Interview with George Stein

Meet NUNUM's Contributor: George Stein

7/29/2021

NUNUM

Blending Flash Fiction & Art

Interview with George Stein

Working with George is always a thrill for us here at NUNUM, so when the chance came to feature his work on the cover of the Spring 2021 issue some people around here checked the calendar to see if they'd somehow forgotten it was their birthday.

Despite the craziness in the world these days, we were able to get a little bit of George's free time, on top of his wonderful photography, and by now you know how we got it going.

George, what was the first book you remember picking up and reading all by yourself?

George Stein

The title is lost to time but I believe it was a Little Golden Book.

Time has a way of getting to us all, what about more recently, what is the last book you read that made you think, damn, that is a good book.

Discourse on Voluntary Servitude by Boetie.

Thank you, yet one more the reading list. Pen, pencil or phone which one do you reach for when you need to write something down?

Pen, always. Writing is part of my memory process.

I can relate. Who are your go-to writers when you need something to read on holiday?

by George Stein

I'm not a typical reader. I read mostly non-fiction, but on holiday, frankly, I'm likely taking a reading break.

by George Stein

Is there a contemporary artist out there you admire?

I have photographed a carnival 'carny' named Tom Hill, who does steel hook suspensions on volunteers. Photographically, the suspensions are incredibly intense but beyond that, Tom Hill has an almost hypnotic ability to calm his volunteers while prepping for being physically suspended. I am choosing Tom because I have seen his work first-hand, up close, and I know what depth of impression it has on witnesses.

Interesting, I can't say I saw that coming, so wonderful. What about your current artistic direction, has anyone had a big influence on you there?

While I am fond of other artists, I try to remain as self-taught as I possibly can, and that even carries down to photographic techniques.

It's impossible to live in the world and avoid being influenced completely, but it is a goal. Doing work aligned with another artist's vision impedes the development of one's own vision. The camera is just a tool to capture images, much like a charcoal pencil to an illustrator. Neither tool is an end in itself.

Why photography George?

by George Stein

I can't draw.

by George Stein

Easy enough, favorite artist?

This changes with time but I am currently really taken with Gregory Crewdson's highly-constructed photographic narratives and Robert Misrach's Mexican Border work.

You brought up construction, so let's stay here for a minute. In your opinion, what is the most important aspect of an image.

Composition. It's more important than the photographer and/or the camera and lens and nothing can compensate for it.

What advice would you give someone who is just starting to send their work out to journals?

Each journal has its own sense of style -

try to sensitize yourself to that sense of style before you construct the submission, and then be persistent in creating new works and submitting them to an array of journals. If you persist and hone your craft, in time you will find your audience.

Well said, George, as always, this has been a treat, thank you so very much.

by George Stein

Artist's Statement

I like being in control of the creative process and I find a sense of release and personal balance in engaging in creative works. I find inspiration in a number of other artists such as Andrew Wyeth, Edward Hopper, Thomas Hart Benton, Owen Smith, and photographers Gregory Crewdson and Susan Meiselas, among others. I think the commonality among most of these artists is the concept that art must be exaggerated in some core way.

The image on the cover is 'RESTAURA' and it is of my son, Desmond, standing in front of an abandoned restaurant along I-75 near the Georgia/Florida border. I used a color process to strip the colors down to two colors. I love working in monochrome or sepia - I often find that less is more - and this is a way to work in a restricted palette but still use some color. Des' hair hanging down over his face anonymizes him and allows the viewer to potentially assume the place of the subject in the photo. I think the photo generates its power from the many unanswered questions within the dimensions of the photo. The viewer is tempted to construct a narrative to connect the dots.

George Stein

George L Stein is a photographer located in the greater NYC area focused on street, art, surreal, urban decay, and alt-portrait photography, His work has appeared in NUNUM before as well as in Fatal Flaw, Beyond Words, Sunspot Lit, and a number of other literary magazines.

You can keep up with George on Twitter, a few different Instagram accounts, or on his site.