Chris Carle contacted me about his video work on Irréversible locations in Paris. The beginning of a friendship. Here is an interview in which he talks about his passion of Gaspar Noé's movie and how this passion is transcribed in his artistic daily work. After the interview, you can visit his personal website : www.giraffemitfeuerwaffe.de
Chris, how did you discovered Gaspar Noé's work? As much as Im admiring Gaspar’s works now,it’s funny that I discovered him just by luck.Some years ago I was an avid user of an Austrian DVD-/movie-board and had heard about "Irreversible" there. When I saw the movie on a supermarket then, I couldn’t resist to simply get it and since me and a friend watched it the later evening, I’m game!
Chris Carle at work
Are you self-educated or did you follow a particular artistic path? I think I really started drawing when I saw the German animation-movie "Werner Beinhart" as a child.I loved it, watched it a hundred times and I was always fascinated by creating something similar to this. I’ve never had any school or something and this is how I work now. No system.. The works are results of simply trial-and-error (and sure, they’re not what you call "technically oriented" or something as you can see.)
Irréversible by Chris Carle
In your painting work, there - to my knowledge - two different way of working : drawing/painting and the use of graphics tablet. Personally, I love your use of this digital tool. Can you tell us more about your work ? Well, as Im not a very creative person in general, my works are more like a funny way of re-creating stuff someone else created before and which I love. I really need a personal relationship to the pictures I draw - be it a certain scene of a movie or a still of a musician that I love. The work itself (with the tablet) starts with a simple map of the most important colours to use, then I go on to connect the colours and get first details. This process keeps going on until I’m satisfied with the work or I just don’t have the passion to go on anymore (laughs). With Adobe Photoshop or Corel Painter you have a powerful software to work with, but you should stay real with your abillities and your intention. Anybody could just copy and paste, that’s no magic.
Irréversible by Chris Carle
You've directed an interesting documentary about Irréversible locations in Paris. I knew you at this period. Can you talk a little about the context of this video ? Visiting some of the locations of "Irreversible" in Paris was like a dream come true! Althought it’s like a decade ago now since the movie was filmed there, you get a feeling of the movie if you’re a fan like me. A lot things changed (like the underground-tunnel, which just disappeared from the street),but there are many little details to still discover on the streets or at the Metro. The filming of the "docu" was just a co-product of the whole trip. We (me and my girlfriend) visited "Buttes Chaumont" and "Boulevard Berthier". If any fan liked my little "docu" I’m more than satisfied! Go out and explore Paris, what a great city!
Imagine you're talking about Gaspar to somebody who NEVER heard about him : what did you tell him about ? I don’t need to imagine that,it’s my daily business. There’s always music or movies to talk about and Gaspar – as one of my favourite director’s – is a vivid topic in my conversations. What I really learned when introducing works of him: You need an open minded conversational partner. I mean it’s not like the newest standard blockbuster 3D to show, it’s art, pretty "tough" art. I often try to explain some technical stuff behind his works or talk about other background information in order to give a first impression about HOW he works. If someone’s interested in it, a link to your website would be the next step! (laughs.) Here you get all the details! Thank you very much for your interest and the interview!"
Gaspar Noé by Chris Carle
Chris Carle in Paris (Irreversible film location)
Jeff Bridges by Chris Carle