Curator: Enrica Viganó
Nº of photographs: 224 works, a great many of them vintage. Materials contained 50 pieces of various types (film clips, magazines, books, etc.)
Contact: Ana Berruguete.
Catalogue: Bilingual edition. Published by La Fábrica
NeoRealism: The New Image in Italy, 1932-1960 analyses the relationship and intersections of photography with neorealist expression, which was primarily codified in other cultural sectors such as cinema and literature. To complete this panorama, we have compared the motivations and objectives of those artists who, in spite of adopting cultural approaches that varied considerably in their goals and intentions, can be said to have used the subjects and methods of neorealist poetics. This leads to a new interpretation in which the roots of neorealism can already be found in the period in which Italy was under fascist domination.
The accompanying catalogue assembles for the first time the biographies of all the movement’s leading participants, not only photographers but also editors, art directors, writers and critics. It also includes information about the period’s major magazines, agencies and photographic circles as well as a comparative chronology prepared by Fabio Amodeo that is essential for understanding the vicissitudes experienced by the Italians during these thirty crucial years.
The exhibition, which spotlights photography, is divided into various sections that include over 250 materials of various types. Great importance is given to the osmosis between photography and the diverse languages that characterised the neorealist period in a synergy that discovered multiple voices, necessary for an objective testimony. The catalogue includes, for example, an article by Gian Piero Brunetta regarding neorealist cinema and acontribution by Bruno Falcetto on literature. Cinema is present, both in manifestos and in clips from the most significant films.
