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Germano
Facetti Archive
A
history of the Twentieth Century in 22,000 pictures:
The
Facetti Archive
The Archive of Germano Facetti has been mentioned in several
articles dedicated to his brilliant career as a graphic artist,
appearing on journals and magazines since the 1990s. An excellent
documentary film, The Yellow Box, by Tony West (1998) was
largely based on the Archive material.
That film also provides a sharp description of its origin:
In the spring of 1945, at age 19, Facetti was liberated after
two years in the concentration camp of Mauthausen. His first
act as a free man was to collect pictures and documents abandoned
by his fleeing tormentors. That act, born out of the impossibility
to forget atrocities and their perpetrators, has marked the
life of Facetti. His Archive stems from recognizing that
emotion, and choosing to expand it, to include all Twentieth
Century Europeans.
The direct experience of hate provided Facetti with a personal
justification for his intolerance of oppression, and was
the deep motive behind his Archive. The Archive however has
multiple functions and meanings. On the one hand, it is a
professional tool, comprising the visual and a biographic
material used by Facetti throughout his fertile career as
a graphic artist. On the other hand it is an act of social
responsibility, aimed at the education of future generations.
In fact, Facetti was particularly fond of his teaching assignments
at Yale and other colleges. And, finally, the Archive is
a work of art. The images and their comments possess a unique
consistency, because Facetti was aware of the powerful influence
visual messages play in a media driven society, and because
he acknowledged the importance of aesthetics, particularly
when the message is hard to bear.
The
professional career of Facetti is well known. He started
after the War as a graphic designer with the BBPR architectural
firm in Milano, mentored by his deportation older mate, Lodovico
di Belgiojoso. In 1950 he moved to England, where he was
Art Director at Penguin Books between 1960 and 1972. He later
moved back to Italy, where he edited the Storia del Parlamento
Italiano and several book collections.
The Archive was continuously expanded by Facetti, and remained
his most important professional tool throughout his career.
Wherever in the World he was, Facetti used to collect
images and visual documentation on violence, harassment
and injustice:
with the interest and eye of a graphic artist, and yet
well beyond the scope of his profession. The archive
now comprises 22,000 pictures, almost all with original
comments
by Facetti and indication of the source. The Archive
is organized by country; Italy, Germany, France, The United
Kingdom and Russia are among the most represented.
Thanks to the joint action of a group of friends, a few
days before dying (Sarzana, April 14, 2006) Facetti choose
to donate the Archive to Istituto Piemontese per la Storia
della Resitenza .
On
September 27 2006
the Istituto will organize a day in honor of Germano Facetti,
open to the public. Among the
materials and initiatives to be presented on that day are:
a) The
exhibition “Non mi avrete. Belgiojoso e Facetti:
la felicita’ di un disperato incontro. Disegni da Mauthausen” organized
by Marzia Ratti. The exhibition will open to the public in
La Spezia on September 29 (Palazzina delle Arti)
b) The Italian version of “The Yellow Box, a short
history of hate”, by Tony West, featuring Germano Facetti
c) The English version of Victoria etc. a film by Germano
Facetti on London architecture in the age of the Empire.
d) Samples from the Germano Facetti Archive, Library, and
bibliography
e) A ½ day conference on the subject, hosting among
others: .......
f) A presentation of the project to transfer the Facetti
Archive on digital suport
For
further information please contact : Ersilia Alessandrone
Perona at +39-011-4380090 or www.istoreto.it
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