Q & A with Paul Wolfgang Webster

I didn't just want to look at illustrators for my Q & A's , as other aspects like photography are a huge part of what I do as I work from photographs a lot of the time. I worked at a very well respected photographer Paul Wolfgang Webster for a time in the past so I thought he would be ideal to ask. He takes photographs of some very famous people i.e. Alex Ferguson, Tony Wilson amongst many. He also very interestingly collaborates with artists and sells their there work in his gallery. He's sort of a go to guy, when it comes to getting artists/illustrators work out there. He's a very eccentric guy and a really talented photographer as well. So it was a pleasure talking to him as he gave me some very in depth answers, relating to lots of things such as the business side of art.

You can check his work out here :http://wolfgangwebstergallery.com



1) What inspired you to take up photography?

I was inspired to take took up photography by a night school tutor called Phil at Rochdale College. The story goes like this, as a child we lived in Australia from 1 year old and traveled back to England when I was 7. Everything was in colour in my life until we hit England, then it all went Black and White, grey days, old films in monochrome on the box and black and white uniforms at school. 

After a number of jobs I bought a camera and wanted to know  how to develop films and print my own images. So when I started night school to learn how to develop films I met the man who inspired me to make a living from photography. The 1st year was spent learning how to load film in a camera, shoot film and develop it, Phil the tutor began to show me how to print on Fibre Based Paper. I learned how to print using a number of papers, and how to hand colour my prints as there was no computer programs in 1987. I decided to apply for a second year at night school, during this time Phil brought in a 5x4 plate camera to the college, I was so knocked out with this camera, I did learn to load, shoot and develop with the patient of my tutor.In short it was Phil who took the time and effort to show me everything he knew about photography and it was Phil that inspired me to give my job up and apply to University to pass my photographic degree course.

2) What is your goal during each photo shoot? 

My goal during each shoot is to plan everything as much as possible, make a list of all equipment take 2 of everything. The shoot has a goal from start to finish, I get an idea of the shoot and make draw up lighting techniques, reflectors and backdrops to achieve the end goals, photography for me has to start at the finish and work back, I have an idea then I can see it finished, so then I think how can I get the lighting to achieve this, what backdrop, what lens, what camera. When I am working with a model I take time out when they arrive to sit down chat and relax all models and makeup artists and show them visual ideas of what I would like to achieve, I find this makes it easier for them to work with me and work to achieve the resulting work. 

3) Are there any photographers, artists or any thing else that inspire you in your work?

There are a number of photographers and artists that inspire me, they range from 150 years ago to modern day, as I feel I have more to learn from other artists and photographers, this keeps my photography versatile, I do have a well know style and my work is well received but I always ask Artists and photographers how they came up with ideas, how they planned the work, so my life will keep on developing and never stand still.

 4) You collaborate with artists and help to sell their work, what are some of things that persuade you to pick certain artists work?

The art world is forever changing, new fads and old styles are always on the menu for people to buy. I have found personally that there are markets for people with money from the wealthy to the people who want to spend £10 on art. That are all wanting one thing "something hand made and original" I feel thats the art about at the moment. Its very difficult but achievable, start making a project and see it through, take it to galleries an sell online, the more people see it, the more they want it.

5 ) If you could give any tips to student’s trying to make it into the professional art/photography industry, what would it be

The only way to be as an artist, it is to look as professional as possible, keep work clean and neat, put work into folders, get a lot of business cards made to hand out, get a website, send out emails to companies, galleries and local shops, and start a project and finish it, if you want to do other projects write them down keep the ideas and get them done when your free to put 100%. There are 50,000,000 artists in the world, so get professional and make your work stand out. I have a gallery you could bring your work for me to look at , so there’s a start on your road to becoming a successful artist, give me a ring. - yay !!! 

6)  Among your works, which one is your favorite and Why? 

The work I admire the most is always the next photograph I do , and I still get really excited about developing my films and seeing the result. But if you really wanted one image its the photograph of Tony Wilson, it was a very difficult day photographing a very opinionated person, The Northern sign made it all work which was not planned it was on a side street just off Deansgate, I still look at it and de construct the image to think what could I have done to improve it, I am still thinking what if.............

Wolf

Fox

This was my final design for my fox page. I was really happy with how this turned out. Ive tried to use the brightness of orange ink to really capture the colour of the fox. I think it works well especially for a children's book. Ive also tried to think about composition with how the tail stretches across two pages.

Ive tried to think about line, texture and shape here.

Sheep and the Wolf

A lot of different marks went into this page. First of all it is so hard to draw grass and try and get it to look similar. I had to think outside the box and do pastel markings of actual grass in my garden. It was different, but also I think the texture of the grass looks good.

These were my original efforts for my wolf dreaming about sheep double page. I wasn't happy with them as the images were to flat and the colour scheme didn't match with the simplistic colour scheme of other pages. My experimentation with typography didn't come to much either as the type was didn't fit in with the page. ( Something I need to improve on).

I went back to the drawing board and thought about how I could make the image stand out more and have perspective. So I decided to add lines to the sheep again and introduce flowers into the forefront to create different levels of perspective. I think its looks more professional now and has improved the feel of the page.

Cat

This was my favorite I created for this unit as I think I really got the balance between line and shape here with the line ball. I knew instantly I wanted to do something along these lines. I have used dark ink marks to try and recreate the fuzzy nature of the cat and using influences like catherine Rayner I believe i have achieved  that. I think a downside could possibly be the expression on the face of that cat is a bit sterile and non existent though.

Below are the different components of the piece to try and show you what process i am trying to achieve for this unit.

Story Board's

One aspect of illustration that I tended to forget about was planning out drawings and creating storyboards. I carefully though about each page and using parts of my research, set out how I wanted my illustrations to look on each page. I had to consider placement and positioning and think about whether I wanted my images to be close ups, far away at an angle.... all different perspectives.

Its really helped me to think more clearly about final outcomes and how I want it to look finished. Some of my designs are clever in my opinion as I used the animals features to fit the page, for example the foxes long tail. I thought it would look good across

Whitworth Art Gallery

Q1. What connection(s) are there between the works?

The main connection I found between the images was destruction and self implosion. Cornelia parker, focused on the sort of humorous side of destruction, with cartoon death and large explosions. Cai Guo-Quiang, focused on historical aspects of destruction and and the surreal effects of bombs being dropped, using gun powder as a medium and the distressed texture it creates when used to draw with. Sarah Lucas, used cigar rates in the form of figures to capture the destroyed form and what smoking does to someone. Each of the pieces conveys different styles and challenges the onlooker, but they all come back to the main theme of destruction.  

Q2. What might the societal/cultural comment(s) be?

I think Cornelia Parker's piece reflects an object that everyone can associate with and everyone has one. She has reanimated these dead objects and given the new life, by suspending them almost in time. The social and cultural message of the piece could be to reflect on the destructive nature of our very day lives and by giving something a new life and meaning we can then look at something very differently. 

In Cai Guo-Quaing, ‘Unmanned; Nature’ the mountains and marked landscapes, with explosions represent a better land free of people which the title of the piece suggests. Thats what I get from the title, but from looking at this piece I see destruction and the water reflects that, you can see what humans have done. He has made it look beautiful though. 

 Sarah Lucas and her piece ‘Tits in Space’, was a very abstract piece of work, but one Felt had huge connotations with commenting on lifestyle choices and how people lead their lives. I think the use of the naked woman something usually seen as a beautiful form was transformed into something almost hideous and the cigarettes create that and reflected that. 

Q3. What cultural tropes or metaphors are at work in the three examples?

I think Cornelia Parkers work contains a significant meaning as in wanting to preserve something and even though dead and broken people can still hold onto something and objects however meaningless can become important again. 

Cias work contains a powerful message one of beauty and the transendence from death and destruction to one of hope. The water makes you as a person reflect on whats happened in the past. 

Q4. How does the gallery use the notion of space when presenting/ curating the work?

The exhibitions really use space cleverly and to their advantage not to hinder the work but to help create the work and connect with the work. You become immersed with the huge installations and large pieces.