This Saturday night, some of the best emerging artists in Florida will unveil their work at the Morean Art Center's Fresh Squeezed 2. To get you as excited as we are about opening night, we've asked each of the artists to participate in our "Seven questions with…" interviews. Here's today's artist: Matthew Cicanese.
How did you discover Fresh Squeezed 2?
I heard about Fresh Squeezed 2 through my friend Beth Reynolds (Photography Director of the Morean Arts Center). I had a speaking engagement at the Morean and Beth suggested I apply to Fresh Squeezed 2 — so I did!
What brought you to Florida?
I’m a native Floridian. I was born in Tampa Bay and raised (and still currently reside) in Dade City.
How does Florida inform your work?
Growing up in a subtropical state always offered something cool for a kid who loved being in the outdoors. One of my favorite hobbies growing up was catching insects with my brother in our oak forest backyard. The fact that you can go out and explore your own backyard and find really amazing creatures has always inspired me. That access and curiosity led me to study environmental science for my bachelors, and later a MFA in Experimental and Documentary Arts at Duke University.
You’re blind in one eye, but it clearly hasn’t made a whit of difference in your photography. How does being partially blind affect how you shoot images?
That’s a great question, but the truth of the matter is — I’m not really sure. My world has always revolved around adapting and evolving to my disabilities because I lost my senses at such a young age. As a meningitis survivor around age one, I became left blind and right deaf. Your question is one that I’m always thinking about. I believe my senses have evolved to compensate for my losses, and as a result made attributes of both my hearing and sight more sensitive. I can’t audibly track birds and other wildlife very easily, but I’m very good at seeing details in natural history. I also love the immense sense of discovery and wonder from simply looking closer at the world around us. I think shooting micro-sized lifeforms has allowed me to enter alien worlds right beneath our noses. My sensory deprivations have helped me learn to slow down, look closer at our world, and learn to study the details that most would miss.
What about the exhibit excites you most?
I call the subjects I study and document “Earth’s Underdogs and Outliers”. The most exciting aspect of this exhibit for me is seeing these underdogs large and in-charge on the gallery wall. I very seldom print my artwork, so when I do, I go big… very big. Each work in this series is four feet tall by six feet long (aside from one three-foot by five-foot work). As a result, these organisms that would normally fit in the palm of your hand are dwarfing humans that are hundreds (if not thousands) of times their size.
Where else can people see your work?
For my latest and behind-the-scenes access, I would recommend following me on Instagram at @MatthewCicanese. That’s where I keep my audience up to date, whether I’m in the field or editing studio. I would also suggest checking out my website (MatthewCicanese.com) where you can learn more about my work, sign up for exclusive first-to-know updates for events such as workshops, and more.
I shoot with a Canon full-frame DSLR 50mp camera. The Canon 5DSR allows me to document these tiny organisms in their full beauty and preserve them at a scale that could be printed billboard-size. I use Canon’s top-of-the-line glass (L-glass) including the 100mm f-2.8L macro USM lens, the 65mm 1-5x macro lens (which is practically a microscope attached to your camera), and an adjusted 16-35mm lens for wide-angle macro. I light my subjects with either a standard diffused Speedlite or twin-flash depending on the situation. I’ll often use custom diffusers and other DIY rigging to achieve my shots. I never use a tripod (with the exception of long exposure landscapes and astrophotography).
My best advice would be to sign up for one of my workshops. I’m leading a group as a Canon USA Destination Workshop Instructor this May in the Appalachian Mountains and there are still a few spots left. There’s a lot to learn and that’s really the best environment to improve your skills in macro photography because we’ll have a week of shooting together and you’ll get to use the same kit I do as part of your tuition.
Cathy Salustri is the arts + entertainment editor. Contact her here.
This article appears in Mar 1-8, 2018.