Plato in an exclusive interview

Rafael Jablonka hosted a discussion with Platon and Viennese gallery owner Peter Coeln - and the members and supporters of Kunst in Seefeld came in droves. In a relaxed atmosphere, the New York-based photo artist with Greek roots talked about how he found his visual language and achieved technical mastery. Above all, however, it was about his encounters with the famous and powerful of the world. 

As a photographer for TIME and The New Yorker, he has taken portraits of personalities from Barack Obama to Muammar al-Gaddafi, from Vladimir Putin to Silvio Berlusconi. He says of his role as a photographic artist: "My job is not to do advertising. My job is to create an authentic moment and hold up a mirror to society." This is one of the reasons why his photographs - such as the World Press Photo award-winning portrait of Putin for TIME - have been used not only by the people portrayed, but also by dissidents such as Pussy Riot or the LGBTQ+ scene.

In addition to these iconic images of power, Platon also repeatedly photographs "ordinary" people from the island of Paros, where he spent part of his childhood. With the clear black and white photographs that can be seen in the current exhibition at KiS, he also created a monument to a vanished world: the last grocer who brought his goods to the village on a donkey, the curious postwoman or an old olive tree are among these scenes with their white houses and faces full of character.

Numerous members and supporters of KiS - Kunst in Seefeld listened intently to Platon's explanations. During the one-and-a-half-hour panel discussion and the subsequent closing event, they learned a lot about the pictures shown in the exhibition and the photographer's artistic intentions.