Howard Schatz is an internationally known photographer who has been exhibited in museums and photography galleries worldwide and included in innumerable private collections. Over an impressive career spanning decades, his vast body of work consists of more than four million images receiving global acclaim, while winning virtually every award in his field. His photographic artistry centers predominantly on the exploration of the human form in all its beauty, grace, strength, and vulnerability.
Schatz published twenty-two monographs, and Pairs is his twenty-third book. This is a visual journey showcasing his ability and power of observation to capture the essence of different subjects, such as portraiture, fashion, sports, the human form and more. By presenting these subjects in pairs, he offers a unique perspective that highlights the relationships between the images, thereby creating a new and engaging way to appreciate his remarkable body of work.
Website: https://howardschatz.com
Pairs publication: https://pairsbyhowardschatz.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/howardschatz/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/howardschatzphotography
Tag: @howardschatz for IG and @howardschatzphotgoraphy for Facebook
Hashtags: #pairs #pairsbook #pairsbyhowardschatz
Patricia Lanza : Discuss your process in the development of the publication PAIRS and your collaboration with Beverly Ornstein?
Howard Schatz : Every artist needs an editor. Every artist needs an editor who loves them enough to be absolutely, and brutally honest. Your friends are not your editors, and their comments are only made to make you feel better. I am blessed to be married and partnered with a brilliant editor, Beverly Ornstein, who is absolutely honest with me. I could do a shoot, make hundreds of images, spend weeks editing, find images that I love and ask her to look. There are times where she’ll say “I’ve looked at every picture; the shoot was well done, well composed, but there is nothing here that stands out.” It is tough to hear, but that is what every artist needs.
Lanza : What was the motivation and challenges in the making of PAIRS?
Schatz : This new work, “PAIRS” is an exploration of the relationship between two subjects and the visual, graphic, emotional, social, physical and even spiritual dynamic that results from the pairing. The connections are sometimes subtle, sometimes not. This is a photographic odyssey into the world of pairs.
Lanza : As in inspirational image maker what would you say is your driving force?
Schatz : I photograph to surprise and delight myself. I am tenaciously on a search, to find imagery that is new to my eyes and remarkable. It is very tough, but there is tremendous joy in the journey of looking, finding.
Lanza : What are you working on now and what are you aspiring to do with PAIRS?
Schatz : I am working on a number of projects. One is a 30-year project, photographing and interviewing young people from birth to adulthood called “GROWING UP.”
The second is called the “Shape of the NFL,” which is an exploration into the physicality and efforts of professional American football players.
I have been working with dancers for many years and continue so.
