Intervista a Bill Diodato

Pubblichiamo oggi, grazie all’interesse di Cecilia Palombo, che ci segue dagli USA, un’interessante intervista realizzata da Massimiliano Tempesta del Collettivo WSP al fotografo americano Bill Diodato, unita ad una selezione di immagini del suo reportage realizzato all’interno del ex Oregon State Hospital.

Bill Diodato è un fotografo americano nel settore commerciale e fine-art, il cui lavoro ha recentemente ricevuto una visibilità mondiale. “Care of Ward 81”, la sua prima monografia, si ispira al reportage della fotografa americana Mary Ellen Mark, che nel 1976 documentò la vita delle donne rinchiuse nel reparto psichiatrico femminile dell’Oregon State Hospital, anche conosciuto come la location del film con Jack Nicholson “Qualcuno volò sul nido del Cuculo”. “Care of Ward 81”, pubblicato dalla Golden Section Publishers, ha vinto il secondo premio all’Eric Offer Book Award, nella categoria Arte.

Pubblichiamo l’intervista sia in lingua italiana che inglese.

4) Qual è stato il percorso che l’ha portato a questa professione e quali autori l’hanno influenzato particolarmente?

La mia passione per la fotografia è cominciata quando un mio caro amico, anch’egli artista, mi ha detto che possedevo una forte visione creativa e mi ha suggerito di intraprendere un percorso di formazione artistica. Sono stato fortunato perché mio padre mi ha permesso di studiare. Lui è stato il mio faro per tutta la vita. Ho trovato l’ispirazione in molti artisti come Irving Penn, The Becher’s, Sally Mann, Helmut Newton, Ed Ruscha, Cindy Sherman, solo per citarne alcuni. Sono stato anche molto influenzato dall’arte contemporanea, dal cinema e dalla cultura popolare.

5) Si parla spesso di crisi della fotografia di reportage, almeno in Italia, per colpa dei nuovi media e del digitale.Si sente di avvalorare questa idea? Il suo settore vive questa crisi?

Sono avvenuti molti cambiamenti a causa delle nuove tecnologie. Il lavoro che sta dietro la creazione di un’immagine, sta perdendo valore. La maggior parte delle notizie è letta su dispositivi di ultima generazione, con una risoluzione minore e su schermi luminosi, dove tutto sembra grandioso. Molti clienti non hanno più bisogno di assumere un fotografo quando hanno a disposizione decine di migliaia di persone il cui lavoro da un risultato “abbastanza buono” per questo tipo di dispositivi. La mia famiglia e i miei amici ad esempio scattano delle bellissime foto con i loro IPhone. Poi mi passano il telefono e mi chiedono di scattare loro una foto con gli amici. La guardano e mi dicono: “Tu saresti un fotografo? La mia foto è migliore della tua”. E la mia risposta è sempre la stessa: “Il fotografo crea immagini. Scattare foto con il telefono non è creare immagini”. Sono convinto che quando saremo saturi d’immagini il mondo della pubblicità vorrà elevarsi di nuovo e avranno bisogno ancora dei grandi artisti, per creare immagini per i loro marchi.

6) Trova particolari differenze tra la fotografia americana e quella italiana? Se sì, in cosa nello specifico?

Beh, questa è una domanda difficile perché io sono un fotografo di New York che è un mercato a sé stante. A tutti i migliori fotografi commerciali vengono commissionati dei lavori a New York. Ovviamente per il fotogiornalismo è diverso perché gli eventi accadono in tutto il mondo. Ci sono molti grandi fotografi italiani che hanno lavorato sia in Italia sia a New York come Paolo Roversi e Lucio Gelsi, per citarne alcuni. Sono sicuro che anche loro considerano New York come un paese di per sé, anche se fa parte dell’America.

1) You are above all a fashion and advertising photographer, but on September 11 2001 you decided to document the terrorist attacks on the twin towers . Can you describe this experience?

I was booked to shoot for Victoria”s Secret that day, the shoot was consequently canceled so I wanted to document what was happening. Here in Manhattan we were all very confused at first. No one knew what was going on and it all happened so fast. Keep in mind smartphones were yet to be common place so in the early moments of 9-11 you only heard what was going on by receiving a cell phone call from someone who saw the news channels. I decided to take my Contax g2 and my Sony 3 chip video processor. I walked around and tried to find an angle to take in what was happening but also not get too closet o the towers as people were nervous and trying to get away from the site. I was able to find a high vantage point over the west side railyards and just took it in. After I processed for a few moments I began to document. In that time frame I captured the collapse of the North Tower. I was so shocked at what I just witnessed I left the scene in a haze and started to walk back to my office never realizing that I had not turned off my video camera. What I ended up recording in that walk was the sound of mass hysteria, people screaming in fear, anger and heartbreak. When I reached my office my producer looked at the footage and immediately called my agent who put us in touch with CBS Television. Within minutes I was live in the CBS news room watching Dan Rather report the tragic events of that morning. I was so moved by his conviction. When I was in the newsroom word had come in that 10,000 people had been killed at the World Trade Centers and Dan Rather said “I will not bring that to the American people until we have confirmation” (fox news had erroneously reported that minutes later). While this was going on the FBI and the news editors looked over my footage and requested it… they took everything and I only recently received one strip of film back and a copy of a short video clip. They informed me that the images and footage could be very helpful in determining if there was a bomb in the towers. When the North Tower came down they saw an explosion and thought perhaps an explosion had collapsed the building as it seemed unfathomable that it could have collapsed any other way. By now everyone knows the many details of why the building came down but on that morning, in that moment, the FBI, the White House and everyday Americans had no idea what was really happening. I went home and watched the news. To my amazement I saw some of the footage I just had left in the CBS newsroom only minutes earlier. This was a life changing experience in many ways. I left the city for a month after 9-11 before I could mentally deal with coming back the city and like many others grappled with the meaning of life.

2)Your personal project “Care of Ward 81″, about women’s ward of Oregon State
Mental Hospital seems different from your daily work. How would you handle this jump between several photographic styles?

Commercial work is commerce. I enjoy shooting commercial work but is completely different from the Fine Art world. When I am hired for a commercial assignment I process the storyline the magazine provides me and create an image based on that storyline, or I think about the demographics an Advertiser is trying to reach and create the photograph that will hit those marks. With Fine Art you only do what you feel and consequently create images based on that feeling or message that you and only you want to convey. Technically speaking I use many different light sources, cameras and lenses to create the mood or concept I am trying to convey. I do not have one specific photographic style. I love many things so I photograph what I love, for example I love women of all kinds so I shoot fitness and beauty, I love the design and packaging of products so I shoot still life, I love clothes so I will shoot conceptual fashion and I love what art means to people so I take on serious art projects and book projects. I have asked myself many times in my career, “Why should I just photograph Still Life then within the still life genre shoot just food because the commercial world says that you need to shoot just food to be hired for a food assignment? That’s not creative, that’s pandering. The most creative people can see beyond that and those are the people I am interested in shooting assignments for. Many people have said that this diminishes ones specific photographic style. I have always been confused by this. I create images I dont take pictures. If some Art Buyers, Photo Editors and Art Directors need to see the exact picture they are hiring you for than they are not qualified to decide ones photographic style. Just because a commercial artist shoots in one genre only does not mean they are more creative or better at the genre than another creative person. It means the commercial artist in many cases is one dimensional. Commercial photographers are not unionized and have specific standards and techinical codes to follow for example like a homebuilder who ha sto conform. Great commercial photographers are architects and architects create. That said, I have worked with many great art director’s, art buyer’s and photo editor’s who can see beyond a specific genre and I credit them for my longevity. They trust me and I love them for that.

3) Do you feel more realized working on commission or on your personal project?

I do not feel more realized working on either. I have said many times that “photography is a reason to meet the people we meet”. I have worked with many creative people in my career and feel very fortunate to have worked with those creatives. I am in the creative world to surround myself with people that inspire me regardless of the project.

4) How is started your passion for photography? Are there artists who have inspired you?

My passion for the photographic arts began when a very special friend who was involved in the arts told me that I had a strong vision and i should pursue a creative career… I was then fortunate that my father allowed me to get an education and pursue the creative arts. My father has been my beacon throughout life. Many artist have inspired me such as irving Penn, The Becher’s, Sally Mann, Helmut Newton, Ed Ruscha, and Cindy Sherman to name a few but I have been most influenced by contemporary art, movies and popular culture.