It
is a fact that in last few years the great classical popular comics have suffered
a lot due to the technological advancement and it is no longer the main mean of
fun as it used to be in 1970s and 80s. Back then, comics were one of the most
available means of written communication and therefore I can say that today there
is a crisis in the field of Italian comics. On the other hand, that big crisis
and the lack of mass production influenced the authors to produce work of higher
quality! The comics are no longer mass produced but it is far from low quality
production - said Andrea Plazzi, the curator of the exhibition
By MARKO ANDREJIĆ fromBelgrade, SERBIA
In the year 2008, the Italian comics have officially begun the second
century of its existence: namely, on December 27, 1908. the first issue of Corriere
dei Piccoli magazine, which was so important that many saw it as the beginning
of the story in the form of a comic book in Italy, was published. "This is
a great opportunity for us to walk the road which is in reality much longer, and
the exhibition Little clouds in press - A short history of Italian comics
is trying to do that by using the shortest, but we think most important, necessary
selection of (literally) a few thousand editions which have marked that road and
are witnesses of social and cultural development" - this is how the author
of the exhibition Andrea Plazzi explained the importance of the exhibition
in the Italian cultural institute in Belgrade. The exhibition that represents
a retrospective of the first 100 years of the Italian comics was ceremoniously
opened on February 25.
-
Among numerous ways of communication and art which have had the greatest impact
on XX century, "the clouds of smoke", had and still have one of the
most prominent places. Year after year, album after album, character after character,
the stories drawn on the vignettes and short texts written in the clouds which
rise from the characters' mouths and depict, with certain adjustments, the changes
in Italian society, confirm that they are a clearly defined literary genre with
its own rules and register. This exhibition was ordered by the Italian cultural
centre in Belgrade for their gallery 'Italian Palace' from Andrea Plazzi and their
goal is primarily to in honour of 100 years of its existence express respect towards
a great school of Italian comic books - Alessandra Bertini Malgarini, the
director of Italian cultural center, wrote, among other things, in the introduction
to the exhibition catalogue.
The exhibition consists of more than 250 illustrations
divided into 9 sections. Five monographies represent one more cross section, emphasizing
the phenomenons which marked the longer periods of the history of Italian comic.
This is obviously also the case with the magazine Corriere dei Piccoli itself
and the names like "Bonelli" and "Disney"
which are present for many decades and are for a long time names-symbols and "philosophies
of entertainment" rather than simple publishing houses. The same goes for
the people with strengthened sense of individuality: authors who marked the future
of modern comics in general and not only in Italy. As the most prominent representatives
we can single out Hugo Prat and Magnus, two names which do not require
additional explanations if you are a genuine lover. The wish of the exhibition's
curator was that after this short journey the same goes for the ordinary visitor
who is impressed by the vitality of one of the great schools of world comics.
-
It is difficult to synthesize and represent the development of the Italian comic
books because it, as is the case in many other countries, reflects the aspects
of pop culture, customs of the society itself, and I am not a sociologist to interpret
what is constant and what are some njew shapes - explains for WAVE magazineAndrea Plazzi what is it that the visitors will be able to see. - Most
of the time, everything can be brought into question - is there a so-called Italian
school of comics, something that is a characteristic of this area? I have been
thinking a lot about this and my answer is that it most probably doesn't in classical
art sense. There isn't a group of artists with common art goals, what they want
to express and who transfer the common sensibility. In the same manner, I can
see that in the entire history of Italian comic books there are openness and sensitivity
of Italian authors to foreign influences and authors. An example would be 1910s
and 1920s when French influences came into Italy - for example, Antonio Rubino
was one of the biggest importers of French art in Italian comic books production.
This is followed by 1930s and '40s when Italian authors opened themselves to adventure
comics and American school, first of all to Alex Raymond, the author of Flash
Gordon. After that to Milton Cliff who influenced Italian authors, among which
were Hugo Prat and Aurelio Galepini, author of Tax, one of the most influential
Italian heroes, and all the way to Paolo Parisi who is our guest in Belgrade these
days.
Although open to influences from other countries, Andrea Plazzi
believes that in the field of comics and other fields as well, Italians are pretty
closed when it comes to promoting their own work abroad. He notices that authors
are slowly opening in this respect and that they are getting better in it but
that thay have never found a good enough way to express themselves abroad.
-
It is a fact that in last few years the great classical popular comics have suffered
a lot due to the technological advancement and it is no longer the main mean of
fun as it used to be in 1970s and 80s. Back then, comics were one of the most
available means of written communication and therefore I can say that today there
is a crisis in the field of Italian comics. On the other hand, that big crisis
and the lack of mass production influenced the authors to produce work of higher
quality! Generally, there have never been so many small independent publishing
houses which are printing the works of very good artists, even foreign comics,
first of all in English and French, also Norwegian, and even Serbian - for now
only Zograf. They have secluded themselves into a less visible atmosphere and
concentrated themselves there. The comics are no longer mass produced but it is
far from low quality production.
The exhibition of Italian comics is open
until March 20.
It
is a fact that in last few years the great classical popular comics have suffered
a lot due to the technological advancement and it is no longer the main mean of
fun as it used to be in 1970s and 80s. Back then, comics were one of the most
available means of written communication and therefore I can say that today there
is a crisis in the field of Italian comics. On the other hand, that big crisis
and the lack of mass production influenced the authors to produce work of higher
quality! The comics are no longer mass produced but it is far from low quality
production - said Andrea Plazzi, the curator of the exhibition
-
Among numerous ways of communication and art which have had the greatest impact
on XX century, "the clouds of smoke", had and still have one of the
most prominent places. Year after year, album after album, character after character,
the stories drawn on the vignettes and short texts written in the clouds which
rise from the characters' mouths and depict, with certain adjustments, the changes
in Italian society, confirm that they are a clearly defined literary genre with
its own rules and register. This exhibition was ordered by the Italian cultural
centre in Belgrade for their gallery 'Italian Palace' from Andrea Plazzi and their
goal is primarily to in honour of 100 years of its existence express respect towards
a great school of Italian comic books - Alessandra Bertini Malgarini, the
director of Italian cultural center, wrote, among other things, in the introduction
to the exhibition catalogue.
-
It is difficult to synthesize and represent the development of the Italian comic
books because it, as is the case in many other countries, reflects the aspects
of pop culture, customs of the society itself, and I am not a sociologist to interpret
what is constant and what are some njew shapes - explains for WAVE magazine
Andrea Plazzi what is it that the visitors will be able to see. - Most
of the time, everything can be brought into question - is there a so-called Italian
school of comics, something that is a characteristic of this area? I have been
thinking a lot about this and my answer is that it most probably doesn't in classical
art sense. There isn't a group of artists with common art goals, what they want
to express and who transfer the common sensibility. In the same manner, I can
see that in the entire history of Italian comic books there are openness and sensitivity
of Italian authors to foreign influences and authors. An example would be 1910s
and 1920s when French influences came into Italy - for example, Antonio Rubino
was one of the biggest importers of French art in Italian comic books production.
This is followed by 1930s and '40s when Italian authors opened themselves to adventure
comics and American school, first of all to Alex Raymond, the author of Flash
Gordon. After that to Milton Cliff who influenced Italian authors, among which
were Hugo Prat and Aurelio Galepini, author of Tax, one of the most influential
Italian heroes, and all the way to Paolo Parisi who is our guest in Belgrade these
days. 
-
It is a fact that in last few years the great classical popular comics have suffered
a lot due to the technological advancement and it is no longer the main mean of
fun as it used to be in 1970s and 80s. Back then, comics were one of the most
available means of written communication and therefore I can say that today there
is a crisis in the field of Italian comics. On the other hand, that big crisis
and the lack of mass production influenced the authors to produce work of higher
quality! Generally, there have never been so many small independent publishing
houses which are printing the works of very good artists, even foreign comics,
first of all in English and French, also Norwegian, and even Serbian - for now
only Zograf. They have secluded themselves into a less visible atmosphere and
concentrated themselves there. The comics are no longer mass produced but it is
far from low quality production.