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Fashion

Stalking Heads: Stefan Schwartzman

Right now, Stefan loves bodybuilders, NASCAR tradeshow babes, male K-pop stars and baseball players.

American Apparel tank top, vintage jeans

VICE: When did you first start Photo Boothing yourself?
Stefan Schwartzman: Well, I didn't really have much of a social media presence as a teenager, even though I had a Myspace, but I was still on the internet 24/7 and I still took photos of myself, but I moved to London in 2009 and became more active on Facebook.

Was it the new wider audience that made you go deeper into the whole Photo Booth thing?
Part of it, yeah. I grew up in a really small town before I came here, so it wasn't like I had an audience or anything, but after coming here I started interacting with this whole network of people on the internet. I had an audience, basically. I actually used my Facebook a lot like tumblr – I would post hundreds of photos I'd found, as well as photos of myself – but after I moved back to Seattle for a year, I started using tumblr and that really changed the way I was taking the photos.

Annons

How did it change the way you were taking photographs?
Facebook is a platform to be a little self-absorbed and open, but there are boundaries concerning what is acceptable to share, whereas on tumblr you really can share or say whatever you like without having to worry about being embarrassed or people thinking you're narcissistic or melodramatic because everyone else on there is too.

So did you become a bit more open and experimental with your photos when you moved to tumblr?
I started to feel a bit more free about showing more of myself in my photos and I got a strong reaction from my followers so I kept doing it. It's funny, because when I started on tumblr I would never post photos of myself, I thought the people I saw doing that were embarrassing.

Ha, so why did you start posting photos of yourself on there, then?
Well, one time I posted a photo of myself and some followers got really excited. I dunno, it sort of showed me that the people I watch on tumblr are watching me too and that we're both interested in each other as people.

So for you tumblr is a lot more like a fucked-up version of Facebook where anything goes?
I think of it more of an idealised version of high school where you're allowed to be weak, but you're also allowed to be beautiful too, sometimes more than you are in real life.

in all your photos you use like the Photo Booth background option, why is that?
Because it's really quick and easy – I don't know how to use a real camera. I'm still a bit basic compared to other people that do this kind of thing, but I guess I like that its simple and lo-fi. It's one thing to take photos on Photo Booth and a whole other to have a whole production with a camera and lighting, and what not. Now that's self-obsession, ha ha.

Annons

Each outfit you wear in your photos gives off quite a different vibe, what's that about?
Oh. Well, that's just how I dress in life, for the most part, although, sometimes I take photos in things I wouldn't normally wear.

What like?
Like the ones where I'm wearing the choker and the black kimono, doing a little Madonna "Nothing Really Matters" thing, ha ha.

Where do you draw influence from?
Well, my tumblr says a lot about my influences and the things that make up my visual language and style. I guess chav style would be the obvious thing, but in reality I'm a bit over chav as a fashion reference as it's a bit tired. I'm more into the Russian thing, but even that's a bit worn out on tumblr.

So what are you into at the moment?
Well, if I could somehow look like a wrestler or a crazy 'roided out bodybuilder or a meathead trucker, that would be cool. I love insane bodybuilders, NASCAR tradeshow babes, male K-pop stars and baseball players, at the moment.

What draws you towards some of these things?
I just like the colours throughout them. I'm not really into maximalism, but I really like how busy the clothes and cars are, design-wise. Also, the BMX gear I've been posting – they look like backwards Power Rangers – is pretty cool.

What do you think it is about the busyness of the designs?
Well, it's very American, and I grew up in a rural part of America that was a bit isolated, so things from that kind of culture really resonate with me. It's a kind of design that is not really design, it's about making people excited and hyphy. Nothing says excitement like lime green and orange on a black background with a motorcycle and flames or a pair of fake tits with Harley Davidson pasties.

Ha ha, this is true. There's also an element of tackiness about it all, though, right?
Yeah, I have a lot of things to say about that. "Tacky" and "bad taste" is really in right now and it's a bit annoying. All these people in LA trying to dress hood and ghetto but they're all just rich kids playing dress-up. I actually grew up with this kind of people. I feel like it's bad, as if they're like making fun of it. I'm not trying to be ironic when I post things like that. I love "bad taste", but not like that Vogue Italia shoot Haute Mess, which I thought was really offensive. You can use references like that but you have to use them in a respectful way, not in a "look how fabulous and disgusting poor people are, ha ha ha".