Michael Jang
- Text by Shelley Jones
- Photography by Michael Jang
To celebrate Huck 46: The Documentary Photography Special II, our annual celebration of visual storytelling, we are having a Huck website takeover – Shoot Your World – dedicated to the personal stories behind the photographs we love.
In this regular series, Answers On A Postcard, we ask photographers to get existential and respond to a visual q&a with their images.
First up is Michael Jang, photographer of the wild, out of step, and famous. Jang has a diverse body of work that features a wide range of American life from his debauched 1970s Cal Arts classmates, Golden Age stars at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, and intimate family portraits to punks at Ramones shows, suburban teens in their garages, and weather presenter auditionees in the 1980s. Jang goes for the moments when his subjects let their guards down and captures the humour, passion and vulnerability beneath the surface.
His first London exhibition – Well, it’s all over now – is a one-night extravaganza hosted by The Photocopy Club at Doomed Gallery, Dalston, September 18.
Answers On A Postcard #1
Who are you?
A very lucky person.
What does home feel like?
Too comfortable. I always have a guilty feeling that being On the Road is where I should be.
What does faith look like?
I had to Google this: The beginning of anxiety is the end of faith and the beginning of true faith is the end of anxiety.
What’s your greatest fear?
It would be a bummer to wake up one day to headlines that someone with your name had committed some horrendous crime.
What keeps you up at night?
Oh, when it comes to sleep, I am not a procrastinator.
What helps you sleep?
Louis C.K. said: We shouldn’t sleep that much. Life isn’t that long. Buy some shit, use it, it breaks. Try to (bleep) somebody. Hope your shits don’t hurt too bad.
What’s the meaning of life?
Of all the things that I’ve heard or read so far, striving to be in the moment makes the most sense. I just hope that when all is said and done I wasn’t wrong.
Any vices?
Not really, maybe having a shot of great champagne to end the day.
See more from the Answers On A Postcard series.
You might like
The art of paying attention: How Austria’s Alps reward slowing down
Lebensgefühl — With a growing movement of art and music rooted in the area’s mountains, trees and waterfalls, the region is showcasing the importance of the human relationship to nature.
Written by: Sophie Lou Wilson
Grainy, yearning memories of Europe’s ’90s free rave heyday
Never Alone — A new photobook from Cheyenne Clementi and Valentina Morandi presents pictures they made over seven years while touring the continent as part of the Tekno Mobil Squad soundsystem crew. It archives parties, people and a lifestyle largely consigned to the past.
Written by: Isaac Muk
Queer resistance & sun-soaked solidarity at the world’s largest trans pride march
Our Future, Our Fight — Over the weekend, over 150,000 people marched at the London Trans+ Pride, with the parade ending at Trafalgar Square for the first time in history.
Written by: Ella Glossop
In photos: Black Texas life since emancipation
Kinship & Community — A new photobook and exhibition showcases the rich culture, history and community of African American folks in the Lone Star State, whose existence in the region predates colonial Britain.
Written by: Miss Rosen
Youthful joy & end-of-era poignancy at a London school prom
Leavers — For several years, Lewis Khan documented young people as they celebrated the last of their school days and the completion of their exams. The series is now collated in a new self-published photobook and short film.
Written by: Zoe Whitfield
Harry Gruyaert’s vintage, kaleidoscopic scenes of New York
A Sense of Place — For 50 years, the Belgian photographer and Magnum Photos member has been capturing NYC’s colourful chaos. A new photobook and exhibition showcase his unique, technicolour view of the city.
Written by: Miss Rosen
