ProfileI was born to two figurative American painters, Lani Irwin and Alan Feltus, into a creative environment. My adaptation to this has taken my studies towards design, and my abstract artistic instinct manifests in photography. In the late '80s my parents moved to Italy, where I was exposed to a different social awareness, and now, following my studies, I am based in the UK.Growing up in an eclectic environment, I learned that there is nothing unusual, and that the fabric of the world need not remain mysterious. Bones, insects, taxidermy, art, erotica and design are all constituents of what I have been, and always will be. I am a strong believer in Henri Cartier-Bresson's saying that "there is no aesthetic peculiar to photography or drawing"; let that apply itself to design also. In the early eighties my father taught drawing and painting at a university in Washington D.C.. I recall that I attended one of his life drawing classes when I was about four. The model, whose name was Jane Batt, was slightly plump, and spotty. I assume, in retrospect, that they were moles or eczema, but I know for a fact that I was the only person to draw the spots. To me they seemed the most important, or prominent feature of her body, despite her nakedness. This kind of observing has stayed with me: it is both an asset and a social hinderance. From 1987 I grew up in central Italy, a country that claims 70% of the world's artistic and historical heritage. At some point in my stay in Italy I realized that I wanted to influence the world. My move to Edinburgh in 1999 introduced me to a whole new world where I was able to observe different ways of seeing things. I had the opportunity to meet one of my greatest idols, Cartier-Bresson. At 91, with a walking stick and two hearing aids, he stood alone, looking bored. I observed several people trying to make conversation, and some even tried to show him contact prints, which disgusted me. Through my inquisitive nature I approached him in the form of a question, his answer was: "Are you from the police asking all these questions?" I create for those who give great importance to their environment and its visual qualities, people who put aesthetics and quality above quantity. People who don't necessarily live this way to entertain, but rather as a personal necessity in life. Observation and criticism are a way of life for me, not a profession. Creation is existence, and creating for others is infinitely more satisfying than creating for myself. My recent non-commercial photography has been dedicated to a form of technical puritanism and historical formality. What I mean is that in an era like today's, where digital is normal, and everything else is retro, to make a point in photography, I have made the choice to make images that are reminiscent of historical art, look digitally manipulated, but are, in fact exposed on film using real mechanical cameras. Thus blurring people's perceptions and preconception of what reality is, and what they expect of an image. a good proportion of this photography is done in collaboration with my brother as FeltusFeltus (www.feltusfeltus.com). As a collective we also work with animation, including the short Solo Duets which has won the Krakow Film Festival's Silver Dragon for Best Animation, and the Jim Poole Best Scottish Short Film awards, in 2006. On a commercial level I have tried to bring this etiquette together with the vision that the clients have provided me. Though the origin of the material is less orthodox than in my gallery material, often using digital techniques mixed with various others, such as collage, digital compositing and painting, i keep the resulting imagery close to my subconscious vision. Solo Exhibitions• 2009 "Untitled" - FeltusFeltus (with Krause Bliemel), Biagiotti Progetto Arte, Florence, Italy • 2009 "Un Orrizonte Interno" - FeltusFeltus, Entroterra, Milan, Italy • 2009 "Domestic Zirkus" - FeltusFeltus(KrauseBliemel), Citizens Theatre, Glasgow, UK • 2009 "Domestic Zirkus" - FeltusFeltus(KrauseBliemel), Whitecross Gallery, London, UK • 2006 "UNTITLED" - Feltus Feltus, EntroTerra, Milano, Italy • 2006 "UNTITLED" - Feltus Feltus, Arte.Novaglio, Brescia, Italy Art Exhibitions• 2009 "Mankind: Versions & Perversions" - curated by Edward Lucie-Smith, Werkstattgalerie, Berlin • 2009 Abroad, Galleria Entroterra, Milan • 2009 Salon, Whitecross Gallery, London • 2008 ArteLaguna, Giardini della Biennale, Venice • 2007 ‘ Solo Duets’- City Art Centre, Edinburgh, UK • 2007 Demone Meridiano, ArTobe, Torino, Italy. • 2006 CAP-I-CUA, Galeria MiTO, Barcelona, Spain • 2006 Lineart, Ghent, Belgium • 2006 ICONARTS: European Arteam Prize, Museo Civico di Arte Contemporanea, • 2006 56^ Rassegna Internazionale d'Arte G.B. SALVI, Italy • 2005 Art(Verona, Italy • 2005 Promenade: Arte ed il Circo, Italy
Experience• 2009 ARTE magazine (Italy), full article on FeltusFeltus in the February issue. • 2009 Live performance photography for "Der Kaufmann von Venedig" (The Merchant of Venice), directed by Burkhard Schmiester at the Severins Burg Theater, Cologne • 2008 Photography and poster design for "La Giovine Italia", written and directed by Marco Costa, performed at Teatro de'Servi, Rome • 2008- Produced and photographed "The Apple", written and directed by Caroline Bliemel (post-production) • 2008 Co-directed and assembled "My Best Shot" music video for Iain Petrie. • 2007- Visual effects for “Il Buio Intorno” (working title), directed by Marcello & Nicola Mercalli. • 2000, 2003, 2007 Catalogue design for Lani Irwin. • 2007 Directed and produced Conscious Life (Aereogramme). • 2007 Official gig photography for Aereogramme. • 2006-2007 Promotional photography for Aereogramme. • 2007 Official gig photography for the Ballads Of The Book album launch (Celtic Connections, Triptych). • 2006-2007 Stills photography and animation for the Polite/Caledonia TV/STV documentary for the Ballads Of The Book project album (Chemikal Underground). • 2007 Photography and album sleeve design for HoboTalk’s Homesick for Nowhere. • 2006 Gig photography for Ainslie Henderson. • 2006 Promo photography for Gentlemen Prefer Blondie. • 2006 Photography and album sleeve design for Ainslie Henderson’s Growing Flowers By Candlelight. • 2006 Scottish Advertising Awards ad campaign photography. • 2005-2007 residency at Edinburgh College of Art. • 2005 Web design for FeltusFeltus.com. • 2005 Design for the FeltusFeltus 2006 calendar. • 2005 Promo photography for HoboTalk. • 2005 Webdesign for Lisa Kant. • 2004-2005 London Fashion Week - freelance press. • 2003-2008 Director of FeltusFecit Ltd. • 2000-2003 Catalogue design for Lani Irwin. • 2001-2003 Logo and character creation and all publicity graphics for The Nightmare A’fore Christmas charitable Christmas balls, Edinburgh. • 2001 Worked in the art department for the short film ‘Lazarus’ by Abigail Docherty. • 2001 Collaboration on the development of the corporate identity for Baxi Partnership Ltd., and creation of their corporate font and logo. • 2001 Edinburgh International Science Festival, collaboration on the design and manufacture of their ‘busking arena’ stage and seating area. • 1999 Interpreter (Italian/English) for Smithsonian magazine’s article ‘An Act of Faith & the Restorer’s Art’ (Nov ‘99), Assisi, Italy. • 1998- Started a series of photographic portraits of artists, some of which have been used in the artists’ catalogues, in which I worked with Alan Feltus, Lani Irwin, Jack Zajak, Jim McGarrell, Claudio Carli, Franco Fedeli and Orlando Tisato. • 1998-1999 Set design and props for the Calendimaggio medieval festival in Assisi, Italy. • 1997-1998 Photogravure, darkroom and photography technician for the Civitella Ranieri Center, working with for Gordon Knox, Joanna Rajkowska and Sandra Ramos. Umbertide, Italy. • 1997 Channel One News, (U.S.A.) show number 1477, "Earthquake in Assisi", air date Wednesday November 26, 1997. Interviewed extensively on camera and assisted with other aspects of the filming. • 1997-1998 Volunteer worker at the Basilica of San Francesco, Assisi, Italy, sorting through the rubble of the fallen 14th century ceiling vault to retrieve Giotto and Cimabue fresco fragments. • 1997-1999 Graphic design and photography for the band DT3. • 1995-1999 Head gardener for the Assisi Nature Council’s Giardino dei Semplici, educational monastic herb garden, Assisi, Italy. Education2004 MDes in Design and Applied Arts/Furniture Design at Edinburgh College of Art.2003 BA(Hons) in Design and Applied Arts/Furniture Design at Edinburgh College of Art. International Film Festivals• 2008 'Conscious Life' and 'My Best Shot' - Kinofest, Romania • 2007 ‘ Solo Duets' and ‘Conscious Life’- Amiens International Film Festival, France • 2007 ‘Conscious Life’- Marbella International Film Festival, Spain • 2007 ‘ Solo Duets' and ‘Conscious Life’- Umbria Film Festival, Montone, Italy • 2007 ‘ Solo Duets' - Open Roads: New Italian Cinema, Lincoln Center, New York, U.S.A. • 2007 ‘ Solo Duets' - Anima Mundi 2007, Brazil • 2007 ‘ Solo Duets' - Maremetraggio International Short Film Festival, Italy • 2007 'Solo Duets' - Fesival du Cinéma Italien, Espace Pierre Cardin, Paris, France. (Winner of Best Short Film) • 2007 'Solo Duets' - la Settimana Corta, Nuovi Sentieri, Italy. • 2007 Tehran International Animation Festival (TIAF), Iran. • 2006 'Solo Duets' - nominated for the Nastri d'Argento Cortometraggi 2006, award given by the Sindacato Nazionale Giornalisti Cinematografici Italiani (Sngci), Rome, Italy • 2006 International Animation Film Festival Animateka, Kinodvor Ljubljana, Slovenia (non-competition) • 2006 AniFest, Budapest, Hungary • 2006 I Castelli Animati, Genzano di Roma, Italy • 2006 Student Film Festival Sleepwalkers, Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, Estonia • 2006 special screening at the Leeds International Film Festival, UK • 2006 Opening the festival - PISAF 2006, Puchon, Korea • 2006 Holland Animation Film Festival, Utrecht, The Netherlands • 2006 36th Kyiv IFF Molodist, Ukraine • 2006 Norwich International Animation Festival, UK • 2006 3rd China International Animation and Digital Arts Festival (CICDAF 2006), China • 2006 5th International Best of Short Films Festivals, La Ciotat, France • 2006 Hiroshima International Animation Festival, Hiroshima, Japan • 2006 Krok International Animation Festival, on board of the river cruiser "Georgy Zhukov" following the route Nizhni Novgorod - Perm - Kazan - Nizhni Novgorod, Russia • 2006 46th Krakow Film Festival, Krakow, Poland • 2006 Jim Poole Scottish Short Film Award 2006, Edinburgh, UK • 2006 International Festival of Animated Films (AniFest) 2006, Trebon, Czech Republic • 2005 Bradford Animation Festival, Bradford, UK • 2005 59th Edinburgh International Film Festival, Edinburgh, UK Design Exhibitions• 2005 DesignUK MILANO 2005, Milan • 2004 ECA Mdes Degree Show 2004, Edinburgh • 2004 DesignUK SELECTION 2004, London • 2004 NewDesigners - One Year On -, London • 2003 Urban Interiors, London • 2003 DESIGN UK Pick of 2003, London • 2003 ON/OFF, London • 2003 NewDesigners 2003, London • 2003 ECA Degree Show 2003, Edinburgh • 2003 2020 Science: Education Conference, Edinburgh International Conference Centre, Edinburgh SkillsI consider myself to quite apt in woodworking and metal work, for making prototypes. Saws, lathes, vac-formers, spray guns, drills and hand tools.In 2001 I became interested in the fashion industry. Since then I have acquired moderate skills with pattern cutting and development, cutting and sewing, I started working with 2d computer graphics in 1997, and now consider myself to be competent in Photoshop and Freehand. I also have considerable experience with 3d Studio Max, Rhino and Autocad, and have also been working with Dreamweaver for several years. I perceive the computer as a tool that is irreplaceable in design, and also a helpful aid in photography. I am completely bilingual (Italian/English). |