“As a photographer, I consider myself a reporter. As a reporter, my fundamental reference is that of my absolute master, Henri Cartier-Bresson, for whom the photographer should strive to be an invisibile witness, never seeking to modify the world and the moments that they read and interpret from reality.” Words of Ferdinando Scianna, whose long career is on display at the Palazzo Reale until the 5th of June through over 200 black-and-white prints in various formats. The story of a photographer in over a half-century of photography as articulated through a narrative itinerary built around various chapters - Memory, Story-Telling, Obsessions, The Journey, Portraits, Rites and Myths, Leonardo Sciascia, Bibliography - articulated in as many subsections. An interesting parenthesis is dedicated to Leonardo Sciascia - who, for Scianna, was father, mentor and master - while the Bibliography embraces a selection of books of the great Sicilian photographer, from the first Religious Festivals in Sicily to the very last publications. Winding through wars, weddings and communities, the eye of Scianna captured instances of daily life, giving us images that became a legacy of our memory, an archive comprised of light and shadow following all the roads on Earth. His long artistic journey moves through various themes, from the war to popular religion, from travel to current events, all connected by a need to bring form to the chaos of life. Bagheria, the Bolivian Andes, the fashion world with Dolce & Gabbana, landscapes and reportage flank portraits of friends and masters of the world of art and culture, from Cartier-Bresson to Borges.
A grand never-before-seen work and an itinerary spanning 25 years illustrate the path of the author of Hunger, Shame and Twelve Years a Slave, balanced between cinema and visual arts.
A journey through time, both real and virtual, takes shape in the public park of Porta Venezia, thanks to a spectacular immersive experience dedicated to Planet Earth.
It is impossible to understand the Asiatic giant without knowing the past - the celebrated Magnum photographer narrates the rise of Mao and the transformations of Chinese society in a reportage that made photojournalism history.
