Amateur Photographer - UK (2020-04-11)

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Legends

of photography

H

uman

congregations

area hotbedof

activity,nomatter

wheretheyare.Supermarkets,

festivalsandpoliticalrallies

allrevealmuchaboutusasa

species.However,inthehistory

ofphotography,onetypeof

locationhasperhapsstood

aboveallother.Beachesand

coastallocationsbringtogether

swathesofpeopleofallstripes,

allofwhomshedtheirclothes

andsocialstanding,andunite

beneaththeopenskiesand

againstthegreatexpanseof

ocean.Withthisinmind,

photographers– voyeuristic

anthropologiststhatthey

are– arefreetoexploreand

documentallmannerofpeople

engagedinallmannerof

activities.Moreoftenthannot,

thesedocumentsarenotable

fortheirintimacy,suchas

inMartinParr’scelebrated

coastaladventures,which

revelinthegarishdetailsof

humanbehaviour.Equally,

ElliottErwittusedthelocation

anditspeopletorevealhis

preoccupationwithleisure.

Photojournalistwork

Ontheoppositeendofthe

scale,wefindMassimoVitali,

anItalian-bornphotographer

whohastakenthenotionof

beachphotographyandmade

it somethingslightlyradical.

Vitali,whowasbornin1944,

studiedphotographyin

Londonand,intheearly

sixties,foundworkasa

photojournalist,duringwhich

timeheworkedwithseveral

Italianagencies.Eventually,he

met Simon Guttmann, founder

Massimo

Vitali

oftheagency,Report,andit

wasthisencounterwhich

causedVitalitoquestion

exactlywhatphotographywas

for.Hisinterestsshiftedand

hemovedtowards

cinematographybuteventually

returnedtothephotographic

mediumwhenherealisedhe

couldusephotographyasa

meansof‘artisticresearch’.

Whatfollowedwasa seriesof

Italianbeachpanoramas,

whichwereeventually

collectedinthepublication

Entering a New World.

Astheyearsrollby,Vitali’s

imagesexpandandcontractto

fitmultipledegreesof

interpretation.Theyarereborn

witheachreading,surelythe

ultimateaimofany

photographer.Wecanlookat

themnowandseethemwithin

theconnectofimpending

globalcalamity,forexample.

Perhaps,also,it’sdifficultto

lookatthosebeautifulbeaches

andnotprojectthemultiple

newsphotographswe’veseen

ofdistressedandsometimes

deadmigrantswashedupon

thesand.

Intheyearssince,Vitali’s

workhasopeneduptoa

varietyofotherlocations,such

aspools,skiresorts,discos,

piazzasandothertouristand

leisuresites.Allofthemspeak

toVitali’sworrythatperhaps

weshouldspenda littleless

timerelaxingandopenour

eyestowhat’sgoing on

aroundus.

Vitali’simagesexploreleisureand

relaxationalongwithanunderlying

worry about society, saysOliver Atwell

Vitali’simagesdifferfrom

Parr’sandErwitt’smost

notablyintheirdistancefrom

thesubject.Theshotsare

panoramicandelevated.The

photographerstandsaboveit

allandlooksdownwiththeeye

ofa seeminglypassiveentity.

Vitaliis tryingtoshowus

somethinggraderabout

society,Italiansocietyin

particular.Vitali’simages,as

hehasstatedinthepast,area

condemnationofconformity,

imaginedaffluenceand

complacency.ThescenesVitali

findsarenotlife-affirming.

Theydisturbhim.Theimages

weretakeninthe1990s,a

timeofsignificantpolitical

turmoilinItaly,duringwhich

it wasrevealedthatdeep-

seatedcorruptionlayatthe

heartofgovernment,notto

mentionthehideousactsofthe

MafiainSicily.Framethe

scenebelowwithinthiscontext

andit’sdifficultnottoseewhat

Vitaliis gettingat.Howdo

peoplereactintimesof

trouble?Theybury their heads

in the sand.

©

MASSIMO VITALI

© TIMOTHY FADEK / GETT Y IMAGES

‘Porto Miggiano’, 2011

Enteringa NewWorld:Photographs2009-2018

is publishedbySteidlandis priced at £90.

ISBN 978-3958296262