Paolo Roversi and Emanuele Coccia, two shared visions of photography

How to write about photography? How can we explain the power of the image, explain its meaning, recognize its mystery? In a beautiful book published by Gallimard, the philosopher Emmanuel Coccia and the photographer Paolo Roversi chose the epistolary genre to share their thoughts on the subject. A journey in the form of chromatic reminiscences that emerges when a photographer is the subject of a very beautiful exhibition at the Palais Galliera in Paris.

“Their dialogue takes us in many directions, but almost always revolves around the metaphysics of light, told like a parable. During the exchange, photography becomes a ritual for domesticating the sun. Author Chiara Bardelli-Nonino, photography specialist, writes in the foreword. Because for Paolo Rovers, known among others for his collaborations with fashion designers Yohji Yamamoto, Romeo Gigli and Rei Kawakubo, “We are all little employees of the sun, mere scribes, bent over our rolls, busy copying his drawings”.

Educated and sensitive aesthetes, both Italian, Paolo Roversi and Emanuele Coccia are friends in the city and share a passion for fashion. They also speak against working“strange disgust” whose victim is the latter to this day. A specialist in medieval theology, Emanuele Coccia was drawn to the study of the living world, and plants in particular, and his work achieved great success with both critics and the public. plant life. The metaphysics of mixture (Shore, 2016). In 2022, he became the first philosopher to teach fashion at Harvard.

Astronomy, aliens and magic

The letters published in the work, both poetic and didactic missions, are interspersed with signed photographs of Paolo Roversi. The photos are soft, sepia-toned, dreamlike, charming black and white, sometimes with steamy outlines. “The pictures you take never seek relevance: they look eternally contemporary, as if they were taken this morning.” Emanuel Coccia writes it. The photographer has always stood both at the heart of the fashion system and far from ephemeral trends – his images are ageless.

This fascinating work also takes us on a journey through the history of photography. Throughout the pages, Paolo Roversi mentions Saul Leiter, Dorothea Lange, quotes Robert Frank, Diane Arbus, William Eggleston, shares anecdotes, teaches us his working method. “Photography is often described as theft” but “It adds life to the world, it is important to highlight this noble aspect”. This also applies to eternal life, the invisible, meditation, astronomy, extraterrestrials, and even witchcraft—subjects that are discussed in a friendly tone that sheds an extra layer of light on those interested in them.