MEMORIES - Curator- Richard S. Chow > FIRST PLACE (click)
FIRST PLACE (click)
MEMORIES IN MOTION by Samanta Aretino
(Click on image for reviews)
(Click on image for reviews)
CURATOR RICHARD S. CHOW: "Each submission in this open call is unique and compelling. Photographers offered their interpretations of “memories” with a wide variety of quality images. I immensely enjoyed reviewing each entry, and I’d to mention that the margin of placement were tiny.
For the first place winner, I have selected Samanta Aretino, whose image offers many layers of complexities for the viewers to contemplate. Aside from being aesthetically compelling, in the image I see a gamut of sentiments… joy, sadness, indifference, steady gaze, and last of all a sense of secrecy, an unanswered and enigmatic mystery. This image plays well with the theme of memories, often not so distinct and with seemingly unconnected fragments."
Chow asks Aretino, "How does this image, Memories in Motion, relate to your own unique memories, and how was that manifested?"
SAMANTA ARETINO: "My image "Memories in motion" is related to my own memories because it express the way my memory travels, shifts, moves towards moments of my life, both in adolescence and childhood, where different emotions are mixed.
The image generated by this movement is not static, it is not defined. I can´t see it completely because it is distorted by the same memories and the new experiences."
Read more about first place winner Samanta Aretino:
Gifted with a strong affinity for cityscapes and color, many of Aretino’s photographs focus on women, children, and urban landscape.
However, her work never comes off as something simply dedicated to a cause.
She explores multiple techniques and subjects.
With clever and skillful framing, Aretino forces her viewers to care about her subjects and take an interest in them.
Although they appear frequently isolated, there’s an implication of the world around them that makes them more than lonely, existential figures.
For the first place winner, I have selected Samanta Aretino, whose image offers many layers of complexities for the viewers to contemplate. Aside from being aesthetically compelling, in the image I see a gamut of sentiments… joy, sadness, indifference, steady gaze, and last of all a sense of secrecy, an unanswered and enigmatic mystery. This image plays well with the theme of memories, often not so distinct and with seemingly unconnected fragments."
Chow asks Aretino, "How does this image, Memories in Motion, relate to your own unique memories, and how was that manifested?"
SAMANTA ARETINO: "My image "Memories in motion" is related to my own memories because it express the way my memory travels, shifts, moves towards moments of my life, both in adolescence and childhood, where different emotions are mixed.
The image generated by this movement is not static, it is not defined. I can´t see it completely because it is distorted by the same memories and the new experiences."
CURATOR STEVE ZMAK: How many layers are there to this image? How many are actually there and how many does each viewer see as they peer deeper and deeper into it? Am I seeing faces that aren’t really there. I love how this photo plays tricks on my eyes (and imagination). I think B&W was a good choice as color likely would have been a distraction. Technically I’m curious if this was done in camera or in post. An excellent selection to represent the category of Memories in Motion!
CURATOR MYRON LEE: For me, this is a very good portrait about self-esteem. It's complex and thought-provoking. What first grabbed my attention is the well-focused and centrally placed hand in the foreground. Paired with the eye looking at his own hand, it evoked a powerful response from me. What does this symbolizes? Does it symbolizes "reality check", "confidence", or “right brain thinking". Then within this same frame, we have an equally powerful image of this same person looking down. Is he now, “reflecting” , “doubting”, or “feel less assured”? And with this piece titled, Memory in Motion" I started to see all sorts of interpretations, complexities and emotional mysteries within this photo and somehow it also involved myself.
CURATOR JANE SZABO: The use of the multiple exposure in Samanta Aretino's winning entry, "Memories in Motion" creates a visual metaphor for the ethereal and fleeting memories we hold, until they often slip away. Past and present are represented in the image, though we may not be certain which is which. This is a lovely image that intrigues and leaves much to the imagination.
--------------------------------------------------------------CURATOR MYRON LEE: For me, this is a very good portrait about self-esteem. It's complex and thought-provoking. What first grabbed my attention is the well-focused and centrally placed hand in the foreground. Paired with the eye looking at his own hand, it evoked a powerful response from me. What does this symbolizes? Does it symbolizes "reality check", "confidence", or “right brain thinking". Then within this same frame, we have an equally powerful image of this same person looking down. Is he now, “reflecting” , “doubting”, or “feel less assured”? And with this piece titled, Memory in Motion" I started to see all sorts of interpretations, complexities and emotional mysteries within this photo and somehow it also involved myself.
CURATOR JANE SZABO: The use of the multiple exposure in Samanta Aretino's winning entry, "Memories in Motion" creates a visual metaphor for the ethereal and fleeting memories we hold, until they often slip away. Past and present are represented in the image, though we may not be certain which is which. This is a lovely image that intrigues and leaves much to the imagination.
Read more about first place winner Samanta Aretino:
Gifted with a strong affinity for cityscapes and color, many of Aretino’s photographs focus on women, children, and urban landscape.
However, her work never comes off as something simply dedicated to a cause.
She explores multiple techniques and subjects.
With clever and skillful framing, Aretino forces her viewers to care about her subjects and take an interest in them.
Although they appear frequently isolated, there’s an implication of the world around them that makes them more than lonely, existential figures.
Aretino emigrated from Buenos Aires, the country of her birth, to Spain in 2001. She says this experience greatly affected her work and made her look at the world in a different way, with the knowledge that there are many ways to live, create, express, feel, and relate to people. Aretino’s photographs reflect this understanding: they're an exploration of the world and how people navigate through it.
www.samantaaretinophoto.com
www.samantaaretinophoto.com
