Panel Discussion
Neorealism and Photography: The New Image in Italy

While the term “neorealism” is primarily associated with cinema and literature, photography was also involved in the wider turn toward social and humanist themes in Italy in the 1940s and ’50s. Photography documented the war’s impact and the conditions of ordinary Italians in the postwar years—and made these visible through touring exhibitions, illustrated magazines, and photobooks. Speakers will examine the new types of photographic images that emerged in those years, consider the relations between photography and cinema, and assess the validity of the concept of neorealism in photography. Moderated by Ara Merjian, Italian Studies, NYU, with speakers Maria Antonella Pelizzari, History of Photography, Hunter College and the Graduate Center, CUNY; Enrica Viganò, Admira, Milan, curator of NeoRealismo; and others.

Co-sponsored by NYU’s Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò and Grey Art Gallery. RSVP to casaitaliananyu.org. (Non-member RSVP does not guarantee a seat.)