© YANIKA ANUKULPUN — © **YANIKA ANUKULPUN**

By Darcey Pittman

New York University’s latest photography exhibit showcased at Grey Art Gallery, titled NeoRealismo: The New Image in Italy, 1932-1960, features a collection of 174 images from over 60 Italian photographers. As the title references, the photographs are from Italy before, during, and after World War II. The concept of neorealism was a cinematic and literary movement that showed the disastrous postwar conditions, helping inspire this collection.

The gallery itself is simple but eye-catching with its mix of mint green and white walls in an open space with a diagonal wall through the middle. The photographs are displayed semi-chronologically around the gallery to showcase the progress from pre to post WWII.

The execution of combining many photographers into one collection is superb, as the photos come together brilliantly. The traditional black and white as well as pristine use of shadow, light, and portrait unites the photos across artists. Each individual photo is interesting, but they create a more compelling story as a collection.

The photos depict how people lived in Italy under a fascist dictator and WWII, then documenting how life existed after this turbulence. Some photos show destruction caused by the war or having to obey Mussolini, but most of the photos document people in their daily lives. While some of the images show desolate times, there are many of happy moments including a wedding, dancing, and kissing.

These images certainly show how the Italian people lived during this epoch, but it was hard to understand the context of the images presented. Many of the photos were only accompanied by the title and photographer’s name without an explanation of what was occurring in the photo and what was transpiring historically at each point in time. More context information could have enhanced the average person’s understanding of how Italy transitioned over the course of the period documented.

There is a surprising lack of images from WWII itself, which in many ways could have been the most powerful of all in this exhibit. Most of the photos were of life in the 1950s, but the most intense events came in the early 1940s with WWII and the fall of Mussolini. Having more images showing the destruction and displacement caused by the war would have made the exhibit more compelling to contrast the more stable life later on in the exhibit.

Additionally, the films and many parts of photos were left in Italian, an untranslated shame because the lay viewer misses out on the full meaning of this work. Again, this context would have helped the reader thoroughly comprehend what was transpiring over the course of these years.

While there was a lack of context throughout the exhibit that limited one’s understanding of how powerful this historical era was, the collection still has beautiful photos that were curated well in combining many photographers into one cohesive collection. It is a compelling display that shows how photojournalism and art can intersect to create a powerful story.