Esteban Pastorino
Bio
Esteban Pastorino (Buenos Aires, 1972) graduated as a mechanical technician from Colegio Otto Krause. He studied mechanical engineering at the University of Buenos Aires, advertising photography at the Fotodesign Institute and participated in the workshops of Juan Travnik and Fabiana Barreda. He has residencies at the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten (Amsterdam, The Netherlands) and at the Casa de Velázquez (Madrid, Spain).
One of his most recognized works is his series of aerial photographs. For this work, Pastorino designs and manufactures a 10 x 13 cm cardboard camera that he mounts and flies on a kite, places on airplanes or high places and shoots by remote control.
The images denote a blurring effect intentionally produced by the artist at the time of making the camera. This characteristic simulates the shallow depth of field and, added to the zenithal view of the landscape or public space photographed from the height, refers to dioramas or models, thus creating curiosity in the interpretation of the viewer. There are extremely clear details in these photographs that rule out the possibility of doubt; a dedicated observer will discover that what is represented is not a model, but a real space mediated by the artist, his device and his actions.
In the words of the artist: "The result of the photographic act, due to its characteristics, becomes highly unpredictable. Since it is not possible to foresee what the camera photographs, it is the camera that actively defines the resulting image, as opposed to the photographer's gaze as the defining variable of the image".
He has had solo exhibitions in various institutions in the Americas and Europe, including the Museo de Arte Moderno de Buenos Aires (2003), Museo de Arte Moderno de Medellín (Colombia, 2008), XI Bienal de Cuenca (Ecuador, 2011), Museo Emilio Caraffa (Córdoba, Argentina, 2012) and Fotografijos Muziejus (Šiauliai, Lithuania, 2015).
Among the awards he has received are the Photographer Award (2001) and Best Photography Exhibition (2006), both distinctions granted by the Argentine Association of Art Critics; the Leonardo Photography Award (2001) and Konex Foundation (2012); UNESCO scholarships (2004), Antorchas Foundation (2004) and National Fund for the Arts (2011).
He lives and works in La Plata, Buenos Aires province.
Statement
From 1998 to 2001, Esteban Pastorino develops his series of photographs in which he portrays the buildings built by the Italian-Argentine architect Francisco Salamone in various towns in the interior of Argentina. With the aim of promoting the growth of some small towns and villages, Salamone worked for 4 years (1936-1940) for the Argentine state and built more than 60 buildings, mostly cemeteries, municipalities and slaughterhouses.
In the artist's own words, "Fascinated by the symbolic implications of this building program-symbols that penetrate the political, historical, literary and, in general, ideological terrain-I decided to explore this architecture photographically."
The night photographs in this series are copied by Pastorino using the technique of bichromate gum, a 19th-century photographic printing method that was still in use at the time of the construction of Salamone's buildings. This process abounds in texture and this is one of its most outstanding peculiarities.
The pieces in this series have been acquired from important private collections in America and Europe, as well as from institutions (Museo del Barrio, Davis Museum, Princeton Museum, among others).
2.5 x 4m / 98.4 x 157 in
