Under Old Stars: Wanderings in Italian Hill Towns was the photo exhibit that ran from October 7–31 in the Eye Gallery, located above Petrune on the Commons. This series of black-and-white photographs was done by Mauro Marinelli, an Italian-American photographer native to White Plains, NY. In Under Old Stars, Marinelli captures the lifestyle of rural Italy, and while they look like a snapshot into the past, all of Marinelli’s photographs are modern. Marinelli attempts to reconcile the present with our idyllic dreams of nostalgic desires, making the past come back to life.
Marinelli’s work is blatant yet intriguing. The photographs are bare, simple, and stripped of color: a foot on the stairs, light shining through a window, a clothesline, a faded mural. However, in a very magical way, these images seem to draw you in as if they were a movie and you can’t miss the end, as if in all the non-mystery there must be secrets. But I found after staring at them that the secret wasn’t complicated, and that was the point. The simplicity of the photographs, both in content and style, was a small, private invitation for you to meditate on the beauty and tranquility of these people’s lives.
Perhaps the most interesting thing about the photographs was their timeless quality. Although the pictures were taken in the past couple of years, the subjects and scenery seemed like they were transported from the early 20th century; maybe the 40s, maybe the 50s. This timelessness is very calming. It felt grounded, as if the old man next to the clothesline had been there forever or those blurred feet dancing are caught in an eternal whirl of steps and laughter. One of my favorite photographs was one of a flock of sheep next to their diligent shepherd. Most of the photographs were quite pastoral, both figuratively and literally.
It is also interesting to think that the subjects of Marinelli’s photographs are real people living real lives. These photographs are what many of us would consider “idyllic,” only to be found in novels or films and never in real life. While looking at these photographs, it’s almost as if Marinelli wants to tell you that the Italian nonna is still alive and well, and wants you to stop gossiping and start sewing—that the slow, peaceful life you seek in books still exists and your fantasies are only matters of perspective.