Pietro Masturzo
THE PROMISED LAND OF THE GOLDBURTS
May 2016 European Photography
The exhibition, curated by Flavio Arensi, offers twenty-eight works - that is the entire portfolio - dedicated to the cycle that tells the life of the Israeli settler family Goldburt, shown for the first time to the public.
The exhibition by Pietro Masturzo (winner of the World Press Photo Picture of the Year in 2010) is an intense reportage that tells not only the family history of the settlers, but their territory and the precarious situation of the West Bank. The photographs, which highlight the contrasts and paradoxes of a complex life experience, arise from a stay of the reporter in the lands occupied by the colonial fringes of Israel.
Masturzo himself explains the meaning of the work in the text accompanying the exhibition catalog: "Today in the West Bank live about 350,000 Israeli settlers, despite their stay on this territory is considered illegitimate by the United Nations, the International Court of Justice and the Fourth Convention of Geneva. In this frontier land, life is cheap and it is here that Gedalia Goldburt decided to move with his wife Shira and their seven children, to realize the dream of a simple, religious and conflict-free life, away from consumerism and the frenzy of life. city. Gedalia, the head of the family, is an American Jew who at the age of twenty-three moved to Israel from Ohio in search of a better life and here he received "enlightenment", approaching the Na-Nach movement, a sect of ultra-Jewish Orthodox born in the 70s, whose members are famous for their street dances to the rhythm of techno music revisited in a religious key. After their marriage to Shira, also an American Jewish who moved with her family from New York, the two lived in different places looking for the right place to set up a farm and finally choosing the West Bank, where, since 1967, the Israeli government has favored the transfer of its civilian population with incentives of all kinds (houses and utilities at discounted prices, free transport and schools and of course the security guaranteed by the army) ".
In his essay in the catalog, Arensi notes how much "Masturzo wanders in these situations as the director who accompanies the observer, giving an overview without pushing towards a predefined morality or analysis, indeed it allows an open reading from which more questions that answers. Instances that require an effort of impartiality and sympathy, perhaps even identification, even with all the refusals they can stimulate. Why live this life? Why force children to live in the difficulties of an environment surrounded by bitterness of struggle? Why enter such a closed dimension of religiosity? Why accept being a pawn on the chessboard of politicians? ».
The catalog, published by Corsiero Editore, is available in the gallery.
Pietro Masturzo
Tehran's roof tops
May 2016
Presidential elections were held in Iran on 12 June 2009 and the result was strongly contested by the population. For the first time since the Islamic Revolution, the Iranians have expressed all their dissent by organizing massive demonstrations against the regime. But the protest was not limited to demonstrations in public spaces. Every night at 10.00 the citizens gathered on the roofs of the buildings to continue their protest chanting "Allah u akbar". Each time these songs were interrupted by other even more indignant songs of "Mag bar diktator" (death to the dictator). During these protests, Tehran's dark nights were broken by ghostly shadows and disturbing voices.
Dreams, memories, emotions and hopes hovered like ghosts over the rooftops of Tehran.
Biographical notes
Pietro Masturzo (Naples, 1980) is an Italian documentary photographer.
His work focuses on socio-political issues, with a particular interest in the resistance of men in situations of oppression and violation of human rights. After graduating in International Relations at the University of Naples he devoted himself solely to Photography, working mainly in Myanmar, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ukraine, Egypt, Libya, Iran, Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, documenting human stories in situations of conflict, even when busy covering major news events. His work has received several international awards, including the prestigious World Press Photo Picture of the Year, in 2010, for his work in Iran. His photographs have appeared in numerous newspapers and magazines including L'Espresso, Internazionale, La Stampa, Il Corriere della Sera, Io Donna, The New Yorker, The Financial Times, Le Monde, Stern, Geo, Marie Claire, Vanity Fair and many others. He lives and works between Milan and the Middle East, collaborating regularly with Italian and international publications, associations, NGOs and exhibiting his works in numerous festivals and galleries.