert Hutinski

The mirror by Robert Hutinski

Today, the political permeates most practices in the everyday of an individual who both executes and produces them and only rarely (in most cases) questions and examines their origin.
New old melodies by Marco Sadori

New old melodies by Marco Sadori

But the Georgia, uniquely situated on the map of world between Asia and Europe, has undergone many changes in recent years and is now in a period of strong growth, especially as regards tourism.

Featured Stories

Living with albinism; Nude by Justine Tjallinks

Living with albinism; Nude by Justine Tjallinks

Living with albinism not only means an absence of pigmentation in the skin and hair, but also impairment in vision.
Warehouse by Szymon Barylski

Warehouse by Szymon Barylski

Serbia, Belgrade near the main train station where around 1,000 people are seeking shelter. Mainly Pakistanis and Afghans live in a derelict warehouse. The warehouse occupied by men and minors, they’re living in extreme conditions
Heroes by Erberto Zani

Heroes by Erberto Zani

Acid attack survivors in Bangladesh. In Bangladesh most of the people called them “monsters” or, sometimes, “victims”. But they prefer to be considered “survivors”. For me are heroes.
Bin Uthup ; City-Monochrome

Bin Uthup ; City-Monochrome

Binoy Uthup is a City, Architecture, Interior, Landscape and Wildlife photographer who uses techniques such as Digital Blending, HDR, multiple exposures, vertical panorama, etc., to create unique looking images.
The Orthogenesis of Soul by Sandipan Mukherjee

The Orthogenesis of Soul by Sandipan Mukherjee

We are all aware about the theory of biologically evaluation for Jean Baptist Lamarck. The theory tells about the evaluation of human how the structure of APE has got transferred to the today’s human being.
First Call Out by Jen Davis

First Call Out by Jen Davis

Since the publication of my first monograph “Eleven Years,” I found that most of what I wanted to say in this self-portrait series had been said, and I was interested in taking a break from the intensity of looking at my own body.
Favelas: the rhythm of change by Albertina d’Urso

Favelas: the rhythm of change by Albertina d’Urso

The favelas of Rio de Janeiro are mostly known for violence and drug trafficking. But, also if those problems still exist, life for most of the inhabitants has nothing to do with that. Favelas are becoming safer and better organized.
People of the Earth: San tribe by Aga Szydlik

People of the Earth: San tribe by Aga Szydlik

People of the Earth / Deeply rooted in their nomadic culture and in symbiotic relationship with the animals and plants, San are the original inhabitants of South Africa, aboriginal to sub-Saharan Africa.
180 beats per minute by Ivaylo Yorgov

180 beats per minute by Ivaylo Yorgov

180 beats per minute’ celebrates the determination of the millions of runners around the globe who push through sweat and tears to achieve their goals.
O-Young Kwon ; Documentary photographer

O-Young Kwon ; Documentary photographer

I met O-Young Kwon in Germany when he came back to Berlin, where he was born and grew up. He looks at his friends’ photos of their mutual residency in South Korea, home country of his parents.
Nathan Wirth ; Twilight by the Sea(sons)

Nathan Wirth ; Twilight by the Sea(sons)

I first decided to pursue photography for many reasons: a love of black and white photography, a desire to reflect the silences of nature through imagery, and a wish to express a kind of visual poetry. 
The Land Where the Roots Grow Deep by Rebecca Moseman

The Land Where the Roots Grow Deep by Rebecca Moseman

This series of photographs is part of an ongoing project about the African American people living in the deep south.
Pride and prejudice by Renata Dutrée

Pride and prejudice by Renata Dutrée

Pride and prejudice project was selected and published in our print edition 23. This ongoing series of studio portraits of young men is intended to challenge the viewer with social constructs that are centered around masculinity and femininity. Gender bias, gender roles and stereotypes can affect everyone negatively.
Urban sprawl series by Emmanuel Monzon

Urban sprawl series by Emmanuel Monzon

Through my urban sprawl series, I want to photograph the in-between state found in the American landscape. So I capture places of transition, borders, passages from one world to another
Greenland; Stories from the Sea by Camille Michel

Greenland; Stories from the Sea by Camille Michel

Greenland became politically independent from Denmark in 1979 and is slowly getting on the path to economic independency. The ‘ice country’ is currently facing the consequences of climate change.
Kamila Karpinska ; Lifestyle photography

Kamila Karpinska ; Lifestyle photography

A photographer born and living in Poland. She specializes in lifestyle photography. and takes pictures of people in situations where they feel fine.

Trending Stories

Mark Isarin ; Conceptual fine-art and portrait photographer

Mark Isarin ; Conceptual fine-art and portrait photographer

The Dutch conceptual fine-art and portrait photographer Mark Isarin studied at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague, Netherlands and is an independent photographer for almost 20 years.
In memory of Peter Eleveld

In memory of Peter Eleveld

Photography has always been Peter Eleveld's passion. Some time ago, Peter couldn’t feel the excitement and creativity anymore and decided to leave the corporate world behind. He was always attracted to old camera’s and historic photographic processes and started working with the Wet Plate collodion process
Taboo issues; See What I see by Kefilwe Monosi

Taboo issues; See What I see by Kefilwe Monosi

As a documentary photographer, I use storytelling and photojournalism to address taboo issues in my society, and mostly issues that are considered a taboo to freely talk about in African communities are these issues Sex work, LGBTQI community, Gender based violence, Mental health, Menstrual hygiene, abortion and many more and these themes continue to direct my visual reflections.
Long exposure: Aquis Petrae by Ricardo Canales

Long exposure: Aquis Petrae by Ricardo Canales

This work is the representation of the permanent movement of marine waters and its erosive impact on the rocks of the coastal edge. This natural process, constant and of high energetic impact, allows to sculpt the rock in a gradual and progressive way, generating beautiful and capricious rock formations.
Simple stories; Mysteries & Rituals by Jackie Alpers

Simple stories; Mysteries & Rituals by Jackie Alpers

My photographs are poems. Their meaning isn't always immediately understood. They are open to interpretation. Under closer analysis themes start to emerge.
Yo no di a Luz by Nadia Shira Cohen

Yo no di a Luz by Nadia Shira Cohen

El Salvador's Abortion Ban in the age of Zika. The argument over when the human life begins is one of the most contentious in our world today. There are 66 countries that prohibit abortion under nearly all circumstances—though almost all of them exclude cases where the mother’s life is in danger.
Hong Kong; The Fortune Market by Kris Vervaeke

Hong Kong; The Fortune Market by Kris Vervaeke

More than 100 fortune tellers shops, located in this bare concrete building behind a taoist temple in Hong Kong. Alleys of good fortune with rows of shops spread over two floor levels
Shadows of Emmett Till by Bob Newman

Shadows of Emmett Till by Bob Newman

Shadows of Emmett Till Project was selected and published in our print edition 22. Bob Newman is a retired physician, who for the past 15 years, has been working as a professional photographer engaged in long-term projects.
Unraveling Snag by Wes Bell

Unraveling Snag by Wes Bell

As I pulled away from Mom and Dad’s condo, I looked back one more time and snapped two photos of Mom as she waived goodbye from the sidewalk. She was fully dressed, her cheeks noticeably hollow and her expression strained and apprehensive. 
People and street photography by Mahesh B

People and street photography by Mahesh B

My name is Mahesh and I am from Chennai, India. Basically, I am a software engineer and an amateur photographer. I have been taking pictures around 6 years now. I love people and street photography.
Garden of Eden 2525 by Ari Bafalouka

Garden of Eden 2525 by Ari Bafalouka

Garden of Eden 2525, is a photo series for a post-apocalyptic dystopian space, where, a “meta” sapiens humanity, faces the debris and the deserted landscapes, as a result of its past decisions and actions.
Sylvia Rosa Kahl ; Between two worlds

Sylvia Rosa Kahl ; Between two worlds

Sylvia holds a Masters degree in English: she completed a research paper in linguistics at Yale University in the USA where she lived for a year.

Other Stories

stay in touch
Join our mailing list and we'll keep you up to date with all the latest stories, opportunities, calls and more.
We use Sendinblue as our marketing platform. By Clicking below to submit this form, you acknowledge that the information you provided will be transferred to Sendinblue for processing in accordance with their terms of use
We’d love to
Thank you for subscribing!
Submission
Dodho Magazine accepts submissions from emerging and professional photographers from around the world.
Their projects can be published among the best photographers and be viewed by the best professionals in the industry and thousands of photography enthusiasts. Dodho magazine reserves the right to accept or reject any submitted project. Due to the large number of presentations received daily and the need to treat them with the greatest respect and the time necessary for a correct interpretation our average response time is around 5/10 business days in the case of being accepted.
- Between 10/30 images of your best images, in case your project contains a greater number of images which are part of the same indivisible body of work will also be accepted. You must send the images in jpg format to 1200px and 72dpi and quality 9. (No borders or watermarks)
- A short biography along with your photograph. (It must be written in the third person)
- Title and full text of the project with a minimum length of 300 words. (Texts with lesser number of words will not be accepted)
This is the information you need to start preparing your project for its presentation
To send it, you must compress the folder in .ZIP format and use our Wetransfer channel specially dedicated to the reception of works. Links or projects in PDF format will not be accepted. All presentations are carefully reviewed based on their content and final quality of the project or portfolio. If your work is selected for publication in the online version, it will be communicated to you via email and subsequently it will be published.
Contact
How can we help? Got an idea or something you'd like share? Please use the adjacent form, or contact contact@dodho.com
Thank You. We will contact you as soon as possible.
Submission
Dodho Magazine accepts submissions from emerging and professional photographers from around the world.
Their projects can be published among the best photographers and be viewed by the best professionals in the industry and thousands of photography enthusiasts. Dodho magazine reserves the right to accept or reject any submitted project. Due to the large number of presentations received daily and the need to treat them with the greatest respect and the time necessary for a correct interpretation our average response time is around 5/10 business days in the case of being accepted. This is the information you need to start preparing your project for its presentation.
To send it, you must compress the folder in .ZIP format and use our Wetransfer channel specially dedicated to the reception of works. Links or projects in PDF format will not be accepted. All presentations are carefully reviewed based on their content and final quality of the project or portfolio. If your work is selected for publication in the online version, it will be communicated to you via email and subsequently it will be published.
Get in Touch
How can we help? Got an idea or something you'd like share? Please use the adjacent form, or contact contact@dodho.com
Thank You. We will contact you as soon as possible.