I've known photographer Mark Rubenstein for years now, and he's always been a dreamer, translating this quality into his art. Despite many ups and downs, he's finally able to share his work to a broader audience with his new photography book Gone by Dawn, now available at OCLA. This collection of photographs has been years in the making, coming together at last to create a dreamscape of beauty and lust. The photographs are all of women he knows, many of them my friends, including OC alum Molly Gottschalk. Recently I got to sit down with my dear friend and talk to him about his process, his models, and his dreams.
Ashley Crews-Little: What inspired your new body of work Gone by Dawn? Was there a message you were trying to convey?
Mark Rubenstein: Gone by Dawn is a continuation of the work I have been doing for the last 13 years. All my work is taken from cinematic form and narrative. I like to think that my work can be viewed in chapters, and this latest chapter took me two years of shooting to complete. I have been telling the story of youth and what it means to grow up since I was 16. I draw inspiration from nostalgia and the lust toward the future. Every year that I grow as a person is reflected in the work. The past two years have been quite a struggle. I think if you look close enough you can see this in the almost euphoric world I have created. There is a tension, a heavy presence of sex and lust. Experience is at the heart of the work and these women are a conduit for my own self-reflection.
I am inspired by so many artists that I feel have been forgotten by the newer generation of photographers. For me, photographers such as Jeff Wall are at the core of what it means to represent photography at its full power, to reference art history and have a lasting impression on the photographic world. When I was 22, I was living in New York and I saw his show at the MOMA. It had one of the greatest impacts on me as a artist. The images that I saw inspired me; I could relate to his views on art history and human experience. I think it's important to carry on these traditions, even with new technology and the continuing trend of disposable imagery. It's important to stay relevant, but I think it's just as important to make imagery that speaks to oneself and has a soul to it.
Have you always been interested in becoming a photographer? What made you decide to fully dedicate yourself to it?
I was a terrible student in high school, I failed almost every class and was in summer school every year. I really felt it was just a waste of time for me, I looked around at the older kids around me and saw that they were making images and skateboarding. This led to a transformation within myself; I saw the potential beyond academics and the power of creativity. I signed up for my first photography class at school and never looked back. It was what I had always been searching for.
What's your process like? How do you find your models?
My process has changed throughout the years. For many years, my shoots were constructed almost as sets, I would use artificial lighting and was extremely involved in the pre-production of the imagery. I left New York for Los Angeles when I was about 24. I sold everything and arrived in California with just a backpack. I felt extremely free and I wanted to approach this freedom and apply it to the context of my
Ashley Crews-Little: What inspired your new body of work Gone by Dawn? Was there a message you were trying to convey?
Mark Rubenstein: Gone by Dawn is a continuation of the work I have been doing for the last 13 years. All my work is taken from cinematic form and narrative. I like to think that my work can be viewed in chapters, and this latest chapter took me two years of shooting to complete. I have been telling the story of youth and what it means to grow up since I was 16. I draw inspiration from nostalgia and the lust toward the future. Every year that I grow as a person is reflected in the work. The past two years have been quite a struggle. I think if you look close enough you can see this in the almost euphoric world I have created. There is a tension, a heavy presence of sex and lust. Experience is at the heart of the work and these women are a conduit for my own self-reflection.
I am inspired by so many artists that I feel have been forgotten by the newer generation of photographers. For me, photographers such as Jeff Wall are at the core of what it means to represent photography at its full power, to reference art history and have a lasting impression on the photographic world. When I was 22, I was living in New York and I saw his show at the MOMA. It had one of the greatest impacts on me as a artist. The images that I saw inspired me; I could relate to his views on art history and human experience. I think it's important to carry on these traditions, even with new technology and the continuing trend of disposable imagery. It's important to stay relevant, but I think it's just as important to make imagery that speaks to oneself and has a soul to it.
Have you always been interested in becoming a photographer? What made you decide to fully dedicate yourself to it?
I was a terrible student in high school, I failed almost every class and was in summer school every year. I really felt it was just a waste of time for me, I looked around at the older kids around me and saw that they were making images and skateboarding. This led to a transformation within myself; I saw the potential beyond academics and the power of creativity. I signed up for my first photography class at school and never looked back. It was what I had always been searching for.
What's your process like? How do you find your models?
My process has changed throughout the years. For many years, my shoots were constructed almost as sets, I would use artificial lighting and was extremely involved in the pre-production of the imagery. I left New York for Los Angeles when I was about 24. I sold everything and arrived in California with just a backpack. I felt extremely free and I wanted to approach this freedom and apply it to the context of my