Metaphoric Portraits for Our Times

One of the most unique artists of the 16th century was Arcimboldo, a court painter who is known for portraits of human heads made up of flowers, plants, fruits, vegetables, fish, and other organic materials. Largely forgotten until rediscovered in the 20th century, Arcimboldo's quirky portraits have since provided creative inspiration for many artists, most notably, Salvador Dali, who claimed that they inspired his paranoiac critical method of painting, whereby he created "double images" or objects that look like more than one thing at the same time. For Dali, the imagery of Arcimboldo was a perfect point of departure for painting the kinds of illogical images that fill our dreams.

More recently, when Ellen Giamportone was showing Peter Liashkov her photographs of food scraps and wilted flowers from her kitchen garbage can, Liashkov was reminded of Arcimboldo's paintings, and he asked Giamportone if she was familiar with them. This conversation led to the two artists collaborating on a new series of photographic images created in the spirit of Arcimboldo. Liashkov, who is known for soulfully expressive portraits, would provide the faces and Giamportone would enhance them by digitally processing, overlaying, and manipulating the images using an application on her iPhone. Throughout the process, there was continual back-and-forth dialog, until both artists agreed on the finished portraits housed in this handsome volume.

Whereas Dali's Arcimboldo-inspired imagery was well suited to exploring the mysteries of the unconscious, which was a popular topic in the mid-20th century, Giamportone and Liashkov's portraits also speak to their present moment. With human faces partially visible in their compositions, the portraits call attention to human vulnerability and mortality, with organic detritus appearing like mutational growths. In that regard, these collaborative photographs are reflective of a time when we are confronted with the decay and destruction that seems ubiquitous in a world dominated by such maladies as pollution, COVID-19, and the renewed waging of wars. Nevertheless, these hauntingly beautiful portraits are anything but depressing. Through sensitive shifts of light and color, these lush compositions suggest a divine presence, and a faith in the human spirit to survive any forces that seek to destroy it.

David S. Rubin

November 2023