Photo courtesy of Ari David Rosenthal
Milwaukee’s Ari David Rosenthal is known for his unique and highly saturated blend of graphic design and abstract photography. His subjects as seen in recent exhibitions range from dynamic landscapes, architectural abstractions, musical themes and Rosenthal’s modern approach to Judaica artwork.
Where have you drawn inspiration for creating your work?
One of the aspects that I enjoy the most related to my visual art endeavors has been travel. Excursions to New York, San Francisco, Santa Fe, Sedona, Las Vegas, Chicago and elsewhere have provided me with some great material for my work, not only as literal subjects, but also allowing me to build my extensive textural archives. Seeing new places always generates a wellspring of creative ideas for me and whenever I venture out, I’m invigorated. That definitely applies to visiting galleries during my travels as well. Every artist needs to spend some time in Santa Fe and Sedona.
What subjects do you typically shoot?
The subject matter of my artwork is quite broad. Landscape/nature (macro/micro), architecture, hyper-stylized portraiture, iconic figures and abstract/symbolic pieces make up the majority of my portfolio.
Can you explain your processing of images with your photography?
Over the years, my work has evolved from textural/painterly/literal art photography towards a more visually rich, multi- layered and graphical approach. Photoshop is my software of choice. The majority of my recent work has involved the stripping down of the majority of my primary source material to a combination of simple and complex shapes. From there, I’ll introduce various layers of other images that I’ll distill down to color, textures/patterns, and occasionally typography. I employ a lot of experimentation and search for a very specific balance of visual characteristics through layer blending until I feel a certain level of satisfaction. I do like to step away from my works for a period of time, revisit them and make any modifications before deciding on the final iteration.
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How long have you been shooting images?
I’ve been actively involved as a commercial photographer since 2003. However, as my finished artworks are stylistically more a combination of graphic design, photography and illustration, I prefer to categorize what I do as visual art. With that in mind, my 2D artistic journey started closer to 1991, when I went through an almost obsessive abstract painting stage after a very inspiring trip to Chicago’s River North gallery scene. I was also introduced to Photoshop in some of my advertising coursework in college, so experimenting with imagery took root back then. I have been actively showing my artwork since 2009.
What else inspires you?
The process of creation inspires me. Powerful, visually dynamic, hyper-saturated and bold imagery inspires me. I love Mark Rothko, Yaakov Agam, and Ukiyo-e style work among many others. Oftentimes I’ll listen to music to get myself in the right creative headspace. That being said, deadlines are often powerful motivators.
Some of your work is iconic, other work original. Give an example of iconic work you have done.
I’ve created a number of art pieces of some current and historical figures, such as John Lennon, Abraham Lincoln, Barack Obama, Miles Davis, Prince, Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Gabriela Mistral and Martin Luther King Jr., among others. The gravitas of figures like these have been so impactful on the fabric of society that I was inspired to re-imagine them as part of my collection of imagery. These are tributes to them and the legacy that they have left us.
Your great uncle was the father of the Chilean Realist Printing Movement. How has that inspired you in your own work?
While I was fortunate enough to meet my great Uncle Carlos Hermosilla Alvarez a couple of times on trips to Chile, I never truly had the privilege of knowing him as much as I would have liked. His presence was always around us growing up. My mother would tell us stories about his commitment to social justice, and all of the immense suffering that he had overcome (amputee) to become a respected international artist (mostly in Latin America and Europe but to some degree in North America as well). My sisters and I were surrounded by hundreds of Carlos’ artworks around the house (realist and abstract) in addition to his beautiful published poetry. The inspiration was mostly through osmosis, although we were definitely encouraged by our parents to explore our creative energies with Uncle Carlos being a great model of what is possible, and that a person with talent and intention can overcome any obstacle.
For more, visit http://www.aridavidrosenthal.com.
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