Based out of the Netherlands and dubbing himself to be a story-teller by heart, Roderique "Dracorubio" Arisiaman, strives to convey a sense of emotion in his images. What sets him apart from other photographers is that Arisiaman does not merely "take photographs" but he creates them via photo manipulation and illustration. Outside of the photographic world, he also dabbles a bit in ceramics, sculpture and painting. Once familiar with his style of work, it is easy to understand why Arisiaman gets his inspiration from: nature, mythology, history, and fantasy. To define "photo manipulation" - in short, this refers to taking a RAW image - fresh off the memory card - and then adjusting the image drastically in Adobe Photoshop. It's important to note that there is a difference between "editing a RAW file in Photoshop" and "manipulating an image in Photoshop". Arisiaman's portfolio helps clarify the difference between the two as he goes to great lengths to morph his subjects and drastically change their appearance. It is important to note that in doing so, Arisiaman is able to further convey the story and the emotion he wants to relay to his viewer. As seen in his "Commissions Portfolio" on his website:
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| Arisiaman, Roderique "Dracorubio", Unravel, ND. |
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| Arisiaman, Roderique "Dracorubio", (left) Quirky, (right) Untitled, ND. |
One can still clearly see that the size of the young lady's eyes Arisiaman's image titled Quirky have been manipulated. The body in the image to the right seems smaller than the size of the man's head. In terms of content, perhaps these two photographs are pointing out life "lessons" that we have all come across: maybe her eyes are bigger than her stomach? Many the male subject's head is a little to big; signifying an inflated ego? It's important to remember that the artist may want his/her viewer to grasp a particular concept, although - inevitably - we, as viewers, all bring our own experiences to the plate and thus, may have varied interpretations.
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| Arisiaman, Roderique "Dracorubio", (left) The Best a Sith Can Get!, (right) The Lighter Side of a Dark Breakfast, ND. |
Not all of Arisiaman's imagery depicts "spooky" content. Take his "Darth Diaries" series; a few of these images are pictured above. For anyone who is a Star Wars fan - and the force be with you - will inevitably see the humor in the stories that Arisiaman is telling with these photographs. With a caption like "There are some advantages to being half human, half cyborg... too bad he had to learn the hard way" for The Best a Sith Can Get! - how can you not giggle a bit? For the image directly to the left of that, the caption reads, "Starting the day with a good breakfast will get you through the rest" and the below image caption reading, "Personal reviews suck, but someone's gotta do it".
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| Arisiaman, Roderique "Dracorubio", Aren't You a Little Short for a Stormtropper?, ND. |
Represented by DraumList agency, Arisiaman has shown his work in various exhibitions. He also teaches many different workshops to groups as well as to individuals. Next Monday, we'll be taking a look at the methods Arisiaman uses to create his images - so we can learn from Arisiaman himself! Stay tuned!
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01. Arisiaman, Roderique "Dracorubio" "Portfolio - Dracorubio, Photographic Art." Dracorubio, Photographic Art. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2014.
02. "DraumList." DraumList. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2014.