Don’t ask me why I was reading Psychology Today, but this interview with photographer Jill Greenberg is great stuff. The interviewer just wants a formulaic, unenlightening back and forth; when you ask a question like “Do you have a special connection to animals?”, the last thing you’re looking for is an honest response. But Greenberg responds as if she is unaware of the implicit script. It’s completely jarring.
Why are you drawn to surrealism?
I like things that question reality. I don’t take things seriously, and I like the humor in surrealist paintings, the intensity of the themes—life, death, and sex.
Do you have a special connection to animals?
I don’t think so. But as a kid I always created characters that were combinations of people and animals, and they always had crazy distinct gestures that defined them.
“End Times” caused a big stir after a blogger called your method—bringing on the tears by taking away your young models’ lollipops—tantamount to child abuse. Were you surprised?
Images of crying kids are so intense, and that’s why I love them. Sometimes kids cry to manipulate their parents, though, when they want to watch TV or stay up late. I really think the criticism was coming from men who didn’t really know how to deal with their emotions when they saw these pictures. It was so upsetting to me at first. But now I’m more famous as a result, and that is good for my work.
What’s the most unconventional thing about you?
My husband says that he fell in love with me when he saw my sketchbook. It was full of weird scenes of orgies, with animals and people, twisted stuff.