"I
have finally found something I could spend countless hours doing. Getting lost in my work and finally producing that perfect piece -
there's no greater feeling."
Both Grace Camporeale's photographs and her drawings have a softness to them that
resonates a certain degree of intimacy. It almost feels as if they are
friendly to be around. Generally working small, but quick, you know that these pieces are sincere visions from her consciousness which have not been tainted with the effects of over-thinking.
GE: Your photography seems to freeze an intimate moment. What are you interested in capturing in a photograph?
GE: What do you think are the advantages that black and white photography might have over color? What are the advantages film has over digital?
GC: I personally love the strong contrast you can get with black and white. I feel like if some of the pictures I took were to be left in color, only certain aspects of the picture would be noticed and when I photograph something I'm capturing the whole picture, not necessarily a certain fragment.
I have come to love working with film over digital photography. There is something about the process - from taking the picture, to developing the film, to printing - that feels so much more rewarding than digital. I enjoy working to get that perfect picture. I feel that the reward for when you finally print that picture and it comes out exactly how you imagined, it's more rewarding than manipulating your photograph with Photoshop to get what you want.
GE: What is the bridge between drawing and photography for you?
GC: Most of my past studio work has been based off my photography, but it has never just been about the way I use these two mediums together. Rather, it's about the different views I can show of the same thing. My photograph can show a landscape as it is, while my drawing can be very abstract. The biggest connection between these mediums is the strong contrast that I try to capture - that deep, strong black against a sharp white.
GE: How did spending time in Venice influence your work? What other places do you hope to visit for artistic inspiration?
GC: Venice was such an unbelievable experience, filled with new adventures, new people, and new learning experiences. I have never seen anything like the canals of Arsenale, where I lived, nor the blown glass of Murano, where I worked. Spending time in Venice, especially at the biennale, gave me a new direction in my work and allowed me to see my work in a different way. I became focused on the history involved behind a piece. I began thinking not only of the process behind creating a piece, but why I chose that certain picture, what relevance it played in my life, and how I could translate these new feelings into the pictures for others to see. It was an incredible experience, and I have definitely decided in 15-25 years to return back to Venice and experience it all over again. I would also like to travel to cities across the United States and see local museums, as well as South America to connect with my roots and see what inspiration I can draw from there.
GE: As a senior in college, on the brink of graduation, what advice would you give a student just starting her studies in art, or what advice do you wish somebody gave you when you were beginning as an art student?
GC: My favorite thing to tell people about myself is that I came to Marist as an Information Technology major with a minor in Criminal Justice. To go from something as set in their ways as IT to a Bachelor's in Studio Art with a minor in Photography is no small jump, but the real reason is because I finally found something I loved doing. I do love working with computers, but if I had to be stuck behind one for the rest of my life I would not feel as fulfilled as I do when my hands are covered in paint or charcoal.
I have finally found something I could spend countless hours doing. Getting lost in my work and finally producing that perfect piece - there's no greater feeling. If I were to give advice to a beginning art student, I would say to try everything, and don't be afraid to fail, or use an eraser. You are definitely going to have days when your work is sub-par and you are going to have days when you bust out 20 great pieces, you just have to be patient. Don't be afraid to go looking for inspiration, sometimes it even comes to you in unlikely ways - embrace all of it. You will be criticized, but take all of it and learn from it. Do not be afraid to give someone your honest opinion or receive someone's honest opinion of your work. Enjoy what you're doing, don't complain, and have fun because at the end of the day you have to be happy with your own work before someone else can be.
GC: I've never been a big art history person, and even now I don't really have a favorite artist or photographer. I think if someone's work has that strong contrasting tone that I try to capture in my work, then I will stop and take the time to analyze the piece. Also, I love getting close to a piece like a painting and seeing an artist's brush stroke, the ways they applied paint and to what varying degrees in order to get that color or that shadow or tone, etc. It helps give me inspiration for future artwork I will produce, and provides a good foundation, something I can reference back to if ever the need arises.
GE: Is there any work of art that you've encountered in your life that's changed your perception of art?
GC: When I was in Venice, we had to make a presentation on some aspect of the biennale. While traveling to each country, I came across the Israel pavilion. The floor you walk in on was like being underground where all the pipes are exposed and you can even see the dirt underneath the pavilion. Making your way up to the second floor, you see a video playing on the floor below of three men using knives to draw lines in the sand. Continue up the stairs and there's another video. This video was what captured my attention the most and made me want to learn more about the pavilion. It's an almost 12 minute video of a pair of shoes sinking into ice. It doesn't sound like much, but upon further investigation, I found out that the shoes have been submerged in the Dead Sea, covered in the deadly salt, and are slowly sinking into a frozen lake in Gdansk. When you turn around, a third video is playing with three nude women raking their hands through wet sand and slowly melting into the sea, before running back to the top of the screen and starting over. Continuing down the stairs in front of this video, we find a table with laptops all around, a dialogue playing between a bunch of different people, a video playing at various intervals on each laptop depicting the underside of the table, and a little girl going to each person and tying their shoes together. Finally, when you leave the pavilion, there are the shoes from underneath the table arranged outside in a circle with the laces still tied together.
The night before visiting the pavilion, I had spoken with a student from another school about the history behind pieces of art - not just the process, but the actual historical relevance it holds to someone and how much meaning that encompasses underneath the surface. When I saw the Israel pavilion the next day, I fully grasped that concept and felt that the universe was trying to point me in a certain direction. I read more about the pavilion and the artist, Sigalit Landau, and the immense history lesson hidden behind each aspect of the pavilion. I learned about her struggle to bring Israel and its surrounding countries into a more unified pact and what historical prevalence each piece in the show had on her trying to enforce this idea. It was unbelievable to me how much thought and time and dedication went into this pavilion, and I was beyond impressed by her work. I was able to use all I had learned to begin working on my pieces as well, and at the perfect time as I had been having a hard time taking the next step. Sigalit's message, as well as my conversation with a new friend, are some of the memories I hold dear to me and I hope to continue using what I learned in future pieces.
