"Ignacio Carrera Pinto, Chile" by Piero Martinello, Faces of Money Collection
>> We handle and exchange it every day, without hardly ever thinking about its origin. Of its graphic content, we are only concerned with the numbers. We take the cold, stylized faces of leaders and public figures for granted, so much that they seem more like artifacts of nature rather than people who once lived.
Beneath those engraved faces, however, lie a myriad stories edited down, simplified and glorified by the nations they helped establish and enrich. Real people rarely have lives as clear and goaloriented as national narratives make them sound. Within their vast complexities are a profusion of unusual anecdotes, forgotten events and actions which would have contrasted greatly with their historically-forged images
There are also stories in the making of those public images as well. The editing-down and commodification of rulers or public figures can happen in a lot of different ways. Sometimes it is deliberately down to establish a political cult. Sometimes they are dragged out from the pages of history after an authoritarian regime fades away. And sometimes, they are used by authoritarian regimes themselves to bolster a sense of historical unity. <<
Piero Martinello
is a 25-year old portrait photographer. He graduated from the 'Institute of Photography and Visual Arts in Padua. In 2006 he was invited to Fabrica, the international center of research for the Benetton communication, developing a project called "Portraits Bar."
At FABRICA Piero works for various numbers of Colors Magazine, becoming the director of photography for 76 Colors, "Teenagers." He carries on long-term personal projects, such as "The Waste Land", a series of faces of young people consumed by 'alcohol and drug abuse' at the exit of music festivals and techno & hardcore raves in Europe.
He has made for United Colors of Benetton "Victims", the corporate campaign that appeared in Le Monde, The Herald Tribune, La Repubblica and Corriere della Sera on the opening day of the Beijing Olympics, and "It's My Time ', the latest interactive campaign which appeared on the main international networks and magazines.
Piero has also worked on various social campaigns: a visual essay on the situation in Darfur was commissioned by the Canadian magazine Walrus and two campaigns for the 'World Health Organization entitled "Stop Tuberculosis" and "Child Injury Prevention", which won an award the Graphis Awards in New York.
At the beginning of 2010 Piero spent his time working in New York with the American photographer Mary Ellen Mark, and then in London to assist Adam Broomberg and Oliver Chanarin. He currently works in Milan and London. www.pieromartinello.com
Check his works at the Pic Boutique Gallery
At the beginning of 2010 Piero spent his time working in New York with the American photographer Mary Ellen Mark, and then in London to assist Adam Broomberg and Oliver Chanarin. He currently works in Milan and London. www.pieromartinello.com
Check his works at the Pic Boutique Gallery
"Faces of Money" Complete Collection by Piero Martinello, 24pc x 30cm x 22,50cm
