Foto/Industria: Bologna Biennale 01 - Impresa, Lavoro

Ever since it was invented in the 19th Century, photography has been used by companies for the purposes of production, communication, identification and memory. Photography has also spurred changes in social processes by showing the inhumanity of certain jobs. Far removed from advertising, where images are conceptualised in advance, industrial photography relies above all on the photographer’s eye, creativity and perception of places and people. That is why great photographers have worked on specific projects. Through this book, the aim of MAST Foundation is to stimulate aesthetic and strategic reflection about the use companies make of photography and, with the collaboration of François Hébel, director of Les Rencontres de la Photographie d’Arles, they created the first Biennials of Industrial Photography. For this first international edition, seventeen photographers have been selected. They have done brilliant work for companies, making it a significant part of their output. Among the vast amount of material, photographic collections and noteworthy publications have been chosen, together with two photographers that, with an external eye, have documented different realities: David Goldblatt has concentrated himself on the work on the mines while Jacqueline Hassink on the places of business power. Catalogue of the fist Biennials of Industrial Photography: the new event dedicated to corporate and industrial photography. 17 admission-free exhibitions in 11 historical venues from October 3rd to 20th, 2013 in Bologna, Italy. The Isabella Seràgnoli Foundation created the Foto Industria Bologna to stimulate thought about the aesthetic and strategic uses companies make of photography and collect quality images in connection with the photo gallery that Urs Stahel is setting up at MAST, its “Arts, Experimentation and Technology” exhibition space. The artistic director of the Biennials is François Hébel, director of Les Rencontres de la Photographie d’Arles.