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Futuro Antico. Interview with Oliviero Toscani
4 apr 2023
Marco Bassan
Staying in the present and using courage and curiosity, both in the profession and in life: these are the guiding principles of Oliviero Toscani's thinking.
What are your inspirational references in art?
There were events in my youth that initiated me into art. The first memory I have is from when I was ten. My sister, ten years older than me and studying at an art academy, sent me postcards of paintings by De Chirico. Those postcards were my first encounter with art.
Ten years later, in 1962, at 20 years old, I took my first trip to America. I found myself alone at the Museum of Modern Art, paid a one-dollar donation, and on the second or third floor, I came across Picasso’s Guernica. I had it all to myself. That vision was for me like the Madonna of Lourdes is for a believer.
What project represents you the most? Can you tell us about its genesis?
I bambini ricordano ("Children Remember")—portraits of those who survived the Nazi massacre in 1944. To commemorate the 60th anniversary of this tragedy, the mayor of Sant'Anna di Stazzema called me, asking me to create a reportage. I replied that it wouldn’t be possible to make a reportage 60 years after an event, with no documentation. The mayor responded, “If you’re as good as they say, show me.” I was left standing there, wondering how I could create a reportage that reflects the present 60 years after the event. Out of curiosity, I went to Sant'Anna, where I met a man named Petri at a bar. He started telling me how he had survived the massacre of his entire family by the Germans. In his eyes, I saw the story of what had happened, and I began photographing his face. The project I bambini ricordano consists of portraits of people who, as children, lived through that moment and now, at 80 years old, are telling their story again.
How important is the Genius Loci in your work?
Everything I’ve learned has come from traveling and living in places I wasn’t born. The territory is crucial for me, but not in a provincial sense.
How important is the past for imagining and building the future? Do you believe the future can have an ancient heart?
I operate by instinct. I always say I don’t search for ideas—those who search for ideas don’t have any. I’m a complete situationist and am deeply interested in the present moment.
What advice would you give to a young person wanting to follow in your footsteps?
I would tell them to be extremely curious and always remember that in everything important you do in life, you must be the first to feel almost embarrassed by it. Embarrassment means having the courage to go beyond your own morality, questioning if you’re doing the right thing, and surpassing what you think is reasonable or just.
In an era defined as post-truth, does the concept of the sacred still hold importance and strength?
The sacred is indefinable. I believe everything is sacred—vitality and life are sacred. Being aware of what surrounds you, of what happens to you, of what you see, what you analyze, what you criticize, what you like, and what you dislike—for me, that’s sacred.
How do you imagine the future? Can you give us three ideas that you think will shape the coming years?
I have to say that we are not yet civilized. Humanity is on the path, but it will still have to suffer much from incivility. The past wasn’t better than the present, and there will always be new problems. But until we achieve the free movement of people, we won’t be truly civilized. As long as there are soldiers and weapons, we cannot truly call ourselves civilized.