Photography | The Blogazine - Contemporary Lifestyle Magazine

18/06/2014

Through the Lens of Giasco Bertoli

How, when and why did you decide to work in photography?
I started taking photos when I was 12 years old, I had a small Instamatic camera that my parents gave me. Ten years later I went to a photography school in Milan.

What are your influences, do you feel particularly related to any photographer?
I don’t know. My early influences include Robert Mapplethorpe, Diane Arbus, Walker Evans, Helmut Newton, while later I became interested in the photographic work of Ed Ruscha, Richard Prince, Cy Twombly, Andreï Tarkovsky.

How do you approach your work and how and why do you choose your subjects?
The final work goes through observation, really looking at things, which can simply take a few moments. Only the mind can transform something into a photograph. If photography was only a mechanical process, all photos would be the same. But, in fact, the different psychological charges come with our different psychological comprehension, and if there is no comprehension, we only have an excess of images. If you think about Instagram, for instance, you can see how people don’t know how to look. The subject I choose could comes simply from the everyday life experience, even though I’m particularly interested in the trilogy of life, sex and death.

What do you aim to communicate through your work?
Nothing. The viewer can make his own decision on the meaning of my work.

Tell us more about your Tennis Courts project, how did you start it and why is it so important for you?
I started the project years ago by taking a photo of an abandoned tennis court in the south of Switzerland, close to the place where I grew-up. I’m always drawn back to places where I have lived, the houses and their neighborhoods, ect. I would like to quote the French writer Marguerite Duras: les tennis on les regarde beaucoup, même quand ils sont déserts, quand il pleut…Il y aurait à dire sur les tennis qui sont regardés. There’s something about an abandoned-looking place that makes it look like it has a life of its own. I really like it.

What would be your dream project to work on?
Filming relieves my conscience. I just finished my first short film based on a Bukowski novel I read last year. I would like to work on a feature film soon.

Interview by Agota Lukyte – Images courtesy of Giasco Bertoli

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11/06/2014

Through the Lens of Charles Lu

Images courtesy of Charles Lu

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04/06/2014

Through the Lens of Jo Metson Scott

How, when and why did you decide to work as a photographer?
I always liked photography, I remember asking for a roll of black and white film for my 11th birthday and then making my poor younger brother dress up and pose in a field for me. But I never really considered it as a career. I went to University to study Graphic Design, but I wasn’t enjoying it that much. I did one module in photography and just loved the class and the tutors so switched to photography and I guess from then on just followed what everyone else was doing.

How you would describe your work and what early influences you think you had?
I find it really hard to describe my work. That’s one of the reasons I take photographs, so that I don’t have to describe in words what I’m seeing. Early influences..? Dan Eldon, Steffi Jung – a great friend and photographer I studied with, a book about Derek Jarman’s garden, Hannah Starkey and Tom Hunter.

How do you approach your work – how and why do you choose your subjects?
I think my approach is based on creating a personal bond with the person I photograph. I like spending time with people, talking to people, being in their homes, I spend a long time not even taking photos (in fact sometimes I even forget that’s what I’m there for). When I have a slight bond with a person, and if that person is interested in having their photo taken by me, I think that is when I ‘choose’ a subject. And generally if someone is open to talking to me then I’m drawn to take their photograph.

What do you aim to communicate through your work?
It changes with every project so it’s difficult to put it down to a single aim. I usually concentrate on the personal experiences of individuals to humanise a wider and more intangible, political or social subject.

What kind of projects you would be interested in working on next?
If it means meeting new groups of people or traveling to somewhere new I’m interested in working on it! I’m working on a number of different personal projects at the moment. One is about the English/Scottish border. I’ve been doing a series of road trips with a writer looking at the culture of the people living in the area. The Scottish referendum is in September and we wanted to look at people on the English side of the border (who don’t get to vote) looking at how the possible independence in Scotland would affect their life.

Interview by Agota Lukyte

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26/05/2014

MIA – Milan Image Art Fair 2014

MIA – Milan Image Art Fair, the three-day Milanese event dedicated to photography, just closed its 4th edition with flying colors. The fair, which immediately made a name for itself thanks to the competence of its founder, Fabio Castelli, its scientific committee and its original formula: “one stand to each artist, to each artist its own catalogue” (this year the catalogue is in e-book format), once again reached a successful conclusion in our country and is ready to land for the first time in Singapore from 24th to 26th October 2014. But before leaving for Asia, let’s stock on this experience stressing its highs and lows.

We pinpointed some stands among the 180 international exhibitors – galleries, independent photographers, printers and publishers – which really caught our attention, and also some weak points that left us a little bit disappointed. Walking the numerous corridors of Superstudio Più’s huge building, we could not avoid stopping at the space hosting “Tempo ritrovato – Fotografie da non perdere”, a special prize devoted to private, and most of the time unknown, historical archives. The award this year went to the gems of Tranquillo Casiraghi’s archive (Sesto San Giovanni, Milan, 1923-2005), depicting charming people and landscapes from the genuine northern province.

The shots by the master Luigi Ghirri on view at Photographica FineArt were, as usual, beautiful and full of poetry as well the ones by the incomparable Francesca Woodman at Galerie Clara Maria Sels and Mario Giacomelli with his stark contrasts and well rendered grain displayed by Artistocratic.

The photos by Charlotte Perriand at ADMIRA were undoubtedly striking, but putting aside the fascination for the past and getting back to the world of still living photographers we were captivated by the delicate colors and strong narrative power of the work by Giovanni Chiaramonte on view at Valeria Bella gallery and the mystery and hypnotism of Michele Zaza at Six Gallery. Podbielski Contemporary, mc2gallery and Galleria Continua deserve a special mention: the first one for its stunning pictures by Francesco Jodice, the second one for the project “Etna” by the young and talented photographer Renato D’Agostin and the third one for presenting the work of the outstanding Belgian visual artist Hans Op de Beeck, maybe the most international touch of the whole fair.

Closing the tour with the exhibition “Verso l’oriente” (with shots by Philip-Lorca diCorcia, Thomas Struth, Nobuyoshi Araki, Yamasuma Morimura, Naoya Hatakeyama, Daido Moriyama and Toshio Shibata) that winks at the upcoming edition in Singapore, we have one short consideration: MIA is certainly one the best proposals related to photography offered by the Italian art system, but to reach its full accomplishment, it would need to complete its domestic peculiarity with a more significant international impulse. Let’s wait for the next edition.

Monica Lombardi – Images courtesy of Agota Lukyte

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21/05/2014

Through the Lens of Andrew Miksys

Andrew Miksys is a US photographer from Seattle, who has decided to discover his Lithuanian roots through a series of bold and raw photographs, published last year in a book titled “Disko”. In the last few years, Andrew has shown his work at Seattle Art Museum, Vilnius Contemporary Art Centre and De Appel Contemporary Arts Centre, as well as worked with publications like The New Yorker, Harper’s or VICE. We met Andrew to discuss his work, past and future projects, inspiration and ideas.

How, when and why have you decided to work as a photographer?
I had an interest in photography from an early age. My father, who was a very good amateur photographer, probably influenced me a lot. He was constantly photographing when I was a kid with his Nikon F camera. We had his photographs all over our house. My favorite photograph was an image of Elvis he took backstage at a concert in Seattle in 1973. Later I studied photography with Jerome Liebling, a great documentary photographer who was part of the NY Photo League in the 40s and 50s. Jerome was a great mentor and helped me find my own voice and how to investigate subjects from every angle.

How you would describe your work and what early influences you think you had?
I photograph to satisfy my own curiosity. When I found the village discos, gypsies in Lithuania or bingo halls in the US, I basically just wanted to see what they were all about and show people the unique things I’ve found. My work isn’t exactly autobiographical, but I think you can see some of the process in my photography and the experiences I had. If you look at the “Disko” portraits, there is tension between the people I’m photographing and me. We’re trying to figure each other out. But I also have an interest in the places I’m photographing and their history. Village discos aren’t just village discos. All the places I photographed in were Soviet-era cultural centers and reflect the complicated and even tragic history of the 20th century in Lithuania. It’s important to me that some of this context comes through in the project even if I don’t reference it directly.

Could you tell us more about the book “Disko”, what inspired you to work on this subject?
I first went to Lithuania in 1995 to visit some of my relatives there. My father and grandparents were from Lithuania, but left at the end of WWII and immigrated to the US. This was the first chance I had to meet my Lithuanian relatives since the fall of the USSR. I hadn’t thought much about photographing in Lithuania, but as soon as I got there I knew I wanted to come back and photograph more. It was so different from where I grew up in Seattle and the remnants of the Soviet Union were everywhere. In 1998 I got a Fulbright scholarship and spent a year in Lithuania. One weekend I was in a village and followed some kids into a disco. It was an incredible space with a disco ball and a Lenin head on the wall. I started photographing there and then in the next weeks I discovered that there were disco in most villages. I worked on the project on and off for the next 10 years, traveling to villages all over Lithuania.

How do you approach your work – how and why do you choose your subjects?
My projects usually develop slowly and sometimes feel like an accident or completely unplanned. I photograph a bunch of different things and then find one subject to focus on.

Many photographers today choose to communicate their work through a book format. Why do you think this happens today and what is important to you when making a book from your projects?
Photo books allow you to present your project the way you want it to be seen. Through design, sequencing, editing, and choice of materials you can a unique experience for the viewer. In reality photographers have been doing this throughout the history of photography.

What kind of project would you be interested in working on next?
For the last 5 years, I’ve been working on a project in Belarus called Tulips. Right now I’m in the process of editing these images for a book that I hope to publish later this year.

Interview and photos by Agota Lukyte

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07/05/2014

Through the Lens of Marina Caneve

Marina Caneve is a young Italian photographer, living and working between Italy and Ile-de-France. Graduating in architecture at IUAV University in Venice in 2013, she developed a thesis under the guidance of Guido Guidi on the topic of photography and the construction of knowledge concerning the urban plan. We asked Marina a few questions about her work, her future plans and project, and her photo-series titled Guardians.

Tell us more about yourself. You have studied under some of the most significant figures of Italian photography, such as Guido Guidi. What was it like?
I had a great opportunity to develop my final master’s project under the guidance of Guido Guidi. Thanks to Guido, I had to question my knowledge about photography and I started to consider it first of all as a cognitive process and a question of choice between options that are never definitive. This kind of work gave me the opportunity to see a lot of photo-books and read many essays on photography and visual culture. I have never looked for mentors who’d go along with me, but rather ones capable of provoking me, pushing me to overcome my limits.

How would you describe your early influences in photography?
I arrived at photography by following my curiosity, my personal and academic interests, as well as my passion for visual culture. In the beginning I felt the need to express my intimate self – I often felt fascinated by authors who work with portraits. I am also particularly interested in the connections and contradictions characterizing the relationship between people and the place they live in, with particular reference to social value of urbanism – how cities are (not) made for people. I am always looking for the ‘Tender cruelty’ found by Lincoln Kirstein in Walker Evans in the 1930s. I have always loved looking at William Eggleston’s work, definitely. I have a great interest for Larry Sultan; I love Jitka Hanzlova, Rineke Dijkstra and Thomas Struth. I often look at the work of Mona Kuhn, Yann Gross and Richard Rothman. It is hard to stop listing names, there are too many photographers I admire for different reasons.

Tell us more about your project, Guardians. What is the inspiration and the thought process behind it?
Guardians is an ongoing project initiated one year ago. I started this work after a workshop in Venice titled Portraits, developed under the guidance of Valerio Spada (the author of an amazing self-published book Gomorrah Girl). I have always been fascinated by guardians, their feelings, their suspended aspect, origins and thoughts, their empathy with space, artworks and people. The project/process tells – through the portrait itself – about the figure of who-is-looking-at as well as, in an almost bulimic relationship, about the visitor-photographer’s eye. It is all about mediated looks, where sociological inquiry and intimate investigation are interposed.

What would be your dream project to work on?
I don’t have a particular ideal project in mind, my ideas are always evolving and mutating. Being passionate for what I do, I have to love the topics I work on and when I work I feel completely absorbed and my dream is to have the chance to continue doing exactly that.

Interview by Agota Lukyte – Images courtesy of Marina Caneve

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29/04/2014

Dalston Anatomy by Lorenzo Vitturi

Lorenzo Vitturi is passionate about food. Wherever in the world you may find yourself, he could possibly tell you where to grab that perfect bite. Strangely enough, he doesn’t appear to be as passionate about cooking. His aversion towards cooking wouldn’t be nearly as odd if he hadn’t spent the last couple of years obsessing over a local market. And yet, Lorenzo didn’t visit the Ridley Road Market in Dalston, London, for its rich selection of fresh produce. Rather, the market and its clutter served as the subject and backdrop of his photographic research.

Lorenzo Vitturi is, in fact, a photographer. Born and raised in the picturesque Venice, he studied photography at IED in Rome and Fabrica in Treviso, developing his particular language based on highly constructed and manipulated environments. In the couple of years he worked in advertising, Lorenzo developed some of the most clever campaigns, among which my personal favourite remains the one shot for Freddy. Lorenzo remarks: “Even if I consider myself a photographer – someone who writes with light – in my own practice I take on a much more holistic approach. Playing with the combination of illusion and reality, mixing together different disciplines – photography, sculpture, painting and collage – I build temporary sets made of all kind of materials. The central subject of my research is the ephemeral and transient nature of life, captured through the transformation and decay of objects.”

Taking a break from the restrictions of the corporate world, Lorenzo retreated himself to his London studio where, for almost a year, he built sculptures, collages, and strange, bulky compositions from debris collected at Dalston market. The result is “Dalston Anatomy”, a self-published book, designed by his friends Tankboys and each bound with a unique piece of fabric found at the market. Cited as one of the top-ten photography books in 2013 by everyone from Martin Parr to Dazed and Confused, from The Guardian to The New York Times, “Dalston Anatomy” is a photographic analysis of the clutter – colours, sounds, odours, languages, forms and cultures – found at the market. Mixing his three-dimensional compositions with photographs taken at the market and collages of found objects and images, Lorenzo has built a visual vocabulary based on elements of local culture, bits of everyday life and poetics of decay.

To crown an already successful year, “Dalston Anatomy” has recently been awarded the Grand Prix of the Jury at the prestigious Hyères Photography and Fashion Festival. The exhibition showcasing his work, together with other 9 talented young photographers, will be on show until the 25th of May 2014.

Rujana Rebernjak – Images courtesy of Tankboys

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23/04/2014

Through the Lens of Clara Bahlsen

Clara Bahlsen is a Berlin-based photographer. After studying visual communication at University of Arts in Berlin, she undertook a postgraduate course at Ostkreuz School for Photography. Combining photography and design practices she often produces books: “I like the book as a medium of photography because of its fixed format. It is interesting when one has certain rules and guidelines to which you have to obey.” One of her recent book projects is “Töchter” (Daughters), which deals with the question of origins and family, and their individual significance for biography and identity. The work is underpinned by the correspondence between constructed ‘house’ sculptures and the portraits of young women, revealing personal and intimate interior worlds. “Daughters” was exhibited at Kunstverein Hannover in 2013 an won the 10th annual Aenne Biermann Preis.