The Bartender Never Gets Killed

In a previous post I mentioned that I’d be visiting Adrian Tyler in Madrid.

It really was a flying visit and we were both pushed for time, but we managed to grab time for me to look at his work, and he gave me a crit on workprints from the Exotic series .

I don’t get to meet other photographers much so I really value hanging out and talking about work. I came away with the clear understanding that I need to work more. Adrian is just so prolific, with multiple projects on the go and trips planned up to a year in advance.

But the main learning point for me was in the way Adrian edits his work. I rarely print anything, yet he prints small work prints of everything, shuffles them around making edits. Then constructs small spiral bound books of potential sequences. It works really well. Having the ability to flip rapidly back and forth really helps evaluate if the sequence works. Being a book designer, I guess he has a natural feeling for the format. But there is certainly something totally different about shuffling prints. I tend to make slideshows, but it  isn’t as organic as handling the real thing.

Going to see Adrian Tyler this week.

I’ve never met him in person, but we’ve communicated for years by email and on various lists. Like me, he’s a Brit expat married to a Spanish woman. Unlike me, he chose Madrid rather than Barcelona, so he’s stuck with a naff football team, but the night life is waaaaaaaay better! he’s also very kindly offered to put my wife and I up when we visit Madrid later this week - reminder to self, get his address!

I like Madrid, it has a really great museum, La Reina Sofia, home of La Guernica (maybe good ‘ol GW should be taken to see that one…), which is close to Atocha Station which is a fantastic building

In between the two is a great bar which servers ‘the best calamar sandwiches in the world’ (or so the sign outside says). I had a great afternoon with Chris Jordan there, sangria, art, food, good company… certainly a high point from my Photoespaña experience.

I’m really looking forward to seeing Adrian’s new work .

It is a huge step forward from previous work Imo in that he is exploring new territory. In the past he’s been adopting a Becher-like approach , whereas now he is trying to merge his urban landscape work within the wider context of human involvement. It is an interesting strategic problem reconciling the two almost distinct groups of photographs in this set - my instinct is to present this as dips, but then, it would!

I’ll report back after seeing the work and talking to Adrian.