ARTICLES VIEW CAMERA MAGAZINE

Pablo Cabado

2011-12-09T07:54:00.000-08:00

Pablo Cabado
Four Photographs-By María Carolina Baulo

VIEW CAMERA, December 2011 Issue

http://www.viewcamera.com/

Pablo Cabado, Guggenheim Fellowship recipient in 2002, was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1963. At seventeen he moved with his family to Mexico City and at the age of twenty he started studying photography. Once a professional, in 1989 he wins the award Young Photographer of the Year, International Center of Photography (New York, USA). Between 1990 and 1997 he works in a special project related with Cuba, a country he will constantly visit and actually live in La Habana for some time. During 1992 he lives in France for a short period of time. His work has been exhibited in the U.S., France, Italy, The Netherlands, Cuba, Mexico and Argentina among others.

Pablo Cabado belongs to a generation of artists where the production of images wasn´t as simple as it could be today with the new digital technologies that immediately assist us in an insuperable way. His work relates more with the technical procedures and the delicate work at the lab, revealing the images and making the copies. Large format is his personal choice because he focuses in reproducing reality in the most reliable way; becoming an authentic medium communicating what´s happening around and avoiding any unnecessary interference with the purity of the image. Searching for that minimum of manipulation, the artist chooses not to exaggerate while using tools such as Photoshop or any digital corrections he could easily display with a computer. It is crystal clear that any photographer, when choosing the image to photograph, is editing in his mind and making a selection, but here the artist specifically tries not to complete his work producing the final images as a digital collage which erases the power of that images the camera captured originally. Large format film is the right choice for this purpose, especially 4”x5” and 8x10 inches because they produce a final copy of extreme quality. The 20x25cm negatives are also important because they contribute to freeze that piece of reality as less manipulated as possible. The artist is also keen of the large viewer which allows the composition of the image to be more precise and well studied; it also allows working with the subtle details to obtain an exquisite final product. Nevertheless, he is deeply versed in digital photography and highlights the difficulties of choosing a large format camera in terms of costs, long periods of exposition and composition as well as the revealing process. Still, in his own words, “digital photography can never be compared with the plate”.

Pablo Cabado is interested in visiting strange, mysterious places and that is something related with his craft because photography always guided him through unexplored roads. That is how he discovers amazing things which seemed to be easy for anyone to see but in fact they are hidden. Since 2006, the artist develops a project he is still working on, taking pictures mainly in the Province de Buenos Aires. Generally buildings and public places such as the Olympic swimming pool in the Sarmiento´s Park; the Trelew airport - scenario of the massacre of Trelew, one of the most dramatic situations that took place in that city during the last military government in Argentina-; the Italpark rollercoaster in Mar del Plata, an old YPF gas station and images of the pathetic Caseros jail, just to mention a few. Places which refer to a local argentinean story that the artist wants to immortalize with “a certain melancholy of my own…”

An interesting way to understand his working procedure is looking at the serie of photographs taken at an abandon Park in Mar del Plata, theme of his latest artist book. Pablo Cabado works alone: he takes his car and starts searching for places he could fall in love with and sometimes it happens, like with this serie, that trying to find a rollercoaster for his pictures, someone sent him to this old, lost in time park. While talking with the keeper and showing interest in that mysterious world and the people living in it, the artist gained their confidence and started visiting them on regular basis for almost two years. The most important characteristic of his work is the role played by human relationships because the image is clear from that fraternal bond between the actors. That is one of the reasons why he travels alone with the company of his equipment, connected with his essence and trying not to invade other people’s lives but on the contrary, trying to establish certain empathy which allows him to approach them in their daily activities and capture those images. Unthinkable universes, anecdotes which don’t show at first sight become the soul of his photographs; surprising stories found in the most unexpected places create the perfect context for his art to emerge. The experience of travelling and living in different countries and different cultures nurtured and influenced his working techniques. And that importance of that connection he creates between people, shows even when there´s no human presence in some pictures; we can feel that presence because every element of that scene photographed exists because of the people who inhabits it every day.

Pablo Cabado works with complete series and always tell us a story: “I have an idea or find a place where I´m interested in working at, and I start visiting that place and producing; that would be the initial sequence”. But that isn´t enough, we should add his profound knowledge of the technique and especially light. The type of light he uses becomes the absolute fundament to start working on the images; then he lets it flow and see what comes out of the experience. He has many and very interesting series he worked on along his career. He exhibited his photographs in several individual and collective shows, International Museums (ICP - International Center of Photography, New York, US; Museum of Modern Art, Mexico City; Mamba - Museum of Modern Art, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Fototeca Cuba, La Havana, Cuba; Centro Cultural Santo Domingo, Mexico City; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, US, among others) and important private galleries between 1990-2011. He also received the Mother Jones Award (US, 1990), the Scholarship for the Artistic Creativity by Antorchas Foundation (Argentina, 1994); Scholarship by the National Arts Fund (Argentina, 1999), Grand Honor Award, Visual Arts National Salon (Argentina, 2000) and the abovementioned John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship (US, 2002).

Pablo Cabado has no interest in loosing energy thinking about the future, he never speculates with the art sales possibilities or the exhibitions where his series might be presented. With low profile and an attitude that permanently searches for challenges and surprises, the artist thinks in terms of quality and how to capture the results of his work in the production of the artist´s book, a crucial and fundamental goal these days; he already published two books: 37°57’35”S 57°34’49”W and Laminares.

The artists lives and works in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Here we have four images of that impeccable work of art.

Guillermo Srodek-Hart

2007-01-12T14:02:00.000-08:00

VIEW CAMERA - USA
http://www.viewcamera.com/
November-December 2007

Guillermo Srodek-Hart was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1977. In the late 90s he studied lithography but it was in 2001 when he discovered photography while studying at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. There, he met a photographer that became one of the most important influences in his professional career as well as in his personal life. The photographer was Jim Dow, who once studied with Harry Callahan and worked for Walker Evans, and was teaching History of Photography and Large Format by that time. Guillermo started attending his classes and assisting him in his trips across the USA. Guillermo Srodek-Hart certainly felt inspired by the way Dow worked, by his passion and love for journeys and especially the connection he could establish while meeting the local people in every small town he was photographing.To define Guillermo Srodek-Hart´s work, it is necessary to share, or at least try, his deep empathy with the rural world and his constant intent to capture the essence of the popular scenario, always present in the local iconography: “I am interested in photographing interiors that reflect the way people display objects destined for consumption in a devotional manner”, he explains. The “way people display objects” is definitively very different from the “ways” of the big urban communities. Nevertheless, each town that seemed to be lost in the middle of nowhere, each interior he photographed, each devotional icon chosen by a small group of people isolated from the metropolis, also represents the richness of their thoughts and profound sensibility. An exquisite sensibility so many times underestimated by the dominant, asphyxiating and overwhelming city culture. The only way we could understand different points of view is by opening our hearts and minds to let those differences seduce us. What we might discover could be, not only challenging but extremely creative. It could also teach us there are thousands of stories hidden in mysterious sites, besides the ones our occidental culture narrates.Guillermo Srodek-Hart is actually in Boston doing an MFA in photography at Mass College of Art. He was the 2006 recipient of the Klemm Award and the Petrobras Award in Argentina, and participated in more than 20 exhibitions since 2003, both international as well as in those towns he photographed (Buenos Aires, Cordoba, Salta are just a few in Argentina; Boston, Framingham, Attleboro, Toronto abroad). His professional practice includes works in the Martin Chambi archive in Cuzco, Peru, 2005; Producer and assistant for the show “The Disappeared” at the North Dakota Museum of Art; Jim Dow’s personal assistant in 2004 and Roswell Angier’s in 2003.His work has been published by several international magazines such as “Urban Planet” magazine, The Boston Globe, Art Matters Magazine, and Boston Magazine, as well as the major newspapers in Argentina.Following are four photographs that express the artist’s conviction and commitment to reveal, in front of our eyes, the surreal world behind the rural imaginary.

Fernando Gonzalez Casanueva - Four Photograhs

2006-01-11T00:40:00.000-08:00

VIEW CAMERA - USA

http://www.viewcamera.com/

November 2006

Fernando González Casanueva was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1957. At fourteen, he was seduced by photography and never stopped ever since; always searching for knowledge and trying to explore the possibilities that large format could provide to his creativity. His first professor was the school photographer in his home town, Luján, and in 1987 his father encourage him to go to Buenos Aires and study with two important photographer by that time: Walter Aramayo and Carlos Mainardi. He learned about monochrome images and how to work with the large format.
Once a professional, he participated in several national and international exhibitions, achieving many awards. His photographs were published in magazines, catalogs and even in special editions such as the “Year Book”, Britain edition, 1993.
In 1994, he moved to the U.S to study and learn more about Ansel Adam’s work. In 2001, he published the book “Zone Systems”, fascinated by the technique Adams developed around 1940. This system provides a precise method to define the relationship between the way the artist sees the objects and the final result captured by the camera. Fernando tries to make it applicable using the modern sensitive materials of the XXI century.
After a lifetime of experience, the artist discovered the importance of “order”, absolute control of the “know-how” and techniques (including possibilities and limits of the large format camera, supports, timings, film developers, temperatures, etc.), and last but not least, the importance of the “aesthetic content”, which happens to be the real essence of photography. Equilibrium; balance between feelings and theory; that is the gate to the unique vision of the artist.
He made interesting series along his career. Always applying the zone system technique, he produced the “Trees” series between 1994-2002, taking pictures in different sites all over Argentina as well as Maryland in the U.S, capturing the enormous beauty of nature. Quoting Adams, Fernando said: “this technique allows me to visualize in my mind the final image before shooting”. Certainly, an exciting method to calm anxiety, eliminate doubts and avoid future frustrations.
Here we have four images of that impeccable work of art.