Edited by Walter Guadagnini and with texts by Raffaella Perna and Monica Poggi, this volume emphasizes the specificity of the female presence in the development of photography worldwide starting in the 1930s, a decade in which, thanks to the rise of illustrated magazines, photographic practice enjoyed unprecedented popularity and impact on knowledge of the world.
In particular, the volume highlights the figures who have told and continue to tell the world’s stories, whether through classical reportage, major documentary projects or artistic reinterpretation of the many open questions challenging society today.
More than 150 images, divided into three chronological sections, have been selected to present legendary figures in world photography, women photographers who took on the big themes of the economic crisis, the tragedy of war and the period of reconstruction or turned their lens on the social upheaval and major changes in customs of their time, from the rise of consumer society and the fight against discrimination to the awakening of female consciousness and new awareness of gender issues.
Finally, women photographers of the twenty-first century, representing every corner of the globalised world, to underline the peculiarity of this historical moment and how it is reflected in contemporary photography.

Forlì, Musei San Domenico, September 2021 - January 2022

Contents

Being wo[hu]man
Walter Guadagnini

Helen Gee: A tale of photographs and coffee beans
Monica Poggi

Photography and feminism: Some reflections stemming from Paola Mattioli’s contribution to Lessico politico delle donne
Raffaella Perna

1920-1960
Tina Modotti
Gerda Taro
Gisèle Freund
Dorothea Lange
Margaret Bourke-White
Lisette Model
Berenice Abbott
Lee Miller
Eve Arnold
Ruth Orkin
Inge Morath

1960-2000
Diane Arbus
Lisetta Carmi
Susan Meiselas
Carla Cerati
Letizia Battaglia
Claudia Andujar
Graciela Iturbide
Dayanita Singh
Paola Mattioli

2000-2021
Jitka Hanzlová
Annie Leibovitz
Pirelli Calendar 2016
Shobha
Shadi Ghadirian
Cristina de Middel
Cao Fei
Zanele Muholi
Newsha Tavakolian
Nanna Heitmann
Silvia Camporesi

List of works