Villa Bardini and the Forte Belvedere, a Firenze, from 18 June to 2 October 2022, host the great exhibition photographer!, edited by Emanuela Sesti and Walter Guadagnini, presented and promoted by Alinari Foundation for Photography and by CR Florence Foundation, in collaboration with the Municipality of Florence. The absolute protagonists are the photographers of yesterday and today, a rich and evocative path that accompanies original works from the Alinari Archives to contemporary productions. The exhibition fits organically into the summer cultural offer of Forte di Belvedere curated by Twentieth century museum.
Starting from the results of theresearch in the Alinari Archives, the exhibition project creates a path that intertwines and re-proposes in a synchronous way a story that from the photograph of the origins crosses the twentieth century and reaches the present day, combining the first photographic procedures with contemporary experiments. The exhibition therefore does not follow a chronological trend, but it is built by analogies, differences, suggestioni, by themes and genres, first of all the photographic portrait, bringing together in a single path photographs and photographers born in epochs, different places and social contexts: the intent is not so much and not just the search for a specific and very hypothetical 'female gaze', as well as the identification of the centrality of some personalities - often underestimated – in the development of photographic research since its inception. Thepresence of contemporary authors it constitutes a further moment of reflection that involves today's artistic practices, starting from the relationship with the past and with memory, be they individual or collective, within a world in constant change, where also the social roles and the paradigms linked to them are in constant evolution.
In mostra vintage prints, albums and negatives from the Alinari Archives, works from the various collections of over forty photographers, in many cases unpublished, starting with those of the first daguerreotypes of the 1840s, like the French Bernardine Caroline Theodora Hirza Lejeune (Paris 1824-1895) of the Fondo Unici which has been restored, cataloged and digitized in 2021 also thanks to the support of the CR Firenze Foundation. The original prints of Julia Margaret Cameron, Dorothea Lange, Margaret Bourke-White, Lucia Moholy, Maria Mulas, Ketty La Rocca, Lisetta Carmi, Diane Arbus, Bettina Rheims, to name but a few, they are confronted with the productions of ten Italian authors, Eleonora Agostini, Arianna Arcara, Federica Belli, Marina Caneve, Francesca Catastini, Myriam Meloni, Giulia Spoken, Roselena Ramistella, Sofia Uslenghi, Alba Zari, representatives of the younger generation, born after 1980, which has been affirming itself in recent years both nationally and internationally, present with works that interact with the Alinari historical heritage. The authors trigger an ideal conversation with historical photographs and with the archive itself, so as to enhance its materiality and aura, thus also proposing new interpretations to the images coming from a sometimes very distant past.
Thanks toCalliope Arts, non-profit organization based in Florence and London, born to enhance and safeguard the cultural heritage of women through its 'Restoration Conversations' project, the exhibition is enriched with two sections dedicated to funds from the Alinari Archives: that of the sistersWanda Wulz (Trieste 1903-1984)andMarion Wulz (Trieste 1905-1990) is that ofEdith Arnaldi (Vienna 1884-Rome 1978), known above all as a writer and artist of the futurist area with thepseudonym of Rosa Rosà, who is among the artists selected for the Venice Biennale Art exhibition curated by Cecilia Alemani.
Unpublished works are drawn from these archives, some printed directly from the original negatives, which return to public use the results of a first survey on hitherto less explored materials of these archival nuclei, of extraordinary interest for the history of photography. On the one hand, the Wulz fund (known for the international fame of Wanda's futurist works, including the creation of the famous "I + cat" overlay), some negatives will also be exhibited at Villa Bardini, which will reserve important surprises for the public and scholars, in particular on the working and artistic partnership with his sister Marion. Dall’altra, at the Forte Belvedere, an archive to be completely explored, essentially an unpublished, that will allow, also thanks to the research of the art historian Lisa Hanstein, to bring to light the photographic production of a multifaceted artist like Edith Arnaldi, characterized by portraits and travel photographs taken in Italy, Europa e Africa, and from the portraits painted in his Roman studio, functional to the investigation of the author's futurist pictorial production.
During the opening, aVilla Bardini, dialogues with the artists present in the exhibition and free workshops for families and children will be organized 7 to 12 age. As for the latter, there are two types of activities, included in the exhibition ticket: the workshop "The art of seeing. Atelier for young photographers ”by MUS.E, during which children will be able to approach the photographic language in a playful way; and the laboratory "Herbarium in cyanotype", edited by Fotonomia, in which children will be guided in the realization of photographic prints with the cyanotype technique. In both cases, places are limited and reservations are required.
Always by MUS.E, a Forte Belvedere, every Friday and Sunday at 17.00 and to 18.30, guided tours of the exhibition will be held photographer!. The itinerary will also include the exhibition of Rä di Martino Play it again and the extraordinary military architecture of Forte Belvedere. The visit, for young people and adults, they will cost € 2.50 for residents of the Metropolitan City of Florence and € 5 for non-residents of the Metropolitan City of Florence, free for the disabled and accompanying persons, tour guides and interpreters, membri ICOM, ICOMOS and ICCROM, holders of the Card del Fiorentino (within the limit of three annual activities). Reduction 2×1 Unicoop Firenze members. Free and reserved visits for Unicoop Firenze members: Sunday 19 and 26 June, 10-17-24-31 July, 14-21-28 August, 11-18-25 September. For more information and reservations write to info@musefirenze.it or call + 39 055 2768224 (Monday to Friday, hours 9.30-13.00 and 14.00-17.00). The exhibition sees the collaboration of MUSE e la Fondazione Parchi Monumentali Bardini e Peyron, and the contribution of Unicoop Florence.
Iinformation: FLORENCE, Villa Bardini, Costa San Giorgio 2. Forte Belvedere, via San Leonardo 1 villabardini.it
Time:
Martedì of the domenica, hours 10.00 – 20.00
Closed on Mondays, except the 15 August
Entrance: Whole 10 euro. Reduced 5 euro (young people come on 18 to 25 age, university students with ID cards, Touring Club Italiano members, FAI, Toscana Aeroporti employees, members of the Associations "Conoscere Firenze" and "Amici dei Musei"). Special 2X1 reduction reserved for Unicoop members: two tickets for the price of one. Free until the age of 18, groups of primary and secondary school students of first and second grade, tour guides and interpreters, journalists with ID cards, disabled people and their carers, membri ICOM, ICOMOS and ICCROM, holders of the Florentine Card. The ticket is valid for both locations and also allows a visit to the Rä di Martino exhibition "Play it again", in progress in the Palazzina del Forte di Belvedere.
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