Before Bill Mueller ever picks up his camera – or even thinks about it – months may have passed while an idea festers, words play in his head, and sets are built.
Bill’s brain children are born somewhere between sleep and dreaming, he half jokes in explaining the origin of his conceptual photographs. “I always keep a notebook handy for sketches and ideas. The same goes with my camera bag – always a notebook with me.”
A CoPA member since 2005, Bill has served twice as a Board member, and as chair of the Exhibitions Committee.
He picked up a camera as a way to illustrate his writing as a teenager: the writing fell aside, but the photography stayed. Bill’s interests turned to conceptual photography about 10 years ago.
“I guess I’m a closet model maker although I did not make models as a kid,” Bill said in an email interview. “I collect things that trigger ideas that trigger an image title that triggers the final photograph.”
Asked about the influences on his art, Bill mentioned Spanish artist Salvador Dali, German writers Franz Kafka and Herman Hesse (“very detailed character development”), and Czech photographer Jan Saudek and American photographer Joel-Peter Witkin.
(Saudek link: http://www.saudek.com/en/jan/hlasovani.html)
(Witkin link: http://www.edelmangallery.com/witkin.htm)
Knowing those influences it becomes easier for viewers of Bill’s unique work to understand his interest in death, corpses, body parts, and greater than life-size insects. He gives new meaning to super macro photography.
Look at what he’s titled Self Portrait #4: a jawbone with teeth, a face mask, part of a skull, a knot hole with a marble eye on an amorphous background.
How did he come to start Self Portrait #4 and what does it mean?
“I wanted to build something that appeared as if it was done in Photoshop but with only 'props on stilts' would give me the look I wanted and it is hard to duplicate,” he wrote in his email. “The idea of a self portrait came from the collection of items in my cabinet of many wonders. Dropping a marble into the knot hole of the piece of wood started a chain reaction. I was angry with the loss of a good friend of mine at the time and wanted some tension in the image to reflect that. That is why I used the animal jawbone to complete the face.”
Bill’s self portrait is only two layers in Photoshop, he said. “The background is digitally created. All other components are items collected and balanced on wood rods. The image is shot from above.” Why not do the entire image with a software tool? “Because this approach to image-making allows me to create from scratch, from an idea, a word or a single prop.”
Or, Queen Bee – a seemingly Kalfka-inspired, mechanical-looking menacing bug?
“Queen Bee started started my whole Urban Entomology series,” Bill said. “Using a software called Hyper-Tiling, I quite accidently found that the image looked much like an insect as I was working the software. The series is now up to 16 images but took 250 or more to get to these 16. Not every image transforms itself well. The original source image is red stadium chairs in an outdoor theater in Chicago.”
The Urban Entomology series is a much lighter approach to things, he says. “Here, I simply want the viewer to enjoy the image transformations.”
Currently, Bill’s working on what he calls In Search of The Soul for which he’s built a circa 1900 medical operating room.
Based on lines from songs, Bill has sketched out another series. “On the back burner for now,” he says.
After an idea germinates, and a title becomes evident, Bill begins to collect and build his props. This may take months:
“I tend to break them all the time. Often, I create the complete set before I approach lighting and capture. Many times, this results in reworking the props or starting over with something completely different. It is not unusual for me to take an image idea 180 degrees from its original concept. After this stage, I move to Photoshop for enhancements. Thankfully, I have a formula of adjustments I use to bring the image to final stages.”
Bill was asked for his definition of conceptual photography. “The key is in the word,” he said. “Starting with a concept and bringing that idea, phrase or song lyric to another medium. In this case, a visual one. I am not a documentary photographer for sure. I do not have the time or inclination to save the world through my photographs.”
As for a viewer’s reaction to his work, Bill said his goal is to ignite a visceral response – “to leave you with a question or an unsettled nerve. Prodding you to dig deeper within yourself."
Quoting Salvador Dali – "A masterpiece was never created by a lazy artist." – Bill adds, "I don't want to make forgettable art."
Initially self-taught, Bill has worked as a “darkroom jockey” and studied portraiture while working in a studio. From there, he moved to commercial photography. “That lead to event and location work before my move back to Wisconsin from Minnesota.” He started his own photography business in the Milwaukee area and still does some work on occasion. “To pay the bills, I am a regional sales representative/consultant to the professional portrait studio market.”
Bill once told a CoPA members’ meeting that his wife won’t allow him to hang his artwork in their home. He wasn’t kidding, he said.
“Yes, this is true. Not all my work though. Only the work that pushes boundaries of religious dogma or have a slight sexual overtone as in the image Dreams of my Father.” You can find this image in the 'Inside my room, inside my head' collection.
When the Spinning Stops - Jun 12, 2010
Day One:
When the Spinning Stops
It's when I fall down dizzy the images come to me
Not a big fan of artist statements or art-speak disguised as legitimate entries in the discourse of relating to you the visitor, the why and wherefore of my images. My hopes are that they will speak for themselves. I welcome all input positive or negative. After all, we must evolve. I will do my best to be relevant.
