CREMONA – From the encounter between the expression of the Latin poet Giovenale and the words of Pope Francis collected in the seven key concepts “of the secular encyclical” on the values of sport, the “Mens sana in corpore sano” photo gallery is born, which Stefano Guindani from Cremona signs and exhibits from 23 September at the brand new Leica Galerie in via Mengoni in Milana stone’s throw from Piazza Duomo.
We are used to imagining the daily life of nuns, priests and friars in a world far from reality, intermediaries rather than mediators, protagonists of complex and cumbersome roles such as to cancel – sometimes – personal spaces. Who is really behind men and women of faith who move within a complex of unavoidable and limiting rules? A semantic revolution of the collective imagination underlies Guindani’s project, as the curator of the exhibition underlines Denis Curti. “Starting from the Jacobean suggestions of the early Sixties, the author embarks on an ideological mission aimed at outlining a visual story of the religious today”. And so here are the figures of spiritual advisors commonly associated with liturgies and moments of silence here “freed from any preconception and transported to the universal level thanks to sporting discipline”.
“What personality hides behind the cassock of nuns and priests? It is to this social question that I wanted to answer with Mens sana in corpore sano – explains the Cremonese photographer -. The images on display leverage the human aspect of the religious, depicting their extraordinary dedication and at the same time their predisposition to act, to have fun, amalgamated by a disruptive vitality despite the embarrassment of the cassock they continue to wear ». With gentle irony and lightness subtended by a poetic breath, Guindani makes the viewer participate in each story told. Its clerics are unconventional and audacious (and somewhat remind us of the figure of The Young Pope from Sorrentino’s film): they play soccer and tennis, study golf strokes, dedicate themselves to surfing and climbing, kicking the ball , they whiz on mountain bikes, shoot for baskets, box and bow, throw the javelin, go canoeing, ski on snow and water, practice judo: all, men and women, protagonists of a dynamic and very current visual story that makes us perceive ordinary people, friends from school, neighborhood and oratory even before church officials.
«I have always loved dance and sport with their gestures made of harmony, elegance, strength and vigor. Areas that I have always loved, at the beginning as today – continues Guindani – bodies in motion that release geometries of beauty. Some time ago I happened to see nuns playing volleyball, others I met with a passion for football. And so, going back to the great Marche photographer Mario Giacomelli, that of the young seminarians who play and have fun in the snow during recreation, in the same way as our children, I thought of documenting the moments of leisure and sport of priests, including an Orthodox, nuns and friars of today. It is a project of image and communication that – I hope – will help to bring the language of faith even outside the canonical places, breaking down physical and mental limits and boundaries ».
The “Mens sana in corpore sano” work was carried out with a Leica SL2 camera, camera of the Leica SL system, the German brand’s professional mirrorless system. «Shooting with LeicaSL2 is always a sign of truly impressive quality and prestige – adds Guindani -. The optics allow me to control the depth of field exactly as I want and obtain a blurry-pictorial effect that only with these lenses is it possible to achieve.. Furthermore, the complete mastery of the equipment by the photographer contributes to confer a sort of serenity even to the subject at the moment of the shot ».
Photographer and subject are not two separate entities, each one transfers a bit of himself into the image. Among the most empathic “connections” are those with Don Alessio, from La Spezia, parish priest in Levanto, a surfing fanatic, who alternates his suit with his suit to hunt for waves in the Ligurian bay; And don Paolo, super biker who practices at the highest levels, t-shirt and black pants, beard just trimmed and cross around the neck. “A great! Who says that only Don Matteo can go on a bike “?
Stefano Guindani, «Mens sana in corpore sano». Leica Galierie Milan, via Mengoni. From 23 September to December. Curated by Denis Curti.
Photography, when the dress makes the monk and the sportsman