STARS OVER
SUNSET
Interview with Frank Rocholl / Creative director and co-founder of Mirage about Porsche Hedonism, California Dreaming and his formative 911 experiences.
What was the starting point for “Under The Sun”?
A typical coffee shop situation in Silver Lake/Los Angeles about two years ago. In front of the café was a rusty red 70s Targa, completely faded by the sun. The seats were held together with duct tape, and there was a sticker with a peace sign on the back. Suddenly, a Margot Robbie-type figure, wearing large sunglasses, appeared from the neighboring house, jumped into the car, and drove off. It was one of those moments where you think, “Wow, who is this interesting beauty? Is this her car?” It just perfectly embodied that sexy “California Dreaming” spirit.
This reminds of your famous quote about the three rules to live by…
YES: “Find a vintage car. Find a muse. Find a a place in the sun. Not necessary in this order.“ That one became famous and can be seen as the subtextual mantra for Under the Sun.
Ahead of that, it really helped that we had already defined the look of Mirage Cars & Girls photography in previous issues, with icons like the Citroën SM or Lotus Elite. I also know the car world quite well from my work as a Creative director for Audi, Mercedes, BMW and Porsche, as well as my time as an Art director for Ramp, the car culture magazine.
In preparation for the book I gathered around 2000 car images and screenshots of different photographers. I selected about 400 that combined different aspects of vintage Porsches, Mirage, and the big wide open. Editing the Kate Bellm “La Isla” book made me realize that image sequences create their own narrative. After four rounds of editing Under the Sun, it finally worked—it felt homogeneous, like something I would love to stumble upon in a hotel lobby and get lost in.
Imagebooks designed for: Hyundai, TB Retail Group, Ramp Car Culture Magazine. Photography by Sjoerd Ten Kate, Jason Lee Parry.Why Porsche?
It still fascinates me to study the shape of the 911. Even after all these years, I never get bored of looking at that silhouette. Also, many photographers drive vintage 911s themselves, so naturally there’s a lot of „cooler“ material available compaired to other cars.
“TO ME, VINTAGE 911S HAVE ALWAYS BEEN CONNECTED TO THIS SPECIAL CALIFORNIA SENSE OF FREEDOM — IT’S AN EMOTIONAL STORY, NOT A RATIONAL ONE.”
How is Under The Sun different to other 911 books?
In many 911 books, you predominately see highly polished showroom cars, and endless technical and performance texts or interviews with wealthy collectors or ex-racers. It’s all been done many times before. Only in recent years, through events like Luftgekühlt, Petro Surfer, or the wilder tuning scenes, there’s been some movement in the scene, offering a counterpoint to the matching numbers fetishists and garage queen enthusiasts. To me, vintage 911s have always been connected to this special California sense of freedom—it’s an emotional story, not a rational one. I think there’s still very little narrative of that out there.
Image from Mirage No.2 / Photography by Loïc Peoc’h & Ludovic Andral
Where do you feel that California freedom?
It’s in those road-movie settings: that one straight road through the desert. The Joshua Trees. The canyon roads.
Were you always into cars?
Definitely. That’s probably due to my dad, who had a workshop where he was always fiddling around on his Alfa Romeos and BMWs.
“BY THE WAY: WHO NAMES A STREET „SUNSET BLVD“? I ALWAYS LOVED THAT.”
What is your personal story with the 911?
On my value scale, a 911 was always the “you’ve made it as a creative” car. This was definitely tied to my early years as a Junior Designer in Düsseldorf, where you would see the big names of global advertising agencies like BBDO or Ogilvy driving around in them. On Saturday mornings, there would be a row of 911s in front of a Scenester Cafe. It might seem decadent today, but it looked very cool back then, especially since the people driving them were extreme individualists with bizarre suits and hairstyles. It was the the early nineties, the “Advertising is Art” era (Michael Schirner). They were living in that eccentric world: hard to imagine today. By the time I reached the Porsche level, the golden years of Advertising and Design were long gone. So the moment I got the keys to my own Porsche were of incredible symbolic importance to me, as it was financially really tough to get there. I was in my mid 30s.
Image from Mirage No.3 / Photography by Purienne
Color?
Black. It was a transformational experience.
Is there a hidden message in Under The Sun?
It’s a Mirage book – so it’s about a Mirage Interpretation of Porsche Hedonism.There’s something special about vintage cars—they’re rewarding on so many different levels. If this book inspires people to give it a shot – great. And if an old Porsche is out of reach just check for an an old Alfa Spider.
Stars over Sunset is the ending line of the book. What’s the meaning?
The accompanying image shows a 911 at night leaving the parking of the legendary Chateau Marmont Hotel on Sunset Blvd in Hollywood. The picture reminded me of one time I drove out of that exact same spot under a starry sky. So I shortened the „starry night over Sunset Blvd“ to „Stars over Sunset“. It just describes that LA vibe when you feel like everything is possible, that „Right time, Right place“ mood that Hollywood is so good at. By the way, who names a street „Sunset Blvd“? I always loved that.
Photography by Tazio Furiani