Ward Roberts: Interview
Please enjoy my interview with Ward Roberts.
How did you first get into photography?
It was at a time when I was struggling to find something I enjoyed. When I shot my first roll of B&W film I must have spent every bit of spare time and even time I was supposed to be working in the darkroom. I sometimes seem to find it difficult to express myself with words, photography seemed to be the bridge for allowing me to express such feelings.
Can you tell us about your minimalist approach?
Minimalism has really fascinated me in recent years. It’s something that I find quite challenging to shoot, for the reasons that a minimalists image might only have 1 or 2 elements. The first being colour the next normally being composition. The picture can only rely on these two elements, if something is a little off or doesn't quite work there is nothing else to distract the viewer, thus making the image unusable. For me I find that the colour is the most important, it’s what draws in the view. I tend to fall in love with an image that contains around two tones that really compliment each other. I find that there seems to be such a fine line between the two. It’s also interesting to see to what extent I can push the minimalism as it can often be viewed as a joke by some.
What do you look for in a composition?
Depending on what feel/emotion I might be trying to I achieve, I normally find myself drawn towards repetition in colour, shape, space and form. When it comes to shooting I am always trying to find the cleanest composition. It’s got to the point where I find myself some what obsessed with trying to get all the angles, colours and shapes to compliment each other. I can spend sometimes up to a few hours trying the get the most structured shot I can see. Other times, for whatever reason, I may only have a few minutes to shoot which can become quite stressful.
Some Commenters compared you to Rothko. How do you feel about that comparison?
Mark Rothko is a considerable inspiration for my minimal work, to be compared is defiantly an honour. I always find that when looking at other images that have a minimal approach it comes naturally to compare it to the masters or previous images you might be familiar with, such as Mark Rothko, especially when shooting with horizon lines and block colours. However, it is not my intention to imitate him.
Where do you see yourself in five years?
To be honest I have no idea how to answer that question, I can only wish that I might be on my way to being somewhat recognizable as an artist. For me it would be amazing to hear someone identify one of my images purely by its style. It’s been incredible hearing people’s opinions on my work and what it means to them. That’s all I have really wanted to do with my work. If my future allows me to do more of that then I couldn't ask for much more.
