Icons

Prospettive

Thanks to Sudest57 and particularly Biba Giacchetti, Tosetti Value S.I.M. launches its “Prospettive” project, and starts out on this fascinating adventure with the photographs of no less a master than Elliott Erwitt, a brilliant interpreter of the human comedy.
On display in our spaces is a special selection from the Icons exhibition, which assembles the most famous images by a photographer who has an uncanny ability to capture the irony of everyday life.
Curious, amusing, painful scenarios materialize through his lens with a spontaneity that surprises, and so understanding his approach to taking pictures comes naturally:

“To me, photography is the art of observation. It’s about finding something interesting in an ordinary place. It has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them” 

From the more personal, unposed photograph of Marilyn caught in a quiet moment – acquired for our collection – to portraits of Che Guevara, Grace Kelly enveloped in a new light during her engagement party, Jacqueline Kennedy at her husband’s funeral, and the historic shot of Nixon jabbing his finger at Khrushchev.
Elliott’s documentary photos are always lightened by his ability to find the absurd, surreal side of life.
Erwitt was born in 1928 in France to a family of Russian immigrants.
Leaving his European roots, he soon moved to the United States, but has always been a roving reporter, always travelling.
At the start of  his career,  he worked for the American government, but the turning point was his encounter with Robert Capa, who invited him to join Magnum Photos in 1953
Simultaneously he began to publish his photo shoots, and much of his artistic output has been collected in numerous books.
Erwitt’s books, journalistic essays, illustrations and advertising campaigns, all reflecting his poetic, melancholy sense of humour, have appeared in publications worldwide for over forty years.
His photographs have the power to reflect universal themes in an incredibly direct way, and for us are an example of how good forms of art touch the observer and are always a necessary source of inspiration.