Name: Maxwell

Blog: maxigumee.com

Flickr: maxigumee

When I say that I don't like teenagers, I always have to make one exception. I've been reading Max's blog for years - he's artistic, honest and funny.

©Maxwell Tielman

You've just finished your second year at Pratt. What's the most rewarding experience you've had at school so far?

I've actually just finished a semester at Brooklyn College. I wasn't really feeling Pratt's photography program (although I really loved the rest of Pratt's classes) and I've also been kind of all over the place, trying to figure out what I want to do in terms of education. I decided to take a semester away from the whole art thing to try out some liberal arts classes that I thought would be interesting. I'm transferring to FIT's photography program in the fall. ANYWAY. Most rewarding experience...... was probably my first school year at Pratt overall. Many art schools sort of seclude you to your major and don't really let you touch on anything else. Pratt is kind of the opposite. For the entire first year at Pratt, students don't focus on their majors at all, but are exposed to all different kinds of art in Pratt's foundation program. I think that entire first year kind of opened my eyes to seeing things differently and it really helped me to think outside the box.

I've so enjoyed watching you develop your interest in photography over the years. When did you first become interested in photography as a means of creative expression?

I think my interest in photography stemmed from my interest in blogging and documenting my life. The photographs on my blog and on my flickr started out more as standard snapshots of everyday things, but I started to discover my love for photography through that. When I was first looking at art schools to apply to, I was planning on going for graphic design. It wasn't really until about half way through senior year in high school that photography started to become the thing that I really wanted to do.

©Maxwell Tielman

What do you love most about living in NYC?

What I love most about New York City as of right now is probably Brooklyn. After the whole excitement of Manhattan started to wear off, I sort of just wanted to be somewhere that felt like home. Brooklyn really feels like home to me. It's really urban but is still full of beautiful tree-lined streets and isn't as totally commercialized as Manhattan (yet). I also love how there are still places in New York that I haven't discovered yet and how I can get out of the subway at a random stop and not recognize the surroundings at all. It's so full of surprises and it's a great city for exploring.


©Maxwell Tielman

What or who are your design inspirations? 

Hmmmmmm. In terms of graphic design, it's really difficult to pinpoint an exact source of inspiration. If I had to choose anything, I'd probably say Bauhaus designers and World War propaganda posters. My inspirations for photography are a little more specific. Right now, I'm really feeling a lot of impressionist painters and have been trying to implement a similar aesthetic into my photography. There are a few photographers and artists that I draw a lot of inspiration from. Some of my favorites right now are Ryan McGinley, Richard Prince, Juergen Teller, and Willam Eggleston.


©Maxwell Tielman

What's your favorite NYC subway story? 

Most of my favorite NYC subway stories are more like horror stories. Like how just this past Monday, I was late to job training because for some reason, the MTA employees decided to not tell anybody that the train was, in fact, not coming, even after almost an hour of waiting. I had to race from the G train stop to a different train several blocks away in 105-degree heat. No fun. You were a blogger throughout high school. How did having such a public outlet at such a young age help to shape who you are? I think that having a blog has definitely made me a more open person. I don't want to say that I don't have a filter or anything, but I don't really have a problem sharing things and being honest with people. Having a website also really helped to propel my interest in design and art. If I hadn't taken up blogging, I doubt that design and photography would have become such big parts of my life.


©Maxwell Tielman

Fuck, Fight, Kill: Mary-Louise Parker, Mary-Kate Olsen, Mary Kay LeTourneau? Tell us why. 

Fuck, fuck, and fuck. I don't like to fight and killing is no good. Plus, I kind of have a secret obsession with the Olsen Twins.

What are three blogs you think people should be reading? http://intensify.org/, http://consumerist.com/, http://www.bearskinrug.co.uk/. And Knotty Yarn, of course.


©Maxwell Tielman Thank you, Max!

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