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Book of the Month – Renato D'Agostin - Orbit
Book of the Month – Renato D'Agostin - Orbit
Renato D’Agostin
May 25, 2018
© IIKKI Books
Orbit is the result of a dialogue between the photographer Renato D’Agostin and the composer and musician Scott Worthington. It was initiated by the French edition project Iikki, between September 2017 and January 2018. The complete project has two physical manifestations: a book and a vinyl record. The aim is to have a multi-faceted experience: looking at the book; listening to the record; looking at and listening to the book and the record at the same time.
We talked to Renato D’Agostin about the book and his experiences:
How did the collaboration between you and Scott Worthington came about and how did you work together?
The collaboration was proposed by Mathias Van Eecloo, director of Iikki Books, a French edition project, which usually results into a dialogue between a visual artist and a music artist. Mathias proposed the beautiful music by Scott Worthington to me, and I immediately thought it could work well with my photography.
What came first – the pictures or the music?
The photographs come from several previous projects. Orbit is a collection of my works spanning from the very beginning, to very recently. I used the music to find the sequence and connect the photographs to each other. As Orbit includes photographs from the past 15 years, the choice wasn’t easy. It takes quite a long time to get to know your own work, to the point where you are confident enough to know how your own work can flow through the pages of a book.
Was it clear right from the start to only use black and white images?
Yes. My photography has always been predominantly black and white. The darkroom is an important element of my work, where I rearrange light under the enlarger to emphasize one or more elements over others, shaping the negative onto the paper. Making a selection through my black and white pictures was the right way for me to work with the whole project.
What were your personal experiences with the project?
I found it very satisfying working with Iikki. Discovering Scott’s music was a big part of it, and I am happy I did. Opening up a dialogue with those notes, took me to what I find is a strong sequence, and offers a look into my vision.
Which camera did you use for the pictures?
As the photographs come from different projects during my life, different cameras were used: they were taken with a Leica R6, Leica M6 and M7, and a Nikon F100.
Why did you publish your images without any captions?
I tend never to put captions on my photographs; mostly because I prefer not to connect the viewer to a specific subject, moment or place. I find that not putting captions allows the viewer to feel free to interpret, following one train of thought or another, finding his or her own path into reading my visual alphabet.
What sets the current project apart from your previous books?
Seeing years of my work in a curated sequence shows me what I want to try next.
Thank you very much for talking with us.
(Ulrich Rüter)
We talked to Renato D’Agostin about the book and his experiences:
How did the collaboration between you and Scott Worthington came about and how did you work together?
The collaboration was proposed by Mathias Van Eecloo, director of Iikki Books, a French edition project, which usually results into a dialogue between a visual artist and a music artist. Mathias proposed the beautiful music by Scott Worthington to me, and I immediately thought it could work well with my photography.
What came first – the pictures or the music?
The photographs come from several previous projects. Orbit is a collection of my works spanning from the very beginning, to very recently. I used the music to find the sequence and connect the photographs to each other. As Orbit includes photographs from the past 15 years, the choice wasn’t easy. It takes quite a long time to get to know your own work, to the point where you are confident enough to know how your own work can flow through the pages of a book.
Was it clear right from the start to only use black and white images?
Yes. My photography has always been predominantly black and white. The darkroom is an important element of my work, where I rearrange light under the enlarger to emphasize one or more elements over others, shaping the negative onto the paper. Making a selection through my black and white pictures was the right way for me to work with the whole project.
What were your personal experiences with the project?
I found it very satisfying working with Iikki. Discovering Scott’s music was a big part of it, and I am happy I did. Opening up a dialogue with those notes, took me to what I find is a strong sequence, and offers a look into my vision.
Which camera did you use for the pictures?
As the photographs come from different projects during my life, different cameras were used: they were taken with a Leica R6, Leica M6 and M7, and a Nikon F100.
Why did you publish your images without any captions?
I tend never to put captions on my photographs; mostly because I prefer not to connect the viewer to a specific subject, moment or place. I find that not putting captions allows the viewer to feel free to interpret, following one train of thought or another, finding his or her own path into reading my visual alphabet.
What sets the current project apart from your previous books?
Seeing years of my work in a curated sequence shows me what I want to try next.
Thank you very much for talking with us.
(Ulrich Rüter)
ALL IMAGES ON THIS PAGE: © Renato D’Agostin
Renato D’Agostin+-
Renato D’Agostin was born in Venice in 1983. In 2001 he started his career in photography there. The atmosphere of city life nourished his curiosity to capture life situations with the camera. For this purpose, he travelled to the capitals of Western Europe in 2002. After a period in Milan, where he worked with the production studio Maison Sabbatini, he moved overseas exploring photography in New York, where he had a chance to meet photographer Ralph Gibson and to become his assistant later on. In 2007, he presented Metropolis at the Leica Gallery in New York. Other exhibitions followed over the next years in the United States, Europe and Asia. His works have been published in numerous books.
Scott Worthington is a double bassist and composer based in Los Angeles. As a performer, he plays in chamber ensembles, orchestras, recording studios, and as a soloist. His music has been commissioned by the Library Foundation of Los Angeles, Loadbang, the Ekmeles Vocal Ensemble, and numerous soloists. He has published two albums so far. More
© IIKKI Books
