Creative Activity: A Diana Pinto Interview

As an artist I have the pleasure of knowing & seeing some awesome work through out my time in varies different online sites. I'm now starting something Id like to call Creative Activity basically interviews with photographers, artists, musicians & anything that screams art & expression every week on my blog! I'm excited because I already have a list of awesome people that amaze me everyday to interview & showcase their work for others to see.

First up, Diana Pinto... I've known Diana's work since I started Flickr back in 2006, a community for photographers & artists to share their art with the world & receive feedback. You can find Diana's work here.

Lets begin:

1. Name? Age? How long (have you done photography)?
My name is Diana Pinto, I am 18 years and 7 months old, and I've been doing photography for almost 7 years.



2. Could you tell us about the stories behind the images you produce?
My pictures are mainly up to interpretation, or so I believe. I hardly ever know the clear story on any of my pictures! I consider a lot of my work to be performance...but if I were to describe my aesthetic, I believe I try to bring the darkness out of every day while simultaneously working to create another reality. I either photograph beautiful things or try to completely deconstruct beauty.



3. What is your ritual before every self portrait shoot?
My ritual usually consists of a mad, frantic scramble to get a picture done! This means setting up props, makeup, outfits, and shooting test shots. Most of the time I start with just picking up my camera and shooting anything anywhere in my house to see what ideas pop up. A huge percentage of my work is improvised within hours of shooting the final product, and the few pieces that I do have planned out from the beginning typically end up different from my original idea. This is why I could never make a profession from shooting other people!



4. What inspires you?
Americana, especially the Old and Deep South, many different periods and events in history, places, television (it doesn't rot your brain if you put it to good use!), music videos, lace, Victoriana and Edwardiana, Pre-Raphaelite painters, old old photographs, musicals, damsels in distress, exploitation and submission of women (on a pure entertainment level, I don't try to push feminist agendas), smut, paraphilias and dirty old men, and all the things about myself that I'm to ashamed to ever let people know. These things are like air to me, but they might not be obvious in my work.

5. Who are three other photographers you think are amazing!?
That's always such a difficult question! I follow the work of many people who not only are immensely talented but are just all-around great people. Chances are that if you've a nasty personality I won't like your work no matter how amazing you are. Picking three favorite photographers is like trying to pick three friends!



7. If you had the time, what else would you do?
I would love to spend time exploring America, where I live and whose history and culture endlessly fascinates me, and Italy, my country of heritage. I have often seen both places but have yet to delve into them as deeply as I'd like.

8. If you had the whole world listening what would you say about your photography?
I'd tell people that photography isn't a hobby for me, it's part of my identity. In fact, it's my second identity because it has such a life of its own. I don't care if I'll never make a cent off my pictures: as long as it's part of my life and I receive some sort of emotional validation for it, I'm happy as can be!