Marcella Campagnano (born 1941) is a contemporary artist and Italian feminist photographer. She lives and works in Como. Using
self-portraits
A self-portrait is a representation of an artist that is drawn, painted, photographed, or sculpted by that artist. Although self-portraits have been made since the earliest times, it is not until the Early Renaissance in the mid-15th century tha ...
, Campagnano documents
gender assignments imposed on women.
Early life and education
Campagnano was born in 1941 in
Verdello, a commune in
Lombardy
Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...
, Italy. She studied painting at the
Brera Academy in
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
and graduated in 1965.
Work
She exhibited her paintings in Italy and abroad until 1972. She began to explore other
mediums when she felt that painting was dominated by men and started using photography in 1968, to document
feminist
Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...
issues and themes.
Campagnano joined the women's collective
Via Cherubini in Milan.
In 1974, she executed the photographic series ''L'inventione del Feminile'' which deals with three aspects ''Ruoli'': the roles assigned to women, ''Ogetti'': the objects assigned to women and ''Regalia'': the attitudes and postures of princes and royalty.
The ''Ruoli'' project was inspired by feminist friends posed in her salon in
drag.
Campagnalo manipulated make-up, clothes and hairstyles to mimic the attitudes and postures imposed on women. The artist documented subjects such as the bride, the mother, the housewife, the worker, the prostitute, the lover, and the activist. She aimed through her work to identify, and question the
gender assignments imposed on women.
In the ''Regalia'' series, Campagnano explored the relationship between image, representation, and construction. Each photograph was a portrait of a woman in a royal posture, imitating the portraits of Western paintings. The rich and princely looking clothes were made of cheap and recycled materials.
In 1976, she published the series ''Donne imagini'' in which she further explored the roles imposed on women.
Publications
*''La grande allusione: 1974–2015 – I ruoli del femminile di Marcella Campagnano ieri e oggi''. Rome: Museum of Contemporary Arts, Sapienza University, 2015.
*''L'Invenzione del Femminile''. Brescia: Ma.Co.F - centro della fotografia Italiana, 2017.
See also
*
Lynn Hershman Leeson
Lynn Hershman Leeson (née Lynn Lester Hershman; born 1941) is a multimedia American artist and filmmaker. Her work combines art with social commentary, particularly on the relationship between people and technology. Leeson is a pioneer in new med ...
*
Martha Wilson
Martha Wilson (born 1947 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American feminist performance artist and the founding director of Franklin Furnace Archive art organization. Over the past four decades she has developed and "created innovative photo ...
*
Suzy Lake
Suzy Lake (born June 24, 1947) is an American-Canadian artist based in Toronto, Canada, who is known for her work as a photographer, performance artist and video producer. Using a range of media, Lake explores topics including identity, beauty, ...
*
Cindy Sherman
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Campagnano, Marcella
Italian feminists
1941 births
Italian painters
20th-century Italian photographers
Italian women photographers
Living people