the personal fantasy of the photographer and the
viewer to roam free. In doing this, he subscribed to
the notion that the message of the image first comes
to life in the interpretation of the viewer. InNinna
nanna, a collection of photographs taken from 1955
to 1987, the author recalls the memory of childhood
in his sadness about the transitoriness and vanity of
human creations. His mother’s death in 1986 was
another trigger for the melancholy and remem-
brances that he worked into the seriesL’infinito
(1986–1988) and A Silvia (1987–1990), inspired
also by the poetry of Leopardi.
Giacomelli’s later series, such asIo sono nessuno!
(1992–1994), Bando, (1997–1999), and Questo
ricordo lo vorrei raccontare(2000), contain graphic
signs, the disappearance of figures, and their sha-
dows. In these works, the author expresses an inner
world: alienation and desperation of human indivi-
duality, loneliness, the traces of time, transitoriness,
and death. Arturo Carlo Quintavalle called Giaco-
melli’s works ‘‘informal photographs’’ and read this
as the photographer’s self-analysis. Having spent
most of his life in his home region, Giacomelli
died in his home town of Senigallia in 2000. Many
photography collections contain works by Giaco-
melli. Among them are the Museum of Modern Art
in New York; the International Museum of Pho-
tography and Film, in Rochester, New York; the
Bibliothe`que nationale in Paris; the Victoria and
Albert Museum in London; the Pushkin Museum
in Moscow; and the Centro Studi e Archivio della
Comunicazione at the University of Parma.
KatharinaHauselSeealso:Formalism
Biography
BorninSenigallia,Italy,August1,1925.Atthirteen,hebegan
working as an apprentice in a typography business that he
later took over. After 1953, he began taking photographs
as a self-taught artist. Joined the photography group Misa
in Senigallia, Italy, 1954; photography group La Bussola,
- Participated in numerous photography competi-
tions in Italy, 1950s–1960s. In 1968, he rejected an invita-
tion by Romeo Martinez, the editor of the magazine
Cameraand a member of the photo agency Magnum, to
join Magnum. Prizes: II Mostra Nazionale Castelfranco
Veneto,awarded by Paolo Monti, 1955;Spilimbergo ‘91,
1991; International photography prize Citta`di Venezia,
1992; Pantalin d’Oro, Carrara di Fano, 1994; Cultural
Award of the Deutsche Gesellschaft fu ̈r Photographie,
Cologne, 1995. Died in Senigallia, November 25, 2000.
Individual Exhibitions
1959 Paesaggi e nature morte di Mario Giacomelli, Biblio-
teca Comunale, Milan, Italy
1968 George Eastman House, Rochester, New York
1975 Victoria and Albert Museum, London
1980 Mario Giacomelli, Centro Studi e Archivio della
Comunicazione, University of Parma
1983–85Mario Giacomelli: A Retrospective, 1955–1983, The
Ffotogallery, Cardiff, and traveling
1984 Les Photographies de Mario Giacomelli, Muse ́e Nice ́-
phore Nie ́pce, Chalon-sur-Saoˆ ne, France
1987 Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow
1988 Centre National de la Photographie, Paris, France
1989 Foundation Vincent van Gogh, Arles, France
1992 Mario Giacomelli, Museo d’Arte Contemporanea,
Castello di Rivoli, Turin, Italy
1995 Mario Giacomelli: Fotografien, 1952–1955, Museum
Ludwig, Cologne, Germany
1998 Vintage Works, 1952–1958, Photology, London
2001 Mario Giacomelli, Palazzo delle Esposizioni, RomeSelected Group Exhibitions
1956 III Mostra internazionale di fotografia; Venice
1959 Subjektive Fotografie 3. Internationale de photogra-
phies modernes; Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels, Belgium
1960 Triennale di Milano, Scanno-Fotografie; Milan, Italy
1963 Photokina 1963; Cologne, Germany
Looking at Photographies: 100 Pictures from the Col-
lection of the Museum of Modern Art; Museum of Mod-
ern Art, New York, New York
Photography 63: An International Exhibition; The
George Eastman House, Rochester, New York
1968 The Photographer’s Eye; Museum of Modern Art,
New York, New York
1973 Looking at Photographs; Museum of Modern Art,
New York, New York
1979 Venezia ‘79 la fotografia: Fotografia italiana contem-
poranea; Venice, Italy
1983 Maestri della fotografia creativa contemporanei in Italia;
Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow, U.S.S.R.
1989 Italia, cento anni di fotografia; International Monetary
Fund, Washington, D.C.
1993 Immagini italiane; Aperture, Venice and Naples, Italy,
and New York, New York
1994 The Italian Metamorphosis, 1943–1968; Solomon R.
Guggenheim Museum, New York, New YorkSelected Works
Verra`la morte e avra`i tuoi occhi, 1955–1983
Metamorfosi della terra, 1955–1980
Lourdes, 1957
Scanno, 1957–1959
Gente, 1958
Mattatoio, 1960
Io non ho mani che mi accarezzino il volto, 1961–1963
La buona terra, 1964–1965
Caroline Branson, 1971–1973
Favola, verso possibili significati interiori, 1983–1984
Il mare dei miei racconti, 1983–1987
Il teatro della neve, 1984–1986
Ninna nanna, 1985–1987
L’infinito, 1986–1988
Felicita`raggiunta, si cammina, 1986–1988
Passato, 1987–1990
A Silvia, 1987–1990GIACOMELLI, MARIO