In Conversation With | Alec Soth

George sits down for a chat with Alec Soth. Talking through his career, from how he got started in photography to books, and his recently republished, Sleeping by the Mississippi.
Purchase SBTM here: amzn.to/2kADBwR
Check out Alec's work:
alecsoth.com/
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Video recorded on Sony A7s ii, A6500, Arri Amira
Music by LSOW: / lsowtunes
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Social Media:
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Thanks to the people that made this happen:
George:
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/ gmunchiez
www.georgemuncey.com/
Aslan:
/ li0nsmane
/ li0nsmane
Liam:
/ liam.stock
liamstock.com/
Louis:
/ lordlouislou
/ lordlouislou
www.louis-bryant.com/

[@andrewstolle6526]

"it's thrilling to have a good idea but it's sort of meaningless until you do it." this is gold.

[@alecilstrup]

I'm a freelance photographer and my main client is a sock company... lol. that hit hard.

[@noiseforthealgorithm4668]

lol

[@davidrothschild8913]

His point about photography "aging really well' is an interesting one and makes me think.

[@ShawnBrezny]

"There is no path... to being an artist of any sort." Yes! ...such a great quote. We all have a unique journey in finding success, in whatever we want to do with our lives... such great advice. I also live in Minnesota and saw Alec Soth's photo exhibit at the Minneapolis Institute of Art (MIA) back in 2008. At the time I hadn't known much about Soth, but was blown away by the photos of his large-scale (40-by-50-inch) prints and it contained all 46 images from Soth’s book Sleeping by the Mississippi, plus several unpublished prints. Thanks for sharing the interview with us George... Peace!

[@paultaylorphotography9499]

Just stumbled across Somewhere to disappear, loved that film. Great Interview. New fan for Alec.

[@charlesc5837]

Thank you for this George !

[@harlanbeeton6869]

George, bring this series back! These are some of the most helpful and insightful videos you've made! Keep up the good work in general

[@NickBurgess10]

He’s so well spoken. This was super enjoyable to watch. I wasn’t aware of him before this. So once again, thank you George ❤️

[@HaterHater519]

insightful interview, loved what Alec had to say! I felt like this was the most personal interview of Alec I have seen yet! It would be interesting to see this interview series grow, like the vibe of this channel

[@somsuvramukherjee]

Wonderful video. He is a real inspiration. Amazing photographer.

[@cafeglobulot]

Very pleasant to hear Alec Soth speaking, relaxed and honest. Thank you for this encounter.

[@melaninxhalide1165]

That ending was rough, but man def needed to see this. He dropped some gems. PLEASE more interview/artist profiles like this. These episodes have been awesome.

[@BradHamiltonPhoto]

Some of my favorite quotes from this interview: “When I was coming up, I had that feeling that, like, I should be in New York…but I think that the emergence of the internet in my youth, changed things, and there was a way in which information was being distributed…that allowed me to not have to move there. And subject matter-wise, it was a blessing…For me it would be really impossible to be a photographer whose content is based in this place where there are eight zillion other photographers…and I had my own little chunk of content, that I understood as well. And then I had an information stream that I could enter into and distribute in this other way.” “Everyone has a sense when something’s working…” “ One of the great things about photography is that it can age really well, so that pictures can get better with time…” “There is no route. There is no path to being an artist of any sort. You sort of chart your own path, which is the fun of it. One of the things I say at art schools is that, you’re learning how to be a creative person so you should apply that creativity to your life and how you construct your life. Personally, I think it’s unwise to be overly driven by financial reward…For me, it was unhealthy to think about making a living from it, because it really muddied the waters of what I was doing.” “I love to think of inventions, just for fun…I like dreaming up these ideas. That’s the easy part. The hard part is doing the thing; actually making an invention, and then putting it out in the world…So it’s thrilling to have a good idea, but it’s sort of meaningless until you do it.” “I think it’s important to try lots of different things…and experiment in different modes. And then be really honest with yourself about what feels authentic to you. So, like, I really respect humanistic, documentary photography that was social and ethical and all that sort of stuff, and there was a time period where I tried to produce that work, and it just wasn’t really me. I was sort of pretending to be this other person, and when you feel that in your gut, then you can’t give it everything.”

[@beexum]

Love this series man. Really support your channel.

[@ralphbrandi]

Thank you so much for this, George. I discovered Alec Soth when he did a commissioned project for the New York Times a few years ago taking photographs of residents of Rockford, Illinois, a city I lived just outside of in my early teens in the 1970s, and I've been a huge fan ever since. I've been studying his photos and buying his photo books (including some of the zines he's put out) for the past several years. He's absolutely my favorite photographer, and a huge inspiration, even though my photography is nothing like his. This was absolutely fascinating.

[@matttttt63]

ralphbrandi I'm from Rockford!

[@bencole29]

George this is a great little interview. Some really pertinent questions that I wish i'd had answered when I first started out as a photographer. Great to see you do this at the ripe old age of 21! Keep up the good work.

[@oneladymore4789]

So cool! He's such a great photographer. Two of my old teachers loved to use his work to teach. (I did a Photography course)

[@niccolosommi6367]

I love how you ended the video differently this time, Alec's last words are still echoing in my head!

[@calumstewart3009]

That was Awesome. Great Scoop getting Alex.

[@Cthulhu74700]

These videos are so good, found out about Alec's work only two days ago.

[@echan_ph]

you guys are improving so much your game! Alec Soth!!!!!

[@Al_Bx]

That was a very good interview. Intelligent questions and intelligent answers. Thank you for this. Keep it coming please!

[@liamtyler8291]

This is so sick, going to see his exhibition tomorrow and I cant wait!

[@chrismehmet3463]

Love how you introduce me to a whole new side to photography! Including all these wonderful film photographers

[@cesartheking198]

Love this interview. I never knew about Alec Sloth, but now I do and I am glad.

[@amosk24]

Wow man, freaking amazing. Keep it up fellas!

[@patmcdonnell7784]

Really well done, and I love the direction of these types of inspiration films.

[@Cibeen]

Like the interview, brilliant work

[@owlgardens]

this is fantastic!! super inspiring and insightful.

[@paul-green-photography]

great conversation. thank you.

[@thunderwood]

This was really interesting. Thank you!

[@MyekalBenham]

Some great advice in this Vid. Great work and thanks for sharing :)

[@josuesdad]

Keep doing more interviews with these wonderfull photographers. What an inspiration!🍉📺📷

[@dunerino892]

nice interview, thanks!

[@mattmoloney_]

Great conversation, learned a lot from this.

[@michael.speaks]

Very well done! You are a good interviewer, George. Keep doing this, if you like it, too.

[@Jotakinjossain]

Great interview!

[@Garacha222]

really like this interview. Low key, heart-felt, honest, thoughtful perspective. I love the statement that "there is no 'path'... you chart your own path" at 16:08, and Alec's elaboration on that. I'm undecided about the moving camera that makes the couch look like it is moving. (The reflections of the moving videographers seen in the glass is a bit of a distraction.)

[@TimothymakeupsDitzler]

This is HUGE

[@EarlofGray]

Really interesting interview of a cool guy. Going to see him next month.

[@Kalamazoom]

Superb interview. Wise words ...

[@joetwigg184]

Amazing interview

[@mayoizmad]

I was also at the exhibition opening and met him! he's so nice and a massive influence on my work!

[@superyuyo4060]

21 years old? Damn man

[@paulboccuzzi9160]

what do you mean?

[@PinoyHyungParkNguyen]

the interviewer is 21

[@christoombes7875]

Great inspiration and loved his comment about how photos can get better with age couldn't agree more

[@DannyPops]

This is great. I got to sit down with Soth at LSU... it was then when I realized I was a crappy photographer.

[@thejordanflynn]

Fuck yes and 20min! So stoked on this.

[@Mickey-bo6cv]

My favorite photographer featured in my favorite youtube channel!

[@samamar4570]

unreal content man, I'm sure you've developed a lot since this was posted but be confident in your questions! "I felt it might be useful to talk about what your life was like at the time" can be "What was your life like at this time & what impact did that have on the work" etc. Really good though :)

[@oliverliria4723]

Great great vid. Inspirational and enjoyable. I would love to chat with Alec.

[@Nawscope]

this is awesome.

[@inigotaylor9401]

great video, keep it up.

[@stephieJUICYcat]

wuhu boy! great job

[@SirShurikenFlinger]

amazing

[@gregmcknight5183]

I like Alec a lot and agree with him on almost every point except this one. You do have to make a living and money is a thing. You can’t just say “I want to make art therefore art comes before money”. You need to eat and sleep somewhere and be healthy so you can make art at your best self.

[@TimPalman]

rhymes with 'both'

[@TimPalman]

also rhymes with 'really cool'

[@joepettet-smith2368]

also loaf

[@sanneberghuis9327]

This is the coolest thing

[@sanneberghuis9327]

I saw his work in Antwerp a few months ago and immediately fell in love

[@tristanasT]

thanks

[@cwalshie]

6:12 That is an enormous camera in the reflection of the glass behind them

[@TimDobbs]

Good stuff George :-)

[@moonye1691]

would love to see you talk to some female photographer sometimes !

[@Val-zg4gd]

I feel like this is such a classic divide of our generation and his. You used to just be able to be this dude who took good photos (granted, his work is incredible) that stand on their own, and you had the luxury of not worrying too hard about making a living from it, branding yourself, and pushing really hard to sell that to the people around you. There was so much more space for young creatives then than there is now - metaphorically and physically - affording physical space was a lot cheaper, you could actually land stable jobs doing editorial work or commercial work that weren't just tiny contract. Even if you wanted to be an exhibiting artist even, there was a lot less competition (if you step foot in a reputable gallery today, you have to know all your art speak philosophy about object oriented ontology, or new materialism, or the anthropocene.. or, you need to do, in his words, "social, ethical photography and all that stuff", that just isn't him). And gear! (I swear medium format film cameras are getting more expensive by the day). There was a lot of privilege for him as a white dude growing up in the 70's and 80's, than there is for a lot of us today. I feel like instead of someone pushing the message that you shouldn't worry about money, someone should be saying, "no, millennials, worry about money!" there's a whole new paradigm to being an artist than there was back then - he's staying afloat from being well-networked with other gen-xers that turned him into a legacy, but you can't just take pictures and print them and that's it anymore. Yikes, sorry about the rant - he still has some good advice - I guess I just feel very strongly about how different it is for us to be young today.

[@elshuffles]

holy sloth!! nice work on vid NG

[@jackspaeth7144]

Go Minnesota!

[@alexandermourant2068]

Very good

[@anthonyrassam7031]

wow he got into photographing the same way I did, I feel like there isn't too many people from fine arts background who take photographing seriously

[@connoratcanada80]

havent even watched the video yet but holy shit

[@denislaura97]

i feel so releaved now when he said 21 years old is still young , cauze i feel old and i feel like time is just ticking away

[@danielalia239]

I'm 25 and nothing really matters. Age literally doesn't matter in art, it's what you do.

[@RobertPHorwitz]

Whoa!!

[@HarkMeinrich]

Gold Teeth, Gold Ring & Gold Necklace. Nice George :)

[@adventureStaley]

Just a ton of wisdom here.

[@rosiematheson]

sick

[@vallee5583]

Hello there, i am wondering which video camera you use in the beginning of the video. Thanks!

[@afdlinazmei288]

WOW

[@TomBiskup]

B-R-A-V-O! I can see you are stressed by talking to your idol who is way older and more experienced. However - keep it up, you are great, your channel is great. You are a great inspiration!

[@HarkMeinrich]

Holy shit dude, you are 21? I am 22 and i thought for sure you would be a few years older. Maybe because you tend to be very serious in your video idk. Great Interview!

[@OshuLuna]

Sure

[@fernandosalazar5310]

I know he may not be your style of photographer, but a Bruce Gilden interview would be very interesting

[@mrlxnx]

Alec is really into Levi's

[@latentspacex]

Guys your audio is really quiet in this video

[@hiiamlelo1.062]

😶 wwwwwoooooooowwwww so jealous amazing

[@aishablaze6654]

would love to see you interview some female photogs! #femalegaze

[@TheNewNationPodcast]

I'd love to see him interview whoever he likes regardless of gender

[@NegativeFeedback]

It will happen soon, we're still looking for the right person

[@andrewbartram2478]

A small voice podcast interviews loads of female photographers - check it out

[@andrewbartram2478]

Great job - just purchased sleeping by the mississippi

[@kollinkirven6157]

Yumna Al-Arashi, Miranda Barnes, and Grace-Ann Leadbeater are all amazing young documentary photographers. Check them out on Instagram!

[@isack707]

Aaron Rodgers twin brother

[@NemDomi1]

poor man being out of focus half the time, like that actor in that Woody Allen movie

[@russellcobb7184]

2 mins in had to watch 2 mins of adverts shame

[@AdamWilkoszarski]

Haha You look bored

[@chuyvee]

1st IG: chuvyee

[@dabzvapelord]

this interviewer is making it about himself at every chance

[@Regsfoto]

@dabzapelord in what sense? What makes you think that.

[@herrerambp]

what? where? how? lol

[@dabzvapelord]

literally from the opening question. the kids young though, he'll get there.

[@NicHughes]

Yeh and nothing new

[@uubankwang]

Unpopular opinion - I think he's pretentious.

[@CiniEnFi]

Great interview George...this is wonderful content.