Resume

David Diodate

Born and raised in Tampa, Florida. 
Lived and worked in Atlanta, Georgia for 20 years.
Current home is Birmingham, Alabama

Graduated from the University of South Florida in 1993. Majored in Art History.

Instagram @diodateart

Technique 

I constantly am doing photography of a variety subject matter that mostly is indicative to a Southern feel or place. I do selects and editing with a minimum of Photoshop work before sending out for printing.  My photographic pieces are archival C Prints or engineering prints combined with found text or book text. In some pieces I incorporate old books, found objects, old photographs and tintypes along with encaustic. The new works with engineering prints are covered resin with a wax border. The resin soaks into the paper print and allows an under layer of book text to slightly come through.  After two layers of resin I rub wax onto surface along with a rough scraping and a sanding in order to give an aged patina.

Artist Statement

At 21, on the verge of graduating from college and passionate about the history of art, specifically contemporary art, I was offered an opportunity to study in Paris. The 'catch' was that I had to do photographic studies while living in 'The City of Light.'  With little knowledge of the photographic process or its relatively young history, I decided to dive right in and learn all I could about this art form before the summer trip began.

For hours I poured over photography books by classic artists such as Nadar, Steiglitz, and Cameron, eventually progressing to the modern masters like Witkin, Avedon, and Mann. In the midst of this self-study, I came across Doug and Mike Starn, whose work I found immediately inspiring. The Starn's art grabbed my interest and spoke to me as an artist. The torn photos and random hands-on feel of their work juxtaposed everything else I had seen represented in photo history. Their work to me became almost painterly and I felt inspired by the way they pushed the medium in scale and display. Their work changed my perception of photography, enabling me to use the art form as a medium for my individual interpretations. With the Starn's work I had inspiration to do photographic work, but what would be my subject matter?  While studying in Paris I found my major focus of subject in the vast and beautiful cemeteries. The arcane, haunting beauty of these solemn places was overwhelming and inspiring, initiating my 10-year documentation of cemeteries.

I am inspired to photograph images that express tranquilly or a secret moment. Many images are inspired by personal moments growing up in the South. The photographs are of mostly rural things, places, or scraps/discard; almost always a chance event.  I love the forgotten and weathered decay of any environment; unique objects that resonate a personal history or that I just stumble upon. I also have created a newer body of work photographing old books that contain scribbles, doodles, or writings on the book's pages. 

Photographing with my iPhone or a DSLR,  I try not to capture anything technically perfect. I shoot through old things like a magnifying glass then tweak in Photoshop or utilize apps to aid in a mimicked look of age/analog. I also double expose or use multiple layers to create a dream like effect. The physical work is serene and rough almost simultaneously; always allowed to be imperfect. My hope is to express an arcane beauty that dwells within a modern nostalgia. Some of the works becoming fictional scrapbooks; where I combine found text or old photographs within the piece. Ultimately all the pieces are one of a kind testaments to forgotten places which hopefully become portals to a viewer’s memory and past histories