According to Luca Artioli, photography speaks directly to our souls and hearts, capturing the instants of the real life. With his photographs and photo techniques, he desires to convey a sense of movement and an impressionistic allure, involving the viewer in these magic conversations with the subjects depicted.
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Kooness: Describe your “Speak to Me With Your Eyes” series
Luca Artioli: I have been always been fascinated by Roman Statues. As a child, I wandered through the Imperial Forum creating dialogues between them. For me the statues were alive. The marble was not cold or lifeless, but warm and vibrating with life and energy. As an adult and professional photographer, I returned to my old friends, and reinterpreted my childhood fantasies, recording with photos my interpretations of those timeless conversations between marble and men.
With “Speak to Me With Your Eyes” I want to convey magic, mystery and a conversation that has transpired for centuries, and will continue in its’ infinite cycle. I have always avoided the use of photoshop, favoring instead the use of ICM (Intentional Camera Movement). This photo technique conveys a sense of motion, of transition and a pictorial and impressionistic allure. I perceive not only the dialogue between the statues themselves, but with the viewer who brings to the conversation their own individual narrative, thus expanding this eternal dialogue. Magic lies within these ethereal images, breathing new light into the ancient statues.
K: How has your style changed?
LA: I have started taking pictures as a traditional “still” photographer. Trying to capture an instant and freeze it in a photo. But the world I see is in constant movement. My mood and emotions are in movement, the seasons are moving, the universe is expanding...everything goes…never stop moving. For this reason, I have been one of the pioneers of ICM technique (Intentional Camera Movement). The photos became fluid like the wind, transparent like a perfume and I can easily get lost in them.
K: How can your work help or affect societal issues?
LA: Photography is a form of art that speaks clearly to all of us. You do not need a vocabulary to translate a photography. It speaks a universal language. It speaks directly to your heart and soul. For this reason, I have used photography to rise attention to social issues. In particularly I have been focused on mental illness. With my book “Beyond The Dark”, I have depicted all the phases of the human depression from the darkness to the healing process. Art can be seen in this case as a form of art therapy. It can suggest a way to escape the darkness and reach the light again.
K: How do you define success as an artist?
LA: The success of an artist is not defined by the artist but by the art market. It’s the market that makes the price and says if this artist can be seen as a profitable business investment or not. For me the success is when a collector of mine says to me that my work is still conveying joy and peace after years from the purchase.
K: What are your favorite and least favorite parts of professional art?
LA: Waking up in the morning and feeling inspired to tell a story with my photos is the best part of being an artist. It’s kind of scaring when I wake up and you do not feel this motivation anymore. And this can happen to every artist. Sometimes creativity needs a pause and I can’t push creativity when I do not feel it. The worst aspect of being an artist is trying to market yourself, sell your work, brand your name and be present on social media. The art market is an aggressive jungle with complicated rules. You need the help of professional curator, art broker, publicist in order to succeed.
Cover Image: Luca Artioli. Roman Statue Study 6, 2014. Courtesy of The Art Design Project
Written by: Kooness
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