The Malba has just inaugurated an unusual exhibition dedicated to the great Hungarian photographer, who lived in our country before the Second War, with some of his works for the magazine “Idilio”
Malba has just inaugurated the exhibition “Photonovel. George Friedman in Idilio magazinecurated by Facundo de Zuviría and the Brazilian Samuel Titan. Some walls papered with large fragments of the fotonovelas, their partitioned scenes and their texts, give the exhibition a special appeal.
The exhibitions of photographs by artists who arrived from Europe during the years prior to the Second World War arouse the greatest interest in lovers of this discipline. Argentina hosted truly brilliant figures in photography. In 2019, also at Malba and in the extensive exhibition “My own world. Modern Argentine photography 1927-1962”, De Zuviría explored the transition from documentary to artistic photography and, among almost unknown authors, presented George Friedman (Hungary, 1910 – Argentina, 2002).
The fotonovela, a mixed product that emerged in the middle of the 20th century, brings together characteristics similar to the romance novel and cinema. This genre consists of the expression of a story through images where unfound loves invariably intersect and culminate in a happy ending. With the creativity of the magazine “Idyll” and the obvious talent of FriedmanArgentina gave impetus to this discipline. Created in Italy in 1947, the fotonovela emerged here just a year later. Friedman created scenes with an eminently cinematic atmosphere; he was able to show the most dynamic aspects of the modern world, such as the speed of cars.
There are notable images, and one of them brings back memories of the movie “Casablanca”. In the center of the photo you can see a couple who seem to say goodbye. There they are, between two propeller planes. He wears a uniform and the black silhouettes are silhouetted against a haze that paints the scene with sadness. Facundo de Zuviría clarifies that, in his “Autobiography”, Friedman He mentions several film directors as references and, on the contrary, does not talk about any photographer.
The ability to create “visual constructions of great narrative and symbolic power”. And in this way, with the strategy of cinema, the fotonovela of Friedman. A very young Graciela Borges in 1958 he played “The Girl from New York”. In another fotonovela he appears, also young, Leonardo Favioin addition to Tita Merello and Susana Campos. Yes ok Friedman He had worked in Europe as a photojournalist, his training took place in Hollywood, as a film photographer. And the weekly publications of his fotonovelas were enormously successful.
“Idyll”a gossip magazine published by the Abril publishing house, surprised scholars when they discovered the series dedicated to the dreams of the brilliant photographer Grete Stern. Quite a rarity. in the column “Psychoanalysis will help her”the Dada-surrealist aesthetic photomontages of Stern accompanied the writings of the Italian sociologist Gino Germani, that invited us to explore the universe of the female unconscious. The images have a disturbing symbolic charge, while the texts – no less disturbing – interpret the enigmatic meaning of dreams. Images and words entered a territory loaded with desires, fears and repressions.
Germanifounder and professor of the Department of Sociology at the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters, corresponded with the readers of “Idyll”revealed to them the hidden meaning of their dreams and enlightened them about the principles of psychoanalysis. Of course, he used a pseudonym. When Germani knew the images of Friedmanoffered him to bring cinema to paper and work with good actors, set designers and costume designers. In short, an excellent level of quality accompanied the photographer who, in addition, had absolute freedom to experiment. The curator enjoys telling the episode of the colorful, painted photographs. “The result was not what was expected, it was very bizarre. And soon, without explaining anything, they returned to the infallible black and white.he concludes.
The exhibition displays 63 vintage copies made by Friedman himselfin addition to 30 contacts and wall-format posters. The production of Friedman was gigantic: 14,000 photographs taken during the 15 years he worked to publish 700 copies of “Idyll”. However, the original copies of this true treasure sought after by collectors have been lost.
Source: Ambito
