CURRENT EXHIBITION
Jeff Curto
The Italian Portfolio:Evidence of Hands on Stone
November 7, 2008 - January 8, 2009
image: Santo Stefano di Sessanio, Abruzzo, 2007
Since
1989, I have been photographing the architectural landscape of Italy,
exploring the visual splendor of its religious, public and vernacular
structures. These objects are the evidence of patient application of
hands on stone, allowing extraordinary things to be created from
ordinary materials. Over time, layers of the past and present combine
to create something that will remain to be seen in the future.
My
photographs are my response to this subtle layering of the ancient and
the contemporary in Italian architecture. For me, the buildings, their
materials and the light that plays on them not only describe the
passage of time but also the sense of proportion, beauty and attention
to minute details of life and living for which Italy is justly famous.
Though the hands of the men and women who crafted these structures are
always visible, I eliminate the physical presence of people in the
photographs to place the emphasis on the objects themselves. In this, I
am following the documentary tradition in photography, though my
objective is to give the images a sense of timelessness, much like the
structures themselves possess.
I work with a large format camera
for its ability to express nuances of tone and detail as well as for
the deliberate actions which the camera requires and which I enjoy.
While the camera and the film inside of it are “old” technology, my
prints are inkjet. The film is scanned and the images are printed with
pigment inks on rag paper, so the 16 by 20 inch prints, like their
subjects, exhibit a respectful mixture of the past and the present,
with an eye to the future.
Jeff Curto
