As the ‘60s faded into the ‘70s, women’s portrayal in fashion remained narrowly defined, stringently reduced to static and uninspired roles within the parameters of conventional, conformist femininity. Though prim and proper modelling was sluggishly on the decline, its stilted and unnatural poses continued to cast a long shadow, the ghost of housewife inertia refusing to be fully exorcised. While most photographers clung to these tired tropes, their models stuck in poses as enthusiastic as a soggy sandwich, others, foremost Gian Paolo Barbieri, did anything but, his insights coming to light in our conversation.
His name is one you’d be hard pressed not to know; he introduced an entirely new and novel perspective to Italian fashion that no one had yet imagined, with images that to this day make us feel confused and dumb in the face of their very goodness. A camel suspended by a crane, a bikini-clad Veruschka wrapped around a gorilla, a man dragging a clear-bagged corpse—all refreshing deviations from the banal sameness of that era. His lens elevated greats such as Audrey Hepburn, Monica Bellucci, Naomi Campbell, Marpessa, Mina Mazzini, Veruschka, Isabella Rossellini, and Eva Herzigova, among many others.
Milan based gallerists 29 Arts In Progress in collaboration with the Fondazione Gian Paolo Barbieri and The Lucie Awards per present Gian Paolo Barbieri: Beyond Fashion, a retrospective exhibition celebrating the Italian Photographer’s work running until the 31 August 2024 at the House of Lucie Ostuni, Corso Garibaldi 164. Ostuni, Puglia, Italy. For now, savour our conversation.
As you view your body of work in one space, do you find there is a common thread that runs through your photographs and ties them together?
I identify with the selection made by the foundation and gallery 29 Arts in Progress, who curated the exhibition. Transversely, they managed to represent the decades of my career through a selection of vintage black and white, silver salt prints, and digital black and white and colour photos of various formats. Despite the limited number of works, the common thread on fashion, my perspective on fashion, is extremely clear.
The relationship with fashion designers, those with whom Italian prêt-à-porter was born and with whom made in Italy was established, emerges. The relationship with the models, muses and who then became friends with whom I collaborated and who are still part of my life, emerges. All linked by the extravagances of my experiments, the inspirations brought back from cinema, theatre, and art in my photography, readable in many shots recently discovered in the archive.
I cannot fail to mention how the strength of the women I have been fortunate enough to photograph emerges; I have always tried to let the energy each of them contained shine through, and letting it explode through the lens of my camera has always been a prerogative.
The relationship with fashion designers, those with whom Italian prêt-à-porter was born and with whom made in Italy was established, emerges. The relationship with the models, muses and who then became friends with whom I collaborated and who are still part of my life, emerges. All linked by the extravagances of my experiments, the inspirations brought back from cinema, theatre, and art in my photography, readable in many shots recently discovered in the archive.
I cannot fail to mention how the strength of the women I have been fortunate enough to photograph emerges; I have always tried to let the energy each of them contained shine through, and letting it explode through the lens of my camera has always been a prerogative.
Your images reflect a deep affinity for cinema and theatre, enriched further by eclectic set designs and makeup. How did you approach imbuing a heightened sense of movement and emotion in your stills?
Cinema and theatre were the elements that mainly guided my motion photography. Attention to the choice of light, to the composition of the set, both indoors and outdoors, to the makeup, to the action performed… I always tried to make my models actresses, I tried each time to make them immerse themselves in the character they would have to play while also giving space for their free immersion, because what interested me was to create a dialogue that was always able to generate something new. Panta Rei has always conditioned my view of the world and it was important for me to be able to project it in photography.
Within the gallery of images on display, is there one that carries a special significance you would like to share?
I must say that I am attached to most of the photos, there is always an element that keeps me together with them. I would like to share with you the story that characterises the self-portrait (Milano 1978, Gian Paolo Barbieri), as I took it together with the support of two great friends, Maurizio Rebuzzini and Eros Candusso.
The photo was taken during Photokina in 1978 when the Polaroid Collection monograph of self-portraits was published for an edition of the Swiss periodical Camera, accompanied by stories and considerations about Polaroid photography and its history. I participated in this project and my self-portrait was also published in 2017 in the most recent edition of Taschen: The Polaroid Book. The shot was taken inside a bathtub, where I immersed myself upside down. When developing the polaroid, I intervened directly on the film with coloured ecoline, creating this unique and non-reproducible effect.
The photo was taken during Photokina in 1978 when the Polaroid Collection monograph of self-portraits was published for an edition of the Swiss periodical Camera, accompanied by stories and considerations about Polaroid photography and its history. I participated in this project and my self-portrait was also published in 2017 in the most recent edition of Taschen: The Polaroid Book. The shot was taken inside a bathtub, where I immersed myself upside down. When developing the polaroid, I intervened directly on the film with coloured ecoline, creating this unique and non-reproducible effect.
What advice or wisdom would you impart to young photographers aspiring to make their mark in the field?
Never stop believing in what you love or what you discover you love. Discovery is the main engine that moves knowledge, which is necessary for change and evolution. Never stop being curious, always take care to what is happening around us, is what has always moved my creativity. History, literature, art, cinema, and theatre have always been the companions of my journeys, essential elements to continue growing until the end.
