In celebration of the Keith Haring x Polaroid collaboration, SLEEK had the chance to speak to photographer and former Andy Warhol protégé, Christopher Makos. We virtually sat down with the iconic photographer to speak about his unique creation process, Paris, and his extraordinary friendship with Warhol himself.
Photography by Andrew Tess
You moved to Paris for your studies, but why exactly were you attracted to this city?
I always travelled a lot during the formative years of my life. During my childhood, we spent the summers in Italy, and as I grew older, Paris felt like a call to me. I actually never moved to Paris, but I spent a lot of time there. I loved the architecture, and through my observation, I studied the buildings there.
What made you do to switch from architecture to being a photographer/photojournalist?
I never switched from anything, I have always loved capturing images of anything, whether that’s people, objects, places or things. As an artist, everything is available to me, it just depends on how I manifest what I am currently doing.
Photography by Andrew Tess
For more than 10 years you accompanied Andy Warhol around the world – how would you portray your relationship?
First and foremost, Andy and I met as friends. Later, he grew to be my advisor, collaborator and my family. We saw life in the same way, which made it easy to work, travel and play together. In the end, we worked together on the “Altered Image” series based on the Manray and Duchamp 1920 Rose Selavy collaboration, along with my art direction of Andy’s first photography book “Exposure”.
You met Andy Warhol in New York and since then you have both became extremely close friends. How would you describe this meeting/your friendship regarding your career or better how has your work and life been influenced by Andy Warhol?
We both learned from one another, Andy taught me the business of art, and I taught him how to look through a camera and how to take pictures. I had the energy he needed and he had the art savviness I needed. It was a perfect match, where each other’s needs were compatible- a perfect union of art and commerce.
Photography by Andrew Tess
According to Andy Warhol you are the “most modern photographer in America“ – do you see yourself the same way or how do you think about that? Can you imagine why Andy called you like that?
Andy understood that I believe in capturing “the moment”. Of course, technical expertise is important, but if one fails to understand the power and recognition of the moment, it really doesn’t matter how many technical attributes your image has. It could just be a boring picture. It was about “looking back, but looking forward”, an approach we both believed in. In that respect, the idea was timeless, you can still apply it today as much as you could back in the day. I still believe in this.
How would you describe your way of photography to somebody who is not familiar with all of this?
In my point of view, all my photographs have a modern touch, regardless of if I took them 40 years ago or yesterday. It’s always about how I see the world and how it presents itself to me today. I believe in “the moment”, I don’t dwell in the past and I don’t look too far into the future. It’s always about the moment.
Photography by Andrew Tess
Could you have ever imagined becoming such a famous and influential person?
I have always had a rather naive approach to everything I do. Success has never been the priority, the expectation of the new and the idea of surprise has always been my mantra. It has been the way for me to keep it “fresh” and contemporary. I never think about success, importance, or relevance. I am fortunate, I have lived through extraordinary times, whether that was the past or the present, and I hope I have made an impact with those images.
Looking back to quite a successful career, would you have done something differently?
Absolutely not, there is no point in looking backwards. For me, it’s all about looking forward!
CREDITS:
PHOTOGRAPHY: Andrew Tess