Mr. Joe Oppedisano, Professional Photographer (Joe Oppedisano Photography) Visit This Photographer's Web Site: http://www.joeo.com "What attracts me the most, outside the traditional commercial and advertising criteria, is trying to understand everything that's different in so called subcultures: singles or groups that make a living, often barely, only because of their passion for what they do."
-Joe Oppedisano
Born in Gioiosa Ionica ( Reggio Calabria ) in 1954, when 7 years old he moves with his family to New York. Since very young he starts practising photography; in 1971 he enrolls at New York's Queens College, where in 1974 he attends a photography course. In the same year he enters the New York School of Visual Arts, and at the same time begins his professional practice as assistant to well know advertising photographers. In 1976 he starts his own free-lance career: a tourist promotion reportage about Tuscany is commissioned by Alitalia, and, in the same year, a series of shots of the earthquake affected area of Friuli and its people is published by the American daily Philadelphia Herald. In 1979 the International Center of Photography of New York invites him to Venezia '79 la fotografia, where he is involved as assistant to different international workgroups. In 1982 he moves back to Italy and settles in Milan: here, while keeping his post as cultural reporter for the American magazine Attenzione, he works for a number of publishing companies and magazines (Capital - Auto Capital) and advertising agencies: among his best known campaigns are Adidas, Yomo, Pioneer, Hitachi, Panasonic, Grunding, Kodak, Apple, Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Campari, Ras and many more.
Besides his commercial work, he keeps experimenting with images and genres, in fields such as portraits, nudes and landscapes, collages, and also with his in-depth research of the photographic technical medium itself. In this way he gives life to a very personal and original language, based upon the idea of prolonging the real time of vision: a tecnique that Oppedisano devised modifying his camera in a unique way, so that the different frames in a film roll become fused to one another.
The results of such a continuos research have been published in many different magazines, and have been the subject of exhibitions both in Italy and abroad.
In 1987 he uses the large 50x60 Polaroid camera - one of the only three existing in the world - for a series of portraits bought by Polaroid International Collection.
In 1989 the same camera is the medium he uses to develop a study of the people, objects and even animals that belong to the world of the circus.
This is followed in 1990 by a fascinating series of masks and costumes portraits, shot in the open air during the Carnival in Milan's Duomo Square. Once again with Polaroid's collaboration, the following year he takes part to exibition in progress Sviluppi non premeditati, which takes place at the Palazzo delle Esposizioni in Rome.
In that occasion he begins a new series of portraits of street artists and musicians, which he expands in 1994 during Ferrara's Busker Festival.
In 1995 he is invited by the Museo Alinari of Firenze to take part in the exhibition Un Secolo di Ritratti in Italia 1895-1995, in the context of Venezia's Biennale.
In 1996 his extended potraits and collages are an exibition at the Gallery Diaframma in Milan.
In 1997 he is selected to participate at the Suzara art exibition, also in 1997 he is commisioned by 3M Imation to shot a series of photographs in New York with their disposable cameras which became a traveling exibition and also a book published by the editor Federico Motta.
In 1998 his over 10 year potrait research on circus people is published by the editor Federico Motta in their Master Photography series.
In 1999 Inaugurate’s at the gallery Lattuada / Diaframma in Milan his book & exibition “ The Inner Self “ published by the Editor Charta , again he is commisioned Imation 3M to produce a second book “ On The Road “ using Imation disposable cameras, published in march 1999.
In 2000 he is commisioned by Olivetti to do their Calender using his technique “The Inner Self “.
In 2001 he is invited to the Bologna Art Fair to do a show in progress doing portraits of various artists, and the Art world..
In 2002 he is invited to exhibit “Collages & Estensioni “ at the Quebec Art Fair
( Canada ).
In 2003 the Fondazione Mazzotta invites him to participate at a big group exhibition “ Il Bacio “ at the same period he inagurates his personal exhibition “ Estensioni Musicali “ at the National Museum of Music in Havana Cuba.
In 2004 the Editor Giulio Einaudi pubblishes 3 images in the Volume “ Storia d’Italia Annali n.20 “ L’immagine Fotografica “ in the same period he is present at the Biennale of Brescia with his Exhibition “ Il Circo “
He is awarded the International Trophy “ Life for Photography “
In 2005 The City of Ferrara opens his exhibition “ Unusual Potraits “ in Nov. 2005, he is invited to partecipate in a group exhibition “ Master Photographers “ at the Peggy Guggeheim in Venice. |
