| I first met the photographer Rita Antonioli
after appearing with my band at the Teatro Municipale in Ferrara. It was a rigorous performance and I was quite exhausted, spent, yet full of agitated adrenalin, and did not wish to be photographed. I was told a photographer requested only five minutes of my time and was waiting on the stage for an answer. My crew was breaking down the equipment. There were guitars and drum parts and wires strewn everywhere. The men were shouting to one another and the sound and lighting boards were being disassembled. I threw on my sweaty jacket and went back on stage to tell her it was impossible. But seeing her standing there, so humble, with her large format camera in the center of this whirlwind, softened me. “Alright,” I said, “you can take two pictures.” In the end, she took four. We hardly spoke, but I had immediate respect
for her method, her speed, her deep concentration and her beautiful
camera. |
Rita Antonioli distilled the best of what she had to
work with and took a strong and memorable shot. I was present during her many shoots at the Meltdown in London. Many of
the portraits here were taken, once again, within the most challenging
conditions, in In this noisy, clanging, volatile atmosphere, where the sitter had
multiple responsibilities, Rita had a mere matter of minutes to frame and
shoot her subject. The results are stark, classic images of very complex
people. |