A prolific writer, filmmaker and poet, Pier Paolo Pasolini (1922-1975) undoubtedly is one of Italy‘s cultural icons, but also a highly controversial one. The Bologna-born intellectual gained a solid reputation for his criticism of government corruption, materialism, consumerism, and political and social repression. Pasolini was also openly gay throughout his career, and this fact was eventually used by his political enemies to damage his career. Fast forward to 2021, the controversy has long subsided and strict social codes have eased, and Pasolini lands an exhibition at a high-profile venue in Milan. Entitled La lunga strada di sabbia or The long sand road in English, it’s held at Galleria Carla Sozzani, the art gallery annex of illustrious concept store 10 Corso Como. In 1959, Pasolini was 37 years old and in his capacity as a writer he was teamed up with 34-year old photographer Paolo di Paolo by publisher Arturo Tofanelli.
The duo were commissioned to shoot a photo reportage of holidaying compatriots and kicked off a tour of seaside resorts at Ventimiglia on the Ligurian coast, travelling all the way south and back up again to Trieste in the northeast of the country. Right from the start, Pasolini and Di Paolo had a contrary creative vision of how the the reportage should be captured. Blatantly anti-bourgeois, Pasolini wanted to steer clear of clichés, while his partner’s intentions were to capture the opposite, shooting Italians enjoying the post-war economic boom by way of seaside dolce far niente. Despite the opposite views, the photo series and texts give an interesting insight in the pastime habits of Italians of that era (on through Aug 25). Mind you, a related satellite exhibition was held at the Bvlgari boutique showcased photos that Di Paolo shot in the Lombardian capital in 1956-1962, but has recently closed.
Galleria Carla Sozzani
Corso Como 10 (Porta Garibaldi)
20154 Milan
Mon-Tue 10am-8pm
Wed-Thu 10am-9pm
Fri-Sun 10am-8pm
Publishers Note
Just to be clear – superfuture® is a design blog and not a political commentator. No surprise there. The scope of our content has always been global and borderless, however that can often mean covering projects in countries where we will not agree with the politics or actions of those countries. In a world that’s as screwed up as ever right now, the focus of our support is to those designers, architects and other creatives who aim to make the world a more liveable one – as opposed to people that try their hardest to destroy it. So if a project hits our desk and we like it based on its design credentials, we may choose to publish regardless of its location or creators nationality. superfuture® has always been inclusive and hopes for all current wars, aggression, violence, hate and extremism to end.
