NeoRealismo
Italy’s New Image 1932-1960
1 September to 18 November 2007
Fotomuseum Winterthur
Grüzenstrasse 44 45
CH-8400 Winterthur (Zurich)
Switzerland
Phone: +41 52 234 10 60
Fax. +41 52 233 60 97
Opening hours: Tue – Sun 11am – 6pm,
Wed 11am – 8pm, closed on Mondays
www.fotomuseum.ch
NeoRealismo — Italy’s New Image 1932-1960
Neorealism, mainly associated with the films by Visconti, De Sica and Rossellini, was a heartfelt artistic response to the transformation of Italy in the course of the twentieth century. With the demise of Fascism, which had harnessed the mass media of photography and film for its own purposes and moulded a new aesthetic of reality, Neorealism surged to the fore. The newfound freedom of opinion and the need to forge a new Italian identity fuelled a feverish interest in documenting reality and exploring what it meant to be Italian. One after another, illustrated magazines were launched and photographic-ethnographic field studies undertaken on life in the country’s remote communities. Society needed photographs that captured all aspects of life in every situation.
The exhibition and accompanying publication bring together some 250 photographs by 75 different photographers, making this the first major in-depth presentation of photographic Neorealism. Six authors chart the development of Neorealism from its inception to the late 1950s, shedding light on the reciprocal influences of photography, film and literature.
The exhibition is curated by Enrica Viganò. It has been organised in collaboration with SEPIF s.a.s. (Studi e Progetti in Fotografia), Turin, and La Fábrica, Madrid.
Main sponsor of the exhibition and the book: UBS AG
With additional support by Istituto Italiano di Cultura, Zurich.
For more information on the exhibition “NeoRealismo” please visit: www.fotomuseum.ch/PRESS.3.0.html?&L=1
Accompanying programme to the exhibition “NeoRealismo”:
At the same time, film screenings and literary events will be held, providing a more in-depth understanding of the Neorealist movement. Further details: www.fotomuseum.ch/EVENTS.30.0.html?&L=1
Publication: “NeoRealismo — Die neue Fotografie in Italien 1932-1960″. Ed. Enrica Viganò, published at Fotomuseum Winterthur and Christoph Merian Verlag. With texts by Enrica Viganò, Giuseppe Pinna, Gian Piero Brunetta and Bruno Falcetto, and an extensive lexicon put together by Enrico Manfredini and a chronology by Fabio Amodeo. 340 pages, 250 Duplex-illustrations of 75 photographers, format 24,5 x 30 cm, hardcover, bound. Price: CHF 69.-
Still on display until 14 October 2007 (Collection): Towards a New Ease – Set 4 from the Collection of the Fotomuseum Winterthur
www.fotomuseum.ch/TOWARDS_A_NEW_EASE.289.0.html?&L=1
From 27 October 2007 to 10 February 2008 (Collection): Fantastic Postcards — The Playful Element of Photography in the Medium of the Postcard
