CUT THE RIBBON, GRAZIA NERI

Posted on April 15, 2013 by admin

How to be a baby during the World War, loose  your father  and take care of your mother. How to live in Milan during post war years and give up University studies because there is no money. Grazia Neri had no choice but a job that wasn’t too boring and started as a factotum in an Agency called News Blitz where she used to write pictures captions and translate from English and French. Young Neri was a literature devourer and never thought her life would end with a passion for photography. In 1966 Grazia and a friend , a former light bulb seller, opened her historical agency in Milan. Grazia Neri became in few year the most famous Italian Aagency all over the world. The agency was founded with the intent of favoring photographers leaving them ownership of images and a correct remuneration, pursuing photographic services of quality. Grazia Neri, during the years,  accumulated a patrimony of 15 million images in analogical and of six million in digital. Robert Doisneau, Douglas Kirkland, Annie Leibovitz, Herb Ritts, James Nachtwey were few of  the photographer she represented and syndacation with other famous agencies like Afp, Polaris, Black Star, Contact Press Images, Rapho and VU. The advertising crisis started in the second semester of 2008  and of the general decrease of application for quality photojournalism replaced by images from internet or low quality ones lead to the clousure of the agency in 2009. But Grazia was still alive and kicking and maybe she was one of the most expert people on photography and photo journalism. Her memoir ” La Mia Fotografia”  published by Feltrinelli is a masterpiece for photo lovers. The history of a self made woman, the touching portrait of a girl that finds in photography the way to follow her passion for reading. Is it perhaps true that behind every great photo a great history hides behind? If you’re now Twitting or Face booking or Pinning some old vintage pictures, you are probably using a photo that once was edited, curated, wanted and loved by this “Signora” Milanese.

http://www.lafeltrinelli.it/products/9788807491375/La_mia_fotografia/Grazia_Neri.html