Carlos Canet Fortea, Approximate journey, 2022. Photography, Digital Photography / Manipulated Photography / Digital Collage on Paper, 100 x 80 cm.
Before coming to the artistic investigation promoted by the photographic medium, it seems obvious to refer to that pictorial tradition, which, over the centuries, has sponsored the birth, development and affirmation of the best-known artistic genres, including the unfailing landscape theme. It thus appears evident that photography, having the latter theme as its subject, enjoyed the previous efforts, which led to the official recognition of the total autonomy of landscape painting, an event that took place at a specific time and place in history: the Holland of the Golden Century. In fact, prior to this period, landscape was conceived as a mere pictorial background, which, without any gender identity, was aimed at decorating or illustrating the locations in which the narrated events, mostly religious, mythological or historical in nature, took place. The arrival of photography, dated the late 19th century, directly inherited the above achievements, promoting, albeit gradually and experimentally, the progressive interest in the landscape genre, which became, through the centuries, one of its main workhorses. In addition, in the course of its approach to photographic art, this discipline has also been confronted, like painting, sculpture, etc., with multiple movements, artistic currents and trends, within which it is obligatory to mention Minimalism, a point of view on reality, which has imposed its stylistic features on landscape painting as well. Described simply and concisely: the minimalist point of view gives the landscape genre the goal of capturing the real datum through an extremely synthetic and concrete rendering, which, by making use of the framing of only a few elements, or sometimes even just one, achieves a greater visual impact. In fact, the very possibility of focusing attention on that "little" that is depicted, allows the viewer to immediately grasp what has been conceived, in order to convey a message, avoiding dispersing attention in multiple decorative "frills." In order to make concrete in the reader's imagination what has just been expounded, it is crucial to refer to the work of a few photographers, who, like Hiroshi Sugimoto, Yamamoto Masao and Michael Kenna, have devoted themselves to capturing minimalist landscape visions. Speaking of the former, the Japanese artist and photographer born in 1948 turns out to be one of the most important exponents of contemporary photography, having the peculiarity of combining minimalist and conceptual art with the kindred sobriety and simplicity of Eastern customs. These stylistic features came to fruition in his 1980 series of seascapes, within which the same use of framing and materials, focuses on enhancing the variation of black and white, arranged within views, aimed at capturing empty and calm seas, surmounted by a clear and silent sky. In such a context, in which the line between water and air often becomes highly blurred, bordering on abstractionism, he wants to make explicit how, despite the inexorable passage of time, the grandeur of nature remains remarkably, and almost divinely, unchanged. In painting, a similar sensation can be conveyed to us by the works of Piero Guccione, an Italian painter, engraver and illustrator born in 1935, whose conceptual marinas find, in the line that divides the sky from the sea, the focus of a reflection centered on a meditation, aimed at putting the viewer in touch with his inner self. As for Yamamoto Masao, on the other hand, the Japanese photographer concentrates on the creation of small-format images, which, like species of bonsai trees to be treasured in one's hands, invite the viewer to a similar recollection. In this meditative dimension, there is room, both for the present and the past, so much so that the artist prefers the use of "aged" black and white images, intended to allude to memories, fragments and traces of the thousand versions of ourselves.
Philippe Berthier, Phoetry, 2023. Photography, Digital Photography / Manipulated Photography on Paper, 47 x 67cm.
Speaking of landscape, Masao's shots concerning this theme testify to his interest in observing natural transitions, the narrative of which seems to allude to the evolution of our own life course. An example of a minimalist shot by the Japanese artist is Kawa=Flow #1652, in which, in order to allude to an autumn landscape, only the vision of a group of birds perched on sacred branches is referred to. Similarly, painting has also portrayed a similar subject, just as shown in the broader and more colorful perspective of White birds sitting in the tree by Edward Said Tingatinga, a well-known Tanzanian painter. Finally, about Michael Kenna, the celebrated British photographer, born in 1953, is well known for his minimalist black-and-white landscapes, which, illuminated by a typically ethereal light, the result of shots taken at first light or during the night, pursue the intention of focusing on the interaction between atmospheric conditions and the subjects immortalized. Often, precisely in order to highlight this relationship, he immortalizes solitary trees, which immersed in whiteness or darkness, make us think of the individual specimens captured by some masterpieces of painting such as, for example: Mondrian's Red Tree and Blue Tree and Van Gogh's unforgettable Mulberry Tree in Autumn (1889), a work painted by the Dutch master less than a year before his death, that is, at a time that, while chaotic and unbalanced, turned out to be quite "enlightened." Vincent's new awareness was probably inspired by the place where he was "staying," namely the Saint Paul asylum in Saint-Remy, hospital where he was admitted following the famous ear incident. It was precisely at the mental institution that he became aware of his turbulent past, feeling relieved by the interest he took in his new works of art and by the happy companionship offered to him by his fellow sufferers of hospital misfortune. Therefore, this last comparison between Minimalist photography and Postexpressionist painting reveals one more detail: those who favored the second movement have, by and large, exploited art more as a kind of therapy, rather than as a means of more serene contemplation and synthesis of existence.
Tomáš Tisoň, The guardian, 2021. Photography, Digital Photography on Paper, 50 x 50 cm.
Gio Mondelli, Hot summer, 2018. Painting, Acrylic on Canvas, 45 x 45 cm.
Gio Mondelli: Hot Summer
The extremely bright colors, coupled with the few landscape elements, depicted by the acrylic on canvas of Gio Mondelli, an Italian artist born in 1953, reopen the "debate", mentioned above, regarding the pseudo "dependence" of photography towards pictorial art, found at the level of "borrowing" many subjects and stylistic approaches. Such a situation is reversed if we consider instead precisely the viewpoint on landscape art of the artist in Artmajeur, who seems almost to be a kind of pictorial interpreter of the photographic investigation of Franco Fontana, a Modenese born in 1933 known for his minimalist landscapes, in which the undisputed protagonists are, in addition to the Italian nature of fields, trees and skilfully placed clouds, color and geometries. It is precisely these last two components that turn out to be the real motivators of his subject choices, capable of transforming "simple" rural landscapes, as well as industrial and urban ones, into a kind of abstraction, aimed at giving voice to the "cry" of exaggerated chromatics, expressed in synthetic sharp and marked lines. In this context, Mondelli's Calda estate seems to be traceable, in particular, to Fontana's Apulian photographic series, which dated from the late 1980s, shows the most authentic triumph of yellow, blue and green, within a nature that appears, in terms of order and liveliness, more luxuriant and well-disposed toward man and his misdeeds.
Emmanuel Passeleu, The blue, 2021. Photography, Digital Photography / Manipulated Photography on Paper, 50 x 50 cm.
Emmanuel Passeleu: The blue
It is important to highlight how, in addition to classic genres, the world of photography is also made up of fashions, trends and last-minute innovations, which, in the current era, propagate from the realm of the internet and social media, often to the exclusion of the more dated academies and museum institutions. What said seems to sum up the life experience of Marcus Cederberg, a Swedish-born minimalist photographer who, somewhat on a lark, began to spread his shots, as well as his particular point of view, through the Instagram platform, logging on starting in 2014. Today his profile enjoys great attention, being widely frequented by curious people, lovers of photography, art in general and photographers themselves, who aspire to capture the real by giving it affine "synthetic" colors and shapes. Such "ordered" vision stems from a particular need of the artist, who feels he must oppose the chaos of our society, having the form of distressing rhythms, saturated with inputs and false myths to chase after. His struggle is fought with minimalist poetics, trend capable of spreading a prolific sense of calm, mainly due to the careful selection of colors, contrasts and negative spaces. Speaking of concrete actions, I opened the photographer's Instagram profile noting that one of his favorite subjects are windows, which are analyzed individually, in pairs and, at times, through an almost "infinite" multiplication. Such subjects are silhouetted against simply colored walls, which, on occasion, present some realistic details, both static and dynamic. Windows are also the main subject of digital photography by the Artmajeur artist, who has personalized minimalism by adding skillful surreal touches, aimed at mixing, in a novel and innovative way, two fundamentally opposite trends.
Elisabeth Laplante, Neon noué, 2018. Photography, Digital Photography on Paper, 30 x 45 cm.
Elisabeth Laplante: Neon Noué
On a dark, amaranth, rose-colored, seawater-colored wall runs a strand of neon light, which we see trapped in the rectangular format of the photograph, without being able to know the actual extent of its path. This is probably the mystery alluded to in Laplante's minimalism, which also exploits the aforementioned fluorescent object as a kind of detail, aimed at definitely capturing the viewer's attention. Indeed, the neon can be noticed even at a later stage, but when your gaze settles on it, this will probably be the last thing you will observe so accurately, since, who, after discovering light, would want to go back to darkness? Indeed, light is so attractive precisely because it can define space, making it vital and dynamic, giving us the ability to see the world as we perceive it, distinguishing shapes and colors. These concepts have probably also been relied upon in the assumptions of the artistic investigation of James Turrell, an American artist whose work deals primarily with the perception of light and space. In fact, the artist is considered one of the leading exponents of Light and Space, a movement born in the U.S. in the 1960s, which transformed light into a work of art, aimed at communicating, both to the mind, and to the body of viewers.
Olimpia Gaia Martinelli
