Florence Montmare and I met as two artists on Instagram where I was impressed with her eye on the world. You can find her on Instagram @florencemontmare and contact Florence at [email protected]
Scenes from an Island, Fårö, Sweden, 2015
"Florence Montmare's photos spark the imagination, documenting what is there and suggesting what is not. Her work is both provocative and evocative.
She is a master photographer." —Julia Cameron, author, The Artists Way
I enjoyed studying your impressive website and learning of your accomplishments, exhibiting since 2000. To what do you attribute your success and drive?
Thank you! I think mentorship is very important for an artist, and even though I had little support from my school International Center of Photography, my gallerist Ivy Brown, Sam Samore, and Deborah Turbeville acted as mentors.
AirPlay, Cleveland, Ohio, 2015
You were born in Vienna, your father was Greek, your mother Swedish, what was your childhood like, and what influences do you recognize from both cultures, favorable and unfavorable, if so? Who were you as a child?
In my youth, we had a lot of different cultural influences, and my mother celebrated that. There were some cultural differences especially being a woman—the Greek and the Swedish. I guess that is a much longer conversation... As a child, I was imaginative and paid attention to friendships. I liked to sit by myself and do things with my hands for hours. I drew a lot of portraits of women and horses, and I painted in oil with my grandma. I liked math, played the piano and danced. I was a bit of a perfectionist, using the eraser until the paper would crumble into pieces. Change was important to me, and I used to rearrange my 12 square meter room every other week, trying to explore the feeling of the new space I had created. It drove my mom nuts.
Villa Kassman Interior, Sweden, 2017
I see your work crossing many disciplines, photography, theater, choreography, and film; you note having had dance and piano lessons in your youth, what else influenced your ease with combining the arts?
Yes. Thanks for recognizing that. I think we were encouraged to try everything: music, dance, painting, drawing. Everyone had to play an instrument and do something physical. Dancing was very important to me growing up and well into my 20s. I watched a lot of Ingmar Bergman and different historical dramas, the ballet, the runway shows, the yearly Vienna New Year concerto on TV, with its beautiful dancers and costumes.
Snow, 2003, 2005
Who are your art gods?
Deborah Turbeville, Ingmar Bergman, Bunuel, Tarkovsky, Picasso, Matisse, Vivaldi.
Blue Dress, Untermeyer Garden, 2018
Dreamweaver, 2014
What are you reading presently?
I am reading a few books... The Artist Way by Julia Cameron, for the third time, (I recently photographed her), Guruji: A Portrait of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, and Kabbalah and the Power of Dreaming.
Self-portrait, Isola Pescatori, 2015
How do you structure your studio time? Do you work alone? Being multi-national, where do feel most at home?
I work with assistants and in collaboration. I feel most at home in New York, Fårö, and in Stockholm, Sweden. I also like my olive grove in Crete, so I guess I am trying to figure that out!
Scenes from an Island, Fårö, Sweden, 2015
Scenes from an Island, Fårö, Sweden, 2015
The impetus to create is very demanding, and like me, you seem pulled from multiple genres, what do you do to rejuvenate, and preserve yourself?
Every day I practice Ashtanga Yoga. I meditate and do Yoga Nidra (psychic sleep) which I have also started teaching. I seek a lot of solitude. I also love laughing with my husband, and that is rejuvenating if anything! I practice the Artist Way and the morning pages... writing and walking are good for the soul.
***Dear reader, by 'morning pages,' Florence is referring to the practice of writing by longhand, three pages of stream of consciousness writing first thing in the morning, as suggested by Julia Cameron.
Your late father left you an olive grove—I liked the photo shoot "Grove" by the way, I also own an uninhabitable slice of remote beauty and keep thinking it has worked as a muse in some fashion. What have you realized owning your 'secret garden'? Maybe some of us are space-keepers for visions.
That is a great question. I am still trying to figure that out. We all have to cultivate our garden. For me, it means that I have to journey within and work with what I have. I am continuing the work with the grove. I like—"space keeper for visions"... All I wish for is a creative life. Because in a creative life you are at play, and you are free. I dream of having a house in Crete, where I can collect my family and friends, and eat dinner under the dark, night sky. Here my easel will stand and I will hang my hammock. The grove is a symbol of civilization and peace. I like this quote... "Excellently observed," answered Candide; "but let us take care of our garden."
***And I love Voltaire's Candide as well, cheers Florence! Thank you for sharing your world.
Thank you!
Rift Greyscales, Fårö, 2015
Ambrose on the Rocks, Fårö, 2015
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