Martin Schoeller, portrait photographer, is surprisingly a first-timer at Art Miami.
Known for his democratic approach—photographing everyone from presidents and athletes to drag queens and death row exonerees—Schoeller describes himself as a laid-back “working photographer.” He considers his style to be in the tradition of editorial masters like Irving Penn and Richard Avedon, embracing the freedom his career has provided to see diverse worlds, often in uncomfortable conditions.
BY STEPHANIE DAVIS SMITH
With his wild hair, German accent, and famously relaxed vibe, Schoeller sat down to discuss the challenges of the changing landscape of photography and how to navigate an industry facing smaller budgets and the rise of social media.
For his Miami debut, Schoeller, represented by the world-renowned CAMERA WORK gallery, will launch a special project focused on charitable giving. Featuring his signature Close Ups of leading celebrities and philanthropists, the exhibition is built on his core philosophy that art must have a purpose. A portion of all proceeds will be donated to charity, leveraging high-profile visibility to highlight the connection between privilege and responsibility.
Your Obama portrait was famously shown at Miami Art Week in 2008. But I couldn’t find anywhere that you had been to the event that year or another year. My work has been at Miami Art Week, yes, but I’ve never been. I’m a first timer. My Berlin gallery has a booth there every year, and they do what they want to do with my work.
Any artists you’re excited to see at Art Week? I haven’t looked at the schedule. I’m going in blind and will be surprised. I’m sure I’ll know people, though. Nick Korniloff, the EVP and Director of Art Miami, called me, and he’s been a fan of my work for so long. He invited me, and I will be in the VIP area.
That’s a big deal. Congrats! But Art Week has been going on since 1990. Why haven’t you been until now? I’m mostly busy taking pictures of people, so not as involved with the selling of it. If I have a museum exhibition, of course I go. But I’ve probably been to Paris Photo once in the last 30 years. I do have a little photography collection. But I’m not into buying much art. It’s getting harder for photographers out there. So I’m busy doing work.
I hear that. It’s hard on photographers right now with AI and less outlets to publish work. What do you like about being an artist at this time in history? I love being an artist and the freedom it provides. The freedom and working for over 100 different magazines during my career. Getting to go to places and meet people you never would meet or see otherwise. It gives me purpose, and it has been a lot of fun. I’ve visited some of the most remote places in the world. Not as a tourist but as someone who knows somebody there and traveling for National Geographic. It’s a great privilege to be a photographer and see all these different worlds.
What do you not like about being an artist right now? Being freelance is not always easy. You’re only as good as your last photograph. You’re more or less easily replaceable. Not a lot of security. Tougher than having a cushiony full-time job. It’s a trade-off. But I’m not the corporate type.
Is there an artist who still inspires you? Irving Penn or Richard Avedon. I think of myself as a working photographer like them. As an editorial photographer. The people in their photos don’t look very heroic. They weren’t thinking if that person is going to like that picture or not. They were taking photographs for themselves. I like to be free of what other people might feel about the work. I worked with Annie Leibovitz for three years early on. I love Diane Arbus too. About 80 to 90 percent of my work was done for magazines. It’s not all collected. But I love taking photographs that have a life beyond the magazine pages. I’m grateful that has been the case.
How has your art changed in recent years? It’s a changing landscape for magazine photography. Nobody buys magazines like they did. So budgets are way smaller. It’s all social media. The people who cared about magazines don’t care anymore. The influencers have more followers than probably all those magazines combined. It’s a big shift for all of us. How do we navigate this new landscape? Journalism, and especially photo journalism, has really suffered because of it. We really saw the end of the big era. I had such big budgets for magazine work, like $40,000 for a cover. Those were the days. Now it’s more like $3,000 for a cover.
But you have a huge following on social media. I didn’t use Instagram for a long time. Then I did a series on homeless people in L.A. that I interviewed and photographed. I thought that was a perfect start for my Instagram presence.
You live in New York, so how did that project across the country come about? A friend of mine has a father who has been feeding homeless people for 40 years. I took some photos for his food coalition. He’s not great at marketing himself. I’d take some pictures for his Instagram and website… and it became a 4-year project. Every time I was in L.A., I would set up my studio on a street corner in West Hollywood. I photographed over 300 people living on the street. I’ve posted 280 of them on my Instagram so far.
There are no photos of you on your Instagram. Why? I don’t try and show my great life on social media. Trying to showcase how fortunate one is… I have no interest in doing stuff [like that] for my ego. You just make people unhappy by showing what you’ve got. It’s a race no one can win. Instead, I post indigenous people, drag queens, homeless people…
Are you showing any of that at Art Week? To be honest, I don’t know what pictures I’m bringing just yet. The sale of photographs will be a fundraiser. Ten percent of the pictures sold will be donated to a charity.
Perhaps the theme of your exhibit will be charitable giving, then? Yes, charitable giving. I’m grateful Art Miami is giving us the space. I hear there are 80,000 visitors to Miami Art Week. That’s exciting. Maybe there are 500 people a week who usually go to an art gallery. So 80,000 is a good number. [Laughs]
By the way, you seem very laid back for such a world-famous artist. How are you so relaxed? Maybe I’m just old. [Laughs.] I’m kidding. I don’t feel old. I’ve done the Close Up series for 25 years. I’ve photographed 3,000 people in this close-up style. I’ve been shown all over the world in museums. I’m not nervous, and I don’t have to prove anything. The [images] speak for themselves.
Where does your inspiration come from? My personal projects are tiring and sad. Holocaust survivors, native Americans, Death Row exonerees… By the way, that was a very heavy project on my soul. My last series is more uplifting: Drag Queens. I’ve got a book coming…
I saw that. “Drag Queens” is set to be published by Steidl in 2025. Now I’m photographing teenagers because I have a teenage son who is 16. I’ve photographed 20 teenagers. But it doesn’t hold my interest quite as much. I’m going to Gabon in November to look for a Pygmy group. Someone who knows somebody who knows somebody who knows somebody is going to be my guide and translator. I’m fascinated by people who haven’t been influenced by the outside world as much. Those projects are time-consuming, and you have to spend time in those villages for a while for people to feel comfortable with you and earn their trust.
How incredible that you’ve been to all these remote places through National Geographic? Yes, but you’re in uncomfortable conditions, like in a hammock with a mosquito tent over it. Just me, myself, and a camera. That’s more journalistic work. No publicist or agents involved.
People might be surprised how accessible you are. You emailed me directly and gave me your number with no publicist involved. That’s pretty rare in my world. You only live once. I don’t have any time for not being myself.
But you’ve photographed presidents and the most famous people in the world. Yes, I photographed Carter, Obama, Biden, and just photographed Trump. I did not do [George W.] Bush. I never had the opportunity for that. August Sander’s “People of the 20th Century” really inspired me, though. In the 1920s, he photographed everyone from musicians to carpenters to brick layers and lawyers in Germany. Even beggars and poor people, which was unheard of at that time, because photography was so expensive. Poor people didn’t have the money to get their photo taken. I like his democratic philosophy of not photographing the rich and famous. I took that from him.
Well, you will see all kinds of people at Art Week. There are all kinds of people on the scene in Miami. I’ve been to Miami countless times. I usually photographed athletes down there for magazines. So many athletes. And I love Cuban food and Latin food there. So many good restaurants! Miami’s definitely entertaining and not boring. It can be a little cheesy… but never boring!
