ABBREVIATED PROJECT STATEMENT:

“Double Vision: A View of Florence Past & Present” is a Florentine rephotographic project funded by a 2008 Fulbright grant and is based exclusively on the private collections of the world’s oldest photo archive, the Fratelli Alinari in Florence, Italy. Retracing the steps of the Alinari photographers, I visited significant sites within the city of Florence, rephotographed them from the same point of view using today’s digital technology and then printed the images in platinum/palladium, paying homage to an historical photographic process commonly employed during the time of the Alinari. By pairing the original Alinari print from over a century ago with my current rephotographed version, the project offers a powerful statement of those things that change and also remain the same; a valuable visual contrast and comparison of the Florentine social life, architecture and landscape as it once was and is now today. While the visual research and documentation are based in Florence, the project concepts are internationally applicable. Through this rephotographic project, I hope to build more awareness of the environment by acknowledging our “footprint” and the power we possess to protect and preserve our culture, community and place in history.