From Picasso, to Che Guevara, Churchill, Giacometti, Man Ray or and Chagall…. All of them came under thehis scrutiny of this, a poet and minimalist who was able, he to ccould capture their essence in the space of just a few shots. He was able to create images that seemed almost almost like drawings and compositions and which that could be be reasonably be considered counted as contemporary works of art. With two hundred prints on displayshow in Milan (following shows in on from Paris, Lausanne and Berlin) that were, chosen from the photographer’s archive with great care and patience by Hans-Michael Koetzle, Burri tells his story.
And if a passion for travel, a flair for news and the eye of an acute observer of reality have allowed him to create some of the greatest reportage of our times, it is in the end the more minor fixations that reveal to the public his more human side,. sSuch as a passion for collecting that is, well documented by bulletin noticeboards full of letters, press reviews, press passes and tickets fromor the most improbable airlines. A passion that he assures was born in far off times when it was commonplaceusual to collect, label and store in small glass bottles water from various rivers and lakes in small glass bottles, labelled and kept in order. E.S.
Until 3.4.2005
René Burri. Fotografie 1950-2000
Palazzo dell’Arengario
piazza Duomo 12, Milano
T +39-0254913
http://www.contrasto.it
