- John Santerineross
John Santerineross (pronounced san-ter-in-eros) is an American photographer with a background in ceramics and painting. He calls himself a "neo-symbolist," which is simply a way of defining those artists who continue or reinterpret the 19th century art movement
Symbolism (arts) . Like it's predecessor, neo-symbolism focuses on the spiritual, the subconscious, and dreams.Born in
the Bronx , he now works inKearny, New Jersey . He is known for his dark, erotic images and has been shown both nationally and internationally, from the Seattle Erotic Arts Fair to the Galleria de-Arte Moderna Contemporanea in Bondeno, Italy.
~ Biggest show to date: solo exhibition at KFMK Gallery (NYC) in June 2006.
~ CURRENT EXHIBITION: Annual Halloween Exhibition at Gallery Provacateur, Chicago. (October 25 - January 31, 2008)Quote:"EMBRACE THE ANIMAL, STRIVE FOR THE HUMAN."
Ceramics
Santerineross was a ceramist from 1979 to 1989, and he received acclaim for his extremely large stoneware "canteens" as well as other works. He was shown in 12 major galleries, including Unlimited Gallery in NYC and Elaine Potter Gallery in San Francisco. Many of his pieces were airbrushed with intricate and colorful geometric designs, and were extremely well received in the press (he was written up in the New York Times) and with collectors.
The end of the ceramics era was twofold. An earthquake in San Francisco destroyed a large amount of work, and then lime contamination in the clay body resulted in lime popping, which in turn ruined 80% of the pieces of his master's thesis.
Artfux
The next phase of evolution was Artfux, a guerilla art group of which Santerineross was a founding member. It, as well its offshoot Cicada Core of Artists, was active from 1989 to 1992. The most famous of their antics was "The Trial of Sen. Jesse Helms" in 1990. [http://www.theroc.org/roc-mag/textarch/roc-09/roc09-4c.htm] .] (The "truth" commercials, in which large anti-smoking installations are performed outside of major tobacco company headquarters, uses almost identical techniques.) During this time Santerineross was doing very large (8 to 10 ft) acrylic paintings as part of Artfux installation pieces. He was using photographic images in them from newspapers and other reference material but when he could not find exactly what he desired, decided to pick up a camera himself.
Photography
After dropping off the radar for a couple years, Santerineross started photographing in 1994 and 5 years of work resulted in the 1999 release of his first book, "Fruit of the Secret God." Published in a limited number and filled with the dark, erotic images that would become his signature, it is now a collector's item that retails for upwards of $500. His second book, "Dream," was published in 2004.
In their December 2007 issue the German magazine PROFIFOTO called John "one of the world's leading neo-symbolist photographers of our time." [http://www.profifoto.com] .]
But what exactly are "dark, erotic images"? The interpretation of art is hard, especially when an artist tends to dislike discussing the meaning of them like Santerineross does. Although he prefers that the viewer come to their own realization of the work, there are a few themes that are consistent throughout his images.
Female nudity is the first element that the viewer often sees (he has photographed men, including himself, but the number is easily counted on one hand), but these are not your typical black & white nudes. Some are posed simply to highlight beauty or his hand-made sets or both, but often they are placed in scenes and with props that look torturous at first glance. But torture is not the intent- hardly any of them look to be in pain and some almost look serene. Showing women in their many moods and essences and using that to interpret himself seems to be the goal.
The color red and blood are also prominent in many of his images, as is his use of religious imagery and iconography (such as IHS, the symbolic monogram of Christ).
All his early photographs were all taken with a 6x7
Mamiya film camera, although he now shoots digitally with aNikon .Four of his images have been used as album covers for the Goth band
Attrition .Santerineross's past interest in painting can be seen in his assemblages, which are small printings of selected images that are surmounted in or on elaborate, hand-made frames.
On About.com (link below) Peter Marshall says "I found [Santerineross's photographs] initially impressive, but there is a repetitive quality in its symbolism and manufactured mood that palled after a while." This observation has merit, and in an email sent to the artist he responded: "It is totally manufactured, and [the work] is best in small does- there's a lot going on. But at the same time, if you saw tons of Impressionists or Picassos or any one movement all lined up, you'd say it's repetitive. [My work] is all part of the same epic story- my life, my dreams, my loves, my lusts, my desires."
Santerineross has been influenced and inspired by the likes of
Irina Ionesco ,Jan Saudek , andJoel-Peter Witkin .Film
Santerineross has started to foray into filmmaking. His first was "Child, Doll, or Bone" (a exploration into the mind of a "cutter"), and the art film "Destin" followed soon afterwards. His most recent project was a music video for
VAST , to the song "Take Me With You."B-Independent.com reviewed the two films, and the following are excerpts from the full reviews:
"Destin": "Santerinross' world view is a bleak one, about as bleak as it gets, but his ability to find beauty in dark moments is a rare quality that only the most skilled cinema craftsman can achieve. It could be interesting to see how Santerineross handles moving into other territories such as music videos or features. His macabre visuals could let themselves nicely if paired with the proper material." [http://www.b-independent.com/reviews/destin.htm] .]
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