ESPLORAZIONI DELL’ARCHIVIO

EXPLORATIONS OF THE ARCHIVE

Photographs of the via Emilia

curated by Paolo Barbaro and Claudia Cavatorta
The CSAC – Study Centre and Communication Archive of the University of Parma will exhibit the result of an investigation in the archives of its Photography Section. The institution played a significant role in developing the narrative model that led in 1984 to the creation of Viaggio in Italia coordinated by Luigi Ghirri, and in 1986, exactly thirty years ago, to the project Explorations along the Via Emilia. Starting in the early 1970s, Ghirri himself contributed to bringing in historical photographs for the CSAC collections, conducted courses on the History of Photography in Parma, as did Giovanni Chiaramonte and Mario Cresci, artists involved in Explorations along the Via Emilia/Views in the Landscape, as well as Gabriele Basilico, Olivo Barbieri, Mimmo Jodice, Vincenzo Castella, William Guerrieri, and Cuchi White, all major players involved in collaborative initiatives with the University of Parma institution on the invitation of Arturo Carlo Quintavalle.

The exhibition, in part vintage prints and in part reproductions, presents historical nuclei of prints held in the CSAC collections, from 19th-century photographs by Alinari, Brogi, Poppi, to works by Bruno Stefani and by important studios such as Studio Villani in Bologna and Studio Vasari in Rome, along with the work by the protagonists of the “new photography” of the last quarter of the 20th century.

Interwoven with all this are news photos and photographs of sport, social rituals, and shots of everyday life.

The intention is to offer a reflection on the views of this landscape, with the aim to provide a backdrop to the project Explorations along the Via Emilia of 1986, which is still relevant today and already historical.