Larry Torno: Transitory Light and Spirit

Larry Torno: Transitory Light and Spirit by Aline SmithsonMay 6, 2017

©Larry Torno, Basketball One

For many decades photographer Larry Torno has been considering what’s inside a frame…the frame of a page, the frame of an advertisement, the frame of a camera. Coming from a long career where aesthetics, spatial sensibilities, and shape and form were critical to creating a narrative, Larry has turned to photography using those same elements to create a visual poetry of sorts. His imagery celebrates structure but it also gives as much importance to what we don’t see in the dark corners of his photographs. Larry has released a series of self-published books–today we feature Volume Two, which can be purchased here.

Larry Torno, American, Born 1953, Bachelor of Arts/Webster College, St. Louis, MO (1976). Lives and works in University City, Missouri. Larry Torno has worked in the graphic design industry for 40 years as a VicePresident, Creative Director, Art Director, and Graphic Designer, in companies large and small, from Fortune 500 to Not-for-Profit. He received multiple national and local awards in recognition of his commercial design work. In 2003, Larry began a career creating fine art photography. His award winning images have been featured in national and international gallery and museumexhibitions. Torno’s photography has appeared in various print and online publications. Additionally, Larry has self-published three volumes of his photography in books titled Larry Torno Photo: Volume One, Larry Torno Photo: Volume Two, and Larry Torno Photo: Volume Three.

COVER Larry Torno Photo Volume 2

In the summer to autumn months of 2016, I routinely visited a nearby lake and watched the alterations at the dimming of the day. Shadows, moods, emotions; all changing as the sun disappeared beyond the horizon. At first, my observations were of the water, trees, and sky. Each scene became a slow moving transition from brightness, to brilliance, to somber awe. The location seemed to hold sway to what was going on outside of it. I worked to capture the spectacle with my camera as my witness. I held this location as sacred ground to my photography.

As the seasons continued on and I expanded my field of observations, I discovered the light moving in time with my spirit more than my location. I had concerns that once the presence of man was introduced to the photos, they would lose the serenity held by nature. What I discovered instead, was that man made surfaces enhanced the layers of light and presented a juxtaposition of form and content. Instead of interfering with the chiaroscuro, my photos found the light, and redefined functional spaces as art to be seen and noted. Whether it’s the transformation of day into night, work into rest, or chaos into solitude; I find an embracing feeling of purity as the light dims into darkness