Monday Post: Robert Polidori

Robert Polidori is a French Canadian artist born 1951 in Montreal.  In the 1970s he produced avant garde films with the filmmaker Jonas Mekas.  In 1980 he earned a M.A. from State University of New York at Buffalo, and then went on to make very detailed large-scale color photographs.  According to Flowers East, an art gallery in London, Polidori “is fascinated by the remnants and traces of life that he finds scattered in hallways, left in back rooms and worn on facades. His photographs are simultaneously seductive and melancholy, portraying the rich colours and textures of neglected and estranged cities, including Chernobyl, Versailles, Havana and most recently New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.”  There has been controversy over a photograph that he took of the aftermath of Katrina, which portrays a dead person in their own bed.  Polidori currently lives and works in New York.

Gallery representing artist:

http://www.houkgallery.com/polidori/polidori.html

Artist Interview:

http://www.nicooved.com/words/polidori.htm