Can you introduce yourself and your background?
I was born, in a family of artists in Uruguay in an important theatre named “El Galpon” and this fact left its mark on my life and imaginary – since the notion of art is linked for me to the notion of play, trial and error.
I grew up in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and I have lived in St Petersburg, NY, Budapest, Athens and Madrid, before settling down in Paris where I have been living and working for ten years.
Where do you get your inspiration from?
My inspiration comes from the street, from the daily life and of course is fed by the big universal topics.
But what interests me the most in photography is the point of view, not so much the details and devices of the machinery. I believe in the expressive strength of the image.
How would you describe yourself and how would you describe your art?
I think I am a rather introvert person - an observer interested in what surrounds me and attentive to the detail. I always had two sides in my work: photography and theatre. Directing is working closely with people and organizing an action on the stage with the notion of time. Photography is for me the instant implementation of a point of view.
In my latest series of pictures (Forms in B&W / Shapes in Color) I come very close to my subjects and these close-ups of ordinary objects make them strange, unrecognizable and in a way invite the viewer to have a new look on things.
In my childhood, one of the first artists who impressed me was Joaquin Torres Garcia, the big master of Latin-American constructivist art, and in a way, it opened my mind to a geometrical and structured way to see the composition in the frame.
Which photographers, artists, designers do you feel close to?
There are many artists I feel close to and who bring me inspiration from the theatre companies Théatre de la Complicité or Romeo Castelucci, photographs like Albert Watson, Andre Kertesz or the artist Luis Camnitzer…These are completely different worlds and at the same time part of the artistic universe as I understand it, they are people taking risks, raising the level of the dialog, bringing us new ideas and matters of reflection.
How far do you hope to go artistically speaking?
As Tennessee Williams used to say, time is the longest distance between two places.
Can you tell us about your current and upcoming projects ?
I recently exposed in La Maison de l’Amerique Latine en Paris in what was the first big exhibition of the Collection of Jean Cherqui. I belong to this collection for a few years already not without pride, since he is one of the main world’s collectors of concrete and geometrical art – and I got the honor that he shows interest in my images.
I am preparing a big street intervention by the beginning of 2011 in Buenos Aires with some of my recent pictures. I was invited to participate for the second time to an important exhibition Contempo Corporate Art in Abu Dhabi for 2011.
Actually I have several new projects where photography is only an element of an installation in the space…. A sort of mix between the stage and the pictures rails…
Would you consider to do something else if you were not an artist?
If I were not an artist, I would be an artist.... ha ha ha I think art is intrinsic to the human being and probably the last way we have left to really change things.
Do you consider that "art is alive" ?
Considering how art is today, I believe we have reached an extreme point where the things (relations with the market) need to be redefined… But this does not kill art – it gives art strength to reinvent itself, like it always did; I am sure that out of this crisis period will arise new creators with new proposals. Anyway, art is not dead!
To finish with, what would wish to this blog?
That it goes on being a space of freedom to exhibit new trends and that it succeeds in imposing itself as a reference magazine in the context of the fight carried on today inside the new formatted media.
All the best for the future – and may all your wishes come true!
More information on:
www.campochiaro.eu
http://www.contempocorpart.com/
