David
Allio is an international award-winning photographer and photojournalist
whose portfolio ranges from fine art and portrature to sports
and corporate work. Since 1974, his images have appeared on
album covers, billboards, display advertising, and in movies,
books, catalogs, calendars, magazines and other periodicals.
His web site, www.DavidAllio.com, is updated monthly and contains
over 100 nude figure artworks. |
|
In
2002, this registered Nikon professional won his first of eight
Photo of the Month awards from Photography-Unlimited of Japan. One
of those was later honored as "Picture of the Year". He
also received over 400 invitations for exhibitions, worldwide. Previously,
Allio and his images were the subject of a 30-minute feature broadcast
on PBS. The program entitled "Impressions" was produced
by South Carolina Educational Television.
As
a professional photojournalist, Allio has worked on three continents,
photographing everything from natural and man-made disasters to
a variety of professional sports. There have been years in which
he has spent over one-half-million miles on the road to the next
assignment.
This
second generation Italian-American's nude figure images have been
exhibited in museums, art galleries and private shows throughout
the United States, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and several European
countries. His original Limited Edition Prints and Commissioned
Works are prized by private collectors worldwide.
Allio
also teaches. A former instructor at the University of Virginia,
and a mentor to several young, talented photographers, he conducts
lectures, seminars, and has been the featured artist/photographer
in workshops and Artist-in-Residence programs.
On April 15, 1874, twenty-nine artists came together
to present an exhibition in Paris, France, under the group name
of the Societe Anonyme des Artistes. It was the first of what would
be eight shows by this collective over a period of ten years. Although
intentionally anonymous at the time, and a target of vicious attacks
by traditionalist critics, the names of Renoir, Monet, Pissarro,
and Cezanne now lead the list of Masters of Impressionism.
The name of the art style came from "Impression,
Sunrise" a canvas by Monet. Originally intended to be a derogatory
title for the non-traditional if not downright scandalous - for
the period in which it was created - brushwork, the images of the
Impressionist was a revolutionary approach - reflective of those
revolutionary times - to the use of light, color and texture in
artistic imagery.
"My figure nudes have been specifically influenced
by the artists of the French Impressionist period," Allio said.
"At the suggestion of contemporary talented artists, I attempt
to study the style of these artists and to recreate their works
in digital-image form. For variety, I use other historical master's
images and sculptures - especially the artworks of Michelangelo,
but the work of the men and women called Impressionists continues
to inspire me and influence my personal portfolio."
The works of these Impressionism masters are a worthy
artistic counterpoint to the realism of artistic modern photography.
Both express the artist's right to reflect upon and recreate a reflection
of a given subject.
"Many of these artists would begin with sketches
or studies of an image before painting it," Allio continued.
"In my digital rendition of an image, I begin with a photograph,
then digitally enhance the figure study. The style approximates
that of Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Edouard Manet or Edgar Degas - three
of my personal favorites."
Freed from the bond of studio work, some Impressionists
began to work en plein-air, or in situ, enhancing the works of an
earlier generation of Dutch and English landscape painters. Most
portraits and still life works continued to be created in studios,
however; and some landscapes were, by tradition, also completed
there. Likewise, the concept of working outdoors is consciously
reflected in Allio's digital art work, which is then finished in
his "electronic studio."
The posing and mechanical techniques of these artists
has also influenced Allio's images. The poses and settings are challenging
to replicate in photography. The mechanical techniques of sketching
and painting are even more difficult to translate into digital pixels.
Some examples of these posing techniques may be
seen in the black-chalk-on-paper sketch by Degas for his "Study
for A Scene of War in the Middle Ages," in the the Manet oil
on canvas entitled "Olympia" which was in turn was a likeness
of Titian's 1538 oil on canvas "The Venus of Urbino,"
and in a Post-Impressionist oil on canvas entitled "The Bathers"
by Renoir.
The model in "Olympia" was, by the way,
Victorine Meurent, a Salon-exhibited artist in her own right. The
use of artists and photographers as models is a tradition which
I, also, have attempted to continue. Their creative chemistry and
freedom and understanding enhances the artistic process.
In addition to oils, the masters used chalks, pastels
and charcoals on various surfaces in the development of their works.
Camille Pissarro used pastels on canvas for his "The Seamstress."
"Three Russian Dancers" by Degas is an example of pastels
on paper. Renoir's "Nude in Sunlight" shows contrasting
brushstrokes in oil on canvas.
"My
decision to learn my craft by studying the styles of these Impressionists
follows a long history of art instruction," Allio said. "Early
students at the Louvre were expected to spend at least five years
copying a master artist's techniques with the expectation that these
styles would be perpetuated in the student's own work. To borrow
influences from other artists is my gesture of respect to their
talents."
AUGUST
2003 FOTO ART MAGAZINE
|