Photography as Counter-Power: Theory and Practice of Political Images in the 1970s

The essay aims to address the relationship between photographic images and power, specifically with reference to Italy during the 1970s: the Decennio lungo del secolo breve (Long Decade of the Short Century), one of the most intense seasons of the recent past that was characterised by a crucial moment of crisis and change in the history of the Republic. The form of power relationships in the public sphere, particularly during the period that spans from 1968 to 1977–two fundamental moments that saw a series of antagonistic practices materialise–was the object of attention from eminent critics even at the time. These critics looked to Italy as the perfect laboratory to experiment with a true "microphysics of power" (Foucault 1991, 23)