Lightning Song

“Lightning splits the sky,
Shining blinding white,
And here I lie, almost asleep,
Reckoning in a place of peace.

And I feel I found my place
In time and space,
In hope and faith
And love I give.
My mind is clear,
I have no fear,
I shed no tears
For you, my dear.

This world is wonderful, so beautiful,
If only you could open up your mind and see.
Your world is everything you ever dreamed of,
If only you could open up your mind and see.

This world is wonderful, so beautiful,
If only you could open up your mind and see.
Your world is everything you ever dreamed of,
If only you could open up your mind and see
The beauty that is here,
The beauty that is here.”

[ Lightning Song – Anathema ]

This photo has been a pain to take. Seriously, this is the reason why I’ve been silent on the Weather Systems front for about a whole year.
Guess what, it’s the lightning’s fault. We don’t get many thunderstorms in Italy, and even when we do, we get more diffuse lightnings than actual thunderbolts. Besides, shooting lightnings is very difficult, so even when I finally got the thunderstorm, it took me nearly an hour to shoot a decent thunderbolt.
Once I had the weather half of the photo, I built the portrait in order to match it: the lightning was rather diagonal, so I flipped it horizontally (‘cause nothing’s perfect) and then built an opposite diagonal line with the lights and shadows in the portrait. It is an all in all simple image, but I hope it is powerful too. Just like the song, which sounds quite happy and sparkly but has a huge emotional depth. That’s why I have half a smile and am holding a cup of tea while contemplating the lightning: I wanted it to look as everyday as possible, enjoying some little pleasures (the cup of tea) while enjoying the sight of the storm from a safe shelter (the window). I really do love both the song and the photos, I hope you do as well.

Artpop

“Come to me
In all your glamour and cruelty.
Just do that thing that you do
And I’ll undress you.
Keep it tight.
Sometimes the simplest move is right.
The melody that you choose
Can rescue you.

A hybrid can withstand these things.
My heart can beat with bricks and strings.
My Artpop could mean anything.

We could, we could belong together, Artpop.
We could, we could belong together, Artpop.
We could, we could belong together, Artpop, Artpop, Artpop.

Come to me
With all your subtext and fantasy.
Just do that thing that you do
In a perverse hue.
Lovers’ kites
Are flown on beaches for public sight.
The colour palette you choose
Can profit you.

A hybrid can withstand these things.
My heart can beat with bricks and strings.
My Artpop could mean anything.
Could try to sell you out or I
Could show you all the reasons why
My Artpop could mean anything.

We could, we could belong together, Artpop.
We could, we could belong together, Artpop.
We could, we could belong together, Artpop, Artpop, Artpop.

Brushes with darkness won’t help you create
Your destiny of self, but Artpop could mean anything, anything.
I try to sell myself but I am really laughing
Because I just love the music not the bling, music not the bling.

Free my mind, Artpop:
You make my heart stop.”

[ Artpop – Lady Gaga ]

Okay, I know Artpop should be written all capital and stuff, but I don’t really care, I like correct capitalisation in my titles.
With this said, the title track of Gaga’s new album is currently my favourite song from the new era. It is the manifesto of Gaga’s eclectic attitude to try and unify art and pop culture, which many people consider incompatible (whether she’s really doing it or not, and if it should involve Terry Richadson is beside the point now), and is fittingly the namesake of my project, as I try to draw together my many, often clashing influence.
That’s why I came up with a visual rendition so soon – I actually did immediately, but didn’t get to shoot it until now for external causes. I wanted this photo to represent the symbiosis between the forms of art I find most inspiring and close to myself. So I put there music (the headphones) because it’s the form of art I’m most in love with and find most inspirational, photography (my old Canon EOS 1000D, beside the photographic work itself) because it’s my favourite form of self-expression, but I also put a bit of painting by quoting one of my favourite pictures ever: Caspar David Friedrich’s Wanderer Above The Sea Of Fog. In many ways, that’s one of the single works of art that changed my artistic perspective the most, introducing me to European Romanticism, through which I started appreciating Gothic art, when I was a narrow-minded, (neo)classical-only oriented kid.
This “modern interpretation” of paintings won’t be the only one I’m doing for the Artpop part of the project, as some songs lend themselves quite well to such a work. Some are much more complicated, though, and will require a bit more time. In general, this is a project which has slowed down considerably lately, so I can’t promise I’ll be very active on it comapred to the other long-term series. But well, let’s see how things will turn out in the next few months.

Ohne Dich

“Langeweile besäuft sich meilenweit.
Ich zähl die Ringe an meiner Hand.
Dort draußen alles dreht sich still um nichts herum
Und ich male Deine Schatten an jede Wand.

Es kommt so anders als man denkt:
Herz vergeben, Herz verschenkt, mmh.

Ich gab Dir meine Liebe, gab Dir Zeit Geduld und Geld,
Ich legte mein Leben in Deine kleine Welt.
Wer auch immer Dir jetzt den Regen schenkt, ich hoffe es geht ihm schlecht.
Wer auch immer Dich durch die Nacht bringt, bitte glaub ihm nicht.

Es kommt so anders als man denkt:
Herz vergeben, Herz verschenkt.

Es ist so ohne Dich,
Es ist so widerlich ich will das nicht.
Denkst Du vielleicht auch mal an mich.
Es ist so ohne Dich,
Und wenn Du einsam bist,
Denkst Du vielleicht auch mal an mich.

Ich nähte mir ein Bettbezug aus der Zeit die wir hatten
Und trink mir alte Wunden an so tief und allein.
Kein Berg den ich nicht versetzt hab,
Zog jede Chance an den Haaren herbei
Für ein lebenslang zu leben
So wild und so frei.

Es kommt so anders als man denkt:
Herz vergeben, Herz verschenkt.

Es ist so ohne Dich,
Ich find es widerlich ich will das nicht.
Denkst Du vielleicht auch mal an mich.
Es ist so ohne Dich,
Und wenn Du einsam bist,
Denkst Du vielleicht auch mal an mich.

Es ist so ohne Dich,
Es ist so widerlich ich will das nicht.
Denkst Du vielleicht auch mal an mich.”

[ Ohne Dich – Hurts ]

After so much time, here is another photo for my Hurts-inspired series. Ohne Dich (which means “without you”) is one of my favourite covers Hurts recorded and I immediately found it very inspirational with this distinct image popping up in my mind. Since it is a song about loneliness and missing someone, the best choice to represent it was an emotional portrait in a urban environment with lots of distant bright lights in an otherwise dark environment: few things can feel as lonely as a city, and to me sitting with one’s own gloom amidst a lively, coloured and brightly lit city on a Saturday night is the epitome of solitude and pensiveness.
The imagery is, of course, very reminescent of the visuals of Exile, which to me are best represented by lots of glossy black: this is the main reason why I wanted black leather in it. Uriele was the best fit thanks to his edgy look: that’s one of his casual attires (we were actually going home after a dinner with some friends when I asked him to stop and pose), which gives the photo more authenticity. I wanted it to look everyday-like without losing its fashion mood, and a friend with a posh everyday look would certainly convey both feelings.
Random funny fact: given we’re both heartless bitches, to get the right expression and mood I told him, “Okay, now sit down and think of that beautiful white backpack you couldn’t buy because it sold out. You’re sitting there without it. Oh there, perfect”. It worked better than if I asked him to think of someone he was missing and I got the exact image I wanted in just a minute or so. Fortunately, since it was too cold to have him sit down without his coat!

Divergent Mirrors Of Decay

“You told me how to get myself prepared.
It’s like your freedom, but reversible.
So please, take me home again, my friend.
As long as you’re invincible
And partly not inflammable,
I thought you were convincible, my friend.

And I lie and I lie.
I’m my own believer.
Shall you burn, shall you die,
My self-conscious gleaner?
And you’re blind, and you’re blind.
Celebrating glory,
Get inside on my side.
Searching some fairy traps,
Here you kill, here you hide.
My imprisoned beauty,
You can struggle, you can fight.
And ‘cause your screams are muted,
Run away, run away.
If you’re tired to decide,
I’m afraid, I’m afraid
To lose reality.

Heroic is not what you used to be.
Sometimes you smell like you dig carefully.
So I am, you never start to change.
You cannot gain.
As long as you’re inflammable,
Convinced you’re not invincible,
You part my way to take me home again.

And I lie and I lie.
I’m my own believer.
Shall you burn, shall you die,
My self-conscious gleaner?
And you’re blind, and you’re blind.
Celebrating glory,
Get inside on my side.
Searching some fairy traps,
Here you go, here you hide.
My imprisoned beauty,
You can struggle, you can fight.
‘Cause our screams are muted,
Run away, run away.
If you’re tired to decide,
I’m afraid, I’m afraid
To lose reality.”

[ Divergent Mirrors Of Decay – Leandra ]

Here is the second work from my Morphine series and first from the Isomorphine part. Again, the last song goes first because I needed to use this table mirror, which is at my mother’s.

This photo was born as a twin sister to Inverted Mirrors Of Decay, since the titles of the two songs are very similar. While it might seem somewhat less surreal than its sister with no upside-down reflection, there is actually no way two mirrors pointing to opposite directions might actually reflect someone sitting in the middle, so it still fits into the category. And the burning reflection does as well.
Similarly to the other Mirror, the lyrics of this song are very complex and and filled with mostly obscure metaphors, so I decided to get most of the inspiration from the title itself and throw a few nods to the rest of the songs such as the fire, which also contrasts with the liquid theme on the other Mirror. Again, given the shortage of mirrors and different angles to take into account, there are about five different images blended into one, which required a massive help from DamaInNero and quite a lot of postproduction, which I handled smoothly due to careful planning since before the actual shoot. Indeed, the planning is what made this work so fun and challenging, as everything had to work accordingly in order for the whole to turn out nice. I think I’m going for such complex pictures again in the future, in the end they are very rewarding.

Inverted Mirrors Of Decay

“Two mice I saw are drowned in butter,
‘Cause neither he’s wise nor he’s wiser.
Two mice I saw are drowned in butter,
‘Cause neither he’s wise nor his parents.

Two eyes I shut to see you closer.
Why did you bath in muddy waters?
Inside I feel you’re my disposer,
Outside there’s nothing to hide from but you.

Tonight I died of my reflection.
I suddenly fell into milk and
Been kicking and screaming
To tie the ball of my projection,
So guess what a mouse had turned out to be.

And I’m drowning, I’m drowning
I’m drowning, I’m drowning,
I’m drowning…

Wake up.
Why are you so predictable?
Beautiful morning
Sounds like our minds can be so invincible.
Follow the warning sign.
It could be mine, it could be mine.

And I die for deserving a swim through your river.
I’m calling the ghosts of the certain deceiver, and I’m
Burning the hay. Oh, I will find the needle.
I drown in the water. The water is me, but I
Know that I’m eager to choke the results
Of particular cravings, of hunger, of thirst,
Of polemic embraces. Oh, comfort my tongue
While they dress and uncover and write you a song for them.
I will not sigh and I will not enchant you.
You’ve covered me blind for translations to hide to arise you.
I run from the shadow, the shadow is mine to despise you.
We’re running out of time.”

[ Inverted Mirrors Of Decay – Leandra ]

So, here is the first work from my Morphine series, specifically from the Metamorphine part. I’m starting from the last track on the album because I only have the table mirror at my mother’s house and I would have to wait until god knows when if I didn’t get the chance now.

As I mentioned while introducing the project, there is going to be a lot of surreal imagery, and this is a primary example of that. I also wrote that I had a few ideas about the Metamorphine songs since I first listened to the album, but I never quite tried to turn them into actual photographs. Inverted Mirrors Of Decay is one of those, and one of the reasons I decided to kick off the project was the fact I could do two parallel images with this one and Divergent Mirrors Of Decay.
To be honest, the lyrics are quite surreal themselves and way too full of imagery to be wholly represented in a single photo, so I decided to stick to a more general concept and draw mainly from the title to create the image. The idea is the dear old “the mirror reflects something different” twisted in order to fit the title, so I’m basically sitting there while the two mirrors give back something totally different. I decided to add a bowl of milk to strengthen the connection with the lyrics and I had quite a lot of fun playing with the upside-down reflection, both with the hair and the spilling liquid. As I only had one mirror and had to shoot the reflections from different angles, the final image is made up of a total of about six photos put together, so the tripod and the assistance of my mother, DamaInNero, were extremely helpful to get everything right. The postproduction was quite massive, too, but as I had mapped out all I needed to do from the beginning it wasn’t beyond my abilities.
Of course, as I was handling the props I shot Divergent Mirrors Of Decay the very same day, so it’s coming soon.

Morphine: presentation of the project

I feel kind of guilty whenever I start a new project without completing any of the ongoing ones. But you know, inspiration strikes in the most unexpected moments and I have to do something before it fades.

Recently, Belarusian-German singer and pianist Leandra released her sophomore album, called Isomorphine, six years after her debut, Metamorphine. Both albums are incredibly good and the apparent connection between the two titles instantly intrigued me. Also, the songs on Isomorphine are extremely inspirational and I immediately started having a bunch of ideas about them; I had tons of ideas about Metamorphine too when I first heard it, back in 2008, but at the time I didn’t even have my first reflex, let alone any means to fully develop them. So I decided to resurrect a few of those old, shelved ideas, combine them with the new ones and and poof, I had enough material to kick off a new series rather than taking unrelated photos.

Leandra’s songs are very unique both musically and lyrically: the two albums sound different, with Metamorphine being more darkwave and classical-oriented while Isomorphine is more synthpop and dance-oriented, but Leandra’s distinctive songwriting makes many songs somewhat lullaby-ish… in a twisted way. Both her melodies and lyrics have certain qualities that give a nursery rhyme feel, but one that lulls you into nightmares rather than a peaceful sleep (she even wrote a downright hell-like song explicitly called Lullaby). This sort of dark, oneiric quality inspired me with lots of surreal imagery: many of the works will thus have some twist that makes the image unrealistic or possibly even unsettling, which will of course require a great deal of postproduction. Another stylistic standpoint which I have already clear is the colour filters I will use. I think both album covers perfectly convey the general feel of the songs, so I will be paying homage to them by adopting two colour schemes for the two halves of the project: the Metamorphine half will be greenish and the Isomorphine half pinkish. This will give a further sense of homogeneity to the series while allowing me to develop each work as a stand-alone piece, and will require me to plan everything in the photos, from the lights to the colours in them, in order for this kind of postproduction to be fitting.

I’ve started 2014 with a big shoot for two works from this project, one from Metamorphine and the other from Isomorphine. I am currently postproducing the first, which is due to be published tomorrow. I hope being so productive on New Year’s Day will bring me luck for the whole 2014, so wish me luck and enjoy Leandra’s music while watching my upcoming photos!

Black Jesus

“Black, black, black, black.
Black, black, black, black.
Black, black, black, black.

Jesus is the new black,
Jesus is the new black,
Jesus is the new black,
Jesus is the new black, ow!

I grew up in New York City,
Since I was born on Broadway, baby.
Moved downtown when I was just nineteen
To start a new life on the New York scene.
There’s no way I could be stopped,
Was taking my best shot,
I had a better plan.
There’s no way I could be stopped,
Was coming for your spot,
I met better men.

Amen on the runway,
Dressed in his best.
Amen fashion on the runway,
Work it, Black Jesus.
Amen on the runway,
Dressed in his best.
Amen fashion on the runway,
Work it, Black Jesus.”

[ Black Jesus † Amen Fashion – Lady Gaga ]

I don’t really know how to consider this photo in relation to Amen Fashion – if it’s a sequel, a prequel, if they are related at all or go on their own, but here it is. Taking two separate photos for the Black Jesus and Amen Fashion halves of the title was my plan from the beginning, and I can say the two photos turned out two polar opposites: monochrome vs colour, indoors vs outdoors, dark vs light, long-pondered concept vs sudden gust of inspiration… maybe this is what well make them go along eventually.
There is a bit of an inside joke on this photo, because once I was out spotting a rather neglected beard, but was dressed quite well as usual. On a bus, a little girl was staring at me, then all of sudden asked her mother: “Mom, is that boy Jesus?”. I don’t know what kept me from replying: “No, sweetheart, I’m too well-dressed. I’d rather be the Antichrist.”, but that’s basically how I got the idea of a fashionable Black Jesus with a bramble brooch on the beret instead of the crown of thorns. And here we go: the brooch was the hardest thing to come by for the shoot, but at least it’s done now. I had a lot of fun both thinking and actually doing it because, for some reasons, I bloody enjoy twisting christian imagery. Maybe because it’s so morbid and perverted on its own and appeals to my murkiest side.

I really wish I could speed up this project, but for some reasons it turned out to be slower than I expected. I guess that’s because many songs are about couples, which are scarce to find (especially couples where both partners are photogenic), and a lot because I feel more committed to my other projects. Besides, I have most of Born This Way and the whole The Fame Monster mapped out, am working easily on Artpop, but most of The Fame songs just stay silent. I just have no chemistry with most of that album. So, I guess I will take one step at a time without trying to rush this project out. I don’t know, let’s see.

Aura

“I killed my former and
Left her in the trunk on Highway Ten.
Put the knife under the hood;
If you find it, send it straight to Hollywood.

Aura-ah-ah,
Aura-ah-ah,
Aura-ah-ah,
Aura-ah-ah,
Aura-ah-ah,
Aura-ah-ah.

I’m not a wandering slave, I am a woman of choice.
My veil is protection for the gorgeousness of my face.
You want to pity me ‘cause was arranged one man to love,
But in the bedroom, the size of him’s more than enough.

Enigma pop star is fun, she wear burqa for fashion:
It’s not a statement as much as just a move of passion.
I may not walk on your street or shoot a gun on your soil.
I hear you screaming: is it because of pleasure or toil?

Dance.
Sex.
Art.
Pop.
Tech.

Do you wanna see me naked, lover?
Do you wanna peek underneath the cover?
Do you wanna see the girl who lives behind the aura,
Behind the aura?
Do you wanna touch me cosmic, lover?
Do you wanna peek underneath the cover?
Do you wanna see the girl who lives behind the aura,
Behind the aura, behind the curtain, behind the burqa?
Oh!

Artpop!”

[ Aura – Lady Gaga ]

Here we go: Artpop has been around for a month now, and I couldn’t miss to draw some inspiration from it to go on with my Lady Gaga-inspired series. Despite my initial less-than-warm reaction to the album, with a few listens I started to get into it and discover the magic of most of its songs, with the result that I’m already full of ideas for related photos.

On the other hand, as I mentioned on Facebook, I’ve decided that whenever I feel too depressed I’m going to take some self-portrait to raise my mood. I started this week, and I decided to shoot Aura first.

Now, the problem with many of Artpop’s songs is they’re very specific about Gaga and leave little space for personalisation and re-interpretation. I can still relate to many of them, but not to the level I did Born This Way or The Fame Monster. Well, Aura is somewhere in-between too personal and relatable. Despite being written about a woman (well, about Gaga herself), I can still see myself in its lyrics. Let’s just say I know well the whole idea of hiding behind a mask (even a negative one as a burka) to protect myself. If we wanted to twist the key-line I used as a starting point for my photo, “my bitchness is protection for the gorgeousness of my heart”. So, here I am modelling for this photo.

Of course, given the feminine subtext of the song, I opted to go back to looking as androgynous as I haven’t in ages – the last time I wore sharp eyeliner must have been around 2011 – but I decided to keep my beard on because, well, I’m not a woman after all. And because I wanted to point out how songs written from a feminine point of view can apply to men as well.

On a side note, at first, I had thought of quoting some famous painting too, which I’m going to do in some other Artpop photos, but I eventually scrapped the idea and just turned Aura on full volume and let it inspire me there and then. I find the result very satisfying and I’m glad this is how I’m opening Gaga’s new era, photography-wise.