Interview: Blütezeit photographer Nils Müller

Blüte-wat? Ik pak mijn woordenboek erbij en zoek naar de vertaling van de titel. Blossom time, time of prosperity, golden age. Al deze termen slaan op het meest vruchtbare moment, het moment-suprême. Blütezeit is het visuele dagboek van Nils Müller (fotograaf van beroep) en een verzameling van zijn eigen moment-suprêmes. De afgelopen jaren heeft zijn liefde voor graffiti hem naar alle uithoeken van de wereld gebracht; van Bangkok tot Berlijn, van Parijs naar Wenen.

Fontanel vroeg Nils naar de totstandkoming van het boek, zijn motivatie en zijn belevingen.

Blütezeit gaat niet om het eindresultaat, het gaat om het moment zelf, de adrenaline, het gevoel. Al met al is het een mooie blik in de wereld van de trainwriters en een must-have voor de boekenplank!

Hi Nils! First off, can you tell something about yourself?
My name is Nils, i’m a nice guy who is trying to have a nice life with a lot of fun and a lot of activities.

Did you start photography from a young age?
I have always made pictures, but never professional. It was just a way to capture something. Now I am actually working as a photographer. It’s just a result of “don’t know what to do”! And now I’m really happy about the decision I made.

Can you tell us about the commencement of the Blütezeit book?
Puhh! I always wanted to see my photos at home in a legal way. After that I planned to publish something. I tried to figure out what the most important thing in graffiti is for me (specially trainwriting), and of course it’s the atmosphere! The next step was to buy a camera for capturing those incredible moments. After that: Just do it!

Usual graffiti books have writernames with censured faces next to it, whilst Blütezeit seems to have the opposite: no secrets, no names. Was this a conscious decision?
Sure! The most important thing is to break those secrets! To show the faces! Thats the only way to see the emotional chaos, the danger and the fear. You dont need names to show those feelings.

For a lot of people, the illegal activity of piecing a train seems strange. Especially when you only make photographs and still run the risk of getting caught for graffiti. What makes it worth while?
Everything! I mean: When you wanna go to work 24/7 and try to die slowly, then do it! That’s not my idea of a worthful life though! Try to find what you love and follow it. If I got caught I have to pay! Thats the way it is. The money is the snake, so I dont care.

_{Bangkok metro with UV}

Every photo seems to tell a story about some crazy, adrenaline filled night. Could you point out a single picture from the book and tell the story it caries?
Photo of Bangkok metro with the UV! Moskitos the whole night!

Blutezeit seems like a personal picturebook of all your adventures. Can you tell us how graffiti and photography have shaped the person you are for the rest of your life?
It’s a big part of my life! I love this game! And I love those extremes of the Graffthing. I just hope I can relax more when I’ll get older!

ONE LOVE

• Boek
  Blütezeit – Prime time of my Life
• Uitgeverij
  Colortrip
• Auteur
  Nils Müller
• ISBN
  978-3-00-026891-5
• Format
  29,7 × 19,8 cm
• Pages
  168