Sicilian photographer Giuseppe Leone has earned the distinguished title of maestro after six decades of documenting the culture, traditions and everyday life of Sicily. Like an accomplished musician, his work documents the Mediterranean island’s journey in a beautifully eloquent visual vocabulary.
The maestro is part of a succession of creative photojournalists who have been inspired by their native homeland, from the late Enzo Sellerio to his contemporaries like Pier Ferdinando Scianna and Letizia Battaglia, who all depicted everything from the harsh realities of organised crime, to the ancient belief systems and traditions of la Sicilia.
The humanistic style of Maestro Leone is what makes his work stand out from other Sicilian photographers, his attention to the people, their personality and their stories is the strength of his visual narrative.
Leone depicts ancient mestieri, or crafts, which have been lost, the archeology left behind from past invaders, ageless rites and celebrations, the children and women who inhabit squares and countryside villages, together with famous writers, all creating the true character of Sicily.
I recently asked the maestro about his unique relationship with Sicily in an interview. I began by asking him to describe his connection to the island:
I was born in Sicily, where I have always lived, I explored and studied every single aspect of it, from anthropology and landscape to architecture. I was bewitched by its beauty, by the diversity at its essence, which shaped it, by the inevitable changes and transformation this land has been witnessing for centuries. Understanding Sicily means observing even its inconsistencies and contradictions: this means love for Sicily is never absolute, it is sometimes filled with suffering and resentment. Mine is a kind of constant love/hate, yet, conscious of its absurdities and of its beauty, I never wanted to abandon this place.
You have been a photographer of Sicily for more than sixty years, how did your creative journey begin? What’s your approach to to the art of photography?
I began by chance in a photographic studio, I was thirteen years old and from that day I never abandoned photography. With my first camera, I observed the world that surrounded me, bewitching me with its most intimate aspects. I slowly began to immortalise the changing times that were transforming Sicily. Photography allowed me to probe into the intimate essence of things and to show beauty without creating fictions or filters, which could distort reality. From the moment of the photo shoot until the development of the print in the dark room, I always wanted to give a concrete contribution to the observation of society, always trying to narrate with poetry and beauty, rather than with pathos or pity. Interpreting the negative, as if it was a musical score, I always looked for harmony.
You have an infinite number of images, is there one favorite which comes to mind with a particular story or memory?
With the passing of the years, my body of photographic works grew and continues to grow even today. Many of these photographs became part of literary publications, in some of these I told the history of my land, of its people and celebrations: a visual diary. Each of these photos and of these books could be described as my children, and so it is difficult for me to make a precise decision. Anyhow, if I had to absolutely choose from my published works, I’d definitely pick the book La Pietra Vissuta, which will always hold a special place in my heart. It was one of the first books I published with the publisher, Sellerio, which allowed me to meet Sciascia and all the other “friends” who gave me a great opportunity of artistic exchange and growth.
Is there a particular time of the year, aspect or subject about Sicily you like to photograph more than anything else? If you could depict Sicily in a single image, how would you?
In reality there isn’t a precise period, every season in Sicily creates its own unique beauty. Sicily is as multifaceted as it is eclectic and varied, Bufalino said, there isn’t only one Sicily, there are hundreds, and each has its own particular and suggestive beauty.
I would dare to say that Sicily could be compared to the image of a woman’s body, sinuous and sensual, that lets her beauty shine through, without any makeup, showing just the way she is.
Sicily has literally changed before your lenses, tell us a little about its transformation.
Transformations in history are necessary, every thing and every place is subject to the flow of time and change; however in Sicily we had great changes, many of which have been radical. The landscape has been upset by the hand of man, which has not always been so benevolent. In the course of my career, I have seen a quick and inexorable transformation, caused above all by globalization: because of this, we risk to loose our identity, our roots and the particular characteristics that made us and our land a world rich and varied in traditions. The debate is truly complex and difficult to sum up in a few words. Unfortunately, it is clear part of the responsibility lies in the hands of certain political and administrative choices, which worsened the situation.
Your photography has been compared to an ongoing narrative, how do you think writing and images are interrelated?
In reality, it doesn’t come from a well defined structure or plan: photography is a way of interpreting reality and, as such, it is a story told through images. Sicily gave birth to many great writers from Pirandello to Sciascia, from Bufalino to Consolo, who all left a well defined sign of what Sicily represents: their words became a metaphor of the essence of history and society.
They became pillars of Italian culture, just think of Verga: he, too, was a writer and photographer, father of Italian realism – or Verismo – a stark, even raw, at times, look into reality. Throughout the years, I have always drawn from literature: it allowed me to have a polished eye and conscious knowledge of what surrounds me and of the history of which we are a part. For me photography itself is very closely related to writing, it allows me to interpret everything I see and hear and to describe everything through images. Every shot essentially becomes an essay about my observations.
The term Sicilitudine was coined by Leonardo Sciascia, as a way of describing the illusive character of Sicily. What definition of Sicilitudine have you given through your masterpieces?
Sciascia was one of the last great narrators, his ability to interpret Sicily and the Sicilians in his books was lucid and precise. Like Sciascia, I don’t offer solutions, nor I like giving definitions. I prefer to observe this land, often shaken by social changes, individualism, loss of identity, by the transformation of ethnic culture into a flattened, globalized life. My photographs are elements that document and narrate Sicily in all of its varied aspects. Like a musical score, I prefer to interpret my images, telling of a world in continuous mutation, as everything is changing.
Donate