12/05/2014

Minor White | Beyond Appearances

Even if his name doesn’t sound familiar to a wider audience, Minor White (Minneapolis 1908 – Boston 1976) was without a doubt one of the most important photographers and popularizers of his time, who shaped and influenced more than one generation of great photographers. Thanks to an extraordinary technical ability, a deep passion for poetry and unusually sharp receptiveness, White was able to go beyond forms of nature, capturing their secrets and turning their appearance, giving them a visionary aspect, which transcends pure reality.

Captured through an almost mystical approach, White’s photos of landscapes, still life and close ups – often characterized by uneasiness and mystery – open numerous interpretations and free associations that seem to be related to the dream. Looking at his photos, most of the time it’s hard to fully understand the subjects and the viewers are caught and singled out to take on the assignment of making sense of his works.

The natural element is always present, but its metamorphosis can give birth to new perspectives, creating something completely different, apparently hidden before being captured on camera. The figurative parts are instrumental in triggering a phantasmagoric process that leads to abstraction. White’s photography is personal and introspective with different levels of interpretation, which vary from analytical observation of pure shapes to the universal research of truth. His photography has nothing to do with objectivity.

Though maintaining a strict control of the image in course of printing that separates his work from abstract expressionism and, at the same time, keeping distance from randomness of composition typical of European surrealism which reached the States together with its main representatives during the Second World War, White’s work and poetics were undoubtedly influenced by the cultural climate of the US at the time. Those were the years when photography and art grew closer, with the former starting to be truly conceived as a field of the latter, rather than simply a minor form of expression.

Monica Lombardi 
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07/05/2014

Through the Lens of Marina Caneve

Marina Caneve is a young Italian photographer, living and working between Italy and Ile-de-France. Graduating in architecture at IUAV University in Venice in 2013, she developed a thesis under the guidance of Guido Guidi on the topic of photography and the construction of knowledge concerning the urban plan. We asked Marina a few questions about her work, her future plans and project, and her photo-series titled Guardians.

Tell us more about yourself. You have studied under some of the most significant figures of Italian photography, such as Guido Guidi. What was it like?
I had a great opportunity to develop my final master’s project under the guidance of Guido Guidi. Thanks to Guido, I had to question my knowledge about photography and I started to consider it first of all as a cognitive process and a question of choice between options that are never definitive. This kind of work gave me the opportunity to see a lot of photo-books and read many essays on photography and visual culture. I have never looked for mentors who’d go along with me, but rather ones capable of provoking me, pushing me to overcome my limits.

How would you describe your early influences in photography?
I arrived at photography by following my curiosity, my personal and academic interests, as well as my passion for visual culture. In the beginning I felt the need to express my intimate self – I often felt fascinated by authors who work with portraits. I am also particularly interested in the connections and contradictions characterizing the relationship between people and the place they live in, with particular reference to social value of urbanism – how cities are (not) made for people. I am always looking for the ‘Tender cruelty’ found by Lincoln Kirstein in Walker Evans in the 1930s. I have always loved looking at William Eggleston’s work, definitely. I have a great interest for Larry Sultan; I love Jitka Hanzlova, Rineke Dijkstra and Thomas Struth. I often look at the work of Mona Kuhn, Yann Gross and Richard Rothman. It is hard to stop listing names, there are too many photographers I admire for different reasons.

Tell us more about your project, Guardians. What is the inspiration and the thought process behind it?
Guardians is an ongoing project initiated one year ago. I started this work after a workshop in Venice titled Portraits, developed under the guidance of Valerio Spada (the author of an amazing self-published book Gomorrah Girl). I have always been fascinated by guardians, their feelings, their suspended aspect, origins and thoughts, their empathy with space, artworks and people. The project/process tells – through the portrait itself – about the figure of who-is-looking-at as well as, in an almost bulimic relationship, about the visitor-photographer’s eye. It is all about mediated looks, where sociological inquiry and intimate investigation are interposed.

What would be your dream project to work on?
I don’t have a particular ideal project in mind, my ideas are always evolving and mutating. Being passionate for what I do, I have to love the topics I work on and when I work I feel completely absorbed and my dream is to have the chance to continue doing exactly that.

Interview by Agota Lukyte – Images courtesy of Marina Caneve 
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06/05/2014

Fotografia Europea 2014 in Reggio Emilia

During the long weekend from 2nd to 4th of May the 9th edition of Fotografia Europea, the international photography marathon held in Reggio Emilia since 2006, opened its gates. Dealing with different topics every year, this edition’s well-structured program of exhibitions and installations was guided by a reflection on the importance of the gaze: “Vedere. Uno sguardo infinito” (Seeing. An infinite gaze).

The main event of the festival was the huge retrospective devoted to the Italian master of contemporary photography Luigi Ghirri, entitled “Pensare per immagini. Icone, Paesaggi, Architetture” (Thinking in images. Icons, Landscapes, Architectures), and previously presented in Rome at Maxxi. The exhibition was based on three hundred shots, album covers, mock-ups, books, postcards and magazines retracing the amazing career of one the most eminent observers of our age.

“Divine Violence”, a show by Adam Broomberg and Oliver Chanarin presenting here their latest work – “Holy Bible” – was also definitely worth a visit. Following their personal research that plumbs depths of the recent past to assemble stereotyped images representing conflicts, the photographer duo chose to reinterpret the holy book. The result is a publication which combines words of the original text and images taken from the Archive of Modern Conflict, a London publishing house which released the book, showing violent and illogical periphery of human beings.

Among other numerous proposals hosted in different venues scattered around the city, the shows by two Magnum photographers Herbert List and Erich Lessing brought the viewers back to a black and white past made of refined still lives, landscapes and images of normal people contributing to the reconstruction after the Second World War.

Jumping from past to present, the festival, as usual, kept an eye on the young generations, presenting the gazes of Silvia Camporesi with her ghost places and their poetic desolation, Andrea Ferrari and his animals that observed the observers by blending in with the rich naturalist collection of the Lazzaro Spallanzani gallery, and Massimiliano Tommaso Rezza, who records ordinary things, negligible and ephemeral details of our everyday life through xeroxes glued directly on walls and pictures gracefully arranged in vacuum-sealed envelopes.

Once again Fotografia Europea proved the high quality of its agenda, proposing a series of main shows and collateral events that liven up the pleasantly relaxing town of Reggio Emilia, allowing people from all over the world to discover its charming, and in some cases hidden, locations. See you there next year!

Monica Lombardi – Images courtesy of Agota Lukyte 
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29/04/2014

Dalston Anatomy by Lorenzo Vitturi

Lorenzo Vitturi is passionate about food. Wherever in the world you may find yourself, he could possibly tell you where to grab that perfect bite. Strangely enough, he doesn’t appear to be as passionate about cooking. His aversion towards cooking wouldn’t be nearly as odd if he hadn’t spent the last couple of years obsessing over a local market. And yet, Lorenzo didn’t visit the Ridley Road Market in Dalston, London, for its rich selection of fresh produce. Rather, the market and its clutter served as the subject and backdrop of his photographic research.

Lorenzo Vitturi is, in fact, a photographer. Born and raised in the picturesque Venice, he studied photography at IED in Rome and Fabrica in Treviso, developing his particular language based on highly constructed and manipulated environments. In the couple of years he worked in advertising, Lorenzo developed some of the most clever campaigns, among which my personal favourite remains the one shot for Freddy. Lorenzo remarks: “Even if I consider myself a photographer – someone who writes with light – in my own practice I take on a much more holistic approach. Playing with the combination of illusion and reality, mixing together different disciplines – photography, sculpture, painting and collage – I build temporary sets made of all kind of materials. The central subject of my research is the ephemeral and transient nature of life, captured through the transformation and decay of objects.”

Taking a break from the restrictions of the corporate world, Lorenzo retreated himself to his London studio where, for almost a year, he built sculptures, collages, and strange, bulky compositions from debris collected at Dalston market. The result is “Dalston Anatomy”, a self-published book, designed by his friends Tankboys and each bound with a unique piece of fabric found at the market. Cited as one of the top-ten photography books in 2013 by everyone from Martin Parr to Dazed and Confused, from The Guardian to The New York Times, “Dalston Anatomy” is a photographic analysis of the clutter – colours, sounds, odours, languages, forms and cultures – found at the market. Mixing his three-dimensional compositions with photographs taken at the market and collages of found objects and images, Lorenzo has built a visual vocabulary based on elements of local culture, bits of everyday life and poetics of decay.

To crown an already successful year, “Dalston Anatomy” has recently been awarded the Grand Prix of the Jury at the prestigious Hyères Photography and Fashion Festival. The exhibition showcasing his work, together with other 9 talented young photographers, will be on show until the 25th of May 2014.

Rujana Rebernjak – Images courtesy of Tankboys 
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23/04/2014

Through the Lens of Clara Bahlsen

Clara Bahlsen is a Berlin-based photographer. After studying visual communication at University of Arts in Berlin, she undertook a postgraduate course at Ostkreuz School for Photography. Combining photography and design practices she often produces books: “I like the book as a medium of photography because of its fixed format. It is interesting when one has certain rules and guidelines to which you have to obey.” One of her recent book projects is “Töchter” (Daughters), which deals with the question of origins and family, and their individual significance for biography and identity. The work is underpinned by the correspondence between constructed ‘house’ sculptures and the portraits of young women, revealing personal and intimate interior worlds. “Daughters” was exhibited at Kunstverein Hannover in 2013 an won the 10th annual Aenne Biermann Preis.

Clara Bahlsen 
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21/04/2014

Araki Teller Teller Araki

“Araki Teller Teller Araki” is the explicit title of a current exhibition held at OstLicht Gallery, bringing together two of the greatest contemporary photographers: Nobuyoshi Araki (b. 1940, Tokyo, Japan) and Juergen Teller (b. 1964, Erlangen, Germany). Curated by Gerald Matt in cooperation with Hisako Motoo (eyesencia) and Juergen Teller himself, the exhibition features a series of works specifically conceived for this initiative.

The provocative Japanese artist, one of the most prolific of our times, well-known for his portraits, shots of nude women, bondage and still life flower photographs, all characterized by a perturbing and sensual attitude, displays here his project Last by Leica, a visual and intimate diary that continues the previous series Life by Leica and Love by Leica. A controversial and radical approach distinguishes Teller’s research too, who opens the door of his private life through flash images, where colors are overexposed and subjects, spanning from fashion system players to loved ones, are depicted with a personal and instinctive touch that makes his work instantly recognizable.

This exhibition juxtaposes two unrivalled artists, highlighting their mastery of composition, color and tone, sometimes pale and washed-out, other times bright and stunning. Appealing to the explicitness of subject matter and using photographic effects bent to their will, both photographers, each in his own style, create pictures of an extraordinary intensity, which are both genuine and poetic, and, at the same time, brutal and straightforward.

“Araki Teller Teller Araki” is accompanied by an artists’ book, realized and designed jointly by Araki and Teller, which collects 300 photographs (some of them unpublished) and a double text that the artists dedicated to each other. The exhibition will run through 25th May 2014.

Monica Lombardi 
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26/03/2014

Through the Lens of Ngoc Nguyen from Ashes and Wine

Ngoc Nguyen from Ashes and Wine 
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14/03/2014

Carlo Mollino: Boundless Work of an Eclectic Genius

In looking at the richness of Carlo Mollino’s work, one cannot but wonder how should this eclectic figure be framed – architect, design, photographer, but also aviator, a passionate skier and a racing car driver – any label appears too restrictive to frame his body of work, his character and his wit. Stereotype of a wild genius, Mollino was influenced by Turin’s lively cultural scene between the two wars, soon establishing himself as a versatile artists combining rigorous technological research and formal experimentation with sophisticated historical references. Despite his wide range of work, all of his projects remain coherent and a precise line of thought can be found both in his interior design projects (such as the surrealist Casa Miller, Casa Devalle or Casa Mollino), in the architectures of the mountain and the city (Teatro Regio in Turin, Turin Horse Society), as well as in his one-off products and photography.

A dandy, shy, lonely and elusive, Mollino conveyed his subtle messages by elaborating forms of the past using contemporary technologies, such as the reinforced concrete and bold structures applied to the sledge lift station of Lago Negro, a project where one would expect the more traditional use of wood. In fact, such juxtapositions of opposite materials, forms and textures, the dialogue between tradition and innovation, appears fundamental for his design process. Even though initially driven by the building fervor of the fascist period and the hiatus of the war, he has notably rejected the Modernist lessons of Gropius and Le Corbusier accusing them of cold functionalism and advocating for a more emotional, personal approach to architecture.

Even in his furniture designs, Mollino prefers handmade production of limited edition pieces, rather than any large-scale industrial production processes, giving his projects a unique aura. Throughout his life, he will never design anything for the big industry and the majority of his furniture will be one-off projects, ranging from wonderful tables, chairs and household objects inspired by nature, to the racing car designed with Bisiluro. The forms developed in architecture and design are highly evocative of his photographic work, notably the erotic series produced with a Polaroid, which explore the sinuous forms of a female body. The use of photography is in itself symbolic of his creative process: it’s not the image itself that is important, but how it is processed and produced.

Even though Carlo Mollino’s work is currently celebrated in major exhibitions, he still hasn’t been fully recognized as an architect, but rather appreciated as a charming, eclectic figure. While his objects are on high demand among collectors and the most fashionable of photographers, like Juergen Teller, have often chosen Casa Mollino for their photo-shoots, the figure of Carlo Mollino still waits to be fully understood.

Giulio Ghirardi 
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13/03/2014

The Adventures of a Plastic Bag

Luca Campri is an Italian photographer based in London.

Luca Campri 
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05/03/2014

Through the Lens of Trevor Triano

Trevor Triano is a photographer based in Aspen, usually working from New York City, whose delicate eye captures intimate moments of everyday life.

Trevor Triano 
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