“A series of Black and White photographs produced using alternative manual processes, featuring scenes from Dante’s Divine Comedy.
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Many of my previous works have referenced classical literature and mythology (Hamlet, Maenads, etc). The subject of this project involves creating intimate portraits of characters referenced in Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy. Specifically, I will be illustrating a number of souls from the first book in the series: The Inferno. I have had a long standing interest in the graphic quality and descriptiveness that Dante dictates in this work, and I believe that my photographic style and choice of medium will do great justice in giving life to these characters. I greatly admire the works of the Great Illustrator/Printmaker Gustave Dore, and my favorite contemporary Artist/Printmaker Barry Moser, who have both produced amazing images inspired by Dante. In the works of the aforementioned artists, high contrast renderings of often graphic and disturbing images are manifested through their respective mediums to present a dark underworld and its inhabitants as described by Dante. My intention is to bring Dante’s characters out of the realm of illustration and breath life into them through photographic realization, thereby actualizing their spirits (in a very surreal and ethereal manner) as real people.” –John Ransom, Kickstarter, August 3, 2013
