07.03.2012 / Arts & Culture
The eyes of the world
The portrait of the pretty green-eyed Afghan girl by Steve Mc Curry is one of the most iconic and significant images of the Eighties.
If you wish to see more pictures by this amazing American photojournalist, head to Rome, where an exhibition of his works is being held at super-modern Macro Testaccio museum.
All of McCurry’s most famous photographs, taken during his trips to Afghanistan, Thailand and Burma, are displayed in the exhibition, curated by a major exponent of the visual arts in Italy, Fabio Novembre. The collection also includes a couple of less known but very interesting series – one devoted to Buddhism and the other one to McCurrys trips in Italy – the latter being a sort of tribute to Italy’s 150th anniversary.
What traspires most from these images is the nomadic and yet sentimental character of Steve McCurry‘s pictures, that inevitably arise emotions in the observer. His preference for film photography, and particularly for Kodak films, helps making his portraits even more intense – to the point that Kodak granted him the privilege to use the very last Kodachrome roll ever produced.A special mention goes out to McCurry’s most famous work, the portrait of the Afghan girl. After shooting that picture in a refugee camp in 1984, the photograher slipped across the border from Pakistan with rolls of film sewn into hidden pockets in his clothes.
The picture soon became National Geographic’s most famous cover, and it was widely used on Amnesty International brochures, posters, and calendars.
The identity of the girl remained unknown until McCurry finally located her in 2002 with the help of National Geographic.
In spite of the years gone by (almost 20) and the wrinkles, she was as striking as she was back in 1984 – you can judge it by yourself from the two pictures displayed side by side at Rome’s exhibition.
Rome, Macro Testaccio, until April 29
[Gloria Lucchese]
Links
http://stevemccurry.wordpress.com/2010/12/30/the-end-of-an-era-1935-to-2010/
