In fact, one of Porcella's main interests, even as a photographer, is an appreciation of other cultures: he remains fascinated by the search for the "shared human elements contained within the diversity of life's conditions." This seemingly bottomless source of inspiration has encouraged Philip to seek
out these "conditions" not only through their material manifestations, but by continuing to pursue his longtime interest in poetry, art, and theater, like any self-respecting modern-day Renaissance man. Such being the case, at the center of his photographic universe, Man occupies the place of honor, even if the reality of the settings often comes into question: Porcella's are not direct shots of the subject but metaphorical inventions that he creates in order to suggest something deeper than the mere reproduction of the model's features. Pictorial space comes into play first and foremost, and the three-dimensional perspective developed in the negative's reality appears almost inexistent. The photographer pursues this flattening effect with the same steadfastness employed by those Renaissance painters who sought to portray deep perspective in a two-dimensional image.