INTERVIEW

The Boundaries Issue: Karim Konrad
Homo-Photog Captures Berlin's Sexiest

For today's installment of The Boundaries Issue, let's hop on over to Berlin, where photographer Karim Konrad has been hard at work snapping sexy shots of the German cities sexy men. After years of hardwork, he's finally published the end result: Berlin Gay Mates.
Some artists depict Berlin as a dank, gray playground for post-war depression. Konrad's pieces, however, rely as much on color-saturation as on an unspoken vibrancy: a refreshing, much needed burst of optimism for an increasingly daunting world. And the sexy, scantily clad (if at all) boys don't hurt, of course.
Though busy with the tiresome job of promoting the collection, Konrad sat down with Queerty to share his thoughts on coming-out, how Berlin's got a bad rap and why Roger Federer's one lucky man.
Queerty: Tell us about your childhood.
Karim Konrad: My childhood was a good one. I grew up in Heidelberg, Germany, with my brother and sister - I am the sandwich kid. We rarely watched TV, spent most of our time outside, played a lot of tennis, built tree houses, fed my guinea pig "Cesar" who grew to be nine years old, played "Knight Rider" or "He-Man" or listened to "Bibi Blocksberg" cassettes.
QT: How did your family react to your coming out?
KK: The reaction was good. My family loves me unconditionally, so this was never a problem. It’s horrible that some families still freak about their own kid's sexuality. It’s so absurd. Besides the offspring's sex life is none of their business. It's taken for granted that you respect your parents' privacy. It should be vice versa.
QT: How did you get into photography?
KK: [When] my parents bought their first camera. I was about eight years old then. It was a love relationship from the very first moment. I still have pictures where I shot of my then five-year old sister posing like a diva in her bedroom - this sounds like a gay classic!
QT: How much of your photography's composed? Obviously you set up the models and the scenario, but do you just snap, snap, snap, or do you take a few minutes for each shot?
KK: I am not a very patient man, so too much composing when the model is on the set can bore me. I love creating scenarios in the run up of the shooting. But when it comes to the shooting there is nothing better than a flashbulb storm.
QT: You say your new book comes from your love of Berlin. What's so great about Berlin?
KK: I will tell it in snap shots, otherwise it would crash the interview: Chaos, good food, damn beautiful men, fast love, heartbreaks, culture, liberty, good bars, big soundly clubs, cheap flats in cool areas, artists, crazy people, free space, expansion, open minded mentality, international and multicultural communities. It’s the city of losers and winners. Melancholy and euphoria live here close together.
QT: Many people picture Berlin as being dreary and industrial, but your pictures are so colorful! Why so much color? Where else do you find "color" in the world?
KK: Berlin is intense, that's true. But the industrial, dreary image of Berlin is so passé and eighties. This has always been an outsider’s perspective, which led to these repetitive clichés. Winter sucks here but as soon as the sun comes out, Berlin is vibrating with life. During summers certain districts and neighborhoods, like Kreuzberg for example, my favorite part of Berlin, even have a Mediterranean flair. Berlin is so diverse and rich in culture, but still has its unique identity as a city. I think you can find color everywhere, even in the darkest parts of the world! Everything about human nature is colorful. It's an attitude and my way of aestheticizing the world.
QT: If you weren't a photographer, what else would you be doing?
KK: I would be a professional tennis player. Since I was a child, I wanted to be a tennis star. I played more than 3 hours each day my entire teenager life. Hitting the ball was my joy and life. I adored Andre Agassi! But my parents wanted me to study and to go for a more educated career. So I never got the chance to be a gay Venus Williams on the ATP Tour. I would have my own fashion label and would kick Roger Federer from his throne.
QT: Do you know your models? If not, how do you select them?
KK: Instinctively. When I do not know them before, I get to know [them].
QT: What do you want your viewer to take away from your images?
KK: I want to tell stories with my pictures. With producing Berlin Gay Mates, I wanted to make people feel good when flipping through my book. I want the viewers to feel the energy and the spirit of my personal Berlin.
Karim Konrad Goliath Books
Tagged: Art, Germany, Photography, The Boundaries Issue