Robert Knoke
Residing between New York and Germany, artist Robert Knoke has gained recognition for his extensive series of portraits featuring a range of subjects from cultural figures to fashion icons. Following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, both painters, Knoke knew what he’d do from an early age.
Growing up in his father’s studio in Hanover, Germany, Knoke never thought of doing anything else than becoming an artist. It was only later during his studies that he found out that “artist” might not be a real profession and that he’d eventually need to study something “real”, which he never did. After finishing school he studied art for a year, but decided to leave after a year, travelling to see family he had in New York. He ended up staying for a while and since then, travelling has become an important aspect of his work. Knoke’s encapturing black and white portrait series features a wide array of people, ranging from fashion personalities like Rick Owens and Bernhard Willhelm to artists such as Terence Koh and musicians Alison Mosshart and Jamie Hince of The Kills. Done with conventional tools like ballpoint pens and markers, the series has been an ongoing project for him since 1991. It has since been displayed at Ruff Club New York and Apartment Gallery in Berlin.
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What sparked your interest towards portraits?
I think I just like to meet people. Working as a painter is a very lonely job so by choosing this subject matter, I can get a little company. I used to do different kind of works before, such as video installations, photo collages, performance stuff and so on. The portrait series was always a side project, I never showed it. It grew slowly since 1991. Three years ago, I decided to just work on the portraits. Now, its developing into different directions; I did a music video for my friend, DJ and musician Spencer Product, and it became a “moving portrait“ of him. I like to work in that medium a lot, so I will probably continue doing music videos in the future as well.
Tell a bit about your work process.
I always have to meet the person first and take photos myself, that is the first step. I have to see what kind of look and expression I want to get. Then later I do the drawing alone by myself. It kind of irritates me to have someone sitting in front of me, so I really prefer to take photos first and work from them. When I start drawing, I forget about the person and really try to focus only on the drawing. So it’s not really about a portrait anymore. I don’t even like the term “portrait“ when describing my work; I draw people but at the end, it’s not about the person anymore. It’s only me, markers and a paper. That’s it. I’m only concerned about the quality of the drawing – that the lines, strokes, fingerprints and smudges I leave on the paper are strong enough to make the images striking. But in the process of drawing, I try not to think too much. Thinking is very contra productive. It happens or it doesn’t.
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There seems to be somewhat of a focus on fashion personalities in your portraits alongside musicians.
Most of my subjects introduce me to other people, so that is the reason why everybody in my series is somehow connected with each other. I’m not particularly focusing on fashion personalities. But as soon as you step into that world, you get in touch with so many people. It just happened over the last 2 years, in which I got introduced to the fashion world. Music, art and fashion are very connected to each other any way. I’m doing Leo Fitzpatrick’s portrait soon, he is an actor and an artist.
You mentioned that you photograph the people yourself, how much interaction overall is there between you and the person you’re drawing?
Hmm.. That is hard to say because it really doesn’t matter in the end, whether there is much interaction or not. That might sound funny but I think it’s true. It’s of course always a pleasure to meet my subjects. We have fun doing the photos but when it comes to the drawing process, it doesn’t matter if I had a good time with them or
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not. Since I’m not photographing for a magazine, I don’t really need to create a certain mood to bring something out of a model. The shoot is actually very simple and quick, it’s not so good when someone starts to pose too much. I like it very minimal and simple. As long as my subjects don’t start to smile on the photos, everything is cool. The rest is just up to me. So, if a drawing doesn’t work out, it’s not about my subjects. That is my problem. I can’t really explain this. It’s just like any other artistic work I would do. I could draw an apple instead of a head. It either turns out to be strong or it turns out to be weak. So my drawings are not dependent on the subjects. It’s just more entertaining for me to meet people than apples.
Is there anyone in particular you’ve been fascinated to work with?
I can never tell, if the portrait will turn out great or not. So I like to always have someone new in front of me. But sometimes I do a couple of drawings from one person, like Terence Koh or Casey Spooner. I’m working with Casey on a separate series. He always looks different and that is a great challenge for me, it’s quite hard to do a portrait of someone who has so many faces. So with Casey, I just decided to do more. So every half a year we meet and I do a new one. I also like his company, he is a very intelligent person.
Last month I met with Debbie Harry. That was really great! She is such a legend and I feel very honored that she wanted to do this with me. I will start on the drawing soon. This is of course a big challenge for me, because Andy Warhol has done a portrait of her.
What has the response from the subjects been like?
I guess good. You’d have to ask the subjects. Since I’m not super famous, I guess everybody I do portraits of, really believe in my work. I mean they kind of know of what they are getting into.
Robert Knoke will show at Teapot Gallery in Cologne on February 11th-March 13th, and is doing an Installation for Seven New York during NY Fashion Week. View more of his work on on his Facebook page.