Fat, Fifty and Punk: Photo exhibit is all rock, no gloss
Mike DiRisio
Issue date: 4/1/08 Section: Arts & Entertainment
After having photographed some of the most influential punk legends still kicking, Brock graduate Alex Hryshko has turned his vast and fascinating collection of portraits of rebels and rockers into an exhibit fittingly titled Fat, Fifty and Punk.
In order to capture the true spirit of punk rock, he has abandoned traditional means of portrait photography and has freed himself to the chaos that goes hand-in-hand with this genre.
"The whole punk rock thing is just me and them, where we were, with natural lighting. I never used any lights. I'd grab the person, talk to them for a while, and we'd go off and do a quick portrait session. That's it," said Hryshko.
This has largely been a response to the overproduced and over-stylized photography that appears to be dominating current music media.
"You see pictures of these guys and it's all glossy in magazines. That's not what I want. There's a million pictures like that, so I wanted a candid picture of these guys," said Hryshko.
Although Hryshko displays a great deal of skill in portraying these musicians in a loose and natural way, he refuses to limit his style, and lets it shape itself with every new project. Depending on what he is photographing, he will adapt a method that accurately displays the subject, finding new approaches to photography along the way.
"I think with photography you should never look for a style, but a style will just come to you. And the more you look for it the more you're going to fail, because you're trying to be someone else," said Hryshko.
As much as his style is from within himself, he agrees that he has been influenced by other great artists in similar fields, and continues to be impressed by their work. He finds that there is definitely something to learn from other experienced artists, especially for those who are just getting into art.
"There's this guy from England called Steve Gullick, who works in this genre. He's a music photographer, and his stuff is just fantastic. He's shot pretty much everyone," said Hryshko. "He's probably my favourite photographer in this industry."
In order to capture the true spirit of punk rock, he has abandoned traditional means of portrait photography and has freed himself to the chaos that goes hand-in-hand with this genre.
"The whole punk rock thing is just me and them, where we were, with natural lighting. I never used any lights. I'd grab the person, talk to them for a while, and we'd go off and do a quick portrait session. That's it," said Hryshko.
This has largely been a response to the overproduced and over-stylized photography that appears to be dominating current music media.
"You see pictures of these guys and it's all glossy in magazines. That's not what I want. There's a million pictures like that, so I wanted a candid picture of these guys," said Hryshko.
Although Hryshko displays a great deal of skill in portraying these musicians in a loose and natural way, he refuses to limit his style, and lets it shape itself with every new project. Depending on what he is photographing, he will adapt a method that accurately displays the subject, finding new approaches to photography along the way.
"I think with photography you should never look for a style, but a style will just come to you. And the more you look for it the more you're going to fail, because you're trying to be someone else," said Hryshko.
As much as his style is from within himself, he agrees that he has been influenced by other great artists in similar fields, and continues to be impressed by their work. He finds that there is definitely something to learn from other experienced artists, especially for those who are just getting into art.
"There's this guy from England called Steve Gullick, who works in this genre. He's a music photographer, and his stuff is just fantastic. He's shot pretty much everyone," said Hryshko. "He's probably my favourite photographer in this industry."
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