the mask and the face
would be quite banal if we analyze the photographic research of Annarita Mantovani by simply comparing it to Cindy Serman’s work. Similarities cannot be denied since the object and subject of their work is the body conceptually intended, that is to say as an active entity and not as a mere passive icon to be reproduced by a camera.
Instead of snapping somebody else, they both use themselves as real protagonists of their work but not exactly within the traditional path of the self-portait. They are perfectly aware to act a mystifying and at the same time ironic performance. This is quite different from what we can observe in Francesca Woodman’s pictures, another photographer who has made of the self-portait her research scope aiming at confirming her own identity.
The identity is also the main topic of Annarita Mantovani’s research (after all this is the psychologic dynamics leading to the creation of a self-portait) but in this case we can talk more about a collective identity to be found inside the female condition she is part of.
Unlike Sherman, who sometimes hides her face with masks and make-up or Woodman whose pictures are intentionally out of focus or on movement to puzzle the shape of her body, Annarita Mantovani snaps herself without any “trick” if we exclude the outfit and the setting of the scene chosen each time that seem to recall more a sort of comedy or better a “tableau vivant de la fin du siècle” where she plays at the same time the role of the author and actress.
The outfit chosen along with the intentionally artificial setting are expressly used to lead the audience to immediately grasp the theme of investigation focused on the collective social sphere and only secondarily on the personal one.
This concept is very evident in both works: “Far far away” of 2010 and “Sisters of Italy” of 2011.
“Far far away” reveals from title itself the ironic intent to show under the form of a fairy-tale the achievement of the female equality which has led to the frustrating imitation of men’s roles and not to a real independent condition. The different pictures show her as a housewife, a “dark”, a hooligan, an animal activist, a fashion-victim, a romantic dreamer and finally immersed into the water of a bathtub looking for a liberating “suicide”.
On the same track we can place the work “Sisters of Italy” since it arises from the intent of a further investigation of the feminine stereotype. Comparing old pictures to some expression of the present femininity, she wants to prove that because of the influence of consumerism, no real process for sex or role equality has occurred, but only a simple transfer of functions and conditions has taken place which unfortunately is resulting to be no less frustrating than before.
All pictures are the result of a careful screenplay including the accurate choice of both setting and action . This is made not for realistic purposes but on the contrary in order to emphasize the mise-en-scène” and make the rhetorical intent even more evident. This is why Annarita Mantovani does not need to wear any mask but can openly show her face. Her intent is in fact not to hide herself behind the different expressions of the feminine world but rather to show through her real face playing different characters the trap hidden inside the modern concept of female roles.
Massimo Mussini
Instead of snapping somebody else, they both use themselves as real protagonists of their work but not exactly within the traditional path of the self-portait. They are perfectly aware to act a mystifying and at the same time ironic performance. This is quite different from what we can observe in Francesca Woodman’s pictures, another photographer who has made of the self-portait her research scope aiming at confirming her own identity.
The identity is also the main topic of Annarita Mantovani’s research (after all this is the psychologic dynamics leading to the creation of a self-portait) but in this case we can talk more about a collective identity to be found inside the female condition she is part of.
Unlike Sherman, who sometimes hides her face with masks and make-up or Woodman whose pictures are intentionally out of focus or on movement to puzzle the shape of her body, Annarita Mantovani snaps herself without any “trick” if we exclude the outfit and the setting of the scene chosen each time that seem to recall more a sort of comedy or better a “tableau vivant de la fin du siècle” where she plays at the same time the role of the author and actress.
The outfit chosen along with the intentionally artificial setting are expressly used to lead the audience to immediately grasp the theme of investigation focused on the collective social sphere and only secondarily on the personal one.
This concept is very evident in both works: “Far far away” of 2010 and “Sisters of Italy” of 2011.
“Far far away” reveals from title itself the ironic intent to show under the form of a fairy-tale the achievement of the female equality which has led to the frustrating imitation of men’s roles and not to a real independent condition. The different pictures show her as a housewife, a “dark”, a hooligan, an animal activist, a fashion-victim, a romantic dreamer and finally immersed into the water of a bathtub looking for a liberating “suicide”.
On the same track we can place the work “Sisters of Italy” since it arises from the intent of a further investigation of the feminine stereotype. Comparing old pictures to some expression of the present femininity, she wants to prove that because of the influence of consumerism, no real process for sex or role equality has occurred, but only a simple transfer of functions and conditions has taken place which unfortunately is resulting to be no less frustrating than before.
All pictures are the result of a careful screenplay including the accurate choice of both setting and action . This is made not for realistic purposes but on the contrary in order to emphasize the mise-en-scène” and make the rhetorical intent even more evident. This is why Annarita Mantovani does not need to wear any mask but can openly show her face. Her intent is in fact not to hide herself behind the different expressions of the feminine world but rather to show through her real face playing different characters the trap hidden inside the modern concept of female roles.
Massimo Mussini
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