Luca Artioli has always been fascinated by Roman Statues. As a child, he wandered through the Imperial Forum creating dialogues between them. For young Luca the statues were alive. The marble was not cold or lifeless, but warm and vibrating with life and energy. As an adult and professional photographer, Artioli returned to his old friends, and reinterpreted his childhood fantasies, recording his interpretations of those timeless conversations between marble and men.
These photo collection convey magic, mystery and a conversation that has transpired for centuries, and will continue in its’ infinite cycle, Artioli avoids the use of photoshop, favoring use of ICM (Intentional Camera Movement). He employs this manual technique to capture a unique photographic result which conveys a sense of motion, of transition, and allows them to be seen in a softer illumination than the statues themselves. He perceives not only the dialogue between the statues themselves, but with the viewer who brings to the conversation their own individual narrative, thus expanding this eternal dialogue. Magic lies within these ethereal images, breathing new light into the ancient statues.
Artioli is a multi-talented artist who has shown around the world. His books, photography and singular vision encapsulate the established history of classic Italian Art, and move it forward with a fresh, modern take of art, love, passion, and culture, all of which are quintessentially Italian, while remaining true to his own personal artistic journey.
"There was a moment in my life,
I still remember it intensely today.
It was a fragrant spring day and I was walking on the ruins of the Roman forum.
Suddenly my gaze was captured by a marble statue. Maybe I was tired, maybe the Roman "grande bellezza “had blurred and saturated my view, but it seemed to me that the statue was watching me.
I stopped. Her face seemed hazy but alive.
I do not remember now her name but she gently introduced herself. And then all the others.
The cold marble with which they had been made 2000 years before had melted like ice in the sun.
The algid marble skin had suddenly become warm and soft.
I saw, as in a foggy dream, their bodies moving and merging.
The statues spoke to each other, they were serene in their narration.
I took my camera and started photographing them".
This is a stunning black and white photography series that captures the elegance of ancient artistry.
