Exhibition of Contemporary Italian Photos by Paolo Simonazzi January 16, 2009

Half a century of Italian and American pop cultural cross-pollination is distilled into photographic essence by contemporary Italian artist Paolo Simonazzi (http://www.paolosimonazzi.com/index2en.html) in Tra La Via Emilia e il West (Between the Via Emilia and The West, an exhibition presented by the Italian Cultural Institute of San Francisco. An opening reception with the artist will be given Thursday, January 15, at 6:30 p.m. and is open to the public free of charge. Concurrent with the exhibition at the Italian Cultural Institute, more of Paolo Simonazzi's photographs will be on view at MaxMara, 175 Post Street, San Francisco.

The exhibition is generously sponsored by MaxMara, Landi Renzo and United Genetics.

In Emilia-Romagna in Northeastern Italy, tradition and modern American pop culture, agriculture and industry, rock and roll and Roman history collide in a landscape, people, lifestyles and arts that are as vibrant and innovative as they are steeped in history and legacy. This is the region that brought the world Ferrari sports cars, distinctive regional cuisine and some of Italy's most revered rock, pop and jazz legends.

Paolo Simonazzi's subtle yet high-impact work documents the quiet penetration of American iconography onto the cultural and architectural landscape of Emilia, the sprawling region of Italy that spans from Piacenza to the Adriatic Riviera. From the exhibition catalogue: "Through a series of photographs, taken over the course of a decade, Simonazzi investigates a socio-political oddity: the absorption, by a traditionally communist region, of the mythology of the American West. Many of the photographs on display communicate a rugged and worn atmosphere, one not altogether dissimilar, in appearance and spirit, to Route 66's. Gas stations, roadside diners, motorcycles and country fairs figure prominently in the language of the exhibit.

Free.

Official Website: http://www.iicbelgrado.esteri.it/IIC_Sanfrancisco