About Conservation

Conservation Fine Art Photography………….literally translates into “Artwork without Artistic Interpretation”………In today’s world of photoshop and digital wizardry it is hard to know exactly what you are looking at, what is real and what is enhanced, manipulated and/or totally changed around so much that the original image is lost. Literally anything that can be hung on a wall is and could be called art work, however very few mediums lend themselves to conservation work and even fewer artists tools can be used in a conservation manner such as the camera. The camera stands alone as the ultimate conservation artistic tool. Oils, acrylics, and sculptures, no matter how wonderfully done are still artist interpretations, they are someone else’s ideas of the world around them. This is fine as long as your subject matter is not falling into the ocean………….and is not being threaten by the very thing that makes is beautiful………….for example………Venice Italy. If anyone doubts the severity of the Venetian people and their sinking city, one only need look at the billions of dollars that have been invested over the past ten years to save this city. Venice Italy is being claimed by he ocean, its a fact!!  Venice Italy is the subject matter and the conservation endeavor of the International Artist, Zsuzsanna Luciano. Zsuzsanna was born and raised in Budapest Hungary. She grew up in a war torn country where the beauty she once loved had fallen down around her. This tragic loss fuelled this great artist for all future endeavors that she would undertake in her life as an adult and in her art…………..she was not able to protect and conserve her beautiful country at such a young age however she was not to allow such beauty in a city to ever be destroyed again in such a tragic way………..

Conservation work is not enhanced, it is not changed around, it is not manipulated…….colors are not added nor are they taken out. Conservation Photography, as used by Zsuzsanna, is meant to capture what the Venetian people and mother nature have created………..to capture and cherish for future generations. If Venice was to fall into the ocean, would you want to look at someone’s interpretation of Venice or the real thing??? Conservation Fine Art Photography has no equal. When done correctly the artist/photography transports his or her audience to that magical place, the place that really exists, as if you were standing there yourself. Zsuzsanna feels that the people of Venice, the creators of Venice, and mother nature had it right, there is no reason to change it. It only needs to be captured and preserved for all time through Conservation Photography. However this is an arduous task to say the very least………..no photoshop allowed, no digital manipulation allowed, and no post processing………”oh my god, what is an artist to do”……….how about WORK WORK WORK and WORK on site to get it perfect all BEFORE the button is pushed, NOT AFTER………literally thousands of images, days and days and days at one sight and the mastery needed to use the tools of your art, just as Picasso used the brush so must a Conservation Fine Art Photographer use his or her brush, the camera. A mastery of light, weather conditions, camera filters and stop action motion must all be utilized to capture and preserver Venice Italy in its original state. Someone once said to me while gazing at the work of Zsuzsanna…….”Zsuzsanna must have a great camera”…………my answer was simple and direct…………..”yes, just as Rembrandt had a great paint brush”…..In reality it has very little to do with the tool and so so much more as to who is holding that tool and the mastery that individual has of that tool. “Mastery of that tool”……..this is a good time to note the The New York Institute of Photography is one of the most accredited and most renowned photography schools in the world……….this institution gives out on rare occasion what they call The Award Of Merit…….it is rare to get ONE of these awards…..this fact is easily found on the internet if googled………….Zsuzsanna has been bestowed TWO of them!!!

In order to keep 100% control over the original colors and images as captured the day the image was taken, Zsuzsanna Luciano MUST do her own printing of all of her own pieces, it is the only way to assure conservation quality. Zsuzsanna is not only an artist in regards to the camera but assumes and masters the roll as conservation print maker as well. All her art is printed with only UV proof pigments, on top quality canvas and then a three coat clear UV proof acrylic process is applied to each piece to further guarantee the museum quality and longevity that conservation work requires and demands. The works of Zsuzsanna Luciano looks three dimensional when viewed in real life, computer images cannot capture the feeling of what one sees and feels while standing in front of one of her pieces. Zsuzsannas art is art with a true purpose, it is art with real sense of urgency but above all else it is to capture, amaze and tell the story of an ocean people who have survived countless tragedies. They have stood up, stood tall, and have survived to date the best of what mother nature has brought to their door step and it takes a truly deep well centered, loving, gifted artist to capture the past 1000+ years and give to these people and their city the respect and artistic recognition they so greatly deserve.

                                                                                                                        – Michael Luciano –