Claudio DaNapoli 110,000
time and rediscover happiness. For me, that also meant working with images. The power of images lies in their ability to evoke a limitless range of reactions: shock, compassion, wonderment, disgust, or even terror. I seek to tap into these wide-ranging sentiments and spur discussions about the fantastic world that I am discovering in my travels. You have exposed the good, the bad, and the ugly, let’s say. You hide nothing and expose us to your findings. We feel disturbed and joyous with you. Thank you for giving us your birds eye view. Has this work made you more of a people person since you are facing your public with your art? Do you still prefer to be hidden behind the camera? I am referring to your statement about being an introvert. I have always been and always expect to be an introvert. That is part of my Authentic Self. My most honest Self is shared through my art. Fortunately, or unfortunately, I also have a very strong Performance Self. When I am in a position to speak directly with people about my work, it is almost as if I become this other person in order to enable myself to speak freely and appear comfortable. However, truth be told, after a protracted period of intense human interaction, I do require an interval of hibernation. During this time, I recharge my proverbial bat-
teries by working on meaningful and generally minimalist projects; muted colors, simple shapes and uncomplicated lines. I am very interested in the photograph you took that is now showing at the Wit Gallery in Lenox, MA. It is the one of the shoes on a wired inset cabinet. Can you unravel the beauty, mystery and tragic history behind this work? What makes it extra special to you? 110,000. That is the title of this piece, and I am delighted you connected with it as this capture is one of my favorites. With this image, there are two things you should know: 1) I have a strong sense of justice and the idea oppressor vs. oppressed. Consequently, as I learned about the atrocities carried out by the Nazi’s, those horrific images stayed with me into adulthood and 2) I have always felt uncomfortable being herded; cramming myself into a morning commuter subway car in NYC shoulder-to-shoulder with teaming masses of humanity or even jostling for position within a crowd for fans headed into sports arena for a soccer match. These two personal traits accompanied me as we reached Alcatraz State Penitentiary. There we were led off a boat, up a ramp and filed into a tight line that wound through the prisoner processing area and around gang showers that were
required of every new arrival. These shoes were off to the side in the portion of the processing area where new prisoners exchanged their street clothes for the prison attire they were forced to wear. Goosebumps covered my arms as my imagination went into overdrive. I was suddenly transported to Auschwitz: the showers, the abandoned shoes, the systematic herding of people, the sheer hopelessness mixed with terror my fellow humans must have felt. I visualized the fresh-off-the-boat prisoners walking silently though the ordeal of assimilating to their new home. I heard the sounds of their shoes echoing against the tile floor. I was reminded of the sounds I heard in some of the WWII film footage. The feeling was deep and compelling. Stepping out of the ticket line, I captured what I could of the moment. Upon reviewing the image later that evening, I was dissatisfied. My emotions were so much stronger that what was portrayed in the photograph. The frustration reminded me of what my father kept telling me about Italian artist Lucio Fontana and how in frustration he would slice his canvases because he felt too constrained by them. I also needed my work to go beyond the 2-D. I settled upon the inclusion of a QR code with this image: in reading the code with a smartphone, the viewer I bring the viewer to a very powerful recording Continued on next page...
THE ARTFUL MIND SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2021 • 35
