La Fotografia

At the same time, this period is characterized by the enthronement of photography as one of the most successful media in the world of contemporary art, as demonstrated also by the staggering prices fetched by some of the works reproduced here. Technology, information, communication, economics and art: once again photography is in the thick of great social changes and itself undergoing constant evolution. Francesco Zanot’s monographs shed light on now historical figures like Robert Mapplethorpe, Luigi Ghirri, Martin Parr, Boris Mikhailov, Nan Goldin, Jeff Wall and Cindy Sherman as well as their younger heirs. The opening essay by Thomas Weski illustrates the genre of documentary photography from the members of the Düsseldorf School up to most recent developments of today, while Okwui Enwezor examines the reactions of a series of artists to the questions raised by this “archival era” of ours. Charlotte Cotton offers an exemplary overview of the state of art photography in the first decade of 2000 and takes a look at the future prospects of a discipline for which the young are displaying ever-greater passion. Finally, Walter Guadagnini ends the volume and the series with reflections on the role of photography in the era of globalization and digitization.