Attilio Gigli: Passersby

by Roberta Valtorta

In the tradition of documentary photography, that form of the medium that depends so heavily on its direct relationship with reality, Attilio Gigli has photographed a series of figures of passers-by in different urban or suburban settings. They are female figures captured in everyday moments, frozen in ordinary attitudes and gestures. Gigli does not emphasize any particular situation nor does he intend to make these figures the protagonists of some event. And herein lies the particularly contemporary slant of Gigli's oeuvre, which highlights the difficulty, if not the impossibility, for people to be protagonists in the times and places we inhabit today. Here and there Gigli captures a subtle irony or the twinge of a smile, and thus is he led to reflect on life, the anonymity of our existence, and the passing of time.

Paperback

First published February 2, 2003