Exhibition

The appeal of clouds

Artphilein Library

Jun. 10th – Sep. 30th 2021

In conjunction with the exhibition Let’s meet on a Cloud of Freedom in the FOCUS space of the De Pietri Artphilein Foundation, the Artphilein Photobook Library presents a selection of photography books on the theme of clouds.

Clouds and related atmospheric phenomena are the subject here of study, documentation and classification, as in the books by Ralph Steiner (In Pursuit of Clouds), Helmut Völter (Wolkenstudien/Cloud Studies/Etudes de nuages and The Movement of Clouds around Mount Fuji) and Paul B. Moore (Imagination of Clouds – a Photographic Study).
Clouds are pictorial and sculptural devices used in photographic shots, as in the books by Mitch Epstein (Rocks and Clouds), Paul Graham (A Shimmer of Possibility) and William Egglestone (At Zenith).
Clouds are narratives of feelings and philosophical introspection, as in the books by Luigi Ghirri (Il profilo delle nuvole), Boomoon Kwon (Bpp Moon), Michael Lange (Cold Mountain), Amandine Nabarra-Piomelli (Tempus Fugit), Nicholas Hughes (Nowhere Far), Luca Scarabelli (Gli ultimi viandanti si ritirarono nelle catacombe) and Peter Schlör (Black & Wide).
Clouds are the starting point for environmental denouncements, as in the books by Marina Caneve (Are They Rocks or Clouds?), Nanna Debois Buhl (Cloud Behavior) and Trent Parke (Crimson Line).
Clouds are an alphabet to be rewritten, as in the books by Batia Suter (Cloud Service), Daisuke Yokota (Site/Cloud) and Susanne Bürner (Fog Book).
Clouds are also ‘other things’, not just those merely made of water vapour, but those of dust from toppled monuments or atomic radiation as well, as portrayed in the books by Juan Hein (Clouds and Bombs) and Massimiliano Gatti (Le Nuvole).
And finally, clouds are the aggregations of millions of migratory birds in a moving body, a pattern in the sky, as shown in Søren Solkær’s book (Black Sun).
Clouds – in all their forms – remain a photographic subject of strong and never-ending appeal.