Without borders - Steve McCurry

Inizio evento 28.10.2016 | Fine evento 16.02.2017

<<Just travelling and learning more about different cultures gives me joy and an inexhaustible energy>>



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.



#mostramccurrypan

Opening Hours
Everyday, except Tuesdays, from 9:30 am to 7:30 pm;
Sundays from 9:30 am to 2:30 pm;
11th and 18th December from 9:30 am to 7:30 pm;
Open December 26th, 2016 and January 6th, 2017.
December 24th and 31th the exhibition will be opened until 3.30 pm and the 25th of December until 2.30 pm.
January 1st 2017 Pan will open from 3.00 pm to 7.30 pm.

Ticket office closes 1h before the exhibition.

Tickets
Full price € 11.00 (audio-guide included)
Reduced € 10.00 for groups (minimum 12 people) and holders of specially designed discount cards (audio-guide included);
Reduced € 5.00 only for Schools and young people under the age of 26 (audio-guide included);
Free Admission for visitors under the age of 6, two escorting teachers, disabled people and their escort.
Reservation Fee € 1.00 per person.

Contact
Tel.: Italy 199151121
From abroad: 0289096942

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