Il video della mia conversazione con Sandro Iovine di FPMag è disponibile, oltre che qui e su YouTube, anche su Facebook.
Suspended – un talk online con Sandro Iovine di FPMag – 13-11-2021 Live
Quando si pensa alla Sicilia le prime immagini che vengono in mente, a seconda del pregiudizio che ci attanaglia, sono quelle di una terra assolata dal mare splendido, piuttosto che di donne velate di nero che si aggirano in paesi in cui l’omertà si incarna in uomini con la coppola in testa e la lupara sulla spalla.
Niente di tutto questo (per fortuna) appare nelle immagini di Massimo Cristaldi. Qui protagonista è il tempo, un tempo sospeso, come sospesi sono i paesaggi che ci presenta dove tutto sembra ricordare vestigia di un recente incompiuto passaggio dell’uomo.
Quelli che possiamo vedere sono luoghi immersi nell’assenza. Assenza di cura per ciò che l’uomo ha fatto in passato, assenza di una conclusione per opere iniziate e mai terminate. È un tempo che non c’è quello che fotografa Massimo Cristaldi, o meglio un “tempo interiore” che cristallizza, in un presente continuo, le ferite dello spazio e propone “deliranti proiezioni nel futuro”.
Massimo Cristaldi ci introdurrà al “suo” mondo sospeso nel tempo dialogando con Sandro Iovine sabato 13 novembre 2021 alle ore 15:00.
Presentazione di Suspended al MIA 2021 – 9 Ottobre 2021 – Milano
SUSPENDED, il libro, sarà presentato Sabato 9 Ottobre 2021 al MIA di Milano alle ore 17,30 presso lo Stand GENTE DI FOTOGRAFIA n. 25 – corridoio E
MIA Milan Image Art Fair – Superstudio Maxi, Via Moncucco 35, Milano
Interverranno: Massimo Cristaldi e Franco Carlisi (direttore di GENTE DI FOTOGRAFIA)
Suspended: The Book came out
Published by Gente di Fotografia EDIZIONI in September 2021 I'm glad to announce that my new book, Suspended, is now ready for shipping. You may order it here. Text by Franco Carlisi and Joel Meyerowitz.
Video by Domenico Fabiano
[...]Even when we are faced with an unfinished work of art, the greatness of the author defines it and makes it magnificent in itself: it is the Unfinished. In fact, it is precisely because it has not been concluded that the artist cloaks himself in legend and in a further story that embellishes his existence since the immortality of his genius will always be traced back to his mortal being. The genius is still among us - immortal -, but through that incompleteness we remember that it was like us – mortal. But an unfinished work of art tells us even more: it tells us about the creative process, the authorial gesture’s desire that wants to reach the essence, the genius’ vitality that struggles with the indolence of illness, the mystery of a mind who does not notice the created beauty and abandons it, a contradictory era, like all eras, which establishes the canons but does not recognize the masterpieces. No unfinished work of art is minor, precisely because it is more open than a finished work of art. […]
From the Introduction by Franco Carlisi
In Suspended there is a splendid and tragic feeling of emptiness, if those two could be mentioned in the same breath, and surreal as well. I like the scale shifts you are seeing with the cars, people, the houses, and the sun-blasted and burnt color of the landscapes and buildings. It shows me a kind of painful beauty in desolation, taking us beyond any hope of recovery. This is good work. Congratulations for staying so true.
From the Afterword by Joel Meyerowitz
Embossed hardback with tipped-in image front and back
100 pages, 55 color plates
30 x 30 cm
Text in English and in Italian
ISBN: 978-88-906116-4-3
Publication date: September 2021
GENTE DI FOTOGRAFIA EDIZIONI
“The New Sicilian Topographics” Philadelphia, USA, 16-26 Sept 2021
Started on September 16th the exhibition New Sicilian Topographics sees me togethe with Sandro Scalia and Blaise Tobia. The show runs at “Art on the Avenue Gallery, 3808 Lancaster Avenue and will close on September 26th. Here some images of the show.
New Exhibition in Philadelphia in 2021
Opening ins September 2021 my work Suspended will be in display in Philadelphia in the frame of the exhibition New Sicilian Topographics with Sandro Scalia, and Blaise Tobia @ 3808 Lancaster Gallery. This is going to be my second time in Philadelphia, after the show at Gravy Studio back in 2019.
Me and my Africa Twin on #AfricaTwinAdventureBook
A photograph on me on my Honda Africa Twin has been selected by Honda Italy for this year edition of a book celebrating the “glorious” Africa Twin adventure bike. A Pdf of the book can be downloaded from this link.
The B&W Diary (1)
Back in 2015 I’ve gone through a “One Camera, One Lens, One Year” (OCOLOY) project. You may see the resulting photographs here. The project was a nice idea and, at that time, it was a collaborative effort by many photographers: Petapixel wrote an article about OCOLOY here. We were able to put together an exhibition, and one of my Ocoloy photographs was a category winner at the Sony World Photo Award in 2016.
Now, after six year, I decided to embrace a new yearly project that will use an approach similar to the Ocoloy concepts, even with a number of differences. The current pandemic situation forces us to stay away from other people. So this year (and this is probably the biggest difference from OCOLOY) I’ll focus on landscapes, and I’ll use a camera that, although quite portable, it’s the medium format Fujifilm GFX50R, so a bit larger then my trusty Ricoh GR I’ve used for the 2015 OCOLOY. I’ll be not restricting to a single lens even if I plan to use mostly the Fujifilm GF45mm. The name “OCOY” (one Camera, One Year) is quite ugly so this project will be called “The B&W diary“.
The outings will be limited by a number of, sometimes cumbersome, rules that are limiting our liberty. So I’ll be updating the diary from time to time, sharing the new photographs here and on Instagram.
I’ll be exploring and experimenting with Black and White, something I’m really not used to, and focus, as most of my photography, on Sicily
January 2021
Iddu (Stromboli Nights)
Stromboli is a small island in the northern part of the Eolian archipelago. One of the most active volcano in the world, emerging 1.000 mt from a deep blu sea, kwon as “Iddu” (which in Sicilian means “Him”) for it’s strong character due to frequent explosions.
No public illumination is present in Stromboli: being a natural reservoir this preserves light pollution and makes the atmosphere almost surreal. Few light sources are present in an already black environment: lamps and signs, stars and spectacular lava fountains.