SPOTLIGHT
Forever Young: Antonio Ysursa (photography)
words: Anna Carnick, courtesy: artslope
images: Antonio Ysursa
Article posted April 1, 2010
words: Anna Carnick, courtesy: artslope
images: Antonio Ysursa
Article posted April 1, 2010
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*Above: “Gleam of Fires"
There's a great new talent in our midst. Though he's currently enrolled as a sophomore at Seattle University, one look at your photographer Antonio Ysursa's work, and it’s pretty clear he’s an old soul. His intimate portraits and haunting landscapes – some can stop you right in your tracks -capture the myriad fleeting and beautiful dimensions of youth.
Describing his approach, Ysursa says, “I’m inspired by my subjects and my home. Whether it be my sisters, cousins, close friends, the maple tree in my backyard, or the hazy summer light. But it’s mostly the people I love who bring me the most inspiration."
Asked who his photography heroes are, Ysursa responds (not so surprisingly, given his subject matter and aesthetic) : “Hands down, Sally Mann. She has changed the way I approach my subjects and the way I think. Her work has made me more conscious of what I am actually doing with my photography. Before I was simply taking ‘pretty’ pictures, but now I am realizing that it is much more of a personal narrative. She is unafraid in her approach and I aspire to be that way. I’m also very inspired by Ryan McGinley, Richard Avedon, Gregory Colbert, Nick Brandt. I’ve recently become a fan of Keith Carter and Margaret M de Lange."
So how did Ysursa’s love affair with photography begin? “Ever since I can remember,” he says, “my mother took snapshots of the family with an old pentax, so I think this had a way of triggering my interest in the medium. In the eighth grade, I purchased my first point and shoot camera. I did not know what I was getting myself into, but I instantly fell in love. In high school, I bought my first DSLR, and it sort of spiraled from there. My passion for photography began once I understood it could be used as a form of art."
*Above: “The Unknown World” Says Ysursa, “This image has come to mean a lot to me. It is a portrait of my cousin Sophia who, since the photograph was taken, has dealt with various brain tumors. The images has become symbolic to me on many levels. For instance, her vision was affected after the removal of her first tumor. Ironically, the revealed eye in this image is the one that was less affected of the two."
*Above: “Cocoon” “This is simply a photograph of my cousin in a hammock; there is nothing too special about it. But my family has spent a lot of time in that hammock, so I figured I would photograph him in it,” says Ysursa.
*Above: "Windstorm" series | 1 | 2 | view additional images
*Above: "Boy with a Lamb.” Says Ysursa, “This was … inspired by an Irving Penn photograph. I have grown up on a very small farm, and sheep have always been in my life. Every winter lambs are born, and I wanted to do something with that. On one hand, this is simply an image of my cousin holding a lamb. But it’s funny because meaning often emerges after I take the image. I can’t help but see this series as something representative of innocence.”
*Above: “Light and Lashes” “I took this photograph while we were camping,” Ysursa explains. “My cousin found a toad, so I wanted to shoot him with it. I placed him in front of a tree, under this soft sunlight; I took a few shots and the shadows were bothering me so I had him move. It wasn’t until months later that I looked back at this folder and decided to edit this photograph, which was an outtake. I wish I had worked more under this light, because I ended up really like its effect.”
*Above: "Into the Rabbit Hole"
*Above: "Death of Something" series | 1 | 2 | 3 | view additional images
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