Who or what in history would you like to know more about?
I would like to know more about the French photographer Charles Marville, who photographed the streets of Paris in the mid 1850s. He disappeared from Paris one day and was never heard from again. Sadly, most information about him can only come from looking at his photos.
Which author/artist/musician inspire you but that few people know about?
The photographer Yvon has inspired me so much that I decided to publish a book about him so others would know him too. I love the way he saw Paris early and late in the day and recorded major sites as if they belonged to a time that no longer existed – like remembering what was.
What image have you seen recently that has affected you?
I recently saw a photograph by Eugene Atget of Avenue Segur in Paris, made in the summer of 1925 – I love the way the light falls off the trees on the street. I did not know it before.
What language don’t you speak and wish you did, and why?
After many years of going to France, I still don’t speak the language well and I tell myself I will stay in Paris a few months and immerse myself in the language.
Coffee or tea?
I love coffee and can drink many cups, especially in the morning. It is an essential ritual though I now realize I also love ice tea and make my own, which I drink for lunch and dinner.
Describe your sense of humor?
My sense of humor is very dry, and often people who don’t know me, miss it.
Best piece of advice you were ever given, and who gave it to you?
I guess the best advice that I remember at this moment, was from a former employer in the Midwest. He told me I should go to New York City and work where he had worked in the publishing business. So without a real plan, I left graduate school in Rochester, N.Y, put all my things in storage and took the train to New York City and have been here ever since.
What question have you wanted to ask but never dared?
When I am riding the subway I am intrigued by how people look and what they wear. I often want to go around the car asking people what they do and why they are dressed that way. But I would never dare. People on the subway still don’t like to be bothered!
Paris or Proust?
Paris and Proust because in the photographs of Yvon, Atget and others, there is always a sense of what was. I have memories of walking through Parisian streets in another life even though my ancestors are from England and Sweden. I think there is a secret in my past about living in Paris.
Robert Stevens was a photo editor at TIME magazine for twenty years. Currently, he is a Professor of Photography at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. His book of edited photos, Yvon's Paris, was published in May 2010, W.W. Norton.
Vanity Fair: http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2010/05/paris-in-postcards.html
HeadButler.com: http://www.headbutler.com/books/art-and-photography/yvons-paris
