Petzval Amigo: Mario Borgmeier and the Petzval 58 Art Lens

German Artist Mario Borgmeier is known as POM. It doesn't matter if he is working with film, photography, music or screen printing - he does everything that comes to his mind.

Since 2013 Mario lives in Berlin - a place that feels like home thanks to it's ambivalent vibes. He tested our Petzval 58 Art Lens lens in his latest video and we talked to him about his work in an exclusive interview.

Can you tell us more about you and your work as an artist?

When doing arts, it's always under the name POM. This is my very personal little "playground". It doesn't matter to me if it's about film, photography, music or screen printing. Everything that comes to my mind is allowed.

My involvement in a media workshop made me realize that architecture is not the right thing for me. That was about 10 years ago. Then it started with my first DSLR, next I got a video camera etc. The most fascinating thing for me is the fact that you get a much closer look on your environment. I used to walk through the city with headphones on and listening to music. Nowadays I just listen to music when I'm at home. Even watching movies has changed. You pay attention to the structure, the framing, and the realization and you ask yourself, why do I actually like this movie?

Outré is a teaser video about the bar "Das Kaleidoskop". Is there a story behind it? Why did you decide to shoot in this bar?

"Das Kaleidoskop" is a bar that exists since the beginning of 2016. The fact that the bar is located right in my street made me realize that there's something special behind it. It's something you call "Stammkneipe" in German. A place where you belong to after some time. You get to know the barkeeper and might forget to pay sometimes. It happens that you're still in that bar drinking your last beer, while it's actually already closed. This, and the ambiance of the bar led very quickly to the desire to create a small audiovisual output about it.

You used quite a lot of glitches. Is there a reason why?

To me, the topic "glitch" or "databending" was very exciting for a long time. I didn't find the right project or ideas to get involved with it. As it is with almost all of my creative processes, at a certain point there's an initial ignition, something that moves me to finally deal with something. To make it short: Glitches are very interesting and I am sure that I will expand my abilities of this technique in the future.

You used the Petzval 58 Art Lens. How was it like to work with it? Any tips?

The Petzval is not like the lenses I actually use. Even the fact, that I didn't use a full-format camera could not reduce the expression of the bokeh. The technique of the lens requires a little training but immediately creates a very special feeling. It's as if you work with a TLR camera for the first time.

The Internet is a place where you can find almost everything about someone. Is there a reason why you're not so present in the online world?

If you want to know something about me, you will find enough. I don't have to present myself the whole time. A lot happens through my own intuition. As soon as something feels arranged or forced it doesn't correspond to the loose nature that I want to approach my projects or my work with.

Cinematographer & Photographer at the same time - how does such a life feels like?

Sometimes very crazy and surreal, sometimes sobering or even disappointing. It's like the famous medal, which is known to always have two sides. I'm just glad I chose this route! Even though you have to be careful to not limit yourself and end up as your own copy.

Where do you get your inspiration from?

This is very very different. The most important thing is to characterize what you see - good and bad.
In my environment there are also enough artists from whom you can always learn something. But the Internet also plays an important role. I've rarely found and watched as many videos as I've seen in a couple of different networks and platforms at this time. Sometimes you trip over some really good stuff!

Are you working on other projects? Can you tell us more about it?

At the moment I am working on a small portrait about a Berlin painter. Since the whole project is still in the initial phase, I can not say much about it yet. In addition, there is still material from a festival in Berlin on my hard disks. The recordings want to be edited once and since this festival series no longer exists, it gives the entire project a retrospective character. Besides that, I have actually always 2-3 "loaded" photo cameras at home.

Follow Mario on Facebook and his Lomohome!

geschrieben von helmadee am 2017-04-05 in #Ausrüstung #News #Menschen #Videos #art-lens #petzval #lomography-art-lenses #petzval-58-art-lens