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Photographer, painter, sculptor, architect and performer, Gianluca Darkan is an eclectic artist. His style of painting follows Caravaggio’s and other old masters likeGiorgione and Antonello da Messina, but reinterpreted through innovative digital techniques. Masterpieces with strong visual and emotional impact are created this way. Darkan’s works are rich iwith symbolism and suggestions, past and present, from alchemy to astronomy, from sacred to the profane. Critics have defined him as "the lights and shadows artist".
Gianluca Darkan’s artistic endeavours are the combination of symbolism, alchemy and technology - all at the whims of a dimmer switch.

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Accademia Apulia UK has asked the artist some questions:

How do your Apulian origins and Baroque heritage influence your work?


Very much! The mystical  Baroque culture from Lecce, its symbolism, its architecture – concave projections and convex recesses - have shaped the way I see the world. A peasant sipping wine in the shade of an olive tree, village fairs, festive lights flickering over winding streets, is a cultural feast people from Puglia can’t live without.  



In 2007 you created "Sex and the Vatican”, a collection of artwork that was immediately censored for content deemed irreverent and blasphemous, which earned you the nickname of "Reverend Darkan". What pushes your art to such extremes?

It is not my art that is extreme, life is. The cases of child abuse by priests, punitive wars, Guantanamo’s prisoners’ abuse are all elements that an artist cannot ignore. They must be taken on and reported through art form. It is an Artist’s duty to describe society’s strengths and weaknesses.


Critics have a vital role in conveying the dissemination of art. What effect have critics had on your artistic expression?

If I had to assign an iconic image to the role of critics, it would have to be that of the seven-headed beast, described in the St. John’s Book of Revelation, in the Old Testament.
 For me, real critic comes from people simply watching my work and conveying their personal emotions through facial expressions and words. Many art critics think along the same "fashion", while others are more enlightened and really understand the artistic jest, the artist’s work, and his or her motivations for provocations.



Just as in Baroque art, special lighting dramatically highlights bodies leaping out the darkness of the scene, and it heightens the figures’ plasticity. Is this ‘darkness’ a creative or destroying force?

I would say it is more a light-shedding force. Light cannot exist without darkness, and darkness cannot exist without engaging with the light. Kubrick shows us that a room with all-white walls blasted with light can generate more "fear" in the observer. Caravaggio demonstrates how darkness is essential in life. Darkness is not there to create nor destroy. Darkness is a variable present in all of us – what’s important is finding your own range of light to illuminate your ‘darkness’.

How do you define the artistic period in which you operate? How does it differ from the past? What are the new techniques?
If I were to define the artistic period in which I live, I would define it as ‘rushed and melancholic’. If I were to define the artistic period in which I propose my work, I would not have an answer for it.
 Any difference with past artistic expressions is given by its content. After the "conceptual" stage, I believe that a contemporary artist is keen to promote himself through his work. Perhaps influenced by a culture of style, fashion and television. I think that in some cases the artist’s message may have been lost or confused because of the media used.


There are no new techniques compared to the past. There are however the use of new instruments, like computer and digital technology. The final product, whether it be a picture, a painting, a building, design, or poetry, is always guided by one’s passion, thoughts and their place in history. I firmly believe that if Leonardo da Vinci worked in the twentieth century, he would certainly have used Autocad 2d/3d to design the Vatican dome. Caravaggio, on the other hand, would have been a photographer.
 Any artistic expression is driven by one’s vision, and poetic charm.
 Referring to new digital technology as modern media would be belittling to artwork expressions. It would be like writing a poem with a word and call it a poem in digital ink. Nothing can replace poetry.



As often happens in the lives of artists, there are various artistic currents that lead to different stylistic moments, as for example in the "fragility and armour" and "Love and Hate" you replace the mystical aspect of the subjects represented with emotions. How many facets characterise your art?
    


Many facets. I have a romantic vision of the totalitarian artist. I love to wander between concepts and try to find their rightful representation in photography, painting and digital art. Depends on what "emotion" I want to tell. My commitment is to find a connection between the various arts, touching also on architecture and design.



Many of your works are shown online with group exhibitions. Do you think these new channels of exposure raise the profile of young artists?



The web, if used well, is a great showcase for artists, musicians and actors. In my case it was useful to hear people’s view who, protected by a monitor, give frank opinions. It engages your audience, and you can find out what it is that attracts them to your work. But above all, you get to know their stories: this can be a great asset for an artist. The "web" is very important in shaping an artist’s formation, but eventually a proper exhibition is a must. Seeing one’s work amidst the people, whether in a gallery or just any space, is an experience not to be missed by an artist.



Do you have any advice for young artists facing the international scene? What are the first steps they should take to promote their work? What tips can you give them?



Never run out of questions. Never stop looking. 
Look for answers and your own way to represent them, your own way to communicate them and find out which part of contemporary art you want to mediate. Another useful tip is: If you are not really convinced of what you create, if the hard work of research and experimentation tires you, if you are not ready to make sacrifices for art, so...Let it go. If however, within you feel that without you can’t live without art, so... close your eyes and listen to what she says.