Ester Pirotta + Tom Vack, New York

Interview: Ester Pirotta + Tom Vack

Ester Pirotta and Tom Vack are two professionals, jointed by their passion for photography: she is an architect, he is a photographer. After a degree in Architecture at Politecnico in Milan, Ester Pirotta has been working in designing layouts for showrooms and fairs, exhibitions and cultural events since the middle of the nineties. As well she has been working in interiors field for private clients. In parallel, in the last seven years, she has been collaborating with several magazines as a journalist and with Tom Vack, as a photographer. Together they have created OPenEYe, prints editions. Tom Vack was born in Chicago, where he studied Architecture, Art and Design. Tom moved to Europe in the middle of the eighties in order to work with Michele DeLucchi, Philippe Starck, Ingo Maurer, Marc Newson and Ron Arad. He has been working with the most important architects, designers and the most prestigious design companies, like Ingo Maurer GmbH, Audi, Moroso, Driade, Emu, Magis, Leica Camera, Hermann Miller.

Ester Pirotta + Tom Vack, Bangkok

Luca Curci – Your work has just been exhibited during MORPHOS – Sustainable Empires in Venice: can you talk about your personal experience in Venice with International ArtExpo?

Ester Pirotta + Tom Vack – It was very interesting, we went to Palazzo Albrizzi the day before the opening in order to bring there and mount our artworks: there was a lot of energy and a lot to do! We saw the exhibition take form piece after piece. The position of each piece had to be considered by Luca Curci in order to arrive to a well balanced result, not an easy work since the artworks have very different languages, sizes and moods. Our prints have been positioned close to the entrance, in the big room with fabric wallpaper and frescos on the ceiling, great contrast in respect to our subject, with which we were quite satisfied.

Ester Pirotta + Tom Vack, Random

L. C. – Can you talk about the artwork you presented in Venice? How is it linked with the festival’s theme?

E. P. + T. V. – We presented three large prints of the collection OPenEYe, a series of images that synthesize an aesthetic research, our personal idea of “beauty”. Beauty is something about the relationship between who we are and what we see, where and when we are “seeing” that moment; in other words, the relationship between us and our world, a world filtered by our eyes. We catch this world with our cameras. Places and people, objects and colors populate this world, a reality translated due to the expanded potential of digital technology that allows you more capacity for expression about what our eyes see beyond the lens.

L. C. – What are you currently working on?

E. P. + T. V. – OPenEye collection is being continuosly enlarged, every day is a good day for catching something different. In parallel, we work as an architect (Ester) and design photographer (Tom) but these are other stories.

Ester Pirotta + Tom Vack, Istanbul

L. C. – What is art for you?

E. P. + T. V. – Art is emotional expression. It is something about the soul of the person who created it and the one who is looking at it.

L. C. – What do you think about International ArtExpo organization?

E. P. + T. V. – It is our first experience with International ArtExpo and we certainly not the last one! They succeed to create a synergetic context for different forms of expression.

L. C. –  Do you think International ArtExpo organization can represent an opportunity for artists?

E. P. + T. V. – Yes, it is a great opportunity to show artworks in a professional way, around the world.