<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"Grazia Neri is the Lady of Italian photography, an art to which she has devoted her life showing always professionalism and passion. ??Her name is permanently associated with the first and most significant Italian photo agency working on an international level which succeeded in representing, on an exclusive basis, 70% of international photojournalism. In some way, Grazia Neri acted as the arbiter of Italian photojournalism for over half a century; she fought for the establishment of a visual culture, for the respect owed to photographers and photography and upheld the right to authorship. Through an act of generosity toward photography lovers and not only, Grazia Neri has decided to share her experience and write a biography which is titled \u201CGrazia Neri: La Mia Fotografia\u201D published by Feltrinelli.??When Aldo Mendichi and Alberto Prina, the creators of the great Festival of Ethical Photography in Lodi, offered me to publicly interview Grazia Neri during the event, I was thrilled: there is no other woman, from Italy and who can boast such deep knowledge of photography, whom I would have been keener to meet. To prepare for the meeting, I read Grazia\u2019s book, 450 pages brimming with life, thoughts, confessions, history; it is a book I truly recommend, an intelligent and authentic work in which, by talking about herself and her work, the author traces the evolution of art and culture, and not only on an Italian level. Grazia Neri was born in Milan in 1935 from a family of Milanese origin; she lost her father at the age of nine, a tragic event that scarred her life, \u201Cif felt like a stone that crushed my heart and made me feel different\u201D: no more playing games for Grazie who immersed herself in books and solitude and took upon herself the responsibility of ensuring her mother\u2019s peace of mind, as if she had been thrust out into adult life but feeling inadequate for the role she had to fit in. A sense of inadequacy that, as she pointed out in her biography, would accompany her throughout her life and even caused her to turned down amazing offers, including representing Magnum in Italy. And yet, this self-confessed shortcoming is very much at odds with the courageous life at the forefront in her battle to defend creativity, good photography and photographers\u2019 professionalism. ??Grazia Neri was not born wealthy and what she achieved is the result of her hard work, intelligence and bravery in accepting to take risks right from the start of her career by turning down a permanent position as journalist for Mondadori in 1965 having already sensed the need for an agency that functioned as a bridge between professional photographers and newspapers. In 1966 the Grazia Neri agency was born and was set to become a reference point in Italy and not only. ??Among the qualities I recognize and truly appreciate in Grazia Neri is that she holds opinions and perspectives informed by experience, study and pondering and she is not afraid to distance herself from a certain intellectual conformism that entails taking side with the thought upheld by the majority. ??As is the case with the chapter she dedicated to James Nachtwey \u201CIt is true that, so perfectly composed, the photographs of the pain can give aesthetic thrills just like some artworks. I can understand the criticism expressed over \u201CBeautiful Suffering\u201D and the exploitation of misfortunes. But my mind goes also to Picasso\u2019s Guernica. Isn\u2019t it the same? Aesthetic emotions are not the results only of the composition and of the photographer\u2019s skills but also of the photograph content\u201D. ????Speaking about the polemics surrounding the profession of war photographer, I sincerely appreciate Grazia Neri\u2019s position that defends them eagerly: \u201CWar images are about death, fear, pain and blood. And I find it odd that the photographers who capture such moments are often criticized because they portray the reality and the truth of the horrors (...)\u201D. I too am always disconcerted by the often unaware hypocrisy of those who tend to shift the responsibility of the atrocities from those who perpetrated them onto those who are simply showing them to us. ??About war journalists, Grazia Neri continues by stating that \u201Cthrough the image, the photographer often expresses his/her point of view over the event. But it is important for the newspaper, be it printed or digital, to publish those images in the right context and include the right captions. And, unfortunately, this is often not the case\u201D. ??\u201CRather than attacking photojournalists, it would be useful to teach how to look at a photograph, narrate the story of a photographer\u2019s career, the doubts, the courage, the anguish. Deceitful photographers and deception should be reported, and so should the misleading and propagandistic articles penned by some journalists\u201D. In her book, Grazia Neri often goes back to discussing the double standards that are used with regard to written journalism and photojournalism which entail that journalists belonging to the first category can sign their works and afford to have a point of view without causing controversy of any sort. With regard to Don McCullin\u2019s renowned image of a marine in 1968 \u00A0Vietnam, she said \u201CI don\u2019t care about the fact that an aesthetically good photograph has resulted from Don\u2019s perfect composition and perfect shot. So what? Should we, then, criticize a journalist because rather than simply reporting the news, wrote an accomplished and erudite piece about a certain incident or affair or outlined a crime scene or a victim choosing an aesthetically pleasing writing style?\u201D.??Among the battles pursued by Grazia Neri \u201Cher work and commitment to help photojournalism exit the outrageous anonymity\u201D ranks undoubtedly very high although, unfortunately, Italian newspapers continue, most of the time and inexplicably persevering with an attitude which I find offensive and ignorant, to omit the photographers\u2019 name.??Grazia Neri is also at the forefront of the battle for the introduction and respect of copyright in Italy and has steered and supported the career of many young photographers such as Paolo Pellegrin and Alex Majoli, two among the most highly acclaimed Italian photo journalists who are currently both members of the Magnum Agency. Grazia Neri has significantly contributed to the advancement of a photography culture in our country; she worked hard, professionally and competently, has shown a curious mind, travelled far to meet photographers, participated in Festivals and is known, respected and admired internationally (she was invited three times to be part of the World Press Photo jury panel). ??It must surely not have been an easy decision for Grazia to close the agency in 2009. Unfortunately market conditions had changed in a such a way to leave her with no other choice: on the one hand, the crisis-stricken publishing sector has shifted its more and more limited resources on gossip news at the expense of reportage while, on the other, the arrival of agencies like Corbis and Getty with their enormous financial capital and potential to sell cheap have cut off medium-sized agencies which have to bear the cost of a structure which deals with the selection, checking, preparation, editing as well as submitting of their stories to the newspapers.Grazia Neri\u2019s sharp mind and intellectual liveliness are surprising: I have rarely encountered people approaching the age of 80 who are so open to the future and to new technologies. Neri has embraced the internet and its potential \u201Cbecause I\u2019m still optimistic [about the future of photography]? Because we all need images. [\u2026] Physically, photography is only a piece of paper, but it is also representation, a point of view, a metaphor for life, a concept of our existence expressed visually, a piece of news and much more. [\u2026] At the VII Photo Agency\u2019s 2007 seminar in London, several war photographers including Nachtwey and Chris Morris shared their experiences by showing their works. The audience was in awe. To me they were conveying History. And without History, there is neither Society nor Democracy\u201D. ?\u00A0In an era in which being young is a virtue in itself and there is much talk about \u201Cdismantling\u201D and \u201Cgenerational turnover\u201D, Grazia Neri is an example of the precious role the wisemen and women can play: they are the people we should look up to and consult because a person\u2019s competence, experience and qualities have nothing to do with their date of birth."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.vogue.it/en/photography/interviews/2014/02/07/grazia-neri/>