Reassemblage: Italy's 1930s Illustrated Magazines as Visual Archives

Conference paper presented March 25-26, 2011.The paper presents a new research project that investigates Italian photomontage through the pages of illustrated magazines published in the Thirties. These magazines--released in Milan by Mondadori, Rizzoli, Bompiani--have become a critical source to learn about an artistic practice that was pervasive at this time. Unfortunately, the original mock-ups have been destroyed, and the photographers' archives have been rarely kept together, thus these illustrated magazines offer the only context to see these works and understand the inner workings between photography, architecture, fashion, publicity, and the graphic arts. This presentation shows the early results of a larger research that aims to study the politics involved in Italian modern photography and montage through its magazine culture, taking into consideration the issues debated for the earlier Weimar culture and media. Photomontage has often been considered a revolutionary art form geared towards social change but, in the case of Italy, it served a more reactionary political propaganda bound to Mussolini's Fascism (1922-1943) and the growing industrial capitalism. A close analysis of these works suggests a complex negotiation between the artists and the politics of this time. Undermined as reactionary and propaganda art altogether, Italian photomontage reveals a rich creative exchange between Italy and European avant-garde art (Surrealism, Dada, Bauhaus), presenting an alternative language, at times even a rupture, from the art of the regime conceived as a 'return to order.' This project uncovers new works and redefines some important authors like Munari, Veronesi, Nizzoli, discussing the reasons why they should be reclaimed from dusty and often inaccessible off-site storages.Conference supported by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, the NYU Humanities Initiative, the IFA Visual Resources Collections, and Princeton University, Department of Art and Archaeology, Visual Resources Collection

Un Paese (1955) et le défi de la culture de masse

Un Paese est un cas exceptionnel dans l'histoire de la photographie : premier livre de photographie important paru en Italie, il est le fruit d'une collaboration transatlantique entre deux auteurs renommés, le photographe américain Paul Strand et le scénariste italien Cesare Zavattini. L'histoire de cet ouvrage est bien documentée dans l'historiographie italienne et la photographie en couverture, “The Family” est devenue une icône, symbolisant à elle seule une vision intemporelle du vieux continent imaginé par Paul Strand. Si la traduction du livre en anglais (Aperture, 1997) a permis aux lecteurs américains de mieux en comprendre le récit, Un Paese reste un objet peu étudié dans les recherches sur Paul Strand. Cet article revient sur les motivations personnelles et politiques des auteurs pour expliquer la genèse de ce livre. Paul Strand a clairement stipulé son intention de trouver une communauté en Italie qui pourrait correspondre au “Portrait d'un Village” qu'il avait cherché aux États-Unis. Zavattini, le scénariste du Voleur de bicyclette avait, quant à lui, théorisé le néoréalisme comme une stratégie narrative lui permettant d'aborder la vie quotidienne. Approché par Strand, il suggéra sa ville natale Luzzara comme le lieu où ses théories et la vision de Strand pourraient prendre corps. Une fois les modalités de cette importante collaboration décrites, se pose la question essentielle de la signification de ce livre de photographies dans le contexte de l'Italie d'après-guerre, au moment du plan Marshall. Un Paese est-il un mode de communication avec le peuple qu’il cherche à représenter ou un exercice esthétique éloigné de la culture populaire de son temps.Un Paese (1955) is an exceptional case in the history of photography as the first ever-significant photo-book published in Italy, the result of a trans-cultural collaboration between two renowned authors, the American photographer Paul Strand and the Italian screenwriter Cesare Zavattini. The history of this book is well known in the Italian literature, and the image on the cover, “The Family,” has become iconic, encapsulating the vision of the American master vis-à-vis a timeless “Old World.” The translation of the book in English (Aperture, 1997) has allowed the American reader to understand its narrative, but Un Paese remains still marginal in the scholarship on Strand. This essay sets out to explain the creation of the book and the authors’ personal and political motivations. Paul Strand stated clearly his target of finding a community in Italy that would match “the portrait of a village” he had sought out in the United States. Zavattini, the screenwriter of The Bicycle Thief, had theorized neo-realism as a narrative strategy that would allow him to engage with the everyday. As he was approached by Strand, Zavattini suggested Luzzara, his hometown, as a possible place where his theories and Strand’s vision could be verified. The essay describes the results of this important partnership and raises one critical question regarding the political significance of this photo-book in the climate of postwar Italy and the Marshall Plan. Was Un Paese a vehicle of communication with the common people it sought to represent, or was it rather a creative exercise, separate from the mass culture of its time

Nouvelles pistes conceptuelles entre photographie et architecture

Dès ses débuts en 1839, la photographie a contribué à la connaissance et à la diffusion de l’architecture, offrant l’impression d’une transcription précise de volumes en trois dimensions sur des surfaces imprimées (des photos originales insérées dans des albums, des reproductions photomécaniques publiées dans des livres, des revues et des publicités). Ce qui semble aujourd’hui une déclaration naïve de la part de son inventeur britannique William Henry Fox Talbot, qui nota que sa demeure de La..