A workshop for teens using photography to observe the areas where the city borders on the countryside.
What is that makes a photograph a landscape rather than just a travel snapshot? Landscape photography needs to be thought through, not just taken on the spur of the moment. The reason you choose to photograph one thing rather an another speaks volumes about your outlook on the world; making conscious choices and interacting with what’s in front of you reveals a lot about your personality. Focusing on the numerous opportunities available for creating images, including those of a technical nature, you’ll be able in the course of this workshop to experience the world of landscape photography at different levels of complexity.
Students attending the workshop will investigate the practice of “slow photography” and be guided in the development of a critical outlook on the countryside around them. In the company of Simone Donati they will explore the border between city and country in the area of Pontassieve and Le Sieci, being allotted specific tasks to help them work on their observation skills and their ability to create images. At the end of the activity, a series of postcards will be produced along with short texts on the areas explored. The results of the collective tasking will be presented at the Eco-existences: forms of the natural and the artificial exhibition (in conjunction with IED Firenze’s Master’s in Curatorial Practice).
Biography
Simone Donati (1977) was born in Florence where he still lives and works today. He is one of the founder members of the TerraProject collective that has been concerning itself with social, political and environmental issues in Italy and abroad since 2006. His photography mainly illustrates Italian territory with long-term projects of which slowness and depth are crucial aspects along with a documentary approach. His research is characterised by a study of the countryside and its relationship with the people who live in it. His images have been presented at numerous exhibitions in Italy and abroad, and have been published in leading Italian and international magazines and periodicals.
Cover illustration: Simone Donati, Varco Appennino, Basilicata (particolare) 2016. Courtesy l’artista
