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Dec 18,2005 - Dec 25,2005 |
Pictures of Hockey
Artist Silvia Pecota explores Canada's national sport
By Mariella Policheni
Originally Published: 2003-12-21
Silvia Pecota's photographs of children's love for Canada's national sport have been collected in her book Hockey Across Canada. This 30-page book has been published by the University of Toronto Press and is dedicated to children between the age of 5 and 10. "I took the first shot of an Inuit kid some five years ago," says the photographer, born in Toronto in 1961 to a father from Dalmatia and a mother from Belluno, Italy. "After a while I showed it to Don Cherry, who was so enthusiastic and insisted I take more pictures like that, from one end of Canada to the other."
Her photos are not simple snapshots, but the result of painstaking work that never fails to fascinate onlookers. "I took these pictures using filters and techniques designed for creating a suggestive, shadowy background," she says. "Then I painted with oil paints, and with the help of my computer I integrated the two techniques, obtaining some very artistic effects, somewhat resembling chiaroscuro as used in the Renaissance by masters such as Leonardo."
The book follows an immaginary path through all 10 Provinces and three Territories. "After all, the sport of hockey unifies kids all over the country," remarks Pecota, whose photos have been published on Guerin Sportivo, Max, Time Magazine, and even Russia-based Novi Tovar Magazine. "Maybe in the future I will do another series on Italian children playing soccer, or possibly on the most popular Italian soccer players."
Pecota has a pile of projects in her drawers. She loves Italy with all her heart, but soon, after opening a few days ago an exhibition of pictures taken from Hockey Across Canada at Columbus Centre's Joseph D. Carrier Gallery, she will leave for Bosnia and Afghanistan. "In January I will be there, taking photos of our soldiers for the Canadian Forces Artist Programme," volunteers the Toronto Sun photo reporter. "Also in this case I will be employing the same technique I used for the children playing hockey."
Pecota is a volcano in eruption, generating a constant stream of ideas and projects, and in her career she has portrayed Anthony Quinn, Mike Tyson, Jake Lamotta, Hurricane Carter, Shania Twain, Manon Rheaume, and Amy Sky. "I fondly remember meeting Vasco Rossi, who's a very funny person, and taking a photo of Marcello Mastroianni," smiles the 42-year-old Canadian photographer; "he was an exquisite gentleman, and photographing him was an honour for me."
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