Profoundly Superficial. A photography book by León Chiprout

Profoundly Superficial

Profoundly Superficial Leรณn Chiprout

Leรณn Chiprout

Profoundly Superficial Leรณn Chiprout

Foreword When speaking of art, a feature most generally stressed is command over the tools, be they language, volume, color... It is even thought that full control of them is what makes a “good writer”, or a “good painter”. In the world of photography, one hears of skillful use of light, or an “eye”. A photographer is sometimes judged as “having a good eye” or not. That is why it is easy to impress people with a “pretty” picture—dusky scenes in which light falls behind a mountain and you can see a pristine blue sky, or cityscapes where overexposure allows car lights to stretch out giving the impression of movement. It’s a cliché. I personally find photographers with splendid technical knowledge wanting, and their work inane, weak little pictures lacking in will to confront, in cutting edge. What for me marks a great photographer—or any artist at that—is his world. It isn’t enough having the famed “good eye” you need to have a certain regard.

León is an artist. Looking at his work I was surprised to discover his ability to detect “extremes”—human beings captured momentarily with an unusual expression on their face, or in strange circumstances—like the naked woman in a fish tank. Landscapes are not pretty, as those you’d find in a postcard, or the flashy images on sale at the shopping mall. No, León’s have something in them that makes us want to look again. What is that that’s barely perceivable in the far distance in the perfect twilight of an idyllic jungle? Why does a plain tennis court present elements more akin to those of a crime scene? What kind of lives move behind those lit windows in a building standing amid a heavy fog?

The bodies photographed by León possess disturbing qualities also. Who is the shaved woman on whose back a strange marbled pattern is drawn? Is the rosy-cheeked woman in swim-suit smiling, or is her gesture one of pain? In a toy car, an albino—or extremely blond— girl brandishes an American flag while passing by two black men whose faces remain hidden.

Who is she and where is she going? Is her gesture a racist affirmation?

León’s photos moved me to ask the great question that a snapshot usually elicits from the viewer: What were the subjects doing before and after they were photographed? The dressed-up geisha turning away from the photographers—where exactly had she been previously? What’s the story behind this naked woman sipping on a glass of wine?

Obsessed as I am about photography (which I often use as a source of inspiration for my work as a writer), I perceive in León an eclectic approach, in contrast to that of other artists.

León satirizes on the subjects he photographs, in the style of Diane Arbus. He photographs people in extravagant poses, much as Helmut Newton used to do. He discovers human experiences in the middle of the street, like Lorca Dicorcia. He reveals complexity in solitary landscapes, in the manner of Stephen Shore (photographers all of these that I admire). And this eclecticism that many purists would see as problematic, is to me one of the more attractive features of this collection. It thrills me to see in a photographer such versatility, a keenness able to pierce through subject-matter so contrasting and distant one from the other.

I hope León continues practicing still photography. I hope he will allow us to look inside more often into his worlds and his way of seeing, into the contradictions manifested through his images, into the beauty of these sometimes disturbing depictions. Enjoy this collection, or suffer it or devour it, fear it, face it. You will not emerge unscathed from these photographs.

Guillermo Arriaga

This book, it’s a pure construction of my ego.

I never had a fixed commitment to ideas, probably out of fear or unrealistic expectations about my art.

The ritual of selecting the images and constructing the visual narrative was challenging and even painful– allowing me to discover things about myself as an artist that I was unaware of. This endeavor was closer to exorcism than anything else.

This book represents the shifts of consciousness that I experienced during the analogue to digital transition, and through my journey from being a still photographer to becoming a cinematographer–reflecting the constant internal changes during years of meditation practice.

My main interest is the nature of light, the contemplative states of mind and emotional tone experienced by the subject in front of a lens–the atmosphere these elements create in combination...

As an artist, no rules or specific concepts are followed: just expression and perception.

León Chiprout

Don’t see in me what’s burning in you.

Pulse...

Superficially

Profound

Profoundly Superficial León Chiprout

EDITED BY Mariana Musi

DESIGNED BY Rigoberto de la Rocha

EDITORIAL CONSULTING Gerardo Montiel Klint

THANKS TO Guillermo Arriaga Tanya Mordachi Alex Flores Hector Falcón Miriam Mabel Martínez Ivan González de León Fernando Montiel Klint David Barraza Ilian Torres Jessica Kreimerman

©León Chiprout, 2019 Queda prohibida la reproducción parcial o total de esta obra por cualquier medio —incluidos los electrónicos— sin permiso escrito por parte del titular de los derechos. Todos los derechos de reproducción son propiedad de León Chiprout.