There's nothing abstract about Vince Tosto's hopes for Auburn's artistic community.
Sam Tenney / The Citizen
Vince Tosto, photographer and tattoo artist, exhibits black and white photographs titled “Auburn Abstracted” at the Cayuga County Chamber of Commerce.
Vince Tosto, photographer and tattoo artist, exhibits black and white photographs titled “Auburn Abstracted” at the Cayuga County Chamber of Commerce.
His “Auburn Abstracted” photography exhibit in the Cayuga County Chamber of Commerce approaAbches the city from dynamic angles and heights to depict its brick sidewalks, fire hydrants and crosswalk signs in hardly recognizable forms.
For these reasons, Auburn artist Tom Hussey chose Tosto's work to line the chamber's walls through November.
“It's kind of innovative,” Hussey said. “He focuses on the composition instead of purely the content. He has a real artist's eye for his subjects.”
Tosto snapped many of the shots during casual strolls through downtown Auburn. A few feature the faces of people Tosto met in the area, such as an 84-year-old woman named Emily. Tosto's portrait closely crops in her wrinkled face, but the soft texture of the picture enlivens her eyes with a youthful appearance.
“People say I take photos of things people don't look at,” Tosto said. “There are really cool stories with these people.”
The exhibit provides a coming out party of sorts to Tosto, a tattoo artist who owns Experience Tattooing, Body Piercing and Fine Arts on 4 E. Genesee St. in Auburn and 4872 W. Seneca Turnpike in Syracuse.
“The biggest thing with the show is to let people know I do photography,” he said. “You have to have different ways of making a living.”
Far from a casual hobby, photography has gradually become a heavier part of Tosto's life since he moved to Auburn from New Jersey in 2002. He is currently studying the subject at Onondaga Community College and planning to transfer to RIT to complete his degree.
The other major cultivating force in Tosto's budding photography career has been Light Work, a Syracuse University-owned community darkroom that grants amateur photographers access to lighting and printing equipment for affordable fees. In addition to the access Light Work gives him, Tosto benefits from working with fellow photographers who bring a diversity of backgrounds to the darkroom.
“I really love community darkrooms,” Tosto said. “There are some amazing photographers there; one professor worked for National Geographic.”
Tosto hopes to establish the community darkroom model in Auburn. With localized access to all the equipment they could want, aspiring photographers in the area could realize their passion for the art without the high start-up costs of committing to it on their own. The space, which Tosto envisions as a co-op or non-profit arts hub, would also include a gallery for exhibiting photographers and mixed media artists.
“There's a demand,” Hussey said. “I know there are photographers around here, so it would be a good resource for people involved in it as a craft who want to develop their own stuff.”
“Auburn Abstracted” ends on this forward-looking note: The final photo features the marquee of the Auburn Schine's Theater. Tosto believes the city's cultural institutions, such as the Auburn Public Theater, the Cayuga Museum and the Schine's, could spark the kind of artistic boom in which his facility would thrive.
Experience Tattooing currently doubles as an exhibition space for Tosto's work. It was in tattoo studios that Tosto discovered his talent for photography. To compile portfolios, Tosto would snap what he calls “wordless testimonials”: Pictures of tattoos or piercings Tosto completed where the expression on the subject's face conveys their satisfaction with the work.
“I noticed my ability to grab a headshot,” Tosto said. “Then I started chasing it.”
Tattooing sometimes casts Tosto in an undesirable light when he lets someone know he owns a studio, but he believes the trade's popular acceptance is swelling. Having tattooed public officials, teachers and nurses, Tosto expects his Experience business will assimilate well with his darkroom plans.
The old furniture filling Tosto's studio, such as its late-1800s Victorian sofa and 1915 exam table, create a nostalgic atmosphere that Tosto traces in his photos. He prefers print technology not only for its superior image quality to digital, but the warmth and nostalgia inherent to hand-developed black-and-white photos.
In Auburn's diverse architecture lie many potential sites for Tosto's darkroom that could carry on the classic aesthetic of his current studio and his photographs. No matter the location, Tosto feels the city's artistic community will ripen enough for his facility to succeed.
“There's no reason we can't have a gallery on the level of Syracuse or even Soho here,” Tosto said. “This community has huge potential.”
Staff writer David Wilcox can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 245 or david.wilcox@lee.net
For these reasons, Auburn artist Tom Hussey chose Tosto's work to line the chamber's walls through November.
“It's kind of innovative,” Hussey said. “He focuses on the composition instead of purely the content. He has a real artist's eye for his subjects.”
Tosto snapped many of the shots during casual strolls through downtown Auburn. A few feature the faces of people Tosto met in the area, such as an 84-year-old woman named Emily. Tosto's portrait closely crops in her wrinkled face, but the soft texture of the picture enlivens her eyes with a youthful appearance.
“People say I take photos of things people don't look at,” Tosto said. “There are really cool stories with these people.”
The exhibit provides a coming out party of sorts to Tosto, a tattoo artist who owns Experience Tattooing, Body Piercing and Fine Arts on 4 E. Genesee St. in Auburn and 4872 W. Seneca Turnpike in Syracuse.
“The biggest thing with the show is to let people know I do photography,” he said. “You have to have different ways of making a living.”
Far from a casual hobby, photography has gradually become a heavier part of Tosto's life since he moved to Auburn from New Jersey in 2002. He is currently studying the subject at Onondaga Community College and planning to transfer to RIT to complete his degree.
The other major cultivating force in Tosto's budding photography career has been Light Work, a Syracuse University-owned community darkroom that grants amateur photographers access to lighting and printing equipment for affordable fees. In addition to the access Light Work gives him, Tosto benefits from working with fellow photographers who bring a diversity of backgrounds to the darkroom.
“I really love community darkrooms,” Tosto said. “There are some amazing photographers there; one professor worked for National Geographic.”
Tosto hopes to establish the community darkroom model in Auburn. With localized access to all the equipment they could want, aspiring photographers in the area could realize their passion for the art without the high start-up costs of committing to it on their own. The space, which Tosto envisions as a co-op or non-profit arts hub, would also include a gallery for exhibiting photographers and mixed media artists.
“There's a demand,” Hussey said. “I know there are photographers around here, so it would be a good resource for people involved in it as a craft who want to develop their own stuff.”
“Auburn Abstracted” ends on this forward-looking note: The final photo features the marquee of the Auburn Schine's Theater. Tosto believes the city's cultural institutions, such as the Auburn Public Theater, the Cayuga Museum and the Schine's, could spark the kind of artistic boom in which his facility would thrive.
Experience Tattooing currently doubles as an exhibition space for Tosto's work. It was in tattoo studios that Tosto discovered his talent for photography. To compile portfolios, Tosto would snap what he calls “wordless testimonials”: Pictures of tattoos or piercings Tosto completed where the expression on the subject's face conveys their satisfaction with the work.
“I noticed my ability to grab a headshot,” Tosto said. “Then I started chasing it.”
Tattooing sometimes casts Tosto in an undesirable light when he lets someone know he owns a studio, but he believes the trade's popular acceptance is swelling. Having tattooed public officials, teachers and nurses, Tosto expects his Experience business will assimilate well with his darkroom plans.
The old furniture filling Tosto's studio, such as its late-1800s Victorian sofa and 1915 exam table, create a nostalgic atmosphere that Tosto traces in his photos. He prefers print technology not only for its superior image quality to digital, but the warmth and nostalgia inherent to hand-developed black-and-white photos.
In Auburn's diverse architecture lie many potential sites for Tosto's darkroom that could carry on the classic aesthetic of his current studio and his photographs. No matter the location, Tosto feels the city's artistic community will ripen enough for his facility to succeed.
“There's no reason we can't have a gallery on the level of Syracuse or even Soho here,” Tosto said. “This community has huge potential.”
Staff writer David Wilcox can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 245 or david.wilcox@lee.net
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