American art photographer Carlos Batts' style lies somewhere in the chasm between fetish and gothic photography, and yet it is unlike either of these two genres. It is something entirely original to Carlos Batts and something that Arthur Rimbaud might accomplish were he raised from the dead, trained in the art of color photography, and forced to wear a walkman blaring Trent Reznor's "Head Like a Hole" over and over again.

As noted by famed German publisher, Matthias Reuss, in talking specifically about Batt's book, Crazy Sexy Hollywood, "Batts transports us to a Hollywood fraught with erotic contrasts, exciting bikini-clad girls, nude devils, gorgeous transvestites, and shameless exhibitionists. Many of his creative ideas are downright attacks against the conformist, bourgeois tastes of the conservative masses."

Carlos recently published American Gothic, which is available in both book and DVD form.

Michelle7 (M7):Congratulations on the publication of you new book, American Gothic. This is a noted switch in format for you, or perhaps I should say, a major development for you. What's it about and where does it fit into your overall artistic portfolio?

Carlos: American Gothic is a collection of my drawings, paintings and hand made photo-manipulations. I got the title from the classic American painting of the same name. Throughout the history of photography, photographers have always interpreted paintings. I felt in order to make my work accessible to people I wanted to interpret something that everyone one in America seen. Everyone in America knows the painting. And that's the twist, for me. The painting was a sensation in 1930. T was meant to be a satire, it represent the bliss of manifest destiny. So this is my artistic manifest destiny. The book blends an amalgam of topics; sex, death and race that consistently antagonize Americans.

I also wrote a story about the painting and made it into a 25-minute short film, also called American Gothic ... the old man in the painting killed his wife the day before they were to pose for the family portrait. Most people think the women in the painting is his wife but it's his daughter, and real people posed for the pictures, so it's has an organic feel to it. I felt America has always had a seedy past. So I decided to revisit the heartland. I think in the totality of my work this best defines me personally, because I did just about everything in the pictures; styling, make up, set design, and so on.


M7: You seem to be one of the few artists out there using the nude as the basis for your art. Rather than just shooting nudes you seem to use the human body, and its sexual nature, as part of some other overiding vision. Am I on the right track here?? And can you explain what your work is all about??

Carlos: I generally don't find nudes interesting. And I've always considered the body a blank canvas. I like fabrics, aesthetics and accessories. So I try to tell stories using emotions, texture and design. Most of the stories are exquisite and macabre the nude is just the beginning.


M7: How does this new work relate to your previous publications, Wild Skin and Crazy Sexy Hollywood?

Carlos: In American Gothic, I make everything with by hand; the drawings, paintings, collages, make-up, styling, set design. Its more about my ability to tell beautiful and dark stories. I think Wild Skin is like a documentary and Crazy Sexy Hollywood is a narrative and more of collaboration between photographer, assignment, and subject.

M7: I've noticed that the macabre plays a crucial role in your work. Can you elaborate on your attraction to that genre?

Carlos: I just like what I like. I like comedy, theatre and sports as well it's not all gray clouds and doom all the time. I'm considering a book of flowers.


M7: You've been into art since you were very young and photography since you were sixteen, right?? What was your world like as a child and adolescent??

Carlos: As a teen I collected comic books, played video games and watched a lot of horror movies and 80's porn. I had freedom to do what I wanted. My parents taught etiquette and class but my imagination was unrestricted.


M7: You relocated to Hollywood, California in 1999. What prompted that move and has what effect has it had on you art??

Carlos: I moved to LA because I had friends that lived here and at the time I shot for a lot of porn and shiny magazines The first thing that changed was how I light my photographs. It's always sunny and 70 degrees generally, so, there's always light. There are no seasons. So you can shoot outside year around. I learned to appreciate available light and sunsets. Whereas in Baltimore my work was created by all sorts of artificial light.


M7: What's your day-to-day life like Carlos?? Is it all work, all play, is it the life of an Artist?

Carlos: No day is ever the same. Right now it's really busy because we're getting ready for a gallery tour of the book. The show consists of 12, 35x45 prints mounted on gator board edition of 5 (clairobscurgallery.com). And we're working on Lillian's book (she's the cover model on Wild Skin and and is featured throughout Crazy Sexy Hollywood) which we' ve been working on for 5 years now. We're also preparing a website, so we're shooting everyday, all the time, just obsessively trying to make great pictures. We'll be shooting some for Lillian's book in Europe while we travel there for the exhibits. I can't complain.