DESIGN NAME: Talking Peppers
PRIMARY FUNCTION: Art Photography
INSPIRATION: Often we realize that in the evaluation in a situation, that a wrong choice has been made, this is caused by the fact that we liked that situation and we imagined it in a too optimistic way. After the time of "sympathy" towards that situation, we realize that we have thought too little. The Nus Nous photos teach us to observe, not just images
UNIQUE PROPERTIES / PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Talking peppers are part of a project entitled Nus Nous which literally means body and mind (from a Greek and a French term). They seem to be human bodies or parts of them, in reality it is the observer who wants to see them but just rotate them and what we imagine we saw disappears. In many Nus Nous images, everyone sees different things according to their state of mind, it may happen that the same image seen at a later time may represent different things from before.
When it is possible, in artistic events, is presented a photo mounted on a support that can be rotated by the observer who rotates it until it attracts his attention, at that moment the image begins to dig into the meanders of his mind and creates emotions. The observer does not know why the image attracts his attention and perhaps at the moment does not even bring out any memory, he only knows that it creates a certain emotion and looks at it, approaches and then moves away, his expression changes, he smiles or he gets sad.
In the Nus Nous photographs clearly appears how the element of ambivalence is transformed into a subtle elaboration of the mind that distances us from reality to lead us into an imaginary labyrinth, made up of suggestions and evocative visions. They are images capable of suggesting bodies not devoid of sensual and mysterious charm. All this is made possible by the use of a close-up shooting technique and a complex lighting system. The photographs are in black and white, the absence of color, in fact, makes it easier to decontextualize the subject, favoring a freer reinterpretation.
OPERATION / FLOW / INTERACTION: It is an artistic product and lends itself to the decoration of the home, office or other structures. Photographic project never developed by any photographer, in the field of painting it could be compared to Arcimboldo's canvases
PROJECT DURATION AND LOCATION: The project started in 2000 in Treviso and is still being implemented with about 900 4"x 5" negatives. In 2019 some images were selected by multiple Russian juries and exhibited in Moscow in the Kremlin museum, as well as having received other awards
FITS BEST INTO CATEGORY: Photography and Photo Manipulation Design
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PRODUCTION / REALIZATION TECHNOLOGY: Classic analogue photography on cotton-backed paper with dimensions 500 mm x400 mm. Nus Nous images can also be produced on aluminum with dimensions up to 600 mm x800 mm
SPECIFICATIONS / TECHNICAL PROPERTIES: The images are very suggestive, some seem naked, others a tangle of bodies, some shamelessly scandalous.
Nus Nous photography sends a message, which does not concern only images but also situations;
"Everything you see, indeed, that you think you see, may not be reality"
The photos are actually macro-photographs, the distance from the subject is a few centimeters, the depth of field, at times, less than a centimeter, so much so that I am forced to very small apertures, f. 64 and f.128 the machine is a 4 "x 5" optical bench and they take me the exposure to a few minutes, the bellows elongation reaches up to 30 cm, the optics are those of a microscope and the scientific optics, suitable for short distances. The glossy surface of the vegetable greatly raises the contrast and creates a lot of reflections, I experimented with different developments for negatives until I found the ideal negative / development combination, which allowed me great results. The negatives are printed on "Archive" paper with a cotton support with the classic manual development, which unfortunately is disappearing and turns to selenium, which contributes to an enormous durability. The dimensions are 400 x 500 mm mounted on passepartout and black aluminum strip with a thickness of 10 mm but can also be produced in larger sizes
TAGS: analogue gelatin silver photography, fine art, conceptual photography
RESEARCH ABSTRACT: The research can be explained by the phrase that clearly represents the Nus Nous project: "Everything you see, indeed, what you think you see, may not be reality. The explorer who looks at the clouds discovers mysterious landscapes, the poker player the ace of spades ". During an exhibition I observe a person (a man of about 35 years) who rotates the photograph several times and then stops it in a position, moves away and continues to observe it, I approach him and he asks me if I am the author and then explains what he sees: an elephant head, I approach and examine the photograph minutely but I do not see anything, the visitor notices this and surprised explains me in detail saying that it is very clear and pointing to the head, ear and trunk. The image had acted in the most hidden areas of his mind, bringing out disappeared memories. I tried several times to look for the elephant's head in that photograph but never got to see it
CHALLENGE: Talking peppers are part of a project entitled Nus Nous which literally means body and mind (from a Greek and a French term). They seem to be human bodies or parts of them, in reality it is the observer who wants to see them but just rotate them and what we imagine we saw disappears. In many Nus Nous images, everyone sees different things according to their state of mind, it may happen that the same image seen at a later time may represent different things from before.
When it is possible, in artistic events, I present a photo mounted on a support that can be rotated by the observer who rotates it until it attracts his attention, at that moment the image begins to dig into the meanders of his mind and creates emotions. The observer does not know why the image attracts his attention and perhaps at the moment does not even bring out any memory, he only knows that it creates a certain emotion and looks at it, approaches and then moves away, his expression changes, he smiles or he gets sad.
In the Nus Nous photographs clearly appears how the element of ambivalence is transformed into a subtle elaboration of the mind that distances us from reality to lead us into an imaginary labyrinth, made up of suggestions and evocative visions. They are images capable of suggesting bodies not devoid of sensual and mysterious charm. All this is made possible by the use of a close-up shooting technique and a complex lighting system. The photographs are in black and white, the absence of color, in fact, makes it easier to decontextualize the subject, favoring a freer reinterpretation
ADDED DATE: 2020-10-30 16:24:42
TEAM MEMBERS (1) :
IMAGE CREDITS: Photographer producing artistic images with a preference for analogue black and white
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