L'Italo-Americano

www.italoamericano.org 10 THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2015 L'Italo-Americano A life full of curiosity and love for arts and history: during his existence working as archi- tect, poet, and photographer, Alfonso Carrara put all this together in order to become an empathic modernist, who used imagery to honor the truth of photographic observation. The youngest of four siblings who were born in Chicago, he was born and raised in an Italian fam- ily. His mom Giorgia and his dad Cesare left Lucca in Tuscany to move to Chicago where Alfonso was born on March 30, 1922. Although they were farmers and not well educated, they were very smart people who used to speak the Tuscan dialect in their family. That's why Alfonso's first language was not English, whereas his two brothers and sis- ter never embraced the fascina- tion of the Italian language while trying to be real American. Alfonso attended Quigley Preparatory Seminary, followed by the venerable School of Design, a pre-cursor to the Illinois Institute of Technology. As a young architect, he appren- ticed with Keck & Keck in Chicago and then with Richard Neutra in Los Angeles. He was employed by Frank Lloyd Wright in Racine, where he worked on the headquarters of S.C. Johnson Company. He worked for many years in the offices of Holabird & Root and also had his own practice. In 1991 he married Gillion Skellenger who took Alfonso's works to San Francisco, at the invitation of Director Paolo Barlera, for an exhibition at the Italian Cultural Institute. Gillion explored with us Alfonso's life and works, taking a journey through the experience of war as well as his love not only for pho- tography but also for arts, histo- ry, and poetry. Can you tell us about Alfonso's experience during the war? Alfonso was called to the war in 1941 and he went to Italy in 1942. His two older brothers went to the Pacific while, since he loved Italy, he chose to go there. He landed in Anzio, but he never fought because he was there as interpreter for the American and the British troops. When he saw a German prisoner of war with a camera, the German soldier asked to trade the camera for the box of cigarettes. That's how he started to photo- graph people and architecture all the way up to Piazzale Loreto. He picked up situations and peo- ple and typed his experience of the tragedy of the war. When he got to Marzabotto, in the Bologna area, he documented the tragedy of women getting her hair shorn. Later on, in Milan, his American commander asked him to photo- graph some bodies post mortem. They were hanging up side down in Piazzale Loreto and they were the well known Benito Mussolini, Claretta Petacci, Achille Starace, and some other unidentified bodies. Which memories did he use to share with his friends and family? What he wanted to show through his photos was the hor- ror of the war as well as the beauty of Italy, that he consid- ered a museum without walls. What did photography mean to Alfonso? When he discovered photog- raphy, he did not try to document the war itself but the people and the architecture around it. He mainly used his background at the school of design while pho- tographing the situations around him. What do you think makes of him a memorable photograph- er? He was not an educated pho- tographer but he had a 'good eye' and was able to document the war, the precariousness and immediacy of what he encoun- tered. He found a wounded her- itage, a family's legacy punished by war, damaged places and wearied faces of the liberated and the ravaged. How would you define him as a person? Alfonso was a poet during all his life, but he was also a pho- tographer. He drew, he ques- tioned, he studied every day, and he wrote. He was difficult, but he was also kind and generous. He was an American and an Italian, an architect and a poet. It is not by chance that our library is full of books both in English and Italian, about poetry, philosophy, and art history. Which qualities do you believe most inspire other pho- tographers while looking at his works? What impresses the audience is that he found photo-shops that were open during the war who printed from his negatives, those that he even processed in his hel- met and brought to be printed! In addition, he found an Olivetti typewriter along the way and wrote his impressions, in a lyri- cal, poetic form. You will see those original in the exhibit and a few are printed in the publica- tion. What is your memory about him as husband? He was my male muse, he challenged my intellect during my life, he supported and chal- lenged me, he was difficult, he was nurturing and he loved me until the moment he died. Before he passed away, he told me something I will remember for ever: "How could I have had this beautiful life without you?" We had been together 33 years and today I still thank him for what he gave me during my life. The exhibition "Happenchance: World War II Photographs, Italian Campaign, 1942-1945" will be open until Saturday, July 18, and on view Monday through Friday 10am-4:30pm at IIC - 814 Montgomery Street, San Francisco. Alfonso Carrara was born in an Italian family who moved to Chicago around 1900s Gillion Car rara: "That's how my husband Alfonso used photography to show the horror of the war" SERENA PERFETTO June 2 thru June 30- Between People and Architecture Exhibition at CoorItalia Showroom - CoorItalia Showroom (151 Vermont Street, San Francisco) - Mon-Fri. 8am-5pm. For information (415) 339-5810. June 18 thru July 18- Happenchance: World War II Photographs, Italian Campaign, 1942-1945 - Carrara, an Italian-American archi- tect-artist-poet-photographer, documented the exhausted, disoriented populations and war-ravaged architecture of Italy's small towns and villages during the Allied northward advance through the countryside in 1944-45. Location: Istituto Italiano di Cultura (814 Montgomery Street, San Francisco). For information (415) 788-7142. June 26, Fri.- North Bay Italian Cultural Foundation CENA e CINEMA at the Center, 6:00 pm. Friday night dinner & movie at the Center. The Mangiamo Committee has teamed with Sunday at the Center's Diane McCurdy to bring you an informal sit-down deal that includes salad, main course, dessert & wine, plus a movie. We will be showing Love is All You Need with Pierce Brosnan as a widower attending his son's wedding in Italy. To reserve, send your check for $20 to NBICF, 64 Brookwood Ave., Santa Rosa, CA 95404 by June 19. Space limited to 25 so reserve early. For information call the NBICF Office at 707-591-9696 July 1st , Wed - BAIA Aperitivo San Francisco. Join the Italian community for some networking with other professionals. More the July 1st event location and additional info, visit www.baia-network.org July 15, Wed.–North Bay Italian Cultural Foundation PIZZA e BIRRA e VINO. 6:00-9:00 pm. Third Annual PIZZA E BIRRA Night at the Center. Join friends & family for an "all-you-can-eat" pizza night with food generously provided by Rosso's Pizzeria and beer donated by Total Beverage Solutions. This year, complimentary wine will be served. Also showing indoors, the movie Summertime with Katharine Hepburn & Rossano Brazzi. Reserve early (50 guest limit) – $25 members; $28 non-members. Send check to NBICF, 64 Brookwood Ave., Santa Rosa, CA 95404 by July 5. For information call the NBICF Office at 707-591-9696 Aug. 17, Mon.- North Bay Italian Cultural Foundation Winemaker Dinner at Riviera Ristorante with Wine Pairings by Trecini Winery - $75.00. 5:30 pm. This event is a special fundraiser dedicated to the Jeanette Mancini Mitchell SRJC Scholarship for Future Educators. More information will be presented at the June 15 dinner and a flyer & reservation form will accompany the July Newsletter. For more details or questions, call the NBICF Office at 707-591-9696

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