UT Dallas Grad’s Photos Win Awards for Quirkiness

Photographer Carlo Zinzi only recently graduated from The University of Texas at Dallas with an MFA in Arts and Technology (ATEC), but he is already making his mark on the art world with his surreal take on Americana.

Zinzi, who imbues his work with a sense of humor and whimsy, was awarded the Juror’s Selection Award in Consumption, an exhibition that ran this month at The Center for Fine Art Photography in Colorado. The winning image, Resort, depicts a hot dog, a recurring theme in Zinzi’s work, soaring through a garden.

“The current series I am working on, Thru, involves floating and levitating fast food,” Zinzi said. “It is an attempt to give hot dogs and hamburgers a second chance.”

“Seeking to subvert the status of the iconic hot dog, I wanted to re-translate the metaphors imbued in what we eat, like tiny edible narratives. We need more stories about food that don’t involve hospitals and doctors. I discovered that my attempt to create a violently whimsical commentary of American imagery was actually more of a process for me to deconstruct a cultural legacy,” Zinzi said.

Zinzi’s work was also accepted in the Houston Center for Photography’s 28th Annual Juried Membership Exhibition, which is on view through Aug. 22.