Contrasting Perceptions of the Nation Through Photography: A Lecture by Paolo Barbaro & Claudia Cavatorta
Thursday, March 6th 2014 4:00pm-5:15pm Conrad J. Schmitt Hall 104 Free and open to the publicView media coverage of this event
(Photos by Luigi Ghirri and Olivo Barbieri)
Images play a crucial role in the external and self-perception of a country whose vast artistic heritage continues to be a prominent destination for visitors from all over the world, including for American university students who embark on a “journey to Italy” for their studies abroad. In referencing the Grand Tour album, the lecture illustrates the gallery of postcard-like images that since the unification have lured foreign travelers to Italy. At the same time, in focusing on the work of contemporary Italian photographers (Ghirri, Guidi, Basilico, Barbieri) who have captured Italy in the interstices of these iconic representations, the lecture provides a more critical reading of the country’s artistic and architectural heritage and natural landscape.
Presented in Italian with English subtitles and consecutive translation.
Introduction: Dr. Teresa Fiore, Inserra Chair in Italian and Italian American Studies
About Claudia Cavatorta and Paolo Barbaro
Claudia Cavatorta and Paolo Barbaro hold an M.A. in Museum Pedagogy and work in the Photography Department of the Center and Archive for Communication Studies (CSAC) at the University of Parma. They both run workshops, and organize art and photography exhibits at the national and international levels. Cavatorta’s publications include “I fratelli Zangaki a Port Said” (2006) and articles in the Encyclopedia of Nineteenth-Century Photography (Routledge, 2008). Barbaro is the author, among others, of An Italian Sense of Place(Montclair State University, 2008) and Luigi Ghirri, Lezioni di fotografia(2010). Together Barbaro and Cavatorta have curated the 2012 volume I Mille scatti per una storia d’ Italia.
- Organized by the Inserra Chair in Italian and Italian American Studies(Department of Spanish and Italian) at Montclair State University
- In collaboration with the Global Education Center at Montclair State University