The colors, textures, people, fashions and street life of '60s
America
American Voyage is a beautiful portrait of 1960s America from Italian
photographer Mario Carnicelli (born 1937), recently rediscovered after
50 years and published here for the first time. Featuring over 150 color
and black-and-white images, this stunning work transcends other books on
similar subject matter; the photographs are truly compelling, drawing
the reader/viewer into Carnicelli's world.
In 1966, Mario Carnicelli won first place in a national Italian
photography competition sponsored by Popular Photography magazine,
Mamiya and Pentax. The prize was a scholarship to photograph America.
Carnicelli approached the country as an outsider, and yet his
perspective managed to capture the essence of the American experience.
He was fascinated by the almost reckless freedom offered by America,
with its mix of cultures and traditions, its fashion and individuality;
at the same time he was aware of a pervading loneliness and rootlessness
in people separated from family and clan. His photographs are a
captivating, optimistic and contemplative look at the complexity of
ordinary people living the American dream.
