Fifth issue
Universe & Notes Comment
The Universe, in its complexity and nature, has always had a metaphoric value, used to indicate the intangible part of the human mind. Its “Universe”, so to speak. Humans have always been the most portrayed, studied and explored subjects in the history of art. The Universe is part of our lives. The phenomena for which, since ancient times, had made us use this vast unknown place as our main benchmark, container in which we are positioned, which influences our lives, challenging us with questions, to finally understand what our role in it is. And in most
cases the big container becomes a much smaller one, our own personal one. In Home, Stefano Parrini presents an intimate part of his daily life, his Universe. This time we witness the transition from common space into something mysterious and fascinating. Made of dots, stars and constellations sketched on a map. Parrini uses old, dusty negatives, pieces from a roll of film which he places on the maps creating layers of dust which become stars, points of highlight, signs. By connecting the dots he creates
“A CONCENTRATED COSMOS, A MICROCOSM REFLECTED IN THE MACRO IN WHICH WE STAND, HOME TO EVERYONE.” (Stefano Parrini, Home, 2013).
Undeniably, since 1609, when Galileo Galilei positioned himself behind a lens to get a closer look at what is around our planet, the hunger for knowledge, discovery and research has fascinated our race, not only scientists, but also artists who can find answers to questions in a unique way. In this article I have tried to showcase several approaches on how the Universe has been interpreted by selected contemporary photographers. This is to prove that photography has been the key to many discoveries. I therefore ask you to take it from here, and try to disclose the Universe through photography, a concept which is a constantly expanding, inevitably faster than our awareness of it. 149