Sant’Eustachio
Piazza Sant’Eustachio, where you can presumably drink the best coffee in Rome. In my case, it was not coffee what was in my glass, but spritz.
Walking in the center of Rome, near Largo di Torre Argentina.
And a scoop: a photography of undulant.
After this great moment of emotion, visit the webpage of Jessica Dimmock, who spent three years photographing addicts in an apartment in Manhattan. With this material she published a book: the ninth floor. Reading it, I felt the urgent necessity to clean my apartment…
Filed under: Italy, Rome | Leave a Comment
Tags: bar, Roma, Rome, undulant
Questa volta non partirò da una mia (misera) foto, ma dal fatto più importante: io adoro Leonie Purchas!
Vi racconto tutto.
A Roma adesso c’è un festival internazionale della fotografia, per questo sono andato a vederne una parte al Palazzo delle Esposizioni. (In questo momento sono a Roma, ma non preoccupatevi: ancora per poco. Sto per partire per Nizza e poi per Parigi…). Più precisamente, ci sono diverse esposizioni al “Palazzo”, non solo quelle del festival.
Per iniziare, ho visitato “Il mito della velocità. Arte, motori e società nell’Italia del ‘900”. Decisamente nulla di eccezionale. Bellissime macchine e brutte opere d’arte, a mio parere. Poi è stata la volta di una mostra di artisti cinesi contemporanei con belli lavori. Ho apprezzato l’opera di “carta” in bronzo di Wang Du e le fotografie di Yang Yong e Wang Qinsong. C’era anche una specie di scultura che rappresenta un angelo che cade da una “singolarità” nel paradiso. L’ho trovata divertente, forse per simpatia professionale.
Poi sono stato alle esposizioni dedicate al Festival della Fotografia. Mi sono piaciute le cose di Paolo Woods sul tema dei lavoratori/manager cinesi trasferitisi in Africa (tutte le foto si possono trovare nel suo sito. Grazie!). Ho apprezzato anche l’esposizione della fotografa ceca Lucia Nimcova che mostra l’evoluzione/transizione della situazione socio-politica nella sua nazione, attingendo sia agli archivi fotografici della sua città che ai propri scatti.
Ma ho lasciato il meglio alla fine.
Conoscevo il lavoro di Leonie Purchas solo attraverso il suo sito e lo consideravo già interessante. Vedendo l’esposizione ho trovato il suo lavoro anche meglio di come me lo aspettassi. Il paragone più spontaneo è stato con Nan Goldin, da molto tempo la mia fotografa preferita. Forse per la natura del suo lavoro, sulla famiglia della stessa Leonie, con tutte le implicazioni emotive che ne derivano. Nel sito del Palazzo delle Esposizioni potete trovare la descrizione di questo lavoro che qui riporto:
In the Shadow of Things” si concentra sulla vita di sua madre, Bron, che dopo la rottura del suo primo matrimonio, ha iniziato dodici anni fa una nuova vita col suo compagno David e loro figlio Jake, trasferendosi in una casa isolata circondata da campi e foreste.
Nonostante gli anni passati, la maggior parte dei pacchi del trasloco erano ancora da aprire. Bron ha combattuto per anni con un disturbo ossessivo compulsivo che con le sue intricate regole e rituali ha dato luogo nella vita di tutti i giorni a pile di oggetti sparsi dappertutto.
Per molti mesi Leonie ha cercato di aiutare la madre a riprendere il controllo della sua casa e della sua vita, cercando di esprimere attraverso la fotografia il confronto con un mondo che pensava di conoscere ma che continua a rivelarsi.
Un lavoro stupendo. Eccezionale il ritratto di Martin (il marito di Leonie) sul punto di piangere. Leonie gli prende una mano e scatta allo stesso tempo.
Congratulazioni!
E come sempre una mia fotografia, scattata mentre camminavo per il centro di Roma diretto alla mostra.
Grazie mille a undulant per la spontanea e bravissima traduzione!
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Tags: fotografia, Leonie Purchas, Lucia Nimcova, Nan Goldin, Paolo Woods, Photo, Roma, Wang Du, Wang Qinsong, Yang Yong
Leonie Purchas
This time I do not start by a (poor) photo of mine, but from the most important: I love Leonie Purchas!
I tell you the story: there is currently in Rome an international festival of photography, and I went to an exhibition at the Palazzo delle Esposizioni. (I am curently @ Rome, but don’t panic, just for a short while; I’m going first to Nice and then to Paris again). In fact, there are currently different exhibitions at the Palazzo, not only the ones of the festival. First, I visited one entitled “The Legend of Speed. Art, Motorization and Society in 20th Century Italy”. Well, frankly, nothing exceptional. Beautiful cars and ugly art pieces, in my opinion. Then I moved to an exhibition by chinese contemporary artists. There were nice things. I liked the pieces of “paper” in bronze by Wang Du and the photographies of Yang Yong and Wang Qinsong. There was also a kind of sculpture representing an angel falling from a singularity of the paradise, which was amusing. Maybe a professional bias.
Then I visited the exhibition dedicated to the Festival of Photography itself. I liked the exhibition by Paolo Woods about chinese workers/businessmen expatriated to Africa (all the photographies can be found in his site, thanks!). I enjoyed also the exhibition by the Czech photographer Lucia Nimcova, which shows the evolution/transition of the socio-political situation in her country, using the photographic archives of her city as well her own photographies.
And I left the best for last.
I knew the work of Leonie Purchas only through her website, and I already find it very interesting. Visiting the exhibition I found it even better than I expected. The immediate comparison which came in my mind was Nan Goldin, which is currently, by far, my favorite photographer. Maybe because of the nature of the work, about the family of Leonie herself, with all the emotional charge which it implies. In the website of the Palazzo delle Esposizioni you can find a description of this work, which I quote below:
[It] concentrates on the life of her mother, Bron, who after the breakdown of her first marriage, twelve years later started a new life with her partner David and their son Jake, moving to an isolated house surrounded by fields and forests. In spite of the years that had past, most of the boxes used for the move had still remained unopened. Bron had fought for years a compulsive obsessive disorder, that with its intricate rules and rituals had resulted in everyday life in heaps of objects piled up all over the place. For many months Leonie tried to help her mother to regain control over her home and her life, trying to express though her photographs the comparison with a world she thought she knew and that continues to reveal itself.
Really great work. I remember specially a picture of Martin (Leonie’s husband) on the verge of tears, Leonie taking one of his hands and the picture at the same time.
Congratulations…!
And, as usual, a photography of mine, taking while I was walking in the center of Rome going to the exhibition.
[Note: I decided to translate the posts in the language of the country is related to. I will therefore translate this post to Italian as soon as possible!]
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Tags: Leonie Purchas, Lucia Nimcova, Nan Goldin, Paolo Woods, Photo, photography, Roma, Rome, Wang Du, Wang Qinsong, Yang Yong
Belleville
I went to a concert of Davaï (give! in russian), a small russian/gypsy band. The singer knows her job… The place was the bar “La mer à boire“, in the highs of Belleville. The day after I come back during the afternoon and I take this picture of the park of Belleville.
I love contemporary romanian cinema, I expect romanian contemporary photography to be very interesting as well, but I still do not know it very well. You can have a look of the work of some romanian photographers here.
Filed under: Paris | 1 Comment
Tags: Belleville, church, Paris, park, Photo, photography
Corno Grande
Back to Italy, back to Rome. During the week-end, climbing of the “Corno Grande” in the Appenins. The route chosen was the “Diretissima”. Despite of its name, it is an easy route, crowded of people, but perfect to be concentrated taking pictures!
The beginning of the climbing
Pause
The valley.
Crowd.
The summit.
The descent.
If you speak Spanish, have a look of the very amusing blog of the very good (and versatile) climber Simón Elias.
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Tags: Corno Grande, Diretissima, Gran Sasso, Invernal, Mountaneering, Photo, photography
Truffaut
A sentimentalist excursion: the grave of François Truffaut at Montmartre cemetery. Metro tickets paying tribute to “Le dernier métro“.
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Tags: cemetery, Montmartre, Paris, Photo, photography, Truffaut
Cimetière Saint-Vincent
Really sick of working, I went an afternoon to walk in Montmartre with Andrea – a collaborator -, his brother and the girlfriend (or wife) of him. No pictures of the Sacré-Coeur Basilica or the small streets on the top of the hill, full of tourists. This picture was taken in a less known part of Montmartre, near the entrance of the Saint-Vincent cemetery, at the West of the Basilica.
These two pictures were taken inside the cemetery. I like how the cemetery open the space inside the blocks, which makes it very peaceful. To finish, have a tour in the website of Lina Scheynius…
Filed under: Paris | 3 Comments
Tags: cemetery, Paris, people, Saint-Vincent
Paris
Almost one month without writing anything in the “diary”… I’ve been at Paris for almost one month, working very hard. I know, this is not an excuse, but I am doing my best. My goal will not be now write a post every three days as I thought initially, but every week. I have therefore the week-end to take pictures, during the week it is more difficult 
I took this picture going to Jussieu university, where I was working these days. Nothing special, the Seine river in flood and Notre-Dame cathedral seen from the back, where it is nicer.
I’ve been working a lot (really a lot!) but I had time to go a little bit to libraries. I’ve discovered German photographer Wolfang Tillmans and I bought his (very inexpensive) book published by Taschen. I love his work!
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Tags: flood, Notre-Dame, Paris, Seine
Steunou
I am for a few weeks in Paris and this week-end I came to Laval (in “Pays de la Loire” region) at the Steunou family’s place. Then, we went to visit Mont Saint-Michel abbey. The picture was taken from the top of the Mont, in the direction in which pilgrims used to arrive to the place crossing the bay at low tide, before the construction of the route last century, which arrives from the opposite direction.
Here, during the evening, watching kite-surf movies.
By the way, I strongly recommend you to watch the very nice French movie “La graine et le mulet“. In the website of the French photographer Antoine Doyen, among a lot of interesting other material, you can find a couple of photos of the starring actress Hafsia Herzi.
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Tags: Mont Saint-Michel, Laval, friend, Normandie
Chinese new year
These three pictures have been taken a month ago (I promise there are the last photos I recicle!), during some celebration of the Chinese new year. It was in the center of Rome, in one of tha main streets: “Via del Corso”. At least in central Italy, in most of the towns, the social life is articulated around this street. People use to walk there the evening (specially on friday/saturday) with their “best” dresses. I’ve observed that the length of the miniskirts of the girls is proportional to the size of the town . I will definitively write a post (with the corresponding corroborative photographies) about that… Some nice photos of a Brazilian photographer based in Los Angeles: Mona Kuhn.
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Tags: Italia, Italy, people, Roma, Rome
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