Among the many and possible forms of Italian photography, that of Piergiorgio Branzi embodies the most cultivated and aristocratic one. Growing up surrounded by Tuscany Renaissance figurative tradition, Branzi has always been endowed with a natural elegance; he soon abandons the more formal research to become a master of «staged portrait». Monsignors, children, commoners, peasant are all taken by surprise, with a subtle sarcasm; they stand between a quiet lyrism and a vivid psychological characterization. Branzi's travel diaries are unforgettable: from the first excursions in Naples and Ischia in 1953 to the trips to Puglia and Lucania in 1955, in Spain in 1956, in Greece in 1957, in India in 1960. Branzi was one of the first Italian photographers to understand the modernity of great foreign authors; with Paolo Monti and Mario Giacomelli was a pioneer in experimenting the use of deep black; he was as well a genial innovator of photography expressive code. Born in Florence in 1928, Piergiorgio Branzi interrupts his classical studies and the law faculty to fully embrace photography and journalism. He starts photographing in the early Fifties, obtaining immediate success both in Italy and abroad. He collaborates with the first weekly magazines, especially with Il Mondo, directed by Pannunzio. In the Sixties he starts working as a journalist, living a few years in Moscow as a television reporter, and than in Paris. As a TV opinionist and special reporter, he produced for RAI (Italian Public Television) reportages and documentaries in Europe, Asia, and Africa.
Pour son édition 2007, Paris Photo a souhaité rendre hommage à la photographie italienne. Le célèbre Piergiorgio Branzi a souhaité partager avec les lecteurs d’Actuphoto son expérience de plus de 50 années de photographie italienne. De son apprentissage du reportage en URSS à une photographie plus personnelle, de son amitié avec Giacomelli à sa découverte récente du numérique, c’est avec une grande générosité que Branzi revient sur les étapes de sa carrière photographique. Portrait réalisé par Louise Coquet / Actuphoto.com Entretien réalisé par Thierry Laugée pour Actuphoto.com laugee@actuphoto.com ...
Le plus grand Festival Photo en plein air de France. Créé il y a 12 ans, le Festival Photo Peuples et Nature de La Gacilly a réuni plus de 2,5 millions de visiteurs autour des plus grands photographes internationaux. Une photo éthique et humaniste croisant les regards de photographes issus du monde de l’art et du photo-journalisme. Un festival engagé dans le développement durable.
« Nourrir la planète, le défi majeur du XXIe siècle »
« La Terre... C’est elle qui nous nourrit, elle à qui nous devons la vie et devrons irrévocablement la survie. » Pierre Rabhi
Que mangerons-nous demain ? Comment subvenir aux besoins d’un monde qui comptera plus de 9 milliards d’habitants en 2050 ? Plus qu’un simple questionneme...
Every work is commented by a text especially written by each artist on the occasion of Paris Photo 2009
(with the exception of Mario Giacomelli); the text – when possible handwritten – will be given together with the actual work to the buyer.
Each photograph is the result of a vision. The author has imagined it, maybe dreamt of it, and then has retraced it in the reality to reproduce it with photography. Or perhaps, the author has staged it, following an impulse, a memory, a dream.
The images in this selection are examples of many possible “photographic dreams”, the results of projects created by different authors, young or not, famous and well established or moving their first steps in the international art scene.
To each of them we have asked to choose and comment their preferred visions...