Robert Vizzini

ART PUBLICATIONS

American PHOTOSeptember/October, 2006It wasn't until Robert Vizzini turned 39, an age of midcareer retrospectives in the art world, that he began to pursue photography in earnest. Yet his interest in visual expression dates at least to 1960, when at the impressionable age of eight he saw the work of Edward Weston on a Today Show broadcast. “In a real sense he taught me to see,” says the New York City-based photographer, who works days as a graphic designer. “I fell I’ve been internalizing images my whole life.” Despite his muse, Vizzini strays from the Weston fold in Communing with the Universe, a series of nocturnal images shot in locations ranging from Nova Scotia to Italy’s Tuscany region. No creamy AZO-Pyro tones for him; Vizzini combines traditional silver bromide paper with undiluted lithographic developer, ordinarily used at lower strengths to produce a high-contrast result. This gives his prints a grainy, sketchlike quality and a pinkish image tone the reinforce their often otherworldly content. In this six minute exposure, made with a Hasselblad 503cw and 50mm f/4 Zeiss wideangle at the Red Carpet Motel in Bouton Iowa, a satellite dish seems to ,send a lonely message to the stars, though it is also a sly reference to the photographer’s youthful enthusiasm for the fledgling sciences of space exploration and TV. Because Vizzini’s printing technique produces unique artifacts with every sheet of paper he slips into the developer, he can’t create the consistant editions that galleries often demand. instead, he call the prints “expressions,” making 15 at each of two sizes, 13 x 13 and 17 x 17 inches, then stopping. The work sells briskly at New York City’s ClampArt Gallery.Russell Hart
   
From The World of Lith Printing, By Tim Rudman, Published by Argentum (2006)Sixteen Wheeler Star Trail, Valentine, Nebraska, 1998 Robert J. Vizzini, USALith developed, gelatin silver prints, Image Sizes: 13" x 13" & 17" x 17". Ilford Multigrade IV paper, Kodak Kodalith Super RT developer, full strength (1 part stock A 1 part stock B), approximately 100 degrees F, no toner. I use Kodalith developer at full strength starting hot as mixed and I will usually print for hours. My negative exposure times are from 5 to 40 seconds in the enlarger. I slip the exposed print in the developer and continuously agitate for from 2 minutes to 10 minutes depending on the negative, snatch the print at the time I feel is visually correct for contrast and development. Immediately slip it in the stop bath (Kodak indicator) for around 15 to 30 seconds, drain and fix in Kodafix.Late Morning Light.1, Stovepipe Wells Sand Dunes, Death Valley, CA, 2003 Robert J. Vizzini, USALith developed, gelatin silver prints, Image Sizes: 9" x 9" & 15" x 15". Forte Fortezo grade 3 paper, Kodak Kodalith Super RT developer, 1:4 (1 part working solution [A+B] 4 parts water) approximately 80 degrees F, no toner. My negative exposure times are from 4 to 12 seconds in the enlarger usually at f4-5.6. I slip the exposed print in the developer and continuously agitate for from 5 minutes to 17 minutes depending on the negative, snatch the print at the time I feel is visually correct for contrast and development. Immediately slip it in the stop bath (Kodak indicator) for around 15 to 30 seconds, drain and fix in Kodafix.
   
Popular Photography & ImagingDecember, 2004Robert Vizzini likes to work in the dark. His nocturnal time-exposure landscapes have a Close Encounters feel, complete with streaks of light and blips from moving stars, cars and airplanes. To further emphasize the otherworldliness of his photo, Vizzini prints his Kodak T-Max 400 negatives on standard paper, then process them in Kodalith, a finicky, extremely high contrast developer. “Every print comes out looking different,” he says. “It’s a challenge.”Mason Resnick
     
  
Harper’s MagazineOctober 2004
   
Photography NOW 2002 CompetitionSelections & text by Kathy RyanPhoto Editor, New York Times MagazinePhotography QuarterlyCenter for Photography at WoodstockWinter 2003
   
Photography NOW 2002 CompetitionThe most memorable pictures this year were those that reflected observation of the real world. The ascendance of documentary photography at this moment in time was definitely reaffirmed by strength of the images that follow. The very best pictures are those depicting a smart and truthful rendering of a human story and images that place unexpected and savvy attention on the ordinary in life.Selections & text by Kathy RyanPhoto Editor, New York Times MagazinePhotography QuarterlyCenter for Photography at WoodstockWinter 2003
     
  
Photography NOW 2002 CompetitionRobert J. Vizzini's (New York, NY) beautiful photographs are love poems to New York. He takes on the big landmarks and makes them his own through his spare and elegant eye. His classical sensibility is deftly applied to the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, roads and bridges. Nighttime and moody skies always reign in his pictures. Whether he is isolating out the underside of a roadway across a bridge or focusing our attention on tenement buildings seen through a rain smudged window screen, there is no doubt about how he feels about his subject.Selections & text by Kathy RyanPhoto Editor, New York Times Magazine
   
Photovision Art & TechniqueJuly/August 2003Robert VizziniCommuning With The UniverseAn Exploration In Nocturnal ImageryI have been capturing images at night for the last three years using time exposures from a fraction of a second to one hour. This has produced some mystical and magical compositions. As you will see many of the shots reveal star trails due to the long exposures lending a sense of motion to an otherwise stagnant scene. Also emphasizing the interaction of man and the natural landscape. I employ a lith development process (see May/June 2001, "Lith Printing," by Tim Rudman) used with a multigrade photographic paper that facilitates the rich textures of the prints adding to their sketch like quality. Each is developed by inspection and due to the volatile nature of this chemical and paper combination each print is a unique specimen. This body of work consists of 100 images at this time taken in such varied locations as the Tuscany region of Italy; Nova Scotia, Canada; Bouton, Iowa; and New York City. I am producing the series in two sizes, each in editions of 15 expressions.
   
Photovision Art & TechniqueJuly/August 2003Robert VizziniCommuning With The UniverseAn Exploration In Nocturnal Imagery
     
  
AperturePhotography and TimeIssue 158, Winter 2000
   
Black & White MagazineIssue 8, August 2000SpotlightRobert VizziniPhotographing at night presents unique challenges in a medium that by definition depends on light. For photographer Robert Vizzini, these challenges excite and provide his artistic sensibility and provide him with the opportunity to see in new ways. His current body of work consists of over 100 nocturnal images. Some of which have been published in recent issues of Aperture, DoubleTake, and Blind Spot."It actually began as a visual attraction," Vizzini says. "like the mystery of nocturnal imagery, and as the series has progressed I've learned to see more; my sensitivity has increased." Vizzini's photographs capture the mysterious and moody quality of the night. His photographs combine the stillness of the nighttime atmosphere with the motion created by moving stars or passing vehicles. They suggest a certain element of science fiction, pointing the viewer's attention to the night sky and the other side of appearances.The limited and varied light sources available at night force Vizzini to think creatively and to take risks. Whereas during the day there is a constant source of light, at night there are often several sources of light, usually coming from the side and in varying degrees of intensity. Every exposure therefore involves a new set of variable as well as the ever-present element of chance. Vizzini studied night technique with photographer Michael Kenna. He learned how to master time exposure and multiple sources of light. He has also drawn upon his years of experience working with plastic and pinhole cameras, where technique, experimentation, and chance play equal roles in the creative process. He enjoys this combination of elements, often relying on intuition as he works.Vizzini uses an alternative printing technique for this series in order to further emphasize the character of the night atmosphere. It is a time intensive darkroom procedure, in which he uses Kodalith developer and a multigrade paper, and must pay careful attention to the developing process.The resulting prints have a handmade, textural feel which varies slightly from one to the next, making each print a unique interpretation of the negative. The photographs seem at once very contemporary and crudely archaic, a surreal combination that underlines the "otherworldly" subject matter. "Nocturnal imagery has given me a whole other way of seeing," Vizzini explains. "It’s night. It’s dark. You think you don't see things, but there's so much out there."
   
Jupiter Rising (top left)"That night I was photographing at the World Financial Center in New York City. The steak in the middle is the planet Jupiter, recorded during a four-minute exposure. I was attracted to the contrast of the moving planet with the towering, motionless buildings."Untitled.31 (top right)"I was returning from a trip to Nebraska when I took a picture of this satellite dish at the Red Carpet Motel. It was such a great place, I could have stayed there photographing for a week. It connected to feelings regarding the coming of the Millennium, as if it was pull in the universe, and gave me the idea for the name of the series Communing with the Universe. It was also with this photograph that I figured out my printing technique. In making this print I experimented with different papers and developers until I found the effect I was looking for."Sixteen Wheeler Star Trail (bottom left)I took this photograph very early in the body of work. I wasn’t sure what was going to happen with the light, or how I would end up with. It could have been overexposed, underexposed, I just didn’t know. I set up my 4 x 5 by the side of the road and made a few exposures. It wasn't until I saw the film that I noticed the streak on the right side of the image, which turned out to be a searchlight. I hadn't even seen it when I was out there, so that was a happy surprise.Country Road (middle right)"This photograph interests me with its multiple light sources. I lit the road with the headlights of my car to activate the center reflectors, but there is also the moon, a streetlight, and the light within the house. All of these different sources combine to give a night image its special quality."Gettysburg Garage (bottom right)"I had just recently acquired my Hasselblad when I made this photograph. One evening, while exploring the area around the motel I was staying in, this little structure caught my eye. In itself it was a very interesting still life. And the moon contributed a mystical mood."
     
  
Photo ReviewVolune 23, Number 3Summer 2000
   
Blind Spot, Issue 15, Spring/Summer 2000
   
DoubleTake, Issue 20, Spring 2000