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Nella sua nota biografica dice di prediligere i paesaggi, l’architettura e il mondo animale. La sua fotografia è frutto di ricerca oppure è un carpe diem?
“Direi che nella mia prima fase, ai tempi delle reflex (prima quella analogica e poi quella digitale) prediligevo il lavoro di ricerca. Ora, con smartphone molto dedicati anche alla buona fotografia, sono pronto a cogliere le occasioni che si presentano, non disdegnando, quando possibile, un punto di vista “personalizzato”.”
Dove ha scattato la foto “La sezione aurea”? Perché ha scelto di esporre proprio questo scatto?
“Il soggetto della fotografia è una delle scale interne del museo Unterlinden di Colmar, in Alsazia. Il senso di profondità delle scale mi ha sempre affascinato. In questo caso mi ha colpito la prospettiva geometrica così minimalista, con questa predominanza di toni chiari, su cui si inserisce il graduale aumento del chiaro-scuro fino alla macchia nera sul fondo. Ho cercato di trovare un’angolatura che mi permettesse di rendere la fotografia asimmetrica, per accentuare la sensazione della prospettiva e provocare un senso di vertigine.”
Tende a post-produrre le sue fotografie oppure lascia lo scatto così com’è?
“In genere non intervengo in postproduzione; a volte agisco un po’ sul contrasto. A seconda del soggetto scelgo colore o bianco e nero.”
Ricorda qual è stata la sua prima foto e che emozioni ha provato dopo averla scattata?
“Le mie prime fotografie erano le classiche fotografie delle vacanze con la Voigtlander degli anni 60 di mio papà. Quelle che sento come le “mie prime fotografie” sono quelle con la Canon A1: l’utilizzo del teleobiettivo sulle bellezze della Grecia Classica mi ha aperto uno scenario completamente nuovo e mi ha dato la sensazione di poter in qualche modo interagire con la realtà e plasmarla un po’ secondo la mia sensibilità. Per tanto tempo, quando osservavo qualcosa che colpiva la mia attenzione, tendevo sempre a valutarla come se fossi dietro al mirino della mia reflex.”
Contemporary Venice 2021- 9th edition
Interview: Alessandro Villanucci
Luca Curci talks with Alessandro Villanucci during CONTEMPORARY VENICE 2021 – 9TH EDITION, at Misericordia Archives.
16 Nov 2021
Alessandro Villanucci was born in Florence. Graduated in Medicine and Surgery, he carries out his profession in one of the largest hospitals in Tuscany. His interest in photography began with his father’s legendary Voigtlander. With time and passion, he has refined his style by developing a spontaneous predilection for architecture, landscapes and the animal world. He currently uses a Canon EOS 700D and an iPhone 12Pro. He has published a photographic collection entitled Geometrie del Quotidiano. Some of his photographs have been published in the photographic series “Fotografia” published by Dantebus (volumes 2 and 5) and in 3 issues of the magazine “Art Now”. He exhibited photographs at the Dantebus art house in Rome. The photograph “you go down alone” was used for the cover of the poetic collection “Carichi Dispersi” by Claudia Muscolino, published by Edizioni del Poggio.
LUCA CURCI – When you take photos, are you usually inspired by the situation or do you find inspiration in yourself?
ALESSANDRO VILLANUCCI – Normally I find inspiration from the situation that presents itself to me, but I like to seek original points of view to try to find the most hidden part of what I see.
LC – How important is the editing process in your work? How’s yours?
AV – I prefer not to intervene significantly in editing the shot. Based on the feelings that the image inspires in me, I decide whether to print in black and white or in color. Sometimes I intervene a little on the saturation of colors or on the intensity of the shadows in black and white to increase the drama of the scene.
LC – How is your creative process?
AV – I am a great observer of reality, but I like the more hidden sides that normally escape if we do not pay attention to them. I also find inspiration in trivial things that I like to give dignity by changing perspective or point of view.
LC – Are your artworks focused on a specific theme?
AV – My favorite subjects are the animals and the streets of the city, with its daily life, its buildings and its perspectives.
LC – How is being an artist nowadays?
AV – Speaking as a photographer, I must say that technology has helped a lot: ever-smaller cameras, digitization and finally mobile phones with ever more performing cameras allow us to capture every moment that inspires us. The downside, however, is represented by the fact that more and more we leave room for artificial intelligence, so now everyone is able to take beautiful photographs but they are devoid of a soul. I tend to favor substance rather than technique. Sometimes a blurred photograph manages to communicate more sensations than a technically perfect one.
LC – What do you think about the concept of this exhibition? How did it inspire you?
AV – The basic concept of this exhibition struck me from the beginning: the relationship between body and space has always been a topic that I have tried to develop. I have always enjoyed exploring the streets and studying how people move and interact with others and with spaces. However, I also see that people often behave like islands completely detached from their surroundings, always alone in spite of the crowds that surround them. Sometimes I see buildings as lonely and still in their inability to communicate: that’s why I like to take pictures of empty streets and old or new buildings, especially at night, when the darkness still increases the sense of loneliness.
LC – What is the message linked to the artwork you have shown in this event? How is it connected to the theme of the entire exhibition?
AV – “Thought brings up” wants to exacerbate the concept of solitude: the human being represented by the statue is completely isolated from the rest of the space. But loneliness, in this case, allows him to focus on his thoughts and in this way to rise above all those microcosms of people unable to communicate. The sunlight seems to give life to this spiritual elevation. “The perspective of the rainbow” wants to bring together nature and the work of man: in this case, the rainbow seems to arise from these anonymous concrete barracks, framed with a very strong perspective, as if to continue the curvature of the rainbow. In this case, I refer to the other theme of the exhibition, “future Landscapes” with the hope that the future can direct us towards urbanization that is as harmonious as possible with nature.
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