illy issimo and the School of Visual Arts come together for the photography project
“AuthentiCity” is a photography project conceived in cooperation with the School of Visual Arts (SVA), New York, aimed at young international artists who are SVA students or alumni.
The project theme – “Revealing purity and authenticity in urban life” – is an invitation to use the straightforward language of photography to explore signs of authenticity and purity in the urban setting.
The initiative has been presented on the occasion of the Milan Design Week 2010 (Salone del Mobile), from April 14th to 19th 2010 through an open photography exhibition in the Tortona neighbourhood of Milan, at the T35 @ Nhow Hotel (Via Tortona 35, Milan), where the first twenty works selected in the preliminary stage of the project have been displayed.
On that occasion, the names of five out of more than 200 photographers were short listed to continue the project. The five authors received a cash prize of $3,000 each.
The photo exhibition in Milan marked the first stage of the photography project that stemmed from illy issimo’s partnership with SVA, with the aim of celebrating and supporting young emerging talents.
The five authors selected during stage one received a further brief on the same topic, leading to a new body of work to be presented by September 2010. The works of the five photographers will be shown at a final exhibition to be held in New York this fall.
During the New York exhibition, the project winner’s name will be announced; the winner will receive a cash prize of $10,000, as well as an assignment from ILKO Coffee International (the Joint Venture between illycaffè and the Coca-Cola Company which produces illy issimo) to execute an original photography project on a new theme.
The five finalists
Carlos Alvarez Montero, age 35, Mexico City (Mexico)
Carlos Alvarez Montero lives and works between New York and Mexico City. His work focuses on the relationship between appearance and the creation of identity. His work has been published in publications such as Time Magazine, Newsweek, The Fader, Vice, Neo2.
This work named “Covers (adopt & adapt)” is a series of portraits of people who are constructing their identity but because of the lack of rapport with their social, cultural and geographical situation, they need to adopt ideas, styles, signs and/or symbols from a part of a world different than their own. By adapting them to their specific circumstances they create a new meaning that fits their specific needs and situations. So they create a new characteristic and original code that separates them from everyone else, reaffirming their individuality giving them certain aura of authenticity.The title makes reference to two of the existing meanings of the word “cover”: the first as in the cover of a book in relation with the old expression “Don’t judge a book by its cover”, the second from the cover version of a song, a reinterpretation of a music piece created by adapting the original into a different context (rhythm, style, language) than the one it was first conceived.
Caroline Shepard, age 41, Brooklyn, NY (USA)
Caroline Shepard received her BA from Sarah Lawrence College and she worked as a freelance photographer specializing in musicians such as like David Byrne, Johnny Cash, Joe Jackson. Her work has appeared in several publications such as The New York Times, New York Magazine as well as having been exhibited both nationally and internationally.
Influenced by historical painting and inspired by the possibilities of digital technology, I looked to find a way in which I could re-envision contemporary portraiture. I wanted to speak to an audience through an already established visual language, but do so in a way that brought a contemporary perspective to my subjects who are women mostly in their 30’s. In referring to various historical paintings, either directly or inferred, I hope to illustrate that our rituals don’t necessarily change. Though the circumstances of our historical moment may differ dramatically, art often depicts that which makes us inherently human. Our emotions, needs, frustrations and desires often remain the same. What changes is how we, a contemporary audience, view and understand what we are looking at.
Giselle Behrens, age 26, Caracas (Venezuela)
Giselle Behrens did her first photography course with a Canon AE-1 at The American School in Switzerland. She was self-taught using Ansel Adam’s books. Has a mayor in Business and Marketing, and is finishing an MPS in Digital Photography at SVA, NY.
"Timeless Magic": New York's wind flows with vibrant energy while it blows its way through, hurrying Time and making it fly by and over mirrored skyscrapers and into the puffy clouds. Down in the ground, this energy seems to enter our bodies through our feet and up our legs, giving us that unique rush of adrenaline that makes us walk faster and faster. Less is always around, anxiously eager to make Time disappear. This is what makes New York so special between other city friends, this is New York's Timeless Magic.
Igor Aronov, age 37, New York (USA)
Igor Aronov was born in Kharkov, Ukraine and immigrated to USA in 1989. He graduated from SVA, NY in 1997 with a BFA degree in Photography. Since then, Igor has been working as a graphic designer and a photographer. He lives in Brooklyn, NY with his wife and three children.
“AuthentiCity”: the city lives, it breathes, it moves, it reflects. I was walking around in the pouring rain, searching for the elusive purity and simplicity of everyday life of the city and its inhabitants. I was looking for its soul hiding behind the facade of daily bustle. In reflections, I was trying to catch a glimpse of its real face. The buildings turned into shapes, and the lights transformed into splashes of color. I tried to get really close, as if taking a portrait of someone I see every day and finding new expressions among the familiar features.And the rain became the symbol of purity washing away everything superficial from glass and concrete. And the rain drops glittered in the lights of the city. And my city revealed itself to me.
Matthew Baum, age 36, New York (USA)
Matthew Baum is a photographer and teacher based in Brooklyn, NY. He earned a BA in history from Brown University in 1995 and an MFA from SVA in 2007. Matthew teaches at NYU, SVA and Hunter College and was a founder of the VisuaLife photo education program, working with underprivileged youth in NY.
“Limelight”: these images are made spontaneously, in the tradition of street photography, as I allow the camera to guide my wanderings. I do not speak with the people who appear in my pictures as I seek a particular type of emotional authenticity that I find unique to subjects who are unconscious of the camera. Somewhat paradoxically, these images are also influenced by the aesthetic and metaphorical content of film and theater. I am fascinated by how light can heighten our sense of drama and the way the frame imposed by the camera creates a stage. The combination of my influences and technique results in a subtle visual hyper-reality that challenges assumptions about the indexical nature of photographs while still celebrating the power of photography to elevate small, fleeting moments to transcendent meaning. I hope these pictures will encourage people to reconsider what they see every day.
See the works of the 20 photographers on Flickr
US
JP
