Artist of the Week – Umberta Genta
Little Black Book of Art interviews 29 year old Italian photographer Umberta Genta for our ‘Artist of the Week’ section…
Q: Why does photography appeal to you?
I think it appeals to me because it simultaneously records, monitors, and provides the means to alter reality… whatever that may be.
Q: Who are your inspirations? and What other artists do you admire?
In terms of photographers I’m inspired by Francesca Woodman, Helmut Newton, Jurgen Teller, Deborah Turberville, among others.
Q: Did you study formally? and Did you study art with a view to a professional career?
I studied Art History with an emphasis on the business side of the art world – worked for a while at an auction house – but then felt the need to put my own ideas into practice, so I did a postgrad degree in photography at Central Saint Martins. I guess anybody who is interested in photography likes the idea of being a professional photographer, so yes I did study with a view to this in that sense, but no matter how successful you are I think it always seems somehow incomplete, somehow just out of reach. I think taking pictures is foremost something that you do, and to a certain extent, with all insecurities in tow, the only thing you think you can do…
Q: Which one item of equipment would you say is the most important to you?
Equipment is not always what matters, you can use the best equipment in the world but if the idea is not there…you’re just not going to get the ‘right’ shot. Technology can enrich creativity, not make it.
Q: Does the technological advancements in photography affect you and your work?
I’m up to date with what’s going on, and I’m attracted to it, but not obsessed with it. Photoshop is amazing, the capability. I use it for minor retouching.
Q: How do you decide on locations and subjects?
If it’s for a non-commercial purpose, I go with my instinct, and choose someone whose image, style, story appeals to me. The locations are usually their homes or their working space.
Q: How do you explain your work and practice to the layman? and How important is it for your work to be understood?
That’s always a difficult one and to be honest there is no ‘real’ answer, but I suppose in this moment, I’m examining the idea of being lost and encountering people on that journey…a sort of photo-therapy for the irreparable.
Q: What was the first photograph that you remember making an impression on you?
I have an awful memory, but Nan Goldin’s Joana’s back in the doorway, largely because it depicts an intimate moment, undisturbed by the presence of the photographer.
Q: I love your Black & White work and you also have some colour. What makes you choose to shot something in B&W over colour?
Nowadays I prefer colour, but yes, I used to work in B&W and sometimes still do. I was recently doing a shoot in Morocco, and used Black & White because I wanted to create a degree of sentimentality, for the mind to colour in, it’s not always a conscious move but sometimes it pays off quite nicely.
Q: When you put your work ‘out there’. Do you have it critiqued by someone else, or do you just go with what your heart tells you is right?
I go with my heart but I’m lucky enough to know some people who do nothing but critique. I go with my heart.
Q: How does your work develop – on paper, in your head?
I visualize something, a situation, a type of interior, and write about it. It can take a long time until I put it into practice, and I’ll work on other images in the meantime, until I find the right subject for this idea. It has to develop organically.
Do you rely on lighting (natural, or artificial), or do you rely on dark-room/computer manipulation?
I love playing with natural light most of the time, because there are infinite conditions, and it’s the best resource we have. As I say I use a little bit of digital retouching and I also print in dark-room, but I try not to alter things too much so that i don’t loose the honesty of the image.
Q: What’s new for this year and where do you see things going in the future?
I’m completing a project called ‘People I don’t know’, and looking into showing it. I would like to take my work to Italy, my country of birth, but I suppose just keep on working, keep on being creative as much as possible and maybe try and figure out some new types of printing my work.
Q: What do you wish you’d known about the profession before you entered it?
I wish I had known about the concept of patience!
Q: What are the best and worst things about being a photographer?
The best thing is the freedom of not being tied down to a 9 to 5 job, and yet I suppose the most frustrating thing is not always being able to do 100% what you want, especially when you have to consider clients’ needs, but that can be beneficial too.
Q: What cameras and lenses do you use most often?
I love medium format cameras and wide-angle lenses.
Q: What’s the most important quality a photographer needs to have?
The courage to stick to what they feel, what they need to express.
For more information about Umberta’s work, please visit: www.umbertagenta.com
