INTERVIEW || ALEC GIOSEFFI

Alec: So this I call Living Spaces, where I wanted to show places where people hang out, but with no one there. I also made a stop-motion video where I recorded people hanging out in those same places, so that it contains both elements. I presented this contrast in a grid of photos showing both the absence and presence of people in these places, so it’s really to draw attention to places where people socialize.

Matt: What do you think that says about the space, when there’s no one in it? Would you say it’s a different space since there’s no one there?

Alec: I would say it’s definitely different. People tend to focus more on the actual people they’re socializing with and pay less attention to their actual environment. I mean, when you’re creating a living space, you’re thinking of how you’re going to make it aesthetically pleasing...but when it’s occupied by twenty people...

Matt: Then you’re not even thinking about the space at that point.

Alec: Right, and another thing is to consider how many people you’re going to want to hold in that space, like in these photos with many chairs - clearly set up for a group.

Matt: So it’s kind of ironic then...because to consider a space, you have to consider the people that will be occupying it, but you don’t really stop to actually appreciate that organization until the people are gone. And I think that’s pretty apparent in your work.

Matt: Is there a reason all the photos are squares?

Alec: Yeah, that’s just what the format of my camera is: 2x2 negatives. And the reason I used film is because I wanted them all to be in daylight, since that’s when people normally don’t hang out. So I figured an empty room with natural daylight will really emphasize the point that it’s empty.

Matt: Right, that’s how it is during most of the day anyway, when people are out and about.

Alec: Exactly.

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Alec: Okay, this was my project from last semester. I did a lot of work with social environments, so this is a series about a bunch of different bars in New Brunswick. I went to them about 3PM when no one was there, to take pictures of the things no one focuses on when they’re actually there. At night, everyone is intoxicated and socializing...so there are a lot of things people never pay attention to. I wanted to make it seem like more of a public, open space than that private space it feels like at night.

Matt: I think it’s interesting how some of them keep the neon lights on during the day despite the day light and the fact that no one is there to appreciate them. Why did you choose to make these in color?

Alec: I wanted it to be as if you’re looking into the space, as if you are there. 

Matt: So more like what it is to feel the space, rather than reflect on what that space is like or could be like as in your previous set.

Alec: Yeah, it’s definitely more of an experience rather than a reflection.

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Matt: Ooh, so what are these?

Alec: Well what I did here was, I got these four floodlights of various colors, a white backdrop that I set up on this wall, and a strobe light you’d have at a dance party, with my camera set up over here. It was an experiment with light movement and exposure. So I had all the lights originally face down, with just the strobe light on in the background. I then tried to choreograph picking up and moving the floodlights around, switching them on, and so on...to see how the light and color would interact with each other and the space.

Matt: Is there one long video of this process? Or a set of photos.

Alec: Each photo is a thirty second long exposure, actually.

Matt: So you were trying to capture the effects of movement that you’d normally see, but within a single photograph.

Alec: Yeah pretty much, and definitely with color, too. 

Matt: Right, ‘cause there’s a lot of movement there. I see a lot of interplay with light, shadow, color, motion...

Alec: I also played around with moving the camera further or closer, to see if there would be an extra layer of depth. So it’s essentially a collection of all these variables working together within a space.

Matt: I think it’s interesting how at times the light appears to have a substance of its own, based on these variables. It’s not just hitting the backdrop, but seems like it is its own independent existence.

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Alec: Right. So for this one, my aim was to combine the idea from the last project with that social situation aspect from earlier. I set up a giant blank backdrop at my house when my German roommate was throwing a dance party. We had two lights to match the bpm of the music, and of course my camera was set up on the side with a tripod. I told everyone to wear white shirts so the light and color would project all over them.

Matt: Making art at a party...that’s impressive.

Alec: It was a commentary on the typical, blurry aesthetic of college night life: people are going out, getting an adrenaline buzz, loud music...so it’s my interpretation of what actually happens.

Matt: What does the light stand for, in that regard? Is it a kind of metaphorical light, as if you’re shining a light on these situations?

Alec: I guess I was primarily using the light as an aesthetic aid, to blur things even more for the people taking part.

Matt: I notice the lens is pretty warped. Is that a fisheye?

Alec: Yeah.

Matt: And that seems to add to the blurriness and uncertainty of what’s going on.

Alec: Exactly. And another thing is, I told everyone what I was doing with this beforehand, so I wanted to see if people would come up to the camera and acknowledge it. Or if they would just ignore it and continue doing whatever. So in that way it’s kind of a voyeuristic thing.

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Alec: So this something I started last year. I collected a bunch of coffee lids, maybe 60 or 70. I wanted to photograph them. Because you know, every time you have a cup of coffee, the coffee stains the lid in a different way. And no one ever pays attention to these differences. You buy it, drink it, and throw it away. So I wanted to highlight these things. It’s not really a “green” statement or anything, even though it could seem that way.

Matt: So it’s more just about getting people to stop and think about these little things we neglect. I think you could compare that to snowflakes: there are billions of snowflakes that fall from the sky, but no two are exactly the same when you stop and look at them.

Alec: Yeah I see that. And you know, this idea ties into my plans for thesis. I want to show nature taking back industry. So I want to show things that we made from nature, but making that slow transition back to nature. One idea so far would be a wooden chair, filled with dirt, with grass growing out of it. Or taking a bunch of glass bottles and growing vegetables out of it hydroponically. And the jumping off point for these ideas would be this coffee lid project.

Matt: So it’s not about preaching the importance of being green?

Alec: No, it’s just kind of an eye-opener. It’s just meant to draw attention to these things we neglect. So I want it to be things people can relate to, but people might interpret the message in a different way depending on their own interactions with those objects.

Matt: You have a specific message you want to convey, but you don’t mind, or rather, want, people interpreting that message in their own way.

Alec: Exactly.

Matt: So you’re into the green movement, but don’t necessarily want to make others follow it.

Alec: Yeah. The thing is, I’m thinking of going to culinary school after I graduate. I eat organically, and even used to be a vegetarian for a long time. So one day I hope to have my own completely self-sufficient restaurant, complete with a farm, etc. That’s why my art is taking the direction it is.

Matt: What is it that you have against grids? You seem to avoid showing your series in grids whenever you can.

Alec: Haha, I think it’s just a personal thing. Everyone in critiques always suggests that I put my photos in a grid, and I just...I think it’s just me. I do like them; I like doing them individually and hanging them as a grid, but not making them as such from the start.

Matt: You are fan of the column view though.

Alec: Yeah, I do like columns a lot more.

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Alec: What I did for these was to shine a red light on my friends, and a dampened flash, with ten second exposures. I told them when the flash goes on, make a face like you’re being burned alive...and just make a bunch of wild movements for the rest of the time. The exposure time ensured that the camera would pick up different images and combine them all into a blurry photo.

Matt: So it’s about capturing that horrible pain you would feel, and all the wild movement you would be doing, with that eerie reddish glow to indicate the fire itself. And of course, the blur only emphasizes that feel.

Alec: Yeah it was a fun project. I even did a self portrait version.

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Matt: You mention in your artist statement that you take an interest in how people who live in New Brunswick seem to treat the place. They’re there for only four or five years, and then move out and get jobs elsewhere, so they never treat that environment as a real home.

Alec: Yeah, New Brunswick for me is like a home. I live here all-year round, I’m here when no one else is here, so I’m always seeing when stuff changes or gets destroyed. 

Matt: Like last week for example...

Alec: Haha, yeah. So that’s where this study has taken me. I know what New Brunswick is like at any given time. I consider myself an actual citizen as opposed to people who stay temporarily or are constantly moving back and forth.

Matt: And another thing you mentioned...about people becoming independent adults, no longer children dependent on their parents. How do you express that in your art? What goes through your mind when you’re considering these things?

Alec: It’s all about observing and documenting the interactions between these people and their environment. I don’t consider myself as living a mainstream Rutgers lifestyle, you know - partying all the time. But that’s what everyone else seems to do at our age. College is supposed to be the time for that, a social expectation. And it’s funny because your parents or mentors are pushing you to be independent - that your only obligation is to go to classes and get good grades. But aside from that, what else are you going to do? Party, apparently.

Matt:  You’re capturing that transition period in an exaggerated, yet very real way with your photography.