Publisher's Synopsis
Despite the omnipresence of the electronic media, there's still in many cities a need for people to advertise elections, concerts, commemorations, a new product, a new store, the latest recording of a band, a recent play or a musical, with printed posters, pasted mostly on the walls of vacant buildings. After a while, they are covered with newer posters announcing the latest of these. And on and on, until some city employee or a new developer tears down most of the propaganda, exposing all the layers of images, colors and typography as if it were an archeological excavation. This produces sometimes a kind of spontaneous geography that leaves continents and islands of advertising, on a sea of concrete or bricks.Not only are they affected by the hands of man, but there's also the effect that the environment has on these announcements, decomposing under the rain and the sun, fading on the surface, to expose the next layer. All these combinations of dissimilar colors and textures is what captures my imagination and my eye, on my camera's screen. In many occasions graffiti or stencils become part of the equation too. It's up to me to compose all these elements in a way that makes sense, in a way that makes it art. The result is a kind of Nouveau Réalistes expressionism, echoes of Mimmo Rotella and Jacques de la Villeglé, back in the 60's. The only difference between their work and mine is that they ripped and pasted the different elements in their studios, and aged them to make them look worn by the elements. Mine is not only an art of composition, but of patience. I stake out a wall full of these posters, until they are the right combination of worn and torn, and then I capture them. These photographs not only constitute a work of art, but in a way are little pieces of history if you know how to read them. I am some times conflicted by exploiting these images of chaos and decay, because they represent waste, and a crass irresponsibility to the environment, in an age where we shouldn't be abusing the already limited resources we have, and concentrate on advertising through the different media. But on the other hand, people are made conscious through these images, that otherwise, go unnoticed in our comings and goings around the city.
