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'Integral Lens' presentation at the Trieste Photo Days 2018


"A presentation of the paper ‘Integral Lens’ co-authored by architect and photographer Pygmalion Karatzas and prof. of architecture Mark DeKay on an integrally-informed, Wilber-influenced approach to architectural photography, combining perspectives, worldviews, and typologies. This photo-essay draws examples from historical and contemporary artists, as well as from the extensive and exclusive interviews conducted by the author these past five years with renowned photographers from around the world and published on Arcspace.com. The paper was presented at the 3rd Integral European Conference in Hungary in May 2018."

The presentation will take place at the Palazzo Gopcevich on 27th October 2018 in Trieste.

https://www.triestephotodays.com/en/incontri-2018/ This project was submitted at the “Open call TPD 2018: presentation of exhibition projects, books and magazines”, aimed at curators, authors, publishers and operators in the photographic sector whose projects focus on urban photography, presented via photobooks, essays on photography, magazines and websites, online and print exhibitions. I am honored Angelo Cucchetto - art director of the festival - selected this project to be presented during the TPD Talks series.

Since 2014, as photo editor for arcspace.com, I have conducted 26 interviews with photographers from around the world, and presented on the online exhibition platform of the website a selection of images from their overall body of work.

More information on this "Arcspace presents the architectural photography" series can be viewed on my website here:

and on Arcspace's Camera section here:

Between 2015 and 2016, I produced the Integral Lens project, an integral approach to the study and representation of the built environment through the photographic medium, sponsored by the Fulbright Foundation Greece with the Artist Scholarship Award in affiliation with the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, over a period of 5 months in United States. Parts of this project included the photographic works found here and here, the continuation of interviews and meetings with photographers, and the Integral Lens paper co-authored with prof. Mark DeKay and presented at the 3rd Integral European Conference in Hungary in May 2018.

These three projects - the curated photographers on Arcspace, the essay on integral photography, and the book / personal work ‘Integral Lens’ - were submitted here together because even though they were developed independently, they informed each other and present the authors continuation in the study, presentation and dissemination of architectural photography, combining various media outlets and audiences from specialised industry sectors to the general public.

The paper acts as the curatorial framework of the collective works, while the personal project showcases an individual iteration of an integral approach to architectural photography.

I would like to extend my gratitude to all the exceptional photographers who have contributed their time, work and expertise to the Arcspace series:

Andrew Prokos - https://andrewprokos.com

Jesús Marina Barba & Elena Morón Serna (Marina_Morón) - http://marinamoron.com

Shannon McGrath - http://shannonmcgrath.com

Åke E:son Lindman - http://lindmanphotography.com

Yiorgis Yerolymbos - http://www.yerolymbos.com

Brad Feinknopf - https://www.feinknopf.com

Michael Kenna - http://michaelkenna.net

Nick Merrick (Hedrich Blessing Photographers) - https://www.hedrichblessing.com

Erica Stoller (ESTO Photographics & Ezra Stoller archive) - http://ezrastoller.com

George Messaritakis - http://gmessaritakis.com

Rasmus Hjortshøj - https://coastarc.com

Marcela Grassi - https://marcelagrassi.com

Freya Najade & Marcela Spadaro (NAARO Studio) - http://www.naaro.com

Nick Hufton and Allan Crow (Hufton + Crow) - http://www.huftonandcrow.com

Adam Mørk - https://adammork.dk

Sebastian Weiss - https://www.le-blanc.com

James Stephenson - http://clickclickjim.com


“An integral theory of art and literary interpretation is thus the multidimensional analysis of the various contexts in which – and by which – art exists and speaks to us: in the artist, the artwork, the viewer, and the world at large. Privileging no single context, it invites us to be unendingly open to ever-new horizons, which broaden our own horizons in the process, liberating us from the narrow straits of our favourite ideology and the prison of our isolated selves.” – Ken Wilber, ‘The Eye of Spirit’

I also want to extend my thanks to Arcspace for hosting the interviews these past five years and sponsoring this presentation, and to chief editor Robert Martin and the Danish Architecture Center for their collaboration.

A few behind the scenes images from this journey:

With Mark DeKay at the Integral European Conference in Hungary, May 2018.

With Ken Wilber during the Integral Lens project in Denver USA, February 2016.

With U.S. Ambassador Mr. David Pearce, Director of Fulbright Foundation Greece Ms. Artemis Zenetou, and Fulbright Scholars at the award ceremony in Athens, July 2015.

I would also like to mention additional photographers who have been included in this study. The list below includes photographers from the 'Integral Lens' series published on archisearch.gr, photographers whose Arcspace interviews are in progress, and photographers included in the paper:

Edward Burtynsky - https://www.edwardburtynsky.com Gregory Colbert - https://gregorycolbert.com

David Burdeny - https://davidburdeny.com Iwan Baan - https://iwan.com

Alan Karchmer - https://alankarchmer.com

Dionisio González - http://www.dionisiogonzalez.es

The presentation given at the Integral European Conference has been uploaded on issuu.com and can be viewed here: