Maurice Bruneau - Philosophy of a Photograph

Maurice Bruneau was born and raised in the north end of Winnipeg. He is glad to say he no longer resides there. He has always had a creative outlet of some kind, beginning with music, then writing, and, since 2005, photography. He began by shooting street photography in Winnipeg's central core, documenting the lives of the homeless, addicts, sex-trade workers and the harshness of their surroundings. He has since photographed everything from pow-wows to concerts, protests to gay pride parades. Although he still photographs these events, he now focuses almost exclusively on freelance photojournalism. His work has appeared in the Winnipeg Free Press, the Winnipeg Sun, The Globe and Mail and various grassroots publications across Canada. Perhaps his most famous photo is of Brian Sinclair, a homeless, legless wheelchair-bound man who made international headlines in 2008 after dying in the emergency room of a Winnipeg hospital after waiting 36 hours for care. In March 2009, he was part of an exhibition in Ottawa produced by Indian and Northern Affairs Canada documenting Urban Aboriginal Life in Canada. In October 2009, he fulfilled a small personal goal by having a photo published on the front page of the Winnipeg Free Press. The photo, taken during an intense industrial blaze in Winnipeg, features a firefighter silhouetted against a ball of flame. The photo has since been nominated by the International Association of Firefighters for their 2009 Media Awards as a Photo of The Year. An extremely private man, he lives in Winnipeg with his wife Heather, one of the city's most prolific graffiti photographers. To drown out the screams, he reads to the point of obsession, watches HBO shows on DVD, and basically spends as much time as possible away from people. He dreams about the Rocky Mountains every day.

1). What's wrong with kids these days?

Incompetent parents who feel entitled to have children knowing the welfare state will take care of them. Then they try to be the kid's friend and not a parent. That and TV. TV is a disease.

2). You are allowed one day to travel back in time to the era of your youth. How is a typical summer day spent, and what do you have for lunch?

I wake up more than likely hungover, hang out with some friends and bust each other's balls, go to 7-11, listen to hair metal, play ball hockey. Probably have pizza pops for lunch. Scrounge around the rest of the day for money to buy more beer. Drink, try to find chicks, argue about hockey and who the best drummer in the world is. Walk home around 2am with a group of friends, pissed drunk and staggering. Vomit somewhere. If it's a Friday night, repeat same on Saturday.

3). If you could have dinner with any artist (in any form) living, or dead. Who would it be, and what would the conversation over drinks consist of?

Probably David Foster Wallace. Judging from what I've read about him, and from what I've read in his work, we'd probably have many things in common -- depression, addiction, what I assume to be a sense of futility regarding life. I may be wrong, he could have been gregarious and shallow. I doubt it though. Honestly I think most artists would be boring to talk with. They'd either be monstrously narcissistic or so pretentious you'd basically become nothing more than a piece of exercise equipment on which they could sweat out their conceits.

4). What is your greatest single worry at this very moment?

Health. No particular reason outside of a general low-level hypochondria that I've always lived with; but, since everything else seems to be going well -- money, work, creative concerns -- health seems like a vulnerable part in my wall. That and four more years of Obama. That scares the shit out of me.


5). What are the five most important songs of your life soundtrack and why?

I don't pay much attention to lyrics so music is more about feeling to me. If I had a life soundtrack it would consist of songs that have struck some primal part of me, something red in tooth and claw. "Amo Bishop Roden" by Boards of Canada does that. Then again I believe that BOC taps into some kind of collective unconscious with their music. They remind me of the eponymous videotape in Infinite Jest, made up of something that jets straight to the meaty part of your psyche. "Breathe' by Pink Floyd, because I have very vague memories of my dad listening to that album when I was a baby. When I got older he told me he'd lie in bed at night with me and our dogs and listen to that album over and over in the dark. "Hemispheres" by Rush. Total high-school nerd music that helped me get through many days where I was like a clenched fist walking the halls. I'd put that on my walkman and all I would think of is playing drums. I don't think I ever felt that much passion for creativity again. Not even with photography. "Heaven" by the Rolling Stones because A) it's the greatest Stones song no one has ever heard B) it reminds me of my Dad, and C) it reminds me of my friend Rich and being young and clueless and sitting on his roof talking about how we were going to be rock stars, smoking weed, drinking wine coolers and just totally in the fucking moment. "Mean Streets" by Van Halen. Because Eddie is God.

6). In a world so terribly saturated with musicians and media, is there a future for iconic superstars since the passing of Jacko?

Perhaps if the person in question is a novelty like Jacko, an absurd almost satirical version of a celebrity. Everyone loves a trainwreck so yeah I can see future Jackos, Courtney Loves, Lindsay Lohans, Brittneys attaining icon-status. But for the most part the future belongs to whomever's Twitter/MySpace/Facebook/Flickr is the most shrill, self-whoring and, if possible, shows the most ass. Look at Tila Tequila. Has the human race ever produced something as useless? And she's the future of celebrity.

7). Why hasn't God stopped evil yet? It's getting pretty old...

I'm an atheist so "God" means about as much as a dog bark to me. I can't really answer this question because for me it's not so much about anyone stopping evil as it is trying to find goodness. I see so much filth and depravity in the world that decency now seems like some strange interruption in routine. In light of this, atheism seems like a better choice than believing in a deity who would have to come to terms with the absolute failure of his grandest scheme. I don't believe human beings are capable of feeling the appropriate amount of pity for regret and sorrow that profound.


Brian Sinclair

8). Name 5 books every human being should read and tell us why.

1) Crime and Punishment: To remind us that shame once existed in humans and that if used properly can inspire us to do good things
2) The Black Book of Communism; To help eradicate the sad romantic allure of one of civilization's greatest cancers. Also to bitch-slap your profs when they start spouting Marxist talking points they figure most people take as prima facie true, or don't know enough about to offer a counterpoint.
3) Infinite Jest: Because pure genius is seldom so simultaneously exhibitionistic and humble.
4) Ovid's Metamorphoses: Without a thorough grounding in Greek mythology you cannot understand Western civilization. Besides, Greek myths rock.
5) Shakespeare's collected works: If you have to ask you'll never know.

9). What song do you love though it totally contradicts your personality?

There She Goes by Sixpence None the Richer. A song that sounds like a tampon commercial. The most banal of adult-contemporary dentist-office rubbish that I can imagine yuppies listening to while sipping wine and reading the New Yorker. Yet everytime I hear it, I stop in my fucking tracks and sing along

10). Tell us about a loved one no longer with us and how their death has changed your life.

My aunt died recently and she was the first person I watched die over an extended period of time, vanishing piece by piece. It was sad and horrifying and yet for some strange reason it made me fear death less. For years I struggled with mortality and it would paralyze me at times. After witnessing what my aunt went through I realized death is relief, not just from illness but from all the mundane bullshit of existence. Trying to find a grand meaning of some kind; sorting through the minute raw data of life trying to figure out what matters; wracking your brain trying to figure out if there really is any difference between a regret and a blessing. Life is fucking exhausting. I don't plan on dying anytime soon but I can imagine by the time I hit 60-65, or if I become gravely ill, I'll be like, " Yeah, ok, so enough of this shit. I'm gonna bounce..."