44 B l a c k M a g a z i n e i s s u e 1 8

Black list

I T A L I A N - B O R N , B R O O K L Y N - B A S E D P H O T O G R A P H E R

S A M A N T H A C A S O L A R I ’ S W O R K S P A N S T H E G A M U T

F R O M V O G U E T O I N T E R N A T I O N A L E X H I B I T I O N S A N D

A T L E A S T S I X P H O T O G R A P H Y A W A R D S . A L I F E L E D

A T S H U T T E R S P E E D … .

Who are you and what do you do? My name is Samantha and I am a photographer. Where did you grow up and how does this influence you today? I grew up in Modena, Italy, a not very big town in the North of Italy. Because of its size there was not much creative stimulus there and I was just living things in my head, which sort of made me the daydreamer I am today. Where are you based now and how does this influence your work? I am now based in Brooklyn, NY. New York is definitely one of the biggest influences on my work because of its vital and continuous energy and its endless world of infinite possibilities. Talk us through your working process in a nutshell? I do not plan my shoots too much and I try to follow the flow, follow the subject I am shooting and the response of my subconscious to it. I guess I have a very instinctive way of shooting. What was your very first inspiration that led you to do what you do today? Looking at tons of pictures

of my grandmother when I was a kid, and then an image of a kid in Brooklyn shot by a friend. And the pictures from the 40s and the 50s of Magnum photographers. How would you describe your personal aesthetic? Dreamy, surreal, psychedelic, mind-bending or at least anspiring to be! If you werent doing this, what would you be doing? Playing violin in an orchestra. What characteristic do you appreciate most in others? Transparency, honesty, innocence. Favourite music to work to? Spacemen 3, Mozart, Nicolas Jaar. Favourite place to watch a sunrise? Sicily. Three people you’d love to have over for dinner - who are they and what do you cook them? Mozart, my family in Italy and my best friend. I would cook all of them a salmon steak. Your favourite place to have a drink and what do you order? I love The Drink on Manhattan Avenue in Williamsburg. It is all in wood, has amazing beers and hot punch and little appetizers. I always have their IPA beer and when it is very cold, their

hot punch. Favourite room in your home and why? My room. It is all white, full of books and music and very cosy. Favourite artist? Mozart, why? He managed to capture every realm of human emotions and express feelings such as compassion, pain, happiness in ways no one else ever managed to. What he managed to capture with his music is beyond human to me. Favourite season of the year? I love all of them except for the end of Winter, beginning of Spring. I am always quite depressed around March and April. Something you have always wanted to learn? How to play the violin perfectly. It is sad and painful to me that I will never manage to. A good piece of advice? Always be humble and willing to learn every day, I guess that’s what’s on top of my head right now…www.samanthacasolari.com

interview: Yasmine Ganley photo: Jamie Neumann