UNAgaleria

PASSATO PROSSIMO

photographs by Michele Bressan and Bogdan Girbovan

21 – 31/01/2008

Opening: Monday 21/01/08 19h00

UNAgaleria

Str. G-ral Budisteanu 10, sector 1, Bucuresti

In my attempt to write a text for the exhibition Passato Prossimo, I cannot escape a definition of photographers that I recently heard, a definition that for me is equal in profoundness to a saying of Hagi, the football player: „Football is football and the ball is round”. It is said that there are two kinds of photographers: the hunter and the farmer... Fortunately, Michele Bressan and Bogdan Girbovan do not fit into any of these categories...

At the time when Michele has started taking photographs, quite recently, Tom Waits launched three albums at once: Brawlers, Bawlers and Bastards... and, similarly, one could define his style of photography: a mixture of rush with sentimentalism and possession, a combo of hunter and farmer and something more. Something tender which cannot be explained but pleases the eye.

At the time when Bogdan began photographing, nothing important was going on. Hence, his images „have a voice of their own” ... quite literally! As in: the farmer meets the hunter and tells him something. Something brief that cannot be put into words yet it is pleasurable...

The exhibition in UNAgaleria is also a demonstration of craftsmanship in developing gelatin silver prints. Ten photographs of 100x150 cm., fiber based matte paper mounted on aluminium, limited edition of five plus a few small pictures perfect for framing, unlimited edition. On one hand leica format photographs taken with about 15 different cameras (indeed, Bressan carries a small camera in every pocket for fear of missing out on something) with grainy negatives and on the other hand medium format images, pure 6x7, taken with a heavy camera that releases the shutter in a loud yet firm manner. (no connection to Bresson)

These two students are worth looking after in their future artistic activity and, moreover, together with their peers, they shape a generation of students from the photography and video department that shows a lot of promise for the future.

Nicu Ilfoveanu, curator