20 questions with…
simon larbalestier
i remember one special saturday morning, when i was looking for any good used cds at a normal second-hand store (expo 10, in san josé, costa rica). to my surprise, a switzerland-made record of the pixies was there, waiting for me: sufer rosa/come on, pilgrim.
before that, doolittle and trompe le monde from black francis & co. were in my cd shelf, and both had an amazing photography work. but the surfer rosa/come on, pilgrim had some extraordinary black and white pictures from a certain simon larbalestier (the very same one whose pictures served for the two other pixies cds i had). from then on, i tried to look for mr. larbalestier work on all 4ad releases, and he amazed me every time with his creativity and vision.
when i asked the 35 year old, london-based mr. larbalestier if i could interview him for my website, i thought he would be extremely busy with his own work. he was. but he stole a few hours from his kids (jack and lucy) to answer these 20 questions:
totaldominion: when did you realize photography was your passion?
simon larbalestier: about 1984 when i was photographing an ancient warehouse in the newcastle docklands.
td: when and how did your contact with the 4ad label started?
sl: when i left the royal college of art, london 1987 i invited vaughan to see my show. i had visited him just before i went to the rca as we both went to the same art college and were inspired by the same tutor: terry dowling, but obviously at different times. when he saw the show he mentioned the pixies as being a new band and it all started from there.
td: what level of freedom did you have when taking pictures for v23?
sl: 100%.
td: did the idea come from vaughan [oliver, headmaster of v23] or from you?
sl: it came from both of us. sometimes the work already existed, other times we would get together and explore ideas. [the last word came from] the label, i guess.
td: you did work for many 4ad artists (the pixies, red house painters). why only for them?
sl: i'm not really sure -my only thought is that because the pixies had such a strong identity with my work. it was often the case when new or established bands approached me or a designer the fact that i had done so much work for 4ad tended to pigeonhole me and i got comments like "we don't want to look or to be associated with the pixies or 4ad". napalm death was a classic example unfortunately.
td: have you worked for any other artists/labels?
sl: [i did work for] michael brook and the bulgarian voices [le mystere des voix bulgares] on 4ad and for sony; [for] a band called hardbody, but unfortunately they split up after we had done the first single!
td: can you tell us about your book, "art and craft of collage"?
sl: [it began when] i did some work for mitchell beazley, some years before and later i was approached by them to write a book on the subject of collage.
td: what can one expect to find in the book, besides pictures and collages?
sl: lots of text!
td: i've heard there are detailed descriptions on how you did this and that. what about it?
sl: it was an a-z style book, although at the beginning i was a little naïve and didn't realize quite to what extent. it is very hard to say why one image placed next to another creates some kind of aesthetic tension and holds a certain value. often things are placed quite by chance, so how do you write an a-z book about that?
td: are there any other printed works in progress (books, posters, etc.)?
sl: possibly but [they are in their] early days yet…
td: do you have any plans for an exhibition of your work in the near future?
sl: yes, but i will post this on the world wide web when the time is near. keep visiting my future page on my site:
www.simon-larbalestier.co.uk [i knew he had to do this sometime! - f.b.]td: are you familiar with anton corbjin's work?
sl: yes.
td: what do you think of his work?
sl: i think it is very strong.
td: who are your favorite photographers?
sl: edward weston and dieter appelt, duane michaels and arthur tress.
td: who are your favorite movie directors?
sl: david lynch, wim wenders, catherine bigelow and andrei tarkovsky.
td: who are your favorite music groups?
sl: paul oakenfold's new york is currently on my cd player.
td: has the idea of moving to the usa ever attracted to you?
sl: yes, and from the response to my site (98% is from the states) i guess that tells me something!
td: thank you very much, mr. larbalestier.
(yes, only 17 questions appear here… 3 remained unanswered by mr. larbalestier because "there has to be some mystery in life" as he told me).
interview by francisco j. brenes (costa rica) and josé enrique plata (colombia).
questions © 1998 home totaldominion.
answers © 1998 simon larbalestier. photography © 1998 simon larbalestier. used with his kind permission.