The Sound of Fashion Photography – by Tatiana Grach

Many of you may be familiar with both the works of Paolo Roversi and Antonio Vivaldi. You may also be wondering what they have to do with one another… Both are historically significant artists with fascinating biographies, but the resemblance seems to stop there… at first sight that is. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Allow me a short preamble to explain how this article came about.

I came across Paolo Roversi’s new book “Lettres Sur La Lumière” or in translation, “letters on (about) light” while I was preparing for a photo-shoot a few weeks ago. The primary inspiration for this shoot was the work of Paolo Roversi and I was trying to figure out how he achieves his lighting. Different blogs gave varying answers, but none of them seemed sufficient to truly understand his technique. The book, co-written with Italian philosopher Emanuele Coccia, seemed like the answer to all my queries. It turned out to be so much more… It is not at all a photography manual, but a philosophical discussion on life, light, metaphysics and art. To me, it opened a window into Paolo’s unique mind and kind spirit, and gave me an even deeper appreciation of his photography.

This monumental work, if I may be so bold as to give it this title, got me thinking that everyone deserves a chance to feel the power of Roversi’s photographs. I thought of ways in which I would describe his work to someone with visual impairments. My answer? Music. Listen to Op. 8 No. 2 (an excerpt from Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons” – Summer) while looking at the following photograph and you will see the photograph come to life with the music – as if it was composed for it.

Now, allow me to discuss more profoundly the parallels between the Baroque composer born in 1678 Venice and the fashion photographer born in 1947 Ravenna.

To give you a brief introduction to Baroque music, it reigned supreme in Europe from around 1600-1750 and it followed the Renaissance (same as in art history). It was a very ornamented style of music, usually with a continued base and an improvised melody line. The Baroque era saw the creation of a real orchestra and the rise of the idea of a “genius composer”. Antonio Vivaldi, one of the most celebrated composers of that age, started as a priest. His spirituality is palpable in his work, even in his non-religious work (such as the Four Seasons).

Paolo Roversi has a very spiritual approach to photography. He considers each photograph taken to be a meditation – a moment of pure consciousness for all those involved. At the basis of his approach to photography is his desire to bring out the internal light of his subjects. He believes that photography is simply the act of capturing what the light has already painted; he speaks both of the light coming from the sun, as well as the light radiating from every individual. To me, this spiritual/religious element in their art is the first element that links the two artists across centuries.

Paolo Roversi also speaks about the notion that photography is a constant cycle of life, death and rebirth. The moment that is photographed will never repeat itself, it is gone forever and so in a way it dies. However, every time someone looks at the photograph, the moment is brought back to life. In this cycle, I see a direct parallel to music. Every time a musician plays a note, it is born. A few moments later, it dies away into the silence, but can be reborn using the instructions (sheet music or chord progressions) left behind by the composer. It will never sound exactly the same as in that initial moment, but it will live on as long as the sheet music is looked at and played from. It will be interpreted by different people with different perspectives… same as a photograph that is looked at over and over.

I see another important parallel between Vivaldi’s intricate compositions and Roversi’s photographs. Vivaldi is known for his dramatic contrasts – highs and lows (making powerful use of the continued base and melody line), contrasts between instruments etc. It is what makes his music so emotional. Like Vivaldi’s compositions, Roversi’s work is based on contrasts. His highs and lows however do not dwell in the realm of music, but in the realm of light or what he refers to as cosmic ink. His photographs recall Rembrandt’s paintings. Like Rembrandt, he uses the age-old technique of chiaroscuro (in translation light and dark). You can find below two of Rembrandt’s paintings and five photographs by Roversi below. Do you see the similarities? The light tells the story, it lives thanks to these artists.