Since the 1970s, James Hayman's photographic work has documented communities around the world. The latest exhibition by the Los Angeles-based filmmaker and visual artist, was in Gaeta, the coastal town south of Rome. Hayman is part of the artist collective OpenArtCode, which organises exhibitions for its members, such as at the Grand Palais in Paris, the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, in Florence and now in Gaeta.

Hayman sees himself as a visual storyteller interested in other people's stories. For him, being behind the camera means not just being the observer, but an exchange takes place between listener and storyteller. His artistic focus is to document this moment of exchange with diverse communities around the world, between the transience of the moment and the timeless nature of photography. 

A producer and director, multiple Emmy and Director's Guild Award nominee, he is known to film audiences for The Heavenly Joan (2003), All Betty! (2006) and Buffy the Vampire Killer (1992). He is married to US actress Annie Potts. Hayman first studied photojournalism at The American University. One of his first assignments was a photo shoot with President Nixon and Brezhnev at the 1973 Washington Summit in the White House Rose Garden. Disillusioned by the restrictions, Hayman began studying filmmaking at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Inspired by both studies, he travelled the world. Some of Hayman's first photographic work came after the 1976 earthquake in Guatemala, where he supported United Nations disaster relief. In the 1980s, he began making independent films in New York City and later, after winning an award for An Autumn's Tale at the Hong Kong Film Awards, he worked for several years in China and Japan. Here too he documented Asian communities.

In the 90s he moved to Los Angeles. His work as a film director and producer includes Dangerous Minds, episodes of The Sopranos, ER, Law & Order, Desperate Housewives and others. He also consistently pursued his second career. One of his images, taken of a homeless friend in Ovid-stricken New Orleans, was included in "The Connected World" exhibition at the Los Angeles Center for Photography in May 2020. 

With his wife Annie Potts, he founded All Are One, which distributes donated stimulus funds to those in need in the US. A second initiative is Pack Essentials, which delivers basic necessities to people without homes in New Orleans.

22. July 2023

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Interview Directory 

ART

Name: James Hayman

Education: The American University, Washington, D.C., University of California, Santa Barbara

Current exhibition: Pinacoteca Comunale di Gaeta with artist collective OpenArtCode

Residence: Los Angeles

"This municipal art gallery boasts an impressive exhibition space and is home to a collection which includes works by various well-known Italian artists."

Can you tell the readers about your recent exhibition in Gaeta? Can you also tell us more about OpenArtCode?

The recent exhibition in Gaeta, located halfway between Rome and Naples, was held at the Pinacoteca Antonio Sapone. This municipal art gallery boasts an impressive exhibition space and is home to a collection which includes works by various well-known Italian artists. Gaeta has a close relationship with contemporary art, and many renowned artists such as Cy Twombly have created works in the area. In addition to traditional art, OpenArtCode Gaeta included a digital art section in the exhibition, showcasing how artificial intelligence can create art from a linguistic description of the work. These digital images were then transformed into NFTs for sale on the OpenSea marketplace. I had several photographs in the group show. With physical prints on the walls of the gallery, I then used Dall-E 2 AI to re-create my original image. Through a series of linguistic descriptions I was able to render an image somewhat similar to my original yet different. It was a wonderful artistic exercise, creating new imagery from old.



Under the coordination and curation of Vito Abba, OpenArtCode is an international group of artists known for their high-quality artworks and their commitment to an open artistic code. The group provides a platform for artists to freely express themselves through a wide range of artistic techniques, including painting, sculpture, photography, drawing, digital art, and installations. The strength of OpenArtCode lies in its extensive network of international connections, which have enabled its members to exhibit together in prestigious locations such as the Grand Palais in Paris and the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum as well as Florence and Gaeta, Italy.

White Hat-Guatemala-1976 ©James Hayman

In a previous interview, we read that as a photojournalist you were disappointed by an appointment at the Nixon White House and therefore went to film school. Which camera lens do you feel more comfortable behind, as a director or as a photographer?

I don’t really feel more comfortable in one arena than the other. Both offer structure to the other. I started off in photography and used that medium to create narratives, frozen moments that allow the viewer a starting point in a story. As a director, I do the same thing. Motion pictures allow one to flesh out the narrative and complete it, but both mediums are all about storytelling and a dialogue between artist and viewer.

" What I saw—the destruction, the poverty, the racism towards indigenous Guatemalans—awakened a political drive in me."

Which would you describe as your first significant work as a photographer?

In 1976, I was 23 and working for the United Nations, performing earthquake relief after the 7.6 earthquake in Guatemala. I had been traveling through Mexico on my way to South America when the quake hit, and a couple of days later I found myself at work in Guatemala. What I saw—the destruction, the poverty, the racism towards indigenous Guatemalans—awakened a political drive in me. Being able to visually document those situations put me on a lifelong track to create photography that is socially relevant. 

"To me it is an iconic image of the fear and despair that we all were feeling during those uncertain times."

A turning point in your artistic work was also when you moved to New Orleans in 2014. Can you say something about the photo you exhibited for “The Connected World” exhibition (I saw it on the website)?

I took this photograph right after COVID hit the city. I had shut down the television show I was running at the time, NCIS: New Orleans, and felt it important to document what was happening in my adopted city. I knew Mary from the street corner she lived on under a bridge in downtown New Orleans. As we spoke about how things were going, I snapped the shot. To me it is an iconic image of the fear and despair that we all were feeling during those uncertain times.

"It’s a book that proves to me that, armed with a 35mm Leica camera and a 35mm lens, you could reveal the multitudes of the world."

What are your inspirations or what is your driver as a photographer?

These are really two distinct questions to me. My inspirations start with the Depression-era WPA (Works Progress Administration) photographers of the 1930s: Dorothea Lange, Paul Strand, Alfred Stieglitz, Walker Evans, Gordon Parks, to name a few. They were followed by the likes of Bruce Davidson and Danny Lyon in the 50s and 60s. But my major inspirational work is The Americans by Robert Frank. It’s a book that proves to me that, armed with a 35mm Leica camera and a 35mm lens, you could reveal the multitudes of the world. This is what continues to drive me today, revealing the multitudes.

Which work do you consider more significant, your cinematic work or the photographic work?

Again, these works are not in competition. I think they serve two different purposes for both me as the artist and for a viewer. The majority of my cinematographic work is to entertain, and I find that to be a very important job. People need moments of levity and crafted drama in their lives, moments that maybe take them out of their own existence and allow them to escape to a kinder, gentler, or principled place. My photographic work—with its social realism bent, while hopefully entertaining the viewer from an artistic point of view—has the opportunity to serve as an education to the viewer, showing them the state of the world, and then, through philanthropy, providing an avenue to help.

Since the magazine is based in Germany. Are you also planning an exhibition here? 

I would love to have an exhibit in Germany. Hopefully the opportunity you have given me with this article can help make that a reality soon. Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you.

Sleep Mask-Hangzhou-China-1988 ©James Hayman

San Fransisco El Alto-Guatemala-1976 ©James Hayman