Rob Lundberg Presents “Uncontaminated Sound – The Interviews” EP #53 w/ Photographer Beowulf Sheehan

Guided by artistic desire and a true lover of artistry in all of its forms, Robert Lundberg has become a highly regarded photographer and filmmaker lauded for his innovative and versatile documentaries covering the worlds of music, comedy, art, and film. After spending his early years in Massachusetts, Lundberg moved to New York City where he more actively pursued a full-time career in art and film. Uniquely focused on seeking out the next big artistic challenge, Lundberg chose to pursue one of his most ambitious projects at the beginning of 2020 when he launched his new documentary series entitled Uncontaminated Sound – The Interviews.

Debuting two years ago, the series follows comedians, musicians, fine artists, and actors with Lundberg’s primary goal to gain a particular insight into their creative processes which can only be thoroughly deciphered by truly going behind the scenes. With Uncontaminated Sound, Lundberg’s purpose is to offer an intimate look into all of the rarely seen or known “little things” that take place during interviews and other similar social and private interactions with artists and performers. Mainstream features are often heavily and unevenly edited, offering viewers only individual, preferred moments. In contrast, Lundberg is dedicated to delivering to you all of the real, raw, authentic moments that you would never otherwise have the opportunity to experience.

Lundberg is back to business this week with another new episode of Uncontaminated Sound. This week he speaks with Beowulf Sheehan, a highly regarded photographer of the arts and humanities. Born in Kansas City and raised primarily in South Florida, Sheehan came to realize his love of photography in his high school years when he started photographing Miami Dolphins games. He moved on to become a fashion photographer for several years after studying at New York University and the International Center of Photography. The turning point in his career came when he photographed the first PEN World Voices of International Literature, where he met many acclaimed writers, including Salman Rushdie. This is when Sheehan dove right into an expansive career as a photographer of arts and culture for many publishers, and academic and cultural institutions.

Sheehan’s works have been exhibited at the Dostoevsky Museum, International Center of Photography, Museum of the City of New York, and New York Historical Society, just to name a few. In 2018, he published Author: The Portraits of Beowulf Sheehan, a collection of portraits of 200 writers, with Rushdie providing the foreword. He also has had a short film made about him by Claire Ince and Ancil McKain. Titled The Author Photo: Portrait Photographer Beowulf Sheehan on a Life Capturing Writers, the film was a selection of the 2020 Venice Institute of Contemporary Art Fine Arts Film Festival.

Beowulf Sheehan

Commenting on his conversation with Sheehan, Lundberg says:

“When I spoke with renowned photographer Beowulf Sheehan back in December, 2021, the socio-political contexts that have developed over these past few days lingered only in debate and discussion. Now of course things are different. The world is different.

“By coincidence only, the timing of this released conversation holds more weight, more potency, and a deeper metaphorical meaning than I could ever have imagined when I hit record that December afternoon.

“Known not only for his beautiful portraits of the upper echelon of literary culture, but also political figures such as current U.S. president Joe Biden, Beowulf has compiled his impressive portfolio into his 2018 book Author. For which I highly recommend to image lovers of all sorts.

“In conversation 053, we go deep into the construction and importance of visual storytelling, how Beowulf kicked off his impressive journey, and wrap with a personal anecdote of capturing Ukrainian filmmaker, writer, and activist Oleg Sentsov after his release from forced Russian imprisonment in 2019.

“Please enjoy this dialogue, as it is my privilege to continue to engage in free and open discourse about ideas, culture, and contemporary times.

“An editorial note: a small segment of this conversation has been edited out due to sensitive information.”

Lundberg has more interviews to come with acclaimed artists who have agreed to be a part of Uncontaminated Sound – The Interviews in the coming weeks and months. Lundberg has already been bringing you his ongoing series Uncontaminated Sound which takes a look behind the scenes to get a look at performers before they take the stage. The series has featured Macklemore’s Gemini Tour featuring Eric Nally (formerly of Foxy Shazam) and Xperience, the late Louie Anderson, Sinbad, Ron English, We Are Scientists, Rufus Wainwright and more. Lundberg’s photography has been highlighted in publications such as Huffington Post, Paste Magazine and more.