Project Statement:
Handheld seeks to question the illusion and truth of what a photograph represents in the digital age. The work is inspired by the way humans perceive images in the natural world, the way we consider a photograph as a memory or a piece of time, and the way physical photographs exist in our everyday lives. The photographs within the frame—all discovered at antique stores across New Mexico—represent a different decade, when taking pictures meant something different. Rather than snapping a quick picture with an iPhone, a photograph would often represent a place or object that was more meaningful. This works strives to reconnect the viewer back to the physical print, the images that have been abandoned, and highlight the illusion of truth that is often associated with photography. Ultimately, these images not only create an entirely new scene, but also show different styles of photography, how they’ve changed and how they can be manipulated in a two dimensional space.
Artist Bio:
Danny Allegretti is a photographer born and raised in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He received a BFA from the University of New Mexico in 2016, and has since assisted documentary photographers in Maine, New Mexico and Japan.
