Candy, 2005
"THE HORROR FILM, LIKE THE FAIRY TALE, ALSO ENGAGES WITH WHAT BRUNO BETTELHEIM HAS CALLED 'THE EXISTENTIAL PREDICAMENT'"
Joshua 'The Hoff' Hoffine is an incredible photographer. In perfect keeping with our philia/phobia issue, the master 'horrographer' captures the dualism between innocence and depravity in his scenes inspired by childhood fears and lorish horror. His work investigates the "the science of fairytales", symbolising life's obstacles in the guise of flesh-eating witches and daemons.
SS: How has your work evolved since day one?
Joshua: I started making Horror photographs in 2003. My sets and make-up have grown more sophisticated, but there is, I believe, a consistent aesthetic to my work, as well as a consistent philosophy. Subject matter may occasionally change - they're not all about childhood fears - but I believe that all of my photographs exist in the same universe.
SS: Do you do anything else besides this?
Joshua: I tend to shoot anything and everything that people are willing to hire me for. Sometimes it's related to my Horror work, sometimes it's not. Most of my commercial assignments now come in the form of commissions, where I am not only expected to be the photographer, but to write the concept, and act as my own stylist and art director as well, just as I do with my personal work. These are my ideal gigs.
SS: You said you're interested in the science of fairy tales, what is the science of fairy tales, Joshua?
Joshua: When I say that I am interested in the science of fairy tales, I am referring to the function and structure of fairy tales, especially as they relate to the modern Horror film.
Many classic fairy tales, such as 'Little Red Riding Hood', 'Hansel and Gretel', and 'Bluebeard', function as cautionary tales about the potential dangers of the world. Likewise, so do many Horror films. The dangers of the world are represented symbolically or metaphorically - as monsters, ogres, trolls, child-devouring witches, and so on. The same also can be said for Horror films.
Many famous Horror films are, in fact, closely related to classic fairy tales. 'Psycho' draws heavily upon 'Little Red Riding Hood'. Norman Bates, like the Wolf, dresses up as 'grandmother' before slaying his victim. Both stories are predicated upon the idea of 'the wolf in sheep's clothing'. Both the Wolf and Norman Bates adopt a mask of normalcy in order to hide their monstrosity and violent intent.
'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' is a modern-dress version of 'Hansel and Gretel'. Only the kids in 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' are lured into the witch's house not by candy, but by their search for gasoline - an understandable motivation during the gas shortages of the 1970s.
SS: Interesting! Please tell us more!
Joshua: The Horror film, like the fairy tale, also engages with what Bruno Bettelheim has called 'the existential predicament', where 'a struggle against severe difficulties in life is unavoidable, an intrinsic part of human existence.' While Bettelheim argues that the fairy tale has an inevitably optimistic outcome - the 'happily ever after' ending - the Horror film remains ambivalent in this respect. What it continues to share with the fairy tale, however, is a focus on the process of overcoming the dangers and obstacles in life. Fairy tales and Horror films need to continually construct problems for their protagonists to deal with.
What the fairy tale teaches the child is that life will have difficulties, but they will be overcome. What the Horror film teaches us is that life will have difficulties, and they will be overcome, but that the process will then start over. In the modern Horror film, the monster always comes back, even after it has been defeated. Each stage of life presents it's own set of dangers, obstacles, and difficulties. We never reach a plateau in life where everything is simply 'happily ever after'. The process never ends. It continues until death.
SS: How would you best imagine a classic fairy tale gone wrong?
Joshua: A classic fairy tale gone wrong is as simple as nobody "living happily ever after." I doubt many parents would read to their children a version of 'Little Red Riding Hood' where both the grandmother and Little Red Riding Hood were devoured and never saved, or a version of Snow White where the prince never arrives to kiss her back to life.
SS: Who do you think should be most attracted to your work?
Joshua: The work is designed to be universal. Hopefully everyone can relate to it, but not everyone enjoys it. Horror fans are probably my biggest demographic, but I receive most of my fan letters from other artists, photographers, and writers.
"I DOUBT MANY PARENTS WOULD READ TO THEIR CHILDREN A VERSION OF SNOW WHITE WHERE THE PRINCE NEVER ARRIVES TO KISS HER BACK TO LIFE"
SS: What would you say is the most obvious philia/phobia in your work from your own perspective?
Joshua: The contrast and juxtaposition of innocence versus depravity.
SS: How long does one piece take to make from the beginning to the end, on average?
Joshua: Since I'm doing most of the work by myself, it takes weeks, sometimes months to complete an image.
SS: What's your most favourite cartoon?
Joshua: My favorite cartoon is a toss-up between Walt Disney's version of 'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow' and the final Bald Mountain segment of 'Fantasia'.
SS: Do you have Peter Pan Syndrome?
Joshua: In some regards, yes, I have a Peter Pan Syndrome. I actively play with my kids when we go to the park or the swimming pool. I don't just sit on a bench and read a book, but actually get in there and play with them. I still have a love for vintage cartoons, especially Tex Avery. I even still have a skateboard.
In other regards, though, I definitely do not suffer from Peter Pan Syndrome. I openly welcome responsibility. By the time I was 22 years old, I was a college graduate, married, had a daughter, owned my own house, and ran my own business. I threw myself into adulthood way before any of my friends. But I like to play and have fun and enjoy life, and I see no reason why the things I enjoyed when I was 12, such as Horror films, can't still be fun today.
SS: Do you ever get called the Hoff?
Joshua: Yes. By one person. Steve Gibson at Digital Labrador, a photography lab here in Kansas City, always calls me 'The Hoff' when I show up!
Check out Joshua's horror photography in our Art Gallery now.
Photography: © Joshua Hoffine