Steve McCurry. Without borders_Napoli

Steve McCurry is one of the greatest masters of contemporary photography and is a reference for a wide audience, who recognise in his photographs a way of looking at our times. Each shot carries with it a complex universe made of experiences and emotions, and many of his images are well known throughout the world.
Since 2009, Civita and SudEst have been organising several solo exhibitions of the illustrious American photographer, each of them highlighting a special aspect of his photographic production, which have been visited by more than 800,000 people.
 
The new exhibition set up in the Palazzo delle Arti in Naples presents the core of his most famous photos together with more recent ones, and images which have not been published in his numerous books yet. It also effectively highlights his commitment ‘without borders’ in those areas of the world where conflicts are arising and people are forced to flee their home country because of their suffering. This is still a topical issue unfortunately, which Steve McCurry has been documenting since the late 1970s.
 
“This exhibition follows in the footsteps of the previous international exhibitions of contemporary art organised at Pan | Palazzo delle Arti Napoli. It is a new and interesting initiative for the high artistic value and impact that the photographs and stories of Steve McCurry make.  A narrative through images of contemporary man in the world while facing the suffering and violence of war, and the diversities of cultures and ethnic groups. In this story, the tragic bluntness of life becomes highly lyrical when the heart and soul of the persons behind and in front of the camera meet. It is a lesson of photography and humanity, one that has started enchanting viewers already with the first shot, and that continues capturing and inviting them to observe other human beings with the same curiosity and wonder of our artist”
Nino Daniele, City Councillor for Cultural Activities and Tourism – Naples.

At first, visitors encounter a section of b/w photos Steve McCurry took between 1979 and 1980 during his first mission to Afghanistan, the country he had been smuggled in by the Mujahideen, who were fighting against the Russian invasion. He often went back there. From there came the girl he photographed in the Pakistani refugee camp of Peshawar; the same girl who has become an absolute icon of the world photography and also the symbol of the hope for peace that seems impossible to be reached in a world that is shaken by wars and mass exodus. Its most famous portrait is on display together with two other shots, one of whom McCurry took seventeen years later, after having looked for and finally found the same girl.

In those areas of the world where life is often harsher, Steve McCurry has succeeded in taking highly poetic images with his lens. He has also managed to document the atrocities of the wars and violence mankind is unfortunately capable of causing, from the Twin Towers to the Gulf War, from the conflict in Afghanistan to Japan after the tsunami, from the child soldiers to the suffering of people in hospitals: harsh images, which unveil unusual aspects of Steve McCurry’s personality.
The exhibition has been curated by Biba Giachetti and sets the viewers on a journey through McCurry’s world: from Afghanistan to India, from the Middle East to South-East Asia, fro Africa to Cuba, from the United States to Italy.
It is a rich and captivating repertoire of images where the presence of people is always protagonist even if only evoked. The involving set up by Peter Bottazzi makes those people come towards us with their intense glances in a twirling mix of ages, cultures, and ethnic groups which McCurry has succeeded in reproducing with extraordinary intensity.
 
Through an audio guide available for visitors, Steve McCurry talks first-hand about many of the photos on display, and tells exciting stories. Some short films telling trips and adventures of his life and profession will be also shown to gain a deeper knowledge about his way of photographing and above all about his desire to share his encounter with suffering, joy and wonder.
 
The exhibition has been promoted by the Municipality of Naples – Department for Cultural Activities and Tourism, and Pan – Palazzo Arti Napoli, and it has been organised by Civita Mostre in cooperation with SudEst57. Media partner of the event are Il Mattino and Radio Kiss Kiss.
 
27th October 2016, 5:00 pm.
Roberto Cotroneo interviewing Steve McCurry
 
On 27^th October at 5:00 pm at Maschio Angioino - Sala dei Baroni - public meeting with Steve McCurry interviewed by Roberto Cotroneo.
The event is open to the public while seats last.
 
Steve McCurry has been one of the most iconic figures in contemporary photography for more than thirty years. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, McCurry studied cinematography at Pennsylvania State University, before going on to work for a newspaper. After two years, McCurry made his first of what would become many trips to India. Traveling with little more than a bag of clothes and film, he made his way across the subcontinent, exploring the country with his camera.
 
It was after several months of travel that he crossed the border into Pakistan. In a small village he met a group of refugees from Afghanistan, who smuggled him across the border into their country, just as the Russian invasion was closing the country to Western journalists. Emerging in traditional dress, with full beard and weather-worn features after months embedded with the Mujahideen, McCurry made his way over the Pakistan border with his film sewn into his clothes. McCurry's images were among the first to show the world the brutality of the Russian invasion.
 
Since then, McCurry has gone on to create unforgettable images over six continents and numerous countries. His body of work spans conflicts, vanishing cultures, ancient traditions and contemporary culture alike - yet always retains the human element that made his celebrated image of the Afghan Girl such a powerful image.
 
McCurry has been recognized with some of the most prestigious awards including the Robert Capa Gold Medal, National Press Photographers Award, and an unprecedented four first prize awards from the World Press Photo contest amongst dozens of others.

 

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