CA TALK | Gabriel Modica: Photography is something more
She always sits in front of the window and smokes
Passerby
Marvel at her beauty
She often dances in the house.
The spark in his hand is extinguished.
Passers-by are outside the house
Look at her life.
Her whole life burned out in that cigarette.
- From the movie 《Malèna》
In a short paragraph, a few words include six shots, told a story well, and summarized a movie.
This is a 22-year-old movie, and the director Giuseppe Tornatore is the person who knows best how to tell stories with the camera in Sicily, Italy, to my knowledge. Among the few works in his life, most of them are set in Sicily, his hometown, and often express his exploration of history, arts, humanity and contradictions hidden in that corner using romantic and subtle montage.
Interestingly, I also felt this feeling in the works of another artist from Sicily, Gabriele Modica, especially when he described in detail the relationship between the graffiti used in his first NFT work and him in an almost tender tone, “It’s a graffiti on the corner of my city that has been forgotten for many years, and it’s near a beautiful bar in the old downtown. And I pass by it every night after work … ”. As if frames of shots are connected in my mind, forming a short story like a micro-movie. I suddenly wondered if artists from Sicily were naturally good at telling stories. At the same time, I am also interested in Gabriele Modica’s minimalist style creations，those seemingly small and fresh photographs, which are different from digital media and digital programming creations, with a slightly interesting but quiet sense of temperature. As a photographer, how does he get rid of the barriers of image construction between images and visualization, to construct non-narrative expression instead of just telling stories through pictures?
Gabriele Modica was born in Sicily, Italy in 1994. His father is an architectural designer, while his grandfather is a blacksmith，it is worth noting that the “blacksmith” in Europe refers to the person who uses molten iron to forge handicrafts, and the iron handicrafts in Europe often matches the architecture well. Influenced by his family, he majors in graphic design major of Accademia di Belle Arti DI PALERMO, and become a professional photographer in 2012. Gabriele Modica is undoubtedly talented. He studies the light, shadow, composition and style of Italian Renaissance religion and figure painting, and applies what he learns from formal training to photography creation, which makes his fashion photography highly recognizable.
But is photography a job, a skill or a creative language for Gabriele Modica? The year 2020 will undoubtedly be an opportunity. The outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic has disrupted the common life circle of all mankind and trapped the people of the world into isolated islands by regional circles. At the same time, it has also triggered Gabriele Modica’s reflection on his creation, that is, how to get rid of the limitation of documenting specific images and contents to complete effective expression? Or based on this thinking and the current life and mood of the epidemic, Gabriele Modica created his first independent photography project “Equilibrio” (English for “Balance”).
In this project, Gabriele Modica tried to use colours, geometric patterns and the composition of dots, lines and planes to complete the layout of the picture. It seems that the proportion of composition that has been accurately calculated, the sense of conflict created by the scheming complementary colour hedge relationship and the harmony corresponding to the same colour system have become the fundamental source of the emotional tone and dramatic foundation of this series of creations. While those circles, triangles and squares constitute the visual centre of the picture, the symbols are dancing and telling the story of the artwork. The interpretation of the artwork comes from the artist’s delicate composition and the imagination of the viewers. Even though Gabriele Modica gave symbolic meaning to these geometric figures and colours in the process of creation, the picture is away from the figurative objects and narratives, which brought in the audience’s subjective consciousness. It is also in this series of works that graphic design thinking contribute to the inspiration of this series of works.
But what surprises me is how Gabriele creates, through photography, a transformation between photography, installation and painting, a non-verbal structure, or even a scene-shaping result — as if the photographer had taken a set of images with a subtle arrangement of props, models, lighting, etc. In the Equilibrio series, the geometric forms of playdough are Gabriele’s models, the incense sticks are the props, and the brightly coloured cardboard is the set. This is undeniably due to Gabriele’s creative instincts as a photographer, but the choice to cut out the elaborate figurative descriptions and figurative language in favour of minimalist abstraction, and to create a playful and theatrical sense of movement and stillness in a limited two-dimensional plane, is poetic.
This way of creating infinite interest and possibilities on a limited scale also reminds me of another film by Giuseppe Tornatore, a classic scene in The Legend of 1900: that is，1900 stands on the deck, after facing the endless city, throws his hat into the sea, turns around and returns to the cabin, he told his friend: you are infinite. And on those keys, the music that you can make is infinite.
So where did Gabriele’s storytelling ability come from? Besides Equilibrio, his NFT animation Mind Control tells a funny, meaningless and warm taste story. Imagine what it’s like to see a helpless man tossed around by an eight-grabber/Octopus on the street at the end of a busy day at work. It is only through the most basic design means that some action details are added to this graffiti …
Then, after perusing his website and a series of dynamic details published by him through social platforms in detail, this issue of “CA TALK” has an interview with Gabriele Modica, hoping to find out how the artist from Sicily tells stories through his shutter.
CA: My impression of Sicily always stays in the cultural atmosphere rendered by the movies Malèna and The Godfather, so I feel that Sicily is a romantic, passionate and mysterious southern island. Since you come from Sicily, do you think there are any characteristics in your personality that are consistent with this place?
Gabriele: I am from Sicily, specifically Palermo. Sicily is a place of wonders, history and diverse cultural influences. We Sicilians have been dominated by the Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Normans, French, Spanish and many other peoples. Our land is rich in culture and history and leaves an indelible mark on anyone who comes, even if only on holiday. You will be enveloped in beauty, scents, flavours and colours. As Goethe said, “Sicily is the key to everything”.The purity of the contours, the softness of everything, the yielding exchange of colours, the harmonious unity of sky with sea and sea with land. He who has seen them only once will possess them for a lifetime.”
As a person, I think I am very Sicilian. I carry within me the passion and love typical of those born in Sicily. I love colours and being influenced by different cultures.
CA: Is this the reason why so many film directors and artists are keen to depict Sicily, because of its rich history and cultural symbolism?
Gabriele: I think so, just like me, I would love to talk about Sicily and represent it through my creations, and this is one of my goals for future works. If I had to talk about Sicily through my works, I would definitely talk about contradictions and contrasts: an incredibly beautiful land rich in culture that unfortunately is sometimes denigrated due to stereotypes.
CA: I can tell that you love this island. So will you also try to study the cultural history of this beautiful city, including the works created with it as the background or prototype?
Gabriele: Yes, I have studied it, especially those famous artists in Sicily’s history.
CA: Are there any artists or creations that have influenced your creation and thinking?
Gabriele: Until now, Artists like Antonello da Messina (about 1430-February 1479), the famous Italian Renaissance master of art, Pietro Novelli, the Baroque master of art, 1603 -1647) and Renato Guttuso (1911 -1987) have always been great sources of inspiration for me. Pietro Novelli in particular. I deeply studied this artist in depth and loved not only his way of making art but also his person. Another great artist who inspires me, whom I have studied and had the good fortune to have as a professor is Toti Garraffa，a great artist in modern times. He is considered one of the best Sicilian artists of all time and it was from him that I got the idea of using Plasticine and waxes as a means of expression.
CA: I have a question. Are there any artists in your family? Or is it that Italians are born with sensitive and transcendental awareness of culture and art? I’m curious because the people you study are all very representative artists in a rigorous time dimension, and your institution of study is Palermo Academy of Fine Arts, which is one of the oldest famous painting schools in Italy and used to be the royal art school.
Gabriele: Unfortunately, there are no artists in my family. I am the only one. But my father and maternal grandfather work in creative trades，my grandfather was a blacksmith and my father was an architect. Probably their influence pushed me to choose a life dedicated to creativity. After all, Italy is a country with a very long history of culture and art.
CA: So can you draw? Palermo Academy of Fine Arts, such an institution with painting as the core of its major, is painting the foundation for entry?
Gabriele: Personally, I love painting but unfortunately I have never studied it at an academy. I studied painting as a self-taught artist. I use it as a very intimate and personal expression.
CA: Did you study modern and contemporary art history? Palermo Academy of Fine Arts has a deep relationship with realistic artist Mario Bardi, and Mario Bardi is a very active and pioneering artist.
Gabriele: You’re right. Palermo Academy of Fine Arts is a very professional and pioneering school. I studied contemporary art history and phenomenology of contemporary arts. I have therefore studied art from 1950 to the present day in great depth. In particular, I was impressed by the art movements of optical art, minimalism, conceptual art and action painting.
CA: Then why did you choose to study graphic design? Does graphic design have anything to do with you becoming a photographer?
Gabriele: I chose the graphic design course because I had always been interested in the world of graphics and the course also included photography. In a way, I discovered a new passion (graphic design) and I deepened one that I already had (photography).
CA: Does graphic design have any influence on your photography creation, including the formation of your creative style?
Gabriele: The influence of graphic design has an impact on my photography as through the study of graphic design I have understood how images work. Graphic design taught me the concepts of Cage, weight of an element in an image, movement, tension, colour and communication which combined with photographic technical skills and pictorial concepts gave birth to my style.
CA: When did you first want to be a photographer?
Gabriele: To be exact, I discovered photography and video when I was 6. my father always took his camera and film camera on holiday. I found it incredibly fun to see the films and photographs again long after our holidays. I was given my first camera when I was 8 and I always took it with me on school trips and documented everything. When I was 14, I started using photoshop for the first time and created my first collages, which I have never abandoned. When I was 17, thanks to a project with the school, my photographs were selected for the development of a website on the Belice Valley: a place in the centre of Sicily that was destroyed by an earthquake in the 1960s. From there I decided to continue my studies at the Academy of Fine Arts.
At the age of 18 I started to work as a photographer for various photographic studios, at 23 I created my first photographic studio ICONA Media & Events with whom we worked as concert photographers around Italy while at the same time I also dedicated myself to art.
CA: It’s convenient to create interesting stories through PS, which is a very effective way to express opinions. Is this a common use in your creation?
Gabriele: Playing with perception has always been the basis of my art and in this sense collage is the most effective means of expression. Because it allows infinite variations, not only with photography but also with video.
CA: So your work Mind Control uploaded on the CA platform is also a collage exercise?
Gabriele: Actually, Mind Control is my first experimental creation in the NFT field. That graffiti is located in a place in my city where I spend most of my evenings: near a beautiful pub in the old city centre. It has been there for many years, but it is almost invisible to people passing by. It also hides a secret. Under the animated graffiti there is another graffiti with a Rebus. It is the first in a series of animations in this style. I created this nft project because it is like bringing to life and reinterpreting in a completely personal way an idea that someone imprinted on the wall many years ago. It’s like collaborating with an artist on the same work at the same time but at a distance. I chose to upload it on the CA platform because I like the idea of influencing Asia’s largest marketplace with art from Sicily.
CA: Essentially, this is also a creative idea derived from your photography behaviour.
Gabriele: That’s true, and I don’t think photography is just the action of pressing the shutter.
CA: So what does photography mean to you now? Is technology still a creative language? I mean, when it is a language, behind the action of pressing the shutter, there is the intervention of the artist’s behaviour and thoughts. It is not only the record of a phenomenon but also the output of opinions by the later Photoshop work.
Gabriele: Thank you for asking this question. For me, photography has a Before and an After. Until before the pandemic, I was only a professional photographer. I was capturing concerts and events so that I had to deliver a photo report. A few times a year I was able to go on holiday and travel around the world taking pictures. After the pandemic I realised that the camera is a much more powerful tool than I had previously perceived it to be. It is not just a tool but a true means of expression with which the possibilities are endless. My photographs start with a story, then they are designed, drawn and coloured. Only after I am satisfied with the design do I move on to the photography phase.
CA: So after that, you created your first independent photography project Equilibrio?
Gabriele: The Equilibrio project is about my own story. it’s as if for the first time I were standing in front of the camera lens and no longer behind it. For the first time in years I dedicated myself to something that was solely for me and dedicated to me. I used a style of photography, still life, that I had never considered before. Coming from years of photographing concerts with pyrotechnics, special effects and music, studio still life was something totally out of my imagination. And yet, thanks to those hours spent in the studio, I started to find again the passion for photography that I was perhaps forgetting. I rediscovered the pleasure of experimenting and the dedication to create the perfect image.
Equilibrium is also for me the rediscovery of simplicity. I use materials such as paper and Plasticine to create compositions. I have explored distant worlds while staying at home and I communicate something that is impossible for me to express in words by using simple overlapping paper.
This project is a rebirth and a sort of challenge to what photography has been for me so far.
CA: Is “balance” related to life after the epidemic and your thinking?
Gabriele: I thought of creating this series because I feel the need to talk about myself, about my story and tell it in a personal way. conceptually, balance is something I have always sought and continue to seek in my life. The images tell the stories of my life in different moments: sometimes incredibly complicated and of impossible loves, sometimes more beautiful but which, as we Italians say, “always leave a bitter taste in the mouth”. For me, the concept of balance is the search for peace and inner stability, made precarious and almost impossible by a fast-paced, ever-changing external world. Balance means finding your own centre, feeling good about yourself and others. To love others, to love oneself, to be loved and, what is much more difficult, to let oneself be loved!
CA: You have defined Equilibrio as the intersection of photography, graphics and painting because they are photos with images behind them. The image itself limits the audience’s perception, and the photo is based on an image, so how do you define a photo with an image concept?
Gabriele: We are used to thinking that photography is “the depiction of reality” but I think this limits photography as art. My art asks the question “what is real?” “why does photography have to follow canons and rules that have always been repeated over time?” Photography can be an infinite art. So far it has been “real” and “concrete” such as reportage, fashion, or portrait photography that tells of a precise moment and time. Photography can tell a story about a person or a place. Our eye will always recognise objective and familiar forms. For me, photography today can go further. Photography can tell stories about people and places without showing places or people. It can tell emotions expressed through colour and shapes. My photography does not tell about a specific moment but tries to immortalise the soul and spirit. It aims to draw out hidden emotions from us and makes us question what we are seeing. It does not mark a historical moment like reportage photography but in a way it is photography of infinity.
Ca: Is Equilibrio influenced by constructivism and minimalism?
Gabriele: Yes, I love minimalism, constructivism and conceptual art. I try to fuse everything together.
CA: So, like Wassily Kandinsky, you have given those geometric figures related interpretations and symbolism in advance?
Gabriele: Each painting has unique meanings. For me, the background made of cardboard represents the universe as an infinite surface and as a plane of support. The plasticine represents human beings and therefore ourselves. the contrast between the background and the shapes shows differences: the background is perfect while the shapes have imperfections: this indicates how imperfect we are in the face of the perfection of nature and creation. moreover, if you look carefully at the plasticine shapes, you can see my fingerprints, which are my additional signature and a clue to understanding the painting.
CA: Did you also hold your first exhibition based on the creation of this series?
Gabriele: Yes, I had my first solo exhibition in Venice in August 2021. It was a wonderful experience. I was in one of the most beautiful and representative cities in Italy, which has inspired the greatest artists of all time. I exhibited and presented the whole collection for the first time and the exhibition was open for 2 weeks. It was an indescribable emotion!
CA: When did you enter the field of NFT art creation?
Gabrielel: I discovered crypto art thanks to a dear friend, who is now my manager, at the beginning of 2021. I first heard about NFT and understood absolutely nothing about it. For months I researched it until I understood and appreciated it. Then in May 2021 I attended the first NFT festival in Europe called Rare Effect in Lisbon where I was lucky enough to meet my first collector and sell my first NFT.
CA: How do you think of the concept of encryption art? What do you think is the biggest difference between it and the traditional art market?
Gabriele: At the moment I believe that crypto art is a new art market and can therefore coexist with the traditional art market. Crypto collectors and traditional collectors are both looking for the same things: promising artists to invest in and works that excite them. As for the difference between the two worlds I think there is a huge difference in the interaction and discovery of a new artist. Before crypto art, to fully appreciate an artist you necessarily had to meet him or see a work of art in his presence. Today, thanks to crypto art, the art centre is no longer a physical place but the metaverse.
CA: You have your photography studio, which is used to accept the commission. What about your creation? Is there a gallery acting as your agent?
Gabriele: I don’t currently have a gallery that represents me. I am creating my own team to grow. My first photographic studio was in Palermo, I recently moved to Lisbon where I have my new photographic studio where I exhibit and create my work.
