SYSTEMS OF HARMONY
Marta Giaccone
“Systems of harmony” is a personal portrait of suburban USA.
In the 19th century a large number of Europeans and Americans went to great lengths to establish small utopian communities throughout North America. They were preachers, social reformers, industrialists, philosophers, anarchists, journalists and socialist thinkers who attracted large crowds to their intentional colonies.
Nevertheless they were exclusive establishments, some religious in character, that saw in the vastness of the American wilderness a favorable economic, political and social environment.
They didn’t last long: some a few months, others a few years.
Giaccone traveled to many of these former utopias drawn to their often evocative and tenderly pretentious names such as Utopia, New Harmony or Modern Times, out of curiosity for what those places look like now and wondering where America is, 150 years later.
Marta Giaccone
Marta Giaccone (b. 1988, Milan, Italy) received an MA in Documentary Photography at the University of South Wales, Newport, UK (2014) and a BA in English and Hispanic American Literatures at the University of Milan, Italy (2011).
Her personal work and research focus on issues related to family and youth with a particular interest in the feminine perspective. She is also drawn to observing relationships between small groups of people and the landscapes they inhabit. Evolving through long-term documentary projects shot on medium and large format film, her photographic practice enables a more intimate and contemplative approach. She has had three solo shows.
Her editorial clients include The New York Times, The New Yorker, Monocle/Konfekt, Vogue Italia, D la Repubblica. Her images have appeared on numerous print and online publications. She has worked for Richard Mosse as a production assistant for Incoming and Heat Maps; for Magnum Photos NYC, Bruce Davidson, Alessandra Sanguinetti and Mary Ellen Mark as an intern.
She is currently based between Rome, Italy, and Tallinn, Estonia.
