In Profili d’Artista, Eleonora Gugliotta portrays contemporary artists who were active in Palermo until 2013, interpreting them through the technique of photographic portraiture. These portraits become true “living installations”, as the subjects are incorporated into carefully composed settings designed by the artist before being photographed. The project was Gugliotta’s thesis work for her bachelor's degree at the Academy of Fine Arts of Palermo.
«Farai le figure in tale atto, il quale sia sufficiente a dimostrare ciò che la figura ha nell’animo: altrimenti la tua arte non sarà laudabile.» Queste parole di Leonardo sottolineano l’importanza del ritratto e dell’autoritratto come strumenti per catturare non solo l’aspetto fisico, ma anche la dimensione interiore del soggetto. Fin dalle origini dell’arte occidentale moderna, il ritratto è stato un mezzo di indagine psicologica e sociale, anticipando il desiderio di introspezione che troverà poi spazio nelle teorie psicoanalitiche.
Over time, technological evolution has transformed the language of portraiture. Photography, initially used to document and preserve memory, gained recognition in the 1980s as an independent artistic medium, capable of interpreting reality in new ways.
It is within this framework that Eleonora Gugliotta’s work takes shape, reinterpreting the tradition of the artist’s portrait. Her photographic project, created in 2013, is deeply connected to the city of Palermo, where the artist lived and developed her research. The portrayed artists belong to the creative community that shaped her journey during those years, giving rise to a visual narrative that is also an experience of encounter and shared expression.
Her images capture faces and figures suspended in a theatrical stillness, frozen in a timeless moment. Artists, photographers, and musicians become protagonists of a silent dialogue with the viewer, inviting them to explore their world and essence.
In her portraits, the artist is not only the creator but also the subject being "produced" and interpreted. The props—tools, materials, lights—reinforce the identity of each subject, becoming co-protagonists of the image. Mechanical components, architectural wire structures, film rolls, and work instruments highlight the inseparable bond between the artist and their practice.
"While creating this work, I initially positioned myself as just another observer—one who, when faced with an artist and their works, activates a process of understanding and elaboration, inevitably leading to interpretation. While for other viewers this process ends there, for me, it continues in a proposal through the visual language of photography."
Gugliotta’s research does not merely aim to represent but rather to explore the relationship between artist and viewer, between the observed and the observer. Her photography becomes a tool for revealing the identity and essence of art itself, establishing a dialogue between image and spectator that goes beyond simple representation.
Danilo Lo Piccolo