From an Interview With the Artist John Byrne

Ques. What is Photomontage?

J.B. It is the combining of multiple photographs into one picture – it differs from Collage in that actual different materials are not attached to the piece.

Ques. Why do you find it desirable to have multiple images?

J.B. There is always more to a sitter’s personality than how they happen to look from a given angle at a given time. Good portraitists will give some clues to personality but I can show many of the things that make them who they are; where they live, where they went to school, where they work, their passions. I can even talk Politics and Religion.

Ques. I guess the same thing goes for pictures of places?

J.B. That’s right.

Ques. How many photos are typically in a piece?

J.B. I like to start with about 200- the finished piece will typically have 25-50

Ques. The multiple images everyone can see but I’ve heard you mention foundation layers and repeating patterns what’s up with that?

J.B. You’ve hit on the area where I must answer to my inner artist. Inspired by the music of Postmodern composer John Adams I arrange visual compositions where a repeating geometric structure (our Minimalist legacy) interacts in various ways with the major thematic elements layered above it. The chunks of reality (photos) are my consonance and dissonance while the rectangles establish the meter.

Ques. This is getting a little heavy what should I look for in Mary’s Garden for instance?

J.B. The foundation layer in that piece is a photo of granite bedrock taken near the Eastern Prom. It is repeated three times along the left side and three partial times on the right. There is a color shift in alternate rectangles for emphasis. Every element in the piece must come to terms with the granite substrate. It is most evident above the bird and on the child’s arm and has the least effect on the child’s face.

Ques. Is it possible you’re trying to pack too much into a piece?

J.B. That’s not for me to decide. I do what I feel I must. I guess it will be up to critics and Art buyers. So far people seem to like them.

Ques. How are the pictures combined?

J.B. It is possible to do it in a darkroom with multiple exposures but it would be very limiting in terms of creativity. I edit them digitally on a computer screen.

Ques. Does the computer help the work go faster?

J.B. If only it did! The composition alone on one of my pieces takes as long as a major oil painting. The computer simply allows me to do things I could not otherwise do.

Ques. I’m not into computers but for the folks who are is their anything special about the computer you use?

J.B. It is custom made and has 768Megs of RAM- this kind of enormous power has only been available for a couple of years.

Ques. What happens after a piece is complete on the screen?

J.B. In my case the electronic file is made into a 4x5 transparency and from this are printed the Cibachromes- however many are to be in the edition.

Ques. Why Cibachrome?

J.B. Cibachromes, actually now produced by Illford offer unparalleled color saturation and longevity; they are expensive to make but are guaranteed not to fade for 200 years.

Ques. I’ve heard people say that they consider your work to be abstract even though it’s made up of photos.

J.B. Some pieces are more abstract than others but I do try to make them "stand on their own" unlike most photography the effect of which depends on empathy with the subject. I hear myself sounding like an abstract artist so….

Ques. You’re actually kind of a pioneer in this field aren’t you?

J.B. The Art world doesn’t quite know what to make of this type of work yet, and I’m out there. Mostly what I see from my colleagues are totally abstract waveform type things or surreal landscapes. I like Andreas Gursky he was a well-known photographer and recently produced some great work that looks more like painting.

Ques. Just one last. Is it painting or photography?

J.B. Technically it will always be grouped with photography but conceptually it belongs with painting, so it depends which you consider more important. For me ideas are paramount.