CIS EXHIBITION 2018
La Dolce Vitti
The photography exhibition, organized by Istituto Luce Cinecittà in collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute in Los Angeles, depicts Monica Vitti’s life, style and films illustrating in detail the actress and woman adored in Italy and abroad.
The exhibition’s title La Dolce Vitti recalls the timeless classic Italian movie (La Dolce Vita by Fellini). Monica, as did Fellini’s movie, has left an indelible mark on Italian history and society.
The exhibition includes photographs from several public and private archives and interesting stories told by great artists from both past and present (Giancarlo Giannini, Dacia Maraini, Michele Placido, Dino Risi, Ettore Scola, Alberto Sordi, Steno, Enrico Vanzina).
Monica Vitti reveals herself through her memories, thoughts, book extracts, and her singular raspy voice.
In chronological order, the exhibition examines the various stages of her artistic career. It begins with her drama school education and her start in theater and television. It proceeds with her dubbing, her work with Michelangelo Antonioni and the international cinematic success that followed, which was the turning point of her career. The exhibit continues with her incredible acclaim as a comedian in the movie La ragazza con la pistola (The Girl with a Pistol) and her entrance into the club of the best Italian comedians.
The outcome is a portrait of an actress with strong artistic training. She is considered to be a woman with two temperaments. Indeed, drama and comedy co-inhabit her. Her dramatic nature enables her national and international success thanks to the anguished characters created for her by Antonioni. On the other hand, her comic appeal and instinctual and innate talent are perhaps more suited to her extroverted personality. Undeniably, she will become a star of “la Commedia all’italiana”.
During her extensive career, Monica Vitti has embodied the roles of distinct women: working class or bourgeois, emancipated or submissive, simple or complicated, loyal or unfaithful, women searching for freedom and independence. She flawlessly interpreted these characters thanks to her collaboration with great directors such as Carlo Di Palma, Luigi Magni, Mario Monicelli, Dino Risi, Salce, Ettore Scola and Alberto Sordi.
The exhibition presents Monica Vitti as the image of a contemporary woman and everlasting beauty.
People love Monica Vitti’s elusive modernity, irony and intelligence. She is loved now more than ever. Even today, years after her retirement, her absence has paradoxically turned into a constant presence.
The exhibit will be on view through February 15, 2019 and is curated by Nevio De Pascalis, Marco Dionisi and Stefano Stefanutto Rosa.