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Andrea Constantini
Andrea Constantini is an Italian photographer and graphic designer, and founder of PhotogtaphizeMag, an independent, free, electronic magazine. As a desi~ner who he is renowned for experimenting with double exposure, he produced a series of etherea l cityscapes that merge into portraits. In terms of fitting into the theme of new and old, beyond time and as such cons i , the dreamlike state he depicts represents me>,tr,repJs s;; ,,,. '
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modern objects with a sense of warped nostalgia. Thus, the images represent modem day objects but in the past: 'Old and New'. In his architectl!ral collection called 'Where is My Mind', he emphasised the idea tha the human mind is a construct that is constantly elsewhere. This is a key distinction, between the instinctive thinking of animals and the consciousness of man; this is w
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gives us the ability to overcome social boundaries, economical differences and infini concepts such as time and space. 'Where in my mind is as such an ode to the human mind, its imagination and to all its creating capabilities. egorised into landscapes and portraiture My work up to this point is seemingly cat_ with the theme of nostalgia seemingly underpinning all the pieces - and it was imperative that I found a composition that could integrate them both into one aesthetic. Constantini crops cityscapes into thought bubbles that explode from the heads of figures he has also captured through the medium of photography. Using Photoshop, he is able to cut parts of the face away and implant fhe image of the c¡ into the picture. This process is also undertaken in parallel with erasing the backg r u and underlying a soft monochromatic texture to contrast with the foreground. Th is simplistic process is fundamentally what creates a clean aesthetic that is able to dra the eyes across the page and was a major factor in informing my decision of studyi this photographer. Once Constantini has found a composition that he is happy with, he will then apply black and white filter over all his work and play around with the levels until he is satisfied with the cortrast and definition of the various components in his c0.m pos: ¡ This monochromatic way of working emphasises the architectural aspects of both
cityscapes and portraiture. Thus, by instigating a common narrative, he is able to force stunning works of art that really question what we consider as Surrealism. Is the importance placed more on the composition? Or is the abstraction meant to represent something beyond form - like the human consciousness. Using the aforementioned working process, I will take my own photographs of cityscapes and portraits against screen backgrounds (to make it easier to crop out the background). I will then use the images I have take,n to edit on Photoshop. At first I will ' ' .<
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just overlay the cityscape over the portraits in c~fu~t~nd experiment with working from them in paint. Evidently it is imperative that I work in a realistic style for the composition to be effective. As I have often referenced the artists of the Renaissance era for most of my work, I believe that this will allow for a seamless style transition in my work and help to achieve a sense of realism. If this takes too long, I can then revert back to working in pencil to expedite the process. I could also work using white pencils on black paper to create a stronger contrast between a solid black background and a foreground described entirely using highlights. Constantini always works by aligning the images centre in foreground and using the natural perspective of the cityscape to draw the viewer into his work. This gives the impression as if the viewer is looking through the individual like a mirror and seeing the world inside their mind. By withdrawing the viewer's attention away from the individual, he is able to restrict social bias. I believe he wants his audience to consider his work on an architectural basis as much as the narrative he is describing. This aligns with what I aim to achieve in my own work. The next couple of pages in my book should consequently be about applying the techniques I have used earlier in my project to Constantini style compositio0ns. The immediate two pages however should focus on building up a collection of source images to work from and I should develop my work from there.