Anthony Pomes began his career in photography in 2011 using natural light to portray friends and nature. Based in Paris but originally from the South of France, he developed his artistic and cultural path in high school, studying drama and literature. These disciplines inspired and continue to inspire him for his pictures. His sensibility is also emphasized through dancing, another inspiring art that he is currently practicing. Through his photography, he desires to feel and capture the subject’s emotions, just as theater, literature and dance do. In particular, gaze and body movement are the most important aspects to portray through which he can bring out the emotions he is looking for.
Self-portrait of Anthony Pomes
When did you realize your passion for photography and how did it start?
I started drama classes at 12 years old and followed with literature and drama studies in high school. I was on scene, playing, creating characters and enjoying the creativity around. I also started a short model career which introduced me to the image and photo world. Naturally the art of photography came to me. In summer 2011, I bought my first camera and started practicing with close friends and nature around. I kept, and I am still keeping, literature and drama as my first inspirations. My shoots were kind of editorials remembering drama or literature characters. When I moved to Bordeaux, I started to shoot for the first time professional agency models who took me to another level. Portraits and natural light were my favorite playgrounds. Today I always keep in mind where I am from, always looking for sensibility and uniqueness in the portraits I take.
Who are the masters or artists who have been inspirational for you?
Naturally, I will say some drama’s authors like Shakespeare or Beckett but also modern photographers who brought the level super high at my beginning. I remember dreaming about Théo Gosselin photos or even admiring Florian Saez and Malc Stone studio’s lightenings.
Céline Aviani; Andreas Giesen
How do you choose models for your photos? What has to catch your attention?
As muses inspired artists, I have to be inspired by a model: face, look, body shape, attitudes and feelings. But to answer your question, I will say that it is all about the look. Everything is in the eyes. They are kind of the mirror of the soul, as Cicerone said.
A selection of models/people who have a special talent for you and why?
This is the occasion to highlight recent faces I had the opportunity to collaborate with. First of all, I have to talk about my talented friend and eternal muse Céline. She has been my model since the beginning and we are matching when it comes to literature references. Secondly, the most seen and highly desired french ballet dancer Andreas Giesen, who is a great talent to follow when it comes to mouvement, beige tones and fashion outfits. Dance is also the strength of Jean-Baptiste Plumeau, that mixing contemporary and improvisation. The comedian Philippe Touzel has that glance in the eye who one could never forget: an upcoming artist to follow. Amaury Bent, an emerging french model, is a new face I had the chance to shoot a few times. Finally, I will make a special mention to my dear friend and talented photographer Sébastien Marchand. He has the capacity to create and re-create infinitely. His imagination has no barriers.
Right: Philippe Touzel
Your current projects and future dreams?
At the moment, my only project is to practice and experiment with photography. In the near future I would like to do more editorials and to portray more dancers and comedians – the best ones when it comes to facial expressions. In my future dreams I would like to go somewhere far from Paris and especially to a breathtaking place, creating photos around. They could be editorials, content creations for brands or portraits for some of my favorite faces and shoots for our portfolios. Exhibitions are always in my mind but right now I have no time to do them.
Right: Amaury BentJean-Baptiste Plumea; Amaury Bent
The large-scale solo exhibition ‘David LaChapelle. I Believe in Miracles, at the MUDEC in Milan, produced by 24 ORE Cultura – Gruppo 24 ORE and promoted by the Comune di Milano-Cultura, is the result of a journey of artistic research lasting a lifetime which presents a previously unseen and, to some extent, surprising David LaChapelle. Over 90 works are displayed – including large formats, site-specific installations and new productions – directly from the artist’s studio, to present his vision of a new world and a potential new humanity.
A series of works that are part of the new, visionary phase of LaChapelle
Starting with his early works, the eyes of the public are opened for the first time at the Museum of Cultures to a previously unseen series of works that are part of the new and visionary phase of his output – the last, dated 2022 – the result of the powerful legacy of his lengthy artistic and human experience. With an unprecedented project curated by Reiner Opoku and Denis Curti in partnership with LaChapelle studio, the Museum of Cultures hosts an exhibition itinerary that critically examines the human soul, investigating its various facets of joy, pain, solitude and passion, insecurities and ideals. Humankind and its relationship with itself, human beings in the surrounding environment and in society, humankind in nature. A very personal vision that the Mudec has chosen to present by staging this retrospective of the artist, furthering anthropological reflection on the present.
The exhibition includes over 90 works which unfold in a flowing and captivating narrative, through the artist’s very personal vision of a “gestural” kind of photography; that is, a snapshot of the present while “alert” for the future ahead.
Images that reveal LaChapelle’s vision for a new world
Starting with works that portray the vulnerability of the planet and the fragility of humankind, together with a repertoire that looks at pop culture and the stars of cinema, music and art, the exhibition winds its way through images that reveal the artist’s vision for a new world. A world that seeks an uncontaminated and luxurious nature where everyone can experience spirituality, love and beauty and where men and women can finally live liberated from alienation and in unity with the natural context. The exhibition itinerary is a personal journey steeped in memories and sentiment that purposely mixes a non- chronological order with the experiences of a professional and private life which, in the end, prove to be on the same level. New photos have been exhibited for the first time following the challenging experience of the two-year pandemic. They have been conceived in the natural surroundings of Hawaiian forests, where LaChapelle has made his home.
The photos interpret certain passages from the Bible and seem to signify a “change of pace”. His style gradually becomes more intimate and pensive. The settings relinquish, at least partially, the surreal dimension to descend into a more realistic atmosphere. Less saturated compared to his previous works, the colours invite us to go back in time to reflect on our values and on the need to see also ourselves in a miraculous new world.
Miramare Hotel Museum in Cagliari is an innovative concept that captures the heart of all guests who stay at least once in their life.
The small and extravagant hotel de Charme is located on the noble floor of Palazzo Marini Devoto, a majestic building built between 1870 and the end of the 19th century in the main street in Cagliari. The 24 rooms are actually ateliers where several artists created their works, getting in touch with the hotel, its builders, and guests.
“Art as an investment for the future” are the words of the visionary host Giuliano Guida Bardi, already well-known by the public for his activism in the revolutionary hotel industry.
It was Miramare Hotel that designed and created the Playable in art, a formula that allows artists around the world to stay in Cagliari and discover its culture and passion and pay the hotel bill with their artworks: a return to barter and patronage that enhance the humanity of artists and hosts, which is often depressed by the money value of their passions. This process led to designing an Arcimboldian and multiform hotel: a melting-pot of styles and cultures, chronicles and stories that give it a unique charm.
The staff of young and enthusiastic collaborators, who animate the reception, the bar, the kitchen, and the dining rooms, is the icing on the cake. They are all very young and cheerful and help provide a pleasant stay. They organize tours by tuk-tuk around the Marina and Castello alleys in the historic center, amazing boat trips in Golfo degli Angeli , or rides on the Piper PA28 to admire the pearls of South Sardinia from above. A unique experience, in front of the tourist port in the suggestive neighborhood of LapPola (or Martina), a kind of souk with an extraordinary gastronomic offer, from starred restaurant to taverns with charm.
“If it’s style, it is a thing of the past.”– Karim Rashid
Let’s start with your training. Is there a figure who was like a mentor to you?
Early in my career, Ettore Sottsass taught me that there are many beautiful design objects, but you have to ask what they do for us? In the sense of human, inspiring objects, Memphis was a revelation. Many imposing design objects need to stand by themselves to impress. I always ask myself, what is left, if you take the design away? If it’s style, it is a thing of the past.
Also, Sottsass taught me not to be too much of an artist to be a great designer. I keep his vases, and a few Memphis works around to remind me of this. An artist is not a designer, and a designer is not an artist. What counts in the end is to help the world become a better place from aesthetics to human behavior, from the ecology to the economy. Hence design is a creative act, a social act, a political act, and an economic act.
Bladensburg Condo in Washington D.C.- 2019
During our conversations, you have mentioned you were also a student of Maestro Gaetano Pesce; what is that you learned and remember from Pesce as a teacher. Is there something of that time and of his teachings that still influence your work? And what is the best memory you have of this experience?
I studied under Gaetano Pesce near Naples in 1983. Gaetano gave us an unusual assignment to design a drinking glass with a head or a person’s face. It was an unusual assignment. He reminded me of my father a lot because my father was quite figurative that way, and a sculpture and an artist, just like Gaetano. I learned from him the notion of Variance. Back in the 60s and 70s, he did many experiments where he would take a plywood box and inject polyurethane foam but not allow the box to fill up with foam fully. Every time he would open up the box, it would be a different chair. It was is non-serialized production. And I took his ideas of non-serialized production to a company called Nambe in Santa Fe back in the 90s. I used a CNC machine and created a software that the CNC machine would cut out of alloy vases. But because of the algorithm, it would cut a different form every time. This process was non-serialization through mass production, but obviously, I was doing it digitally. Whereas when Gaetano was doing the experiments, it was a hands-on way of creating non-serializations. He also did a beautiful table for Cassina where the workers poured the colored resin in the mold, and the colors world mix, so each table came out differently. That peculiarity was the most crucial aspect of his design philosophy.
Minimal and futuristic shapes are often the leitmotif of your creations.
Heartbeat- Nienkamper- 2019
How would you define your style?
I don’t have a style. I focus on new social behaviors, new paradigms, new technologies, new materials, and embracing and mirroring the age we live in. To design using contemporary criteria, in turn, shapes the future. If I style, I only imitate the past.
Completely new shapes, volumes that develop within different volumes, shapes that overlap, you have given your best in fashion too. Among your collaborations with various brands, if you had to choose an experience that touched you particularly, which one would you prefer to tell us about?
I was greatly inspired when working on the HUGO BOSS Boat. Here was an opportunity to speak about speed, exclusivity, energy, power, and courage through the sailboat’s visual aesthetics. I intended to make a graphic statement by embracing new technologies and materials. I worked with Solar panels, techno paints, and techno printing technologies to shape a photogenic, memorable sailboat. Meeting Alex Thompson and touring the boat showed me the great passion needed for these races and projects. Meeting with HUGO Boss and the ATR team members, having a constant back and forth dialogue was essential in shaping the final design. Meeting with Stewart Hosford, showing me the carbon fiber samples helped steer us in the right direction for what we should base our design around. Using carbon as the direct inspiration for the livery as this boat is made of carbon fiber is the first of its kind.
Every round of designs required analysis from a performance perspective. It led to many iterations and revisions but ultimately helped us narrow down the best possible design functionally and aesthetically, marrying the Hugo Boss brand & ATR with my aesthetics. I have worn Hugo clothes and cologne for many years and always appreciated the simplicity but innovation of materials and perfection of quality. I understand the desire for innovative materials and the need to embrace new technologies in all they do. Hugo does not follow the flippant recycling of trends. I see myself with these same attributes- precision, elegance, minimal, yet humanized.
Let’s talk about the future. What is innovation for you? Both in the field of fashion and design.
Innovation only comes when one focuses on contemporary issues and works with recent social changes, needs, and desires. Innovation and design are inseparable, as technology and design are also inseparable. Fashion should talk about how we live and not repeat antiquated derivative styles of the past. We live in a data-driven digital age, and like our digital tools, our physical world should have the same seamlessness, ease, immateriality, functionality, and smartness.
Karimotel- Concept Building Design
Why the choice of often bold colors? What is their meaning to you?
As a 5-year-old child, I loved neon colors and colors that were alive. Until today I find these colors (as accents) can change our mood, create more positivity, make us feel more alive. Color can alter our behaviors and elevate our mental well-being. Of course, color needs to be used in a very sensitive way, and then it can be a beautiful phenomenon, be it an entire building, an interior space, a product, a piece of furniture, a piece of clothing.
You are a reference point for design enthusiasts, a key figure for the new generations, especially for the transversal way you manage to develop your projects. What message would you like to give to them?
I would tell design enthusiasts and consumers to sincerely question what they’re purchasing, creating, and bringing into their homes. We must remember the obvious HUMAN issues in a product. Are consumers flippantly purchasing useless kitsch at the checkout? Are they assessing a product for criteria like Emotion, ease of use, technological advances, product methods, humor, meaning, and a positive, energetic, and proud spirit?
Bounce- Concept Building Design
Can you tell us about your relationship with music?
I listen to a very broad range of music. Music affords me to concentrate, be inspired, dream, imagine, and become completely engrossed in what I am working on. It is an essential part of my process. I mostly listen to electronic or jazz – without lyrics since it takes me into my lyrical state of mind, and I also write my own lyrics while I am drawing.
This pandemic has forced us all to stop and reflect deeply. What do you imagine in the future of design?
Even in this hyper-consumptive world, in the future, we will own nothing – this is nature- we lease cars, we rent houses, and soon we will learn to lease or rent everything, experience it for a short while, and go on to the next. We will create a forever dynamic, ever-vast changing human condition, where everything will be cyclic, sustainable, biodegradable, customizable, personalizable, and seamless. This is Utopia, this is freedom, and this is nirvana. All the goods in the world will only exist if they give us a new or necessary experience. We will dematerialize.
Pebble Sink- Relax Design- Multicolor 2019
Eclectic characters like you are also great visionaries. Do you dream of something revolutionary?
In the next year, I plan on building my dream house! I’ve designed so many spaces for others, but this will be my own Utopia. For so long, I was inspired by Pierre Cardin’s Bubble House (Palais Bulles) in addition to his fashion and product design. The space is so soft, curved, organic, and conceptual. Like this, my dream home will engage technology, visuals, textures, lots of colors, and meet all the intrinsic needs of living a simpler, less cluttered, but more sensual envelopment.
SWITCH, Dubai- 2020
Finally, the concept of sustainability seems to have entered concretely within the most varied areas of production. Could you give us your idea of “quality of life”?
Recycling is in a cyclic paradigm now in the United States and many other countries. Conserving resources means using less raw materials and energy throughout a product’s entire life — from its development and manufacture to its use, reuse, recycling, and disposal. I am interested in biodegradable materials. I am trying to use bioplastics; the Garbo can is made of corn, and the Snap chair by Feek is made of 100% recycled polystyrene and is 97% air. A while ago, I designed packaging for a fast-food restaurant using starch and potatoes that are injection molded and have the exact appearance of plastic. These innovations are finally becoming part of the consumer zeitgeist.
Karim Rashid is one of the most groundbreaking, vibrant, and prolific designers of his generation. Over 4000 designs in production, over 300 awards, and working in over 40 countries attest to Karim’s legend of design. Each of his designs carries a unique color signature and fluidity that is inspiring and unforgettable.
His award-winning designs include luxury goods for Christofle, Veuve Clicquot, and Alessi, democratic products for Umbra, Bobble, and 3M, furniture for Bonaldo and Vondom, lighting for Artemide and Fontana Arte, high tech products for Asus and Samsung, surface design for Marburg and Abet Laminati, brand identity for Citibank and Sony Ericsson and packaging for Method, Paris Baguette, Kenzo and Hugo Boss.
Karim’s work is featured in 20 permanent collections and he exhibits art in galleries worldwide. Karim is a perennial winner of the Red Dot award, Chicago Athenaeum Good Design award, I. D. Magazine Annual Design Review, IDSA Industrial Design Excellence award.
Milan, Fabbrica del Vapore. It is a journey around the life of Frida Kahlo, one of the most emblematic female characters of the 20th century and queen of Mexican art told by the curators Arèvalo, Matiz, Ancheita and Rosso. Her demons, obsessions, mental flows and the tormented relationship with the husband Diego Rivera are described through her letters and diary.
Casa Azul, her mansion in Coyoacán, is faithfully reproduced with the large canopy bed and the mirror used to portray herself even when laying in bed due to illness and where she died on July 13th, 1954. Paintings and photographs, books, and her personal crutches. Her studio is reproduced with her desk and all the little bottles, filled with colors and brushes, Frida’s diary, the stuffed red chair, the wheelchair and the large easel.
Her art is the background of the Mexican Revolution, a historical period that brings her into contact with intellectual figures of the time related to the communist party, such as the Russian revolutionary Lev Trotsky and the poet André Breton.
Her paintings according to Diego: “Communicated a vital sensuality to which was added a spirit of ruthless observation, but sensitive… It was clear that she was a true artist”. Within those images, the themes most dear to her, including music, death, Christian iconography and martyrdom. Her recurring themes were music, death, Christian iconography, and martyrdom.
A section that forces us to enter into the depth of her magnetic personality well portrayed in the work of renowned Columbian photographer Leonet Matiz Espinoza, with his inseparable Rolleiflex, who created iconic images of Frida, with an exclusive and close-up perspective. This was not granted to many, he could spontaneously grasp the expressive nuances of his friend.
She has remained so attached to her life that people may think Frida has never really left this earth, every time they come into contact with her work.
Photo & production Miriam De Nicolo’ @miriam_denicolo Fashion Editor & production Rosamaria Coniglio @rosamaria_coniglio Artwork Maria Angela Lombardi @_mariaalombardi_ Hairstyling Angelo Rosauliana @angelorosauliana MakeUp Valeria Iovino @valeriaiovino_pro Model Giorgia Cappellotto @calamarata Agency @pop_models_milano Special project with Navigare Srl e Fabbrica del Vapore and D-art.com https://d-art.it/moda/viva-la-vida/64581 Quotes from Pino Cacucci’s book “Viva la Vida!” published by Feltrinelli
Total look Etro, handmade paper necklaces, in unique pieces, by Ana Hagopian at Ladiosa Atelier Milano @Ladiosa_atelier rings of Radà
Frida was “A bomb wrapped in silk ribbons,” called her André Breton. She was rebellious in every gesture, subversive in every thought, and convulsively beautiful. Frida, with a deep voice and a disruptive laugh, with piercing eyes that have never closed and have remained fixed on us who look at her in self-portraits.
TPN lace shirt, Reamerei flower vest, Radà ring
Diego Rivera was 36 years old and Frida Kahlo was only 15, when they first met while he worked in the Bolivar amphitheater. Of that first encounter with Frida, Diego recalls: «…she had a dignity and a self-confidence that was completely unusual and in her eyes, a strange fire shone».
Ethnic sculpture necklace handmade in shells and seeds Ladiosa Atelier Milano @Ladiosa_atelier
Frida had her spine broken in three, two ribs, her shoulder, and left leg shattered… excessive and indecent devastation. In spite of everything, Frida grabbed life and kept it inside.
Dress in tulle with velvet embroidery by Tiziano Guardini, maxi scarves in wool Made in Italy by Fiorio
Frida’s sensuality is legendary in a thousand testimonies of men and women, a sensuality impulsive and never studied. Her sunny irony fascinated those who frequented her. An irony that could be caustic, sometimes as ruthless as the Mexican nature. Frida did not want to live, but lived in spite of fate, with the daily consciousness of being consumed quickly, like a blaze that burns brighter than the slow embers.
Chemisier vichy Tiziano Guardini, necklace and bracelet in paper, handmade, in unique pieces, by Ana Hagopian at Ladiosa Atelier Milano @Ladiosa_atelier rings of Radà
And yet everything was so intense and so convoluted! We took ourselves inside a new world, a new concept of society, a different way of conceiving politics! Art was politics! Muralists fought against the concept of work to be relegated to private collections or museums. They painted the walls of public buildings so that everyone could enjoy them. I, I don’t know. I paint myself, my pain. I fight and defeat the Pelona every day, every hour, every moment.
23rd October is the opening day of ROMAISON 2020, the first edition of a project that has the support of the Mayor, Virginia Raggi. The project sees Rome become part of fashion’s modern history, revealing itself as an extraordinary design laboratory where high artisanship lives alongside historical archive. This is a new opportunity for the city, which is opening its historical locations to projects dedicated to fashion research, concentrating on the area’s artisanal roots, and how they are being translated into digital and technological modernity.
The initiative comes in two parts: an exhibition from 23rd October until 29th November at the Ara Pacis Museum and an event scheduled to be held at the Mattatoio di Testaccio, both of which promote this creative DNA as a source of eternal inspiration, which gave birth to a spectacular style where high fashion and theatrical costume combine.
The Ara Pacis Museum is to host a major exhibition showcasing Rome’s most prestigious costume studios curated by fashion historian and critic, Clara Tosi Pamphili, which evokes the studios where visitors can observe the creativity, the techniques and the Italian savoir faire, and engage with the costume studios’ private archives and collections.
Annamode, Costumi d’Arte – Peruzzi, Farani, Pieroni, Tirelli will take centre stage in an exhibition rich in outfits and accessories from various eras. For the first time, this event will showcase the rich heritage of authentic pieces from the end of the 18th century up to today. Among the iconic pieces there are also designs from the personal archive of Gabriele Mayer, including photos and videos. One section is dedicated to Mensura, which has produced mannequins for more than a century, highlighting the relationship between art and artisanship.
This contemporary and experimental narrative includes an extraordinary performance, Embodying Pasolini, which will be streamed live and available worldwide. TILDA SWINTON, the multi-award-winning Scottish actress, will take centre stage at the Mattatoio di Testaccio. The event, curated by Olivier Saillard, fashion historian, world-renowned fashion curator and ex-director of the Palais Galliera fashion museum of the city of Paris, reflects on the evocative power of the costumes created by Rome’s artisans for the films of Pier Paolo Pasolini.
The initiative is promoted by Rome City Council. Organised by Zètema Progetto Cultura with technical assistance from Rinascente. We would also like to thank Fondazione Cineteca di Bologna and Istituto Luce – Cinecittà and Fondazione Cinema per Roma.
Frieze London and Frieze Masters are the latest events to be cancelled in the art sphere in light of Coronavirus’ continuous disruptions.
The news comes after Frieze New York announced that it would be refunding nearly 200 planned exhibitors and would instead host online viewing rooms rather than a physical fair. Much like New York’s art fair, Frieze London and Frieze Masters will now be a digital-only showcase. Frieze’s customary exhibition of international gallerists specialising in contemporary artworks and pre-21st-century art had been scheduled to run from October 8 to October 11, 2020, in London’s Regent’s Park. The week would have usually brought thousands o the U.K.’s capital to attend the fairs, as well as the shows, museum exhibitions and auctions around the city.
The Frieze Viewing Room is set to commence online on the same dates as the fair would have taken place. Visit Frieze.com for more information.
MANINTOWN prods to new ventures: in the heart of Milan’s metropolitan centre, the menswear and lifestyle platform powers the ‘Manintown + Progetto Nomade,’ a pioneering concept where fashion and design combine one another with the search for novelty and design excellence, along with storytelling. The project was born thanks to the union of two realities: on one hand MANINTOWN magazine, which explores menswear ever since 2014, founded by Federico Poletti; on the other, the PROGETTO NOMADE, a new travelling container inspired by the likes of art, design and the collection of 50s pieces by Christian Pizzinini and Antonio Lodovico Scolari. From this creative synergy, a new exhibition format has developed, burgeoning a narrative that’s curated in visual design by art director and brand strategist Cecilia Melli.
MANINTOWN + PROGETTO NOMADE GALLERY wants to be a prime meeting point, a small living area in the center of the city of Milan, where fashion, craftsmanship or design enthusiasts will meet, likewise industry insiders. The space will host Italian and international talents who will be able to exhibit their productions, but also have networking opportunities thanks to presentations, small happenings and targeted appointments.
August 2020 will see the launch of MANINTOWN’s e-commerce space, giving change to fashion brands (both emerging and non) and push digital access to retail horizons, encompassing both menswear and womenswear labels. “By combining the strength of the already renowned digital platform with the functionality of the e-commerce platforms and the exhibition space, we can better serve brands in an omni-channel approach,” remarked Francesca Riggio, Executive Brand Strategist Director at MANINTOWN.
The Progetto Nomade, however, has created the space and shared it with MANINTOWN, wants to consolidate the experience of the Palazzo dell’ Elefante della Torre in Salento, where exhibitions and events related to art and the design will enable a solid continuity to the projects and experiment with refreshing promotional approaches.
MANINTOWN’s Editor-In-Chief Federico Poletti concludes: “This space was born in the name of inclusion, giving a voice to new realities that will not only be put on display, but also told in a different way following a phygital vision. From month to month the Gallery’s program will be enriched by creative appointments, scheduling new pioneers and small events. A new phase has now taken place in Milan, city which has always been dynamic and fruitful in cultural initiatives.
The Tate has officially announced that it shall award 10 artists with a £10,000 GBP bursary (approximately $12,300 USD) in lieu of this year’s Turner Prize.
In normal occasions, The Turner Prize jury would have announced it shortlist of artists in May and would have invited them to create artworks to be displayed in its autumn exhibition. However, as gallery spaces are shut down amidst the coronavirus disruptions, Tate has introduced Turner Bursaries which aims to help a larger selection of artists during these uncertain times.
This year’s jury has spent the past 12 months visiting hundreds of exhibitions to select nominees for the now-canceled Turner Prize exhibition. Much like the Turner Prize, these bursaries will be awarded to British and Britain hailed artists who have contributed remarkable works in the contemporary arts spectrum. A virtual meeting will be held in June to choose the 10 bursary winners.
Alex Farquharson, Director of Tate Britain and chair of The Turner Prize jury, commented in a press statement: “The practicalities of organizing a Turner Prize exhibition are impossible in the current circumstances, so we have decided to help support even more artists during this exceptionally difficult time. I think JMW Turner, who once planned to leave his fortune to support artists in their hour of need, would approve of our decision. I appreciate visitors will be disappointed that there is no Turner Prize this year, but we can all look forward to it returning in 2021.”
Despite originally moving schedule from May 23 to August 29 this year, Venice Biennale’s 59th International Art Exhibition has been postponed until 2022. As one of the world’s largest (and most prized) exhibitions, its organisers have decided to move the event to make a way for the 17th International Architecture Exhibition “How Will We Live Together?” which was originally scheduled to launch this May.
The new events dates will now go from April 23 to November 27, 2022, meaning the new schedule will coincide with documenta, another prominent art exhibition held once every five years in Kassel, Germany, which was set to launch this summer.
“In the past few weeks it has become apparent that holding the Architecture Biennale this year would have dramatically compromised the event, leaving countless of nations without the representations of their pavilions and preventing hundreds of architects and thousands of viewers to participate in the exhibition,” said Cecilia Alemani, curator of the High Line in New York and artistic director of the next Venice Biennale. “I look forward to having more time with the artists to develop ambitious new projects.”Alemani added: “In 2022, the Art Biennale will open two days before the day in which Italy traditionally celebrates the end of World War II: I hope that the occasion will mark a new celebration of togetherness, a new sense of participation and communion that we are all very much looking forward to.”
International leading public service broadcaster BBC has launched Culture in Quarantine, a digital festival of the arts that gives insightful access to exhibitions, presentations and museums that would be shut due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The broadcaster service remarks the program is “rooted in the experience of national lockdown,” giving the public access to the arts whilst supporting creative organizations and artists.
In a four-section series called Museums in Quarantine, BBC will dive into national collections. For the first series, visitors will be able to go inside the Tate Modern for a last look at Andy Warhol’s retrospective.
Ensuing programs will focus on the Ashmolean’s “Young Rembrandt” exhibition, looking at further collections in the British Museum.
Other programming for Culture in Quarantine include a puppet show by Margaret Atwood, a virtual book festival curated by Kit de Waal and productions chosen by the Royal Shakespeare Company.
The BBC has also launched a Culture in Quarantine Fund liaising with Arts Council England that will support 25 established English-based artists to produce works that “adhere imaginatively and lawfully to the principles of self-isolation.”
“It’s important during this period that we maintain access not just to news and information, but to the arts and culture…” said Tony Hall, director-general of the BBC. “By working together, we can still have a vibrant period of culture to brighten our lives.”
Visit BBC’s website to stay in the know and to get the latest updates.
Earth Day today turns 50, a half-century of love and union to save the earth.
“Mother Earth Day” was born on April 22, 1970, after a huge environmental disaster that caused the death of 10,000 animals: in 1969 a drilling platform in the Santa Barbara canal had caused an oil spill, almost 100,000 barrels of crude oil were poured into Californian waters. Thus the common duty was felt to call the whole world together to awaken consciences and urgently ask for environmental reforms.
All took to the streets to demonstrate and the rumors reached the peace activist John McConnell, the Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson and the University student Denis Hayes, the trio that sowed the land of Earth Day. On that distant April 22, 1970, around 20 million American citizens responded to the appeal of Democratic Senator Nelson and mobilized in a demonstration in favor of the planet; marches with a “green” motto, conferences dedicated to environmental issues, educational and training messages for empowerment; from then until today, the people are proving sensitive to the cause.
But it is not enough, and now more than ever, closed in our homes to have exploited the environment and nature to our only and selfish advantage (isn’t this pandemic a warning?), we must demonstrate a serious behavioral change and celebrate Earth Day in digital format.
192 other countries around the world will coordinate for the event, scientists are giving us ultimatums with the warning that we will have just over 10 years to halve emissions and avoid the devastating effects of climate change.
Our country has created an exceptional schedule for the day, from Italy Earth Day which will be broadcast on Ray Play from 8.00 to 20.00 on April 22, 2020: 12 consecutive hours in which scientists, journalists, artists, institutional representatives and anyone who wants to participate will exchange tips and messages of hope and deepening in direct streaming.
All viewers will be able to interact via social media and the web platform (https://onepeopleoneplanet.it) using the hashtags of the day #OnePeopleOnePlanet, #CosaHoImparato, # EarthDay2020, #iocitengo, #VillaggioperlaTerra, #focolaremedia.
On the occasion of such an important event, we at Manintown, close and attentive to the theme of sustainability, environmental protection and love for the Earth, have collected a series of images taken by photographers and internationally renowned artists who have told, each with their own unique and recognizable style, the concept of beauty and man/nature relationship. The photographic project aims to be a space, a voice, a help, in line with the world event, aimed at human awareness towards Mother Earth, the womb from which we are born and arms in which we swim our life, a unique, immense gift, and valuable.
Pietro Lucerni
“I believe that from the human and personal suffering and tragedies that Coronavirus has caused, we should learn. We should (re)learn to listen to the signals that nature sends us. We should be aware of the fact that we are guests on this planet and that we are not the masters and that, as Pope Bergoglio says, “we cannot be comfortable on a planet that is bad.” If we take this opportunity, then we will have a good chance to start again towards a better future for us and our planet”.
The snowy and icy landscapes of Pietro Lucerni are silent expanses in which nature acts undisturbed, they are desolate and cold views waiting for the light to warm them up.
Mariavittoria Backhaus
“Beauty was supposed to save the world and instead the world stopped. But nature doesn’t. We are frozen and she goes very fast on an Earth that blooms and grows relentlessly.”
Maria Vittoria Backhaus makes the plants of the earth, still life of stems, buds and leaves in black and white speak, a beautiful negative that waits to be colored and saved by a man.
Maurizio Galimberti
A photographer known for his landscape and portrait decompositions made of Polaroid, Maurizio Galimberti takes us to deserted cities, made up of silences and headless men, where only the sheets dance freely. They look like the places of Covid-19, desolate nostalgic environments, the result of our imagination, places of memories made even more melancholic by the vintage effect of photography; cars on fire that warn us of the environmental disaster, blurred images as if they were going to vanish at any moment.
Emilio Tini
“Life and beauty can never be separated from real sensitive and deep listening to the world around us.”
This is how Emilio Tini, a fashion photographer who works daily with the human figure, describes his images.
In this series, man and nature are brought into a relationship, in harmonious and complementary coexistence, nature mixes with the body and becomes an extension of an arm, a hand. It is on the face of a woman that flowers bloom, in a complex, natural and essential relationship.
Piero Gemelli
A continuous line that forms two worlds, that of man and woman, which come together in an infinite kiss. This is the world that Piero Gemelli would like; known and unknown worlds that have the common intent to love and respect each other. In the strong image of a naked woman, Piero Gemelli’s heart is made of earth, the one we come from.
On the occasion of the Earth Day, which promotes the rise of a new environmental awareness, we thought of collecting some inspirational images. 2020 is also a special year because it celebrates 50 years of Earth Day.
The special reportage by Ricky A Swaczy (Creative director and Founder of the Wabisabi Culture) captures the essence of a magical and illusory nature, which from darkness inveils the quietness of contemplation. A frame of transitory life. The evocative power of impermanent Nature
From April the 7th to June 17th the Musei di Palazzo dei Pio will be the set for Fashion, Portraits & Landscapes, an exhibition that counts over one hundred prints, both in black and white and colors, lookbook celebrating the artistic parternship between Blumarine and Albert Watson.
The exhibition tells the story of twelve fashion campaigns that the photographer realized between 1987 and 1992 for the maison. Most of the prints are originals that Watson printed himself, and bring the visitors back in time, during those magic and glorious years when fashion loved to play with creativity all around.
Watson builds a consistent thread involving clothes, models and the surroundings. Not just fashion photography, but a complete new universe, that even those who don’t know fashion can find attractive and fascinating. The exhibition take place two year after the one that celebrated the association between Blumarine and Helmut Newton, between 1993 and 1999.
«It was a pleasure to work with Newton», said Molinari, «but, among all, Albert was the one who better portrayed the soul of our brand, made of romanticism, sensuality and femininity. The idea of a show, with our archive images, came from my daughter Rossella Tarabini. Taking back all these prints and see them again, all together, was really exciting for all of us».
The designer remembered some peculiar moments on set. « We shot in Los Angeles, in Scotland, Las Vegas, London, New Mexico, San Francisco, Naples, Miami, New Orleans and Watson always menaged to create a relationship between those places and our fashion. We had the chance to work with some of the most spectacular women of that time, from Cindy Crawford to Nadja Auermann, Helena Christensen, Michaela Bercu, Naomi Campbell e Carré Otis.».
Watson underlined the freedoom that the brand gave him. «None of these pictures went in post-production. There was no photo editing at the time, you hhad to work just on set and Anna trusted me completely, and never gave me limits of any sort. Of course, some of them may be strong, less common in contemporary photography, but I made them always paying attention and respect to models and clothes. I remember some shots in which the model had open legs: I didn’t make them to be provocative, but that was a way to create lines in the picture. Most of all, I never forced a model into a pose. I’ve always explained my idea, trying to understand if she was comfortable with it».
