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Photographer Tony Chirinos: Momento Mori

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Photographer Tony Chirinos: Momento Mori

Introduction to Tony Chirinos. 2:22. Interview: Raymond Elman.  Post-Production: Lee Skye.  Music: Carmen Cicero. Recorded via Zoom.  12/14/2024.  Miami.

 

TONY CHIRINOS is a Venezuelan-born documentary-style artist based in Miami. His career spans over forty years, exploring the theme of mortality and fragility. Chirinos is a recipient of fellowships including the prestigious John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation (2023), The Green Space Miami Grant (2024), Callanan Excellence in Teaching Award (2019), the South Florida Cultural Consortium (2010), and the William Talbott Hillman Foundation grant (2021) to financially assist in the printing production of his first monograph, “The Precipice.” Mr. Chirinos holds a Master of Fine Arts from Columbia University (2003). Trained as a Bio-medical photographer in 1985 at Miami Children’s Hospital, he went on to create the Medical Photography department at Baptist Health Systems in 1989. His work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, including participation in the III Bronx Latin American Art Biennial. His photographic series have been featured in Dear Dave, The British Journal of Photography, The Washington Post, Photo Eye, Edge of Humanity Magazine, Slate, Daily Mail, Business Insider, and Fotofilmic, among others. Chirinos was among 100 photographers who participated in Review Santa Fe in 2012, 2018, and 2019. His work is included in the collections of Museum of Fine Arts Houston, University of Colorado at Boulder, Candela Collection, Cuban Heritage Collection, Light Work, Photographic Center Northwest, Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona, and Mount Sinai Medical Center, among others. Mr. Chirinos is a professor of photography at Miami Dade College since 2003.

https://www.tonychirinos.com/

The videos below were recorded via Zoom, are organized by Success Factor, and run between 30 seconds and 3 minutes. Click on any video. You must be connected to the Internet to view the videos.

 

CRITICAL THINKING:    0:36 sec.

How old were you when you moved to the United States from Venezuela?

 

EXPOSURE TO BROAD INFLUENCES:    0:52 sec.

How did moving to Miami impact you?

 

PERSEVERANCE FURTHERS:    2:19 min.

Who first inspired you to pursue photography, and what did you learn that still informs you today?

 

SERENDIPITY:    0:37 sec,

Did you study with William Maguire at Florida International University?

 

CREATES A UNIQUE PERSONAL BRAND:     1:08 min.

Tell us about your career in medical photography.

 

VALUES FIRST-RATE EDUCATION:      2:09 min.

As an undergraduate you performed poorly in your first year and lost your scholarships. How did you eventually get accepted at Columbia University and earn your MFA there?

 

SEIZES OPPORTUNITIES:       0:39 sec.

Were your parents supportive of your photography career?

 

INSIGHT & INSPIRATION:      0:40 sec.

What was your first awareness of the impact of art?

 

BREAKS THE RULES:       1:01 min

During your career as a medical photographer, did you have time to pursue photography as an art form?

 

INSIGHT & INSPIRATION:      2:03 min.

Who were some of your role models and influencers, and what motivated you to start your first project outside of medical photography?

 

CREATES A UNIQUE PERSONAL BRAND:      3:23 min.

Describe one of your most successful projects, and one of your projects that didn’t fully match your expectations.

 

UNDERSTANDS THE BUSINESS OF ART:       0:40 sec.

What do you know now about the art world that you wish you knew when you first started branching out from bio-medical photography?

 

EXPOSURE TO BROAD INFLUENCES:      0:49 sec.

Have you seen the photographs of my friend Joel Meyerowitz?

 

CREATES A UNIQUE PERSONAL BRAND:      2:15 min.

Tell us about your experiences with the evolution of photography technology.

 

CRITICAL THINKING:     1:00 min. 

Many people think of Daguerre, one of the inventors of photography, as a scientist, even though he was an artist.

 

OVERCOMES CHALLENGES TO SUCCEED:    2:35 min

Describe a challenging project with a successful outcome.

 

SERENDIPITY:      1:21 min.

What is the role of serendipity in your work?

 

CRITICAL THINKING:     0:41 sec.

When did you start using the phrase “making photographs” instead of “taking photographs”?

 

VALUES FIRST-RATE EDUCATION:      0:36 sec.

What role should a university play in the development of photographers?

 

OVERCOMES CHALLENGES TO SUCCEED:      1:03 min

What are some of the biggest challenges for your photography?

 

CREATES A UNIQUE PERSONAL BRAND:     1:08 min

Is storytelling an important ingredient in your photos?

 

SELF-CONFIDENCE:      0:53 sec.

You sound like a great teacher. Do your students appreciate you?

 

CREATES A UNIQUE PERSONAL BRAND:      0:26 sec.

I consider myself a painter who uses photos as an element in my paintings.

 

UNDERSTANDS ARTISTS’ NEEDS:      1:58 min.

What skills and behaviors do you think are most valuable for being an impactful photographer?

 

INSIGHT & INSPIRATION:      2:18 min.

Would you like to use ArtSpeak video conversations with other photographers in your classroom?

 

COMMUNITY VALUES:      0:40 sec.

Do you participate in any community outreach programs?

 

CRITICAL THINKING:      0:38 sec.

What’s your favorite movie?