Exhibit has 'eye' for life in cities of Italy

"An Eye for the City," the new photography show at the University Art Museum, presents Italian cities and how they've suffered from failed urban planning. Italian photographers shoot all the work displayed in this exhibition, making the show's ambiance very personal and meaningful. They do a magnificent job of capturing the crude nature of these contemporary locations by purposefully using architectural and aesthetic photographic techniques.

"An Eye for the City" is more than just photographs to look at. It has a purpose and reason for existing. It shows us specific information concerning the effects of city planning that we wouldn't normally be aware of.

The exhibition shows a devastated environment as it directly affects the people that occupy that space. These photographs show the truth about urban disaster, but the other truth is that the occupants will survive and that even though the buildings are sometimes in shambles, life will continue.

These Italian cities are ruggedly elegant, and the colors that are sometimes shown, depending on the image, are fearful and unified, evocative of the silence that can ring through any city.

Typical daily life is often revealed as photos depict anything from children playing in an abandoned street to a building standing with everlasting patience. The photographed, architectural objects are forced to draw their own attention because they have often been forgotten or misplaced by their audience. Viewing these urban photographs of a location that is literally falling apart is quite difficult, aside from the fact that they are technically and aesthetically sound.

Guido Guidi is a strong presence in this exhibit. His work portrays objects in their natural, purest state while integrating industrial aspects that may have led to general social demise. One of his works shows a series of 12 photographs depicting the lazy state of forgotten architectural and industrial monuments. In these photographs, we see the results of destruction and how they affect us socially within specific communities.

"An Eye for the City" successfully focuses on movement while documenting the tainted frustrations of an expired city. This show is an interesting experience, full of both beauty and disappointment. "An Eye for the City" will be in the University Art Museum in The Center for the Arts until Dec. 21.