The exhibition
Promoted by the Municipality of Riccione and organised by Civita Mostre e Musei and Maggioli Cultura in collaboration with SudEst57, the Steve McCurry Icons exhibition, curated by Biba Giacchetti, brings together some of the best-loved photographs by this internationally famous photographer: true ‘Icons’, as suggested by the title.
The exhibition begins with the only black and white photos taken between 1979 and 1980 in his first reportage on Afghanistan. McCurry had entered into the country together with the mujaheddins who were fighting against the Soviet invasion. Sharbat Gula, the girl McCurry photographed in the Peshawar refugee camp in Pakistan in 1984, also came from Afghanistan. Sharbat – who is now in Italy on the initiative of the Italian government following the latest events in Afghanistan – has become an absolute icon of world photography.
The exhibition opens with an awesome series of portraits and then develops through images of war and poetry, pain and joy, astonishment and irony.
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An exciting and metaphorical journey across borders to get a close-up view of a world bound to change significantly.
From India to Burma, from Japan to Africa and Brazil, Steve McCurry’s photographs bring us into contact with the most remote ethnic groups and the most diverse social milieus, highlighting our human condition of universal feelings and glances proudly affirming the same dignity.
A free audioguide is provided to all visitors, where Steve McCurry talks in first person about many of the photos on display. In addition, in a 12-minute video, he tells us about his long career and, above all, what photography means to him. Further, Steve McCurry / Icons is the title of a book edited by Biba Giacchetti, which is also the exhibition catalogue.
Biography of the Artist
Steve McCurry has been one of the most iconic voices in contemporary photography for more than 30 years, with scores of magazine and book covers, over a dozen books, and countless exhibitions around the world to his name.
Born in a suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; McCurry studied film at Pennsylvania State University, before going on to work for a local newspaper. After several years of freelance work, McCurry made his first of what would become many trips to India.
Traveling with little more than a bag of clothes and another of film, he made his way across the subcontinent, exploring the country with his camera.
It was after several months of travel that he found himself crossing the border into Pakistan. There, he met a group of refugees from Afghanistan, who smuggled him across the border into their country, just as the Russian Invasion was closing the country to all western journalists. Emerging in traditional dress, with full beard and weather-worn features after weeks embedded with the Mujahideen, McCurry brought the world the first images of the conflict in Afghanistan, putting a human face to the issue on every masthead.
Since then, McCurry has gone on to create stunning images on all seven continents and countless countries. His work spans conflicts, vanishing cultures, ancient traditions and contemporary culture alike – yet always retains the human element that made his celebrated image of the Afghan Girl such a powerful image..
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McCurry has been recognized with some of the most prestigious awards in the industry, including the Robert Capa Gold Medal, National Press Photographers Award, and an unprecedented four first prize awards from the World Press Photo contest. The Minister of French Culture has also appointed McCurry a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters and most recently, the Royal Photographic Society in London awarded McCurry the Centenary Medal for Lifetime Achievement. McCurry has published books including The Imperial Way (1985), Monsoon (1988),Portraits (1999), South Southeast (2000), Sanctuary (2002), The Path to Buddha: A Tibetan Pilgrimage (2003), Steve McCurry (2005), Looking East (2006), In the Shadow of Mountains (2007), The Unguarded Moment, (2009), The Iconic Photographs (2011), Steve McCurry Icons – Conversations with Biba Giacchetti (2012), Untold: The Stories Behind the Photographs (2013), From These Hands: A Journey Along the Coffee Trail (2015), India (2015), and On Reading (2016), Afghanistan (2017), A Life in Pictures (2018), Animals (2019), In Search of Elsewhere (2020), Stories and Dreams-Portraits of Childhood (2021).
