“THE GERMANS OF THE 21st CENTURY” – THE NEW EXHIBITION OF OLIVIERO TOSCANI IN BERLIN

Women, men, blondes, browns, from all walks of life, professionals and workers from diverse sectors and global citizens: All of them are contemporary Germans. There’s a piece of Toscani in the new “wall” that is going to be inaugurated in Berlin on April 25: Large totem poles built as concrete benches, as new street furniture of Potsdamer Platz chosen to host the exhibition. A true photographic reportage dedicated to the Germans of the twenty-first century, produced by Giannoni and Santoni and firmed by Oliviero Toscani, an authentic Milanese who has chosen to live in Casale Marittimo since 1970: imagination and creativity met to tell the end of the Aryan race replaced by the new Germans, which is a colourful mix of races and cultures. A hundred modern-day German faces, from the very blond young guy with blue eyes to the girl with afro hair, were photographed by Toscani’s eclectic lens and then “transferred” onto massive concrete panels using the digital fresco process. Racial equality is a matter close to his heart, so much so that he has proposed it on the advertising boards and the advertising pages of glossy publications in the past.

“This piece, which I imagined before the epidemic, holds a special place in my heart. I looked for new faces of contemporary Germans to show how prejudices may be transcended, says Oliviero Toscani. I’ve never understood why people blame Germans for the mistakes of their forefathers. When I was travelling, I noticed that whenever the word “Germans” is mentioned, someone’s nose wrinkles. However, today’s Germans are not those of the past; they are the most advanced European people, with a rich culture and a long history. As a result, I photographed a wide range of people, from Germans with black skin to blondes one.”

A prestigious job for Giannoni and Santoni who with great passion and professionalism has become a point of reference for the world of art, giving life to the artists’ intuitions by providing materials and tools to tell their way of seeing the world.

“Oliviero Toscani – says Antonio Giannoni – has photographed hundreds of Germans. The shots were selected and reproduced by our artisans with the digital fresco technique on a plaster base. The result will have a strong effect. A story that brings together many forms of art “.