JONATHAN CHERRY: What did you want to be growing up?
MARC FALZON: I’m pretty sure I wanted to be a moose, I remember visiting the North West and being in awe of the landscape. My Mom got me a moose hat with the antlers and everything. Come to think of it, I still have it to this day. Everything worked out, as I’m now a card-carrying member of the Loyal Order of the Moose. Reach for your dreams.
JC: Who or what is inspiring you at the moment?
MF: I’ve got a growing list, but at the moment I’ve fallen in love with Bryan Schutmaat's Grays the Mountain Sends. There is such a wonderful stillness and softness in his images. My previous teacher at SAIC, Brian Ulrich's work is directly influencing a new series I have begun. Lots of art blogs compete for my attention against Star Trek TNG.
JC: What are you up to right now?
MF: I live in China where I am making art full time. When I arrived I had intended to survey the landscape with my 4x5, but my attention was turned to an unanticipated surprise. In the major cities construction is everywhere- it’s a bubble. With it, there are and endless number of oversized, (and largely uninhabited) luxury shopping malls that feel like Dubai palaces. The sheer size and frequency is dumbfounding. I’ve never seen anything like it. I’ve begun to document these spaces, and the Chinese consumers within them.
JC: Have you had mentors along the way?
MF: Eva Kaplan, instructed a Computer Camp I attended as a child, I ended up learning art from her more than code. A wonderful mentor, and artist. I remember taking a class with Matt Siber when I was a junior. The first few weeks of instruction were the basics, and I disrespectfully ended up using the time to sleep. Matt took me aside after class one day and gave me a shake. As it turns out, that class had a fair impression on me- I still use his method of sharpening, black and white conversion, and digital work flow which is publicly available here. Brian Ulrich is a funny guy, I remember him writing on the board during our first class with him, “Is Marshal McLuhan an asshole?” I think half the class answered “yes.”
JC: Where are you based right now and how is it shaping you?
MF: Shenyang, China. It’s near North Korea. I figured I needed to get away from it all and this was as far as I could get. I know this experience will be what shapes my perception of the world and also my art making process. I’m forced to do everything upside-down, even the basics such as sleep and eat. I feel like going into the void for a great duration is paramount to my growth as an artist, and person.
JC: One piece of advice to photography graduates?
MF: Start being real nice to your parents. Especially if you have a lot of student loans.
JC: If all else fails - what is your plan B?
MF: Frankly, I wouldn’t mind making YouTube videos as a career. It’s my side hobby, and it’d be fun to focus on them if I wasn’t so driven to create work and play with cameras.
JC: Is it important to you to be a part of a creative community?
MF: Nearly all art is the result of exposure to cultural information; it stands to reason that being involved in the artistic community will imprint one with the ability to create more meaningful cultural artefacts.
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