Alda Merini
A meeting that became history
Grittini's Alda: photographing what others did not see
In front of Giuliano Grittini's lens, Alda Merini is not just the great poetess known to the public. She is a woman, a friend, a presence.
The camera enters her daily life without interrupting it: the home, the cigarettes, the meetings, the public moments, the pauses, the gaze turned elsewhere. The long familiarity between the two allows Grittini to get close to a private Merini, made of pain and irony, solitude, passion, impatience and love. A closeness that transforms the portrait into something other than a simple testimonial.
Photography becomes a relationship.
A critical reading of Grittini's work actually leads to a fascinating question: are we looking at Alda as Giuliano saw her, or as Alda wished to be seen by Giuliano?
Alda, through her gaze
The face
Tight portraits, gazes, expressions.
The house
Everyday life on the Navigli.
Milan
Alda and the city.
The meetings
Artists, musicians, writers, friends.
Travel
Awards, events, public moments.
The works
Photographs, words, books.
The dialogue between Grittini and Merini also found a place in publishing, through works that combined photographs, aphorisms, and poetry.
Among the documented titles are Fotografie e Aforismi di Alda Merini – Ringrazio sempre chi mi dà ragione, Aforismi di Alda Merini, and a volume dedicated to the poet’s photographs and poems; furthermore, Colpe di immagini, published by Rizzoli in 2007, contains numerous photographs dedicated to Merini.
Words that become images
The dialogue with Alda Merini also crosses a fundamental part of Grittini's research: the one in which poetry and image cease to be separate languages.
Verses, manuscripts, and words enter the composition alongside photography, color, and matter.
Poetry no longer accompanies the work.
It becomes part of the work.
This journey continued even after Merini's passing: in 2023, at the Galleria San Babila in Milan, Grittini presented Visual Poems, a project including ten works dedicated to ten unpublished poems by the poet.
An archive that continues to live
2010 — Milan
Alda Merini. The soul of light. Testimonials Spazio Oberdan
2013 — Milan
Dear Alda A story told through photographs and reworkings.
2019 — Milan
Alda Merini in the images of Giuliano Grittini Piccolo Teatro di Milano
2023 — Milan
Visual poetry Ten works for ten unpublished poems by Alda Merini.
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