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Italian (Emilian), 1943 to 1992
Luigi Ghirri
“The point is to learn to look at the world again, as if for the first time.”
The signature
Quiet, pale color photographs of the ordinary Italian landscape, full of thought and tenderness.
What to study
Ghirri is your Emilian master, born and working in the flat country around Modena and Reggio Emilia, the land just outside Bologna. Study his patience with the unremarkable: gas stations, walls, beaches, maps, the threshold between things. Learn how a calm, frontal, undramatic frame can hold an entire philosophy of looking. He shows you that you do not need spectacle, only attention.
Italian context
Ghirri is the poet of your new region. The land he photographed is a short train ride from Bologna. Seeing his work is seeing the Emilian light you are about to live inside.
Why for Matias
He teaches the opposite lesson from Moriyama, and you need both. Where Moriyama is heat and grain, Ghirri is cool attention. He proves that the ordinary streets and flat country around Bologna are enough, if you learn to look.
Iconic images
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Best books
Kodachrome (1978)
His foundational book; a manifesto of quiet seeing.
Niente di antico sotto il sole (1980)
Collected writings; essential for how he thought.
Viaggio in Italia (1984)
The landmark collective project he led, remapping Italian photography.