Gabriele Basilico 1978,
published by Phaidon, 2005,
www.phaidon.com
Italy, home of futurism, that photography of machinery, motion and the dynamic world of the future, has also produced Gabriele Basilico. I suppose this is only fitting as he uses the same subject matter to produce just the opposite effect. In fact, Basilico takes Milan, that industrial powerhouse and fashion capital of Italy and turns it into the sort of provincial town that rolls up its sidewalks at night.
My habit, on picking up a book of photography is to flip through it quite quickly, and I began doing just that but soon found myself slowing down as I got deeper into the pages. This was a process of a few moments which I suspect also happened over 20 years to Basilico himself. From a superficial glance I became more and more involved in the details of the images and in wondering about their meaning.
The photographer is now known for his urban landscapes that are devoid of humanity and this is an excellent collection of those images, from several European cities and Beirut. The images of Paris taken by Eugene Atget come immediately to mind while looking at this work, but Basilico's city is in no danger of being torn down and rebuilt. His city has the feel of an archealogical ruin, something old, moody and somewhat sad.