I would love to introduce an artist with a very interesting vision of reality on NYartlife. He is Dario Di Cesare. Bright and young Italian photographer. The scenography of his art is set in the historical city of Naples. The oldest city in Europe, with Greek, Roman, Norman, and Angevin influences. Bathed by a splendid gulf and protected by the most evocative volcano in the world: Vesuvius. A must for many international artists. The subjects he is most fond of are mainly cats and pigeons, the so-called urban fauna that he masterfully immortalizes in his art.One could say he is a younger version of Mimmo Jodice because of the passion and devotion they share about photography.
As the son of a photographer, he has been acquainted with photographs since his early childhood. Often, his photographer father takes him to the darkroom, but far from him the idea of routing him to this profession of art. This is how Dario grows his passion for photography, especially in black-and-white, which he will carry with him in the years to come.
If imagination is key to innovation and creativity, Dario has that in him. In fact, his exceptional imagination and creativity were noticed at the age of four, when the Dean of the kindergarten displayed an abstract drawing “Sui Generis” that Dario remarkably executed during classwork coming out the parameters indicated by his teacher. Since that day, Dario has never ceased to startle the world with his amazing imagination and work.
If photography is seen as a hobby or recreational activity by many people, Dario Di Cesare sees it with different eyes. He describes it with these terms: What is photography? This question can have many answers, it can have all the answers that everyone gives it, because photography is the most personal there is. It’s memoria, one’s memory, one’s life. Opening an album of photographs, perhaps of a wedding or a baptism, means going back in time, at a time in one’s life that you wanted to make indelible. The impressed image is an expression of a moment that is no longer repeated, no second is equal to another, no emotion is re-proposed at a later time but through its crystallization at the very moment in which it was felt. The task of the photo is precisely to communicate that emotion, seize that moment to make it eternal, and tear a smile or tear from the viewer. A photo that does not make the emotion of the shot is not communicative, it is flat. But how does the photographer communicate an image imprinted on paper? The image captured by the photographer is the result of individual elements that make it up: light, depth, focus, shooting speed, subject, surrounding environment, etc… and it is by carouseling on these factors that you can give communicative strength to the images. After all, photography is the union of two terms: photos and graphos, literally: drawing with light. This is how photography becomes a combination of technique and passion.
Flying pigeons by Dario Di Cesare
This black-and-white photo of flying pigeons was taken by Dario Di Cesare in the city of Naples. The beauty of art is that every viewer can interpret what’s in front of them in their own way without altering its essence. As far as I am concerned, I interpret these pigeons, full of energy and flying in different directions, as a way to represent acceptance and coexistence in the same environment despite our differences. It is also a symbol of one’s elevating themselves to achieve greatness in their life.
In this photograph, we can see that Dario utilized all the needed elements from light to object, focus to shooting speed etc… to make this caption more vibrant and artistically alive.
Reflected chair near mount Vesuvius by Dario Di Cesare
This picture was taken near Mount Vesuvius, which is a volcanic area that is located about 5.6 miles to the east of Naples. Vesuvius has a long historic and literary tradition. Its eruption in AD 79 destroyed the Roman cities of Pompei, Herculaneum, Oplontis, and Stabiae. Also, It was worshiped as a divinity of the genius type at the time of the eruption of AD 79. Venusius has erupted many times since and is the only volcano on the European mainland to have erupted within the last hundred years. Thus, one can see the importance of this place in Napolitanean culture.
Looking at this piece of work, we can see Dario’s keen skills of photography on display. From the angle of shooting to the intensity of light, from the surrounding environment to the disposition of the chair, the location he thought about everything to the smallest detail. The chair and its reflected image in the water are accurately centered vertically and horizontally, which gives an amazing equilibrium to the whole image. The volcano symbolizes energy, while the chair portrays stability and tranquility, and the water and the ground represent life and peace. These traits are major characteristics of the city of Naples. that Dario is a fervent artist that promotes the values and traditions of Naples.
Just having the idea of creating a reflection of an object on a steady water plane and taking a picture of the whole landscape is beyond imagination. This piece of art gives you peace and tranquility and leads one into a meditative state. It’s just fascinating!
