New York, January 5, 2006 The Italian American
Museum will present
Borgo Fantasma (Ghost Town),
an exhibition of colored photographs by artist Rosaria Vigorito,
from January 16th through February 10th, 2006. The exhibition's
opening reception will be held on January 18th, from 6-8 p.m.
Vigorito's poetic images explore the remnants of a town that was
abandoned after the earthquake of 1980 in the Campania region of
Italy. The town, Vecchio Romagnano al Monte located in southern
Italy, close to Salerno, dates back to 700 A.D. It is known for
its farming and originally was a military post. In 1980 an earthquake
devastated the architecture but spared all its inhabitants. Following
this event all the town's inhabitants choose relocation rather than
to rebuild.
According to Vigorito, "Vecchio Romagnano al Monte has been
a virtual ghost town since the earthquake - now, stealthy breezes
whisper across the steeples of the town's two empty churches, le
chiese del Rosario and del Carmine. Some of its buildings exist
in skeleton only, while others are in ruin. However, as testaments
to the spirit of the ancient town, most structures resisted the
1980 earthquake and merely stand empty their neglect appearing
as if waiting for their resurrection."
The artist's inspiration for this body of work offers the viewer
many levels of interpretation. The town's visual remains inspired
Vigorito as the subject matter for this body of work while unleashing
its aesthetic power. Throughout the process of documenting the effects
of this natural disaster Vigorito has hopes that the town will once
again function and be occupied possibly as a site for a future artistic
and spiritual community.
As part of the exhibition
Borgo Fantasma,
Rosaria Vigorito will present a public program on Wednesday, February
1st from 6 to 7 p.m. Vigorito will lead the visitor through the
exhibition for a tour and follow this with excerpts of her documentary
film
Borgo Fantasma Vecchio Romagnano al Monte.
In her debut to the world of filmmaking, this work is filled with
images of the abandoned town and the stories told by its people
of past traditions, customs and lives. The film chronicles the enchantment
of this abandoned "borgo" and its estranged people. Explored
in the film are the universal issues of identity, tradition, transformation,
reinvention, transcendence, resettlement and community.
In sum, Vigorito comments "once I discovered this place, I
could not ignore it. Even in its simplicity, there was something
in the air that forever transformed me. I had to discover more about
its past, people and future. The story could not just end with the
cataclysmic event of 1980. There was more to it. Its relocated people
could not just walk away and rip themselves from the past Vecchio
Romagnano represents and what the future may hold for its development."
Rosaria Vigorito is a graduate of the New York Academy of Art and
a faculty member of CUNY School of Law. Some of the photographs
in this exhibition have been shown at the CUNY School of Law and
the Garibaldi-Meucci Museum in Staten Island. She has also participated
in exhibitions at the Gallery at Chelsea Eye and David Ryan Salon,
and has been approached by Filitalia in Philadelphia to exhibit
these works in April-May 2006. Vigorito has received support for
the documentary film
Borgo Fantasma Vecchio Romagnano
al Monte from the local government of the new Romagnano
al Monte. Her website is
rosariavigorito.com.
Dr. Joseph V. Scelsa, President of the Italian American Museum said
of the exhibition, "Rosaria Vigorito's beautiful and poignant
photographic images are a window into at a town forever frozen in
time. They are stirring yet settling and beckoning one to experience
this land of our ancestors."
The Italian American Museum is the first museum dedicated to preserving
and presenting the cultural and social contributions of Italian
Americans to the American way of life. The
Borgo Fantasma
exhibit will be open to the public from Monday to Friday, 10 a.m.
4 p.m. or by appointment (212-642-2020) at 28 West 44th Street,
17th floor between 5th and 6th Avenues.
