Rome's Museo Carlo Bilotti offers a cheap day with celebs

By A. May

 

ROME, Nov 15 –  More than half way through the seven-week exhibition of Timothy Greenfield-Sander’s celebrity portrait art at Museo Carlo Bilotti, there was less noise coming from the halls of the museum than the portraits themselves this week.

 

There was no red carpet, no flashing lights, and no celebrity fanatics anticipating a personal view of one of their favorite celebrities. There was just the simplistic style of Greenfield-Sanders' iconic portraits.

 

Greenfield-Sanders has been a professional photographer since the mid 1970s. He is also a producer, director and author.  But he is best known for photographing celebrities: in 2004, his portraits earned a permanent spot in The Museum of Modern Art and The Museum of Fine Arts. 

 

Over the years, Greenfield-Sanders has shot actors, directors, soldiers, presidents and literary figures. The portraits look a lot like book sleeve covers or graduation photos, with a single-colored backdrop and the subjects framed in a fixed stance. The lighting is clear, showing both the imperfections and perfections of each person, bringing more humanistic qualities to the subject.

 

While touring the gallery, Emily Harrawood, a John Cabot University study-abroad student and Art History major at University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, remarked, “I think modern photography can be visually complex sometimes; especially with computer technology—it opens up so many possibilities in the editing process. Yet, these portraits are strikingly bare.” 

 

Among many celebrities on display are: Alan Cummings, Woody Alan, Anne Hathaway and James Gandolfini of The Sopranos fame.  

 

One Wednesday, attendance was sparse, giving plenty of room to wander the halls and get up close to the portaits. The exhibit is open until Dec. 9.