Vintage Photography Reborn Into New Art

THE MASK
Virginia Oldoini, Countess of Castiglione

She was called one of the most beautiful woman of her time, after years of aging, the terribly narcissistic countess hid from the public and asked her photographer to take hundreds of photographs of her, all precisely and dramatically staged with a distinct costume, expression and aesthetic angle. She gave each image a name inspired by theatre or opera: at a time when fashion photography didn’t yet exist, she imagined an incredible avant-garde concept. I took this photo of her from the 1800’s and gave her a mask to cover her face yet still be festive and artistic for the season. The tree in the background adds to the messy hair and like the natural aging of a tree, it loses it’s leaves and dies yet is still beautiful.

Once upon a time a photo was taken and it was cherished. But years passed and the photo was forgotten, lost in the shuffle amongst the billions of other photos around today. Now these beautiful images are reborn into new works of art, manipulated, mashed up, and combined with other photos, breathing new life into what was once old. This is REBORN.

Finding vintage photography and turning it into modern art is inspiring. I wanted to create something outside of the box, almost surreal, but still as captivating as it originally was when the photo was first taken. Enjoy my hard work! – Sikora

The process is tedious. Researching the history of the photo selected then telling the story of who that person was and making it art. Sikora partnered with Fine Art America to help distribute and print his art for everyone to enjoy. More series will be released in the future.

You can find more of my work or buy them at http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/william-sikora.html

More info: sikoraentertainment.com