Customer Reviews

Sicilian Passage

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Taken between 1982 and 1991, the 40-50 photos here are a mix of landscapes, portraits, candids, and abstract jumbles (rubble, construction materials, twisted trees, etc.). And while they certainly capture a certain old-world Mediterranean quality, there's something very unengaging and undramatic about them. Roma is well-known in photography circles (two time Guggenheim Fellowship recipient, solo MOMA exhibit, Director of Photography at Columbia, etc..), so I'm not really in any place to judge, but... The photos all come across as somewhat flat -- lacking in depth or contrast. This may be a product of the the harsh sunlight, or possibly the age or treatment of negatives or the printing, or maybe it's intentional. Whatever the case, there are very few images in the book with any real tension to them in terms of subject or composition. I suppose some may find the book interesting in terms of its portrayal of Sicily as a fairly unmodernized "old world" place, but that strikes me as feeding into a romantic vision of the place, rather than a striking revelation.

At first glance, I thought the photos in this volume had been taken during my mother's childhood, perhaps the 1920's. However, they only date to the 1980's. There is a certain timelessness about them and certainly, there are some aspects of life on this island that don't change much over time. The timeless qualities of them is part of the interest but they also convey a sadness I did not expect. Serious and artsy, but so much beauty is lost in the seeming flatness of the photos. Where has the depth gone, the vitality? I appreciate this little volume and some of the scenes are haunting but I am left thinking there is something missing here. The pictures do not tell it all and in the end, they don't tell enough to hold me.

A lot of pictures that didn't have any palatable continuity to them. I love Sicily and enjoyed most of the pictures, but without captions, descriptions (or even locations) on them I felt like a bit empty. The most entertaining part was the Afterward by Anna Roma.