PHOTO CONFESSIONAL: Musuk Nolte
IF YOU WEREn’T A PHOTOGRAPHER, WHAT OTHER PROFESSION WOULD YOU PICK?
Photography came to me as a plan B to the idea of being a musician, although I don't dedicate myself to it, music is something that always accompanies me.
WHAT HAS BEEN THE MOST CRUCIAL DECISION YOU HAVE MADE IN YOUR CAREER’s DEVELOPMENT?
I think that starting the editorial project was an important decision because it allowed me to have a space for dialogue and dialogue with other photographers of my generation, to build a space for collective dissemination, and to learn in the editing process from colleagues and friends who I admire The project has been going on for more than 10 years. I think it has been worth the effort it has involved. And on the other hand, I believe that stopping expecting to depend on the media ecosystem or spaces of "legitimacy", self-management has been a great tool and incentive to continue and persist.
HOW IMPORTANT IS RESEARCH IN YOUR WORK?
Very important, but I also consider that it is a permanent and transversal process, which is nourished by many things. From experiences, from conversations, from listening to music, traveling, sending memes and stickers with friends, etc. Obviously there are much more specific situations where it is important to understand the contexts, backgrounds, and, above all, the socio-cultural aspects of the spaces where one works. Above all to have perspective on the ethical relationship of collaboration that one can establish with others.
IS THERE A PHOTOGRAPHER/ARTIST WHO IS A CONSTANT REFERENCE FOR YOU?
It's difficult to say, because I think it is at times when one connects with the work or biography of people in the medium of photography or the arts, and it changes over time. When I was studying photography I had a fascination with Gabriel Orozco and I was very interested in learning about avant-garde movements such as Dadaism, Surrealism, Situationism, movements like Fluxus or Brazilian Tropicalism. Art that started from ideas and the need to redefine and challenge the context and the practice itself. All this thanks to the support of Luz Maria Bedoya, a photographer/artist who was a teacher at the school where I studied and had a great influence.
A little later came interest in photography, which is based on the notion of a document. Which made a great impression on me when I met the work of Antoine d'Agata, then Paolo Pellegrin, Michael Akerman, Trent Parke, etc. And it was a discovery that somehow made me understand and see photography from another place. Like a drive, or a visceral hunch of urgency. A more raw and lyrical way of representing the world. And keeping my distance, I think that that "vertigo" I felt when seeing these types of images was something that I have tried to pursue in some way, although of course, from another place. I could also mention some photographers that I really like: Abbas, Koudelka, Eilkoh Hosoe, Shomei tomatsu, Carolyn Drake, Sohrab Hurab, Lieko Shiga, Claudia Andújar, Brassai, Kikuji Kawada, Matt Black, Paulo Nozolino, Moises Saman, etc. And finally I believe that poetry has also been a tool to confront and that accompanies the photographic work. To mention some poets that I like and that I constantly reread: Raul Zurita, Mario Montalbetti, Roberto Juarroz, Leopoldo Maria Panero, Jose Watanabe, Vallejo, Blanca Varela, Octavio Paz, Joseph Brodsky, etc.
WHAT WOULD YOU NOT WANT TO PHOTOGRAPH?
Myself.
WHAT EQUIPMENT DO YOU USE, AND WHAT IMPORTANCE DO YOU GIVE TO TECHNIQUE?
I think that the equipment in the end does not matter in the sense that creative exploration can use and adapt to any tool that allows creating images. It is true that each technology imposes or proposes an aesthetic or a way of looking, but I think it ultimately ends up being an intermediate point. When I see an image that impresses me, the last thing I think about is the camera it was made with. For now I work with a Fuji camera, fixed lenses and a Leica Q that has a 28mm fixed lens.
WHAT IS THE STARTING POINT OF YOUR CREATIVE PROCESS?
I am very scattered, I do several things at the same time and I get distracted easily. I think that is the starting point: Being in several things at the same time and in that rhizomatic exercise having a spontaneous dialogue between projects. It doesn't sound very promising as a methodology, but it's what works for me.
HOW DO YOU DEFINE YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY WITH A # TAG?
I am not in favor of labels or unilaterally describing things; I think many nuances are lost along the way.
HOW DO YOU APPROACH STRANGERS IN YOUR PROJECTS OR TO INCLUDE IN YOUR PROJECTS?
That is something that is very difficult for me, I think I always look for a complicity not mediated by words, but I understand that sometimes this is not possible. Sometimes it is necessary to make a preliminary approximation, to honestly tell what one is doing, what the purpose is, etc. Sometimes this creates a distance and alters the spontaneity of the situations where one is, but it is necessary from the respect that the encounter with the other entails.
HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH REJECTION?
Well... It's part of assuming the game that this ecosystem involves, which consists of applying to 10 or 20 calls and waiting for one to come out. It is also important to understand and not take things personally, to understand the circumstances, that the criteria are never objective, that merit is relative and that finally our work will find the space where it makes the most sense and best adapts to the prerogatives of the summons or the political interest of the jury. I also feel that - contradicting myself - committing to the idea of something happening and taking it personally can be a powerful engine to bring out the best in one.
HOW DO YOU THINK YOU HAVE ACCOMPLISHED SUCH SUCCESS?
I don't know if it's a success. But I think that thinking in the long term and that things are finding their moment in time is something that reduces my anxiety a little. And another important thing is to look in perspective that "success" in itself should not be an end, but rather part of a path to have a good time, enjoy as much as possible, share with friends, and feel that the things that one is doing make some sense.
IS IT COMMON FOR YOU TO QUESTION YOURSELF OR YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY?
All the time, otherwise I think I would lose interest in what I do.
HOW IS YOUR APPROACH TO THE ART WORLD/ PHOTO-BOOK WORLD.
I believe that one is part of an ecosystem, each one opens doors, proposes a way of circulating projects, but they also have their vices, prejudices, impositions, etc. The world of the photobook interests me more because I believe it ultimately makes the projects have a projection of dissemination over time.
WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO A NEW PHOTOGRAPHER WHO IS JUST STARTING OUT?
I believe that each person must discover what works best for them and what helps them build a sense of purpose in their chosen discipline. However, I think it’s important to constantly challenge the authorial voice you aim to develop and resist the temptation to conform to the expectations you believe others have of you. I believe this is one of the most valuable qualities a person can possess.
ABOUT MUSUK NOLTE
Musuk Nolte is a prominent Peruvian-Mexican photographer and editor, whose work is situated at the intersection of documentary and artistic photography, focusing on social issues such as historical memory and environmental degradation. He studied professional photography and specialized in contemporary photography at the Lima Image Center. His work has been recognized with several awards, including “the World Press Photo” and the X "Eugene Courret" National Photography Prize in 2009.
Nolte has had 18 solo exhibitions and has participated in numerous group exhibitions at important museums and international events, such as the Museo de Arte de Lima (MALI) and the Singapore Photography Biennial.
Since 2013, he is the founder and director of “KWY Ediciones”, an independent publishing house that promotes visual narratives by Latin American authors. To date, he has edited more than 35 books, some of which have been finalists in prestigious awards such as Aperture and have been recognized by institutions such as MoMA.
In addition to his work as a photographer and editor, Nolte has been a judge in various international competitions and has given workshops in several countries. Recently, he co-directed the cinematography of the film "Diógenes", presented at the Malaga Film Festival in 2023.
Portrait by ROSA CHAVEZ
