ErnaniPaterra
Author and director of audiovisual shows (specialising in cultural heritage);
Designer of visual events and entertainment systems;
Museum consultant.
Key projects
2022. Cosenza. National Gallery. Museological consultancy for the redevelopment of the Art Gallery.
2021. Montemiletto (Avelino). Castello della Leonessa. Design and production of the multimedia installation ‘Il Carcere del Mastio’.
2020. L’Aquila. Emiciclo. Design and curation of the multivision project ‘L’Aquila 10 anni’.
2017. Paestum. Rome. Italferr Spa. Design and production of a corporate video to promote the Gaudello archaeological site, to be shown at the MiBACT stand at the Paestum Archaeological Tourism Fair.
2016. Positano (SA) Museum of the Roman Villa. Design of multimedia systems and exhibition spaces.
2015. Frigento (AV) Palazzo De Leo Museum. Design of the exhibition and lighting for the artefacts, and creation of the visual content for two video installations.
2015. Positano (SA), Piazza Teglia. Creation of the visual setting and the projection ‘Architetture ingannevoli’ (Deceptive Architectures) on the façade of the Church of Santa Maria Assunta.
2013. Camigliatello (Cosenza). Museo della Nave della Sila. Video installation ‘Mare Madre’. Design of the visual setting, direction and production of the content.
2013. Rome. Museo Portuense. Video installation featuring a 3D reconstruction of the Aeneolithic burial site and the village from the ‘Muratella’ discovery.
2012 Tivoli. Villa d’Este. Exhibition “Le magnificenze del banchetto rinascimentale” (The Magnificence of the Renaissance Banquet) Design of the exhibition spaces; design and production of the video projections.
2011 Paestum. National Archaeological Museum. Exhibition ‘Salerno, dopo lo Tzunami’ (Salerno after the Tsunami) Design of the exhibition spaces; design and production of the video installations and multimedia systems.
2011 Salerno. Santa Chiara Complex. Exhibition ‘Salerno, dopo lo Tzunami’ (Salerno after the Tsunami) Design of the exhibition spaces, design and production of the video installations and multimedia systems.
2011 Celano (L’Aquila). Musè (Celano Marshes Museum). Creation of the multivision installation ‘Le voci del lago’ (‘The Voices of the Lake’)
2010–11 Ferrara. National Archaeological Museum. Permanent exhibition ‘Sala di Spina’. Design and production of the video installation ‘La vita quotidiana a Spina’ (Daily Life in Spina); design and curation of the hypertext ‘Spina, una città famosa nel mondo antico’ (Spina, a Famous City in the Ancient World)
2008–09 Rome. Palazzo delle Esposizioni. Exhibition: ‘Etruscans. The Ancient Metropolises of Lazio” exhibition.
Design and production of the video installation ‘La tomba Francois’; conception and production of the video installation ‘Le feste di Adone’
2006. Rome and Brussels. Belgian Academy and Cinquantenaire Museum. Belgian Embassy in Italy. Exhibition ‘Poco grano, molti frutti’ (‘A Little Wheat, Many Fruits’). Audiovisual and lighting design.
2006. Naples. Castel dell’Ovo. Municipality of Naples. Notte Bianca. ‘Il silenzio delle Sirene’ Design of the visual settings and lighting design for the castle façade
2006. Naples. Castel dellʼOvo. Municipality of Naples. Notte Bianca. ‘Il silenzio delle Sirene’ Design and creation of video installations in the prison halls.
2006. Rome. Casa dei Teatri. Municipality of Rome. ‘Almanacco teatrale #1’ Design and production of 7 audiovisual pieces.
2005. Genoaenoa. National Maritime Museum. Science Festival. Visual and lighting design for the setting.
2004. Rome. Scuderie del Quirinale. Palaexpò special agency. Exhibition ‘Italia–Russia. La reciproca meraviglia. Da Giotto a Malévic’ (‘Italy–Russia. Mutual Wonder. From Giotto to Malevich’), From Giotto to Malevich” exhibition, Design and creation of the visual settings.
2004. Rome. Scuderie del Quirinale. Palaexpò special agency. Exhibition ‘Velazquez, Bernini, Luca Giordano. The Courts of the Baroque” exhibition. Design and creation of visual settings.
2003. Naples. National Archaeological Museum. Archaeological Superintendence of Pompeii. Exhibition ‘Stories from an Eruption. Pompeii, Herculaneum, Oplontis”. Design and creation of the visual settings.
2003. Celano (L’Aquila). Piccolomini Castle. Abruzzo Archaeological Superintendency. Set-up of the ‘Torlonia Reliefs’ room; production of audiovisual content.
2002. Cairo (Egypt). Um Khultum Museum. Egyptian Ministry of Culture. Creation of the multivision system.
2002. Rome. Palazzo delle Esposizioni, ‘From Neorealism to La Dolce Vita’.
2000. Chieti. ‘La Civitella’ Archaeological Museum. Abruzzo Archaeological Superintendency. Design of the visual settings and lighting scheme for the entire museum. 11 video installations
1999. Teramo. Municipal Archaeological Museum. Municipal Archaeological Superintendency. “I Plutei di S. Maria Aprutiensis”.
1998. Rome. Barracco Museum. Cultural Heritage Superintendency of the Municipality of Rome. ‘Corso Vittorio Emanuele II tra urbanistica e archeologia’ (‘Corso Vittorio Emanuele II: Between Urban Planning and Archaeology’).
1997. Rome. Palazzo delle Esposizioni, Municipality of Rome. ‘Tu musica divina’. Design and production of 3 multivision installations: ‘Gli anni del boom’, ‘Cafè Chantant’, ‘Le stelle della rivista’.
1996. Rome. Piazza del Popolo. ‘Capodanno in Piazza’. Design, direction and production of the show (8 projections onto the façades of buildings, churches and the gate, covering a total area of approximately 8,000 square metres).
1994. Rome. Palazzo delle Esposizioni. Municipality of Rome. ‘Roma sotto le stelle del ’44’ (‘Rome under the Stars of 1944’)
Design and creation of the installation.
1991. Rome. Cinecittà. Production of the 18-screen multivision show ‘Michelangelo Antonioni, Architetture della Visione’.
The three-year Photography course aims to provide students with the technical, theoretical and critical tools essential for developing an understanding of photography as a medium for visual communication.
In addition to covering the technical aspects of photography, the course will also approach the subject from the perspective of visual language, exploring the various applications of the medium and making reference to the genres, artists and photographers who are leading figures in the contemporary photographic cultural scene.
TOPICS
Technical elements
• Light: physical properties, the visible spectrum
• The characteristics of light: colour, direction, shape and contrast
• The 35 mm SLR camera: description and functions
• Elements of optics: aperture and brightness, depth of field, hyperfocal length
• Optics in the perception of space and perspective, the choice of lens
• Exposure: exposure meters and reading exposure
• Lighting: studies on direction and shape (sunlight and studio lamps)
• Artificial lighting: studio exercises
• Image composition and choice of framing
• Digital media: characteristics and selection
Critical elements
• Automatic vs Manual
• Error and freedom
• Thinking about photography
• Sight and the other senses
• Reflections on visual language
• The flaws and benefits of digital technology
• Photographic abuse and the loss of information
• The use of the ‘Recycle Bin’
EXAMINATIONS
The exam, divided into two parts, consists of an assessment of technical knowledge (written test) and a presentation and discussion of the photographic project completed by the student during the course. To this end, it is essential to have ongoing reviews of the work in progress.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Textbooks
A New Treatise on Modern Photography – Michael Langford. Il Castello
Composizione e improvvisazione – Larry Fink. Postcard
Lecturer’s handouts
Recommended reading
On Photography – Susan Sontag. Einaudi
La camera chiara – Roland Barthes. Einaudi
La fotografia: illusione o rivelazione? – Francesca Alinova / Claudio Marra – Francesca Alinova / Claudio Marra. Il Mulino
Teoria e storia della fotografia – Rosalind Krauss. Mondadori
La libertà del fotografo – Andrea Attardi. Postacard
Le idee della fotografia – Claudio Marra. Mondadori
The Photography 2 course focuses on developing the creative process through the elaboration of language and the meaning of the photographic gesture, understood as an act of creation.
The course will analyse photography as a contemporary artistic practice, examining how rapid linguistic, aesthetic and technological developments are shifting it towards the concept of liquid photography: post-photography. The course will therefore consider the reflections of contemporary artists, as well as the hyperbolic apparatus of social media, which is increasingly cannibalising photographs in exchange for disposable images.
We will also examine whether the concept of authorship persists in a market increasingly characterised by digitally manipulated or repurposed images from the internet.
Critical elements
• The act of looking and its cultural dimension
• Electronic images or ephemeral images
• Interpretation and testimony
• Producing works or producing situations?
• The selfie: from ‘this happened’ to ‘I was there’
• Photography without quality
• Image adoption practices
• The end of authorship
EXAMINATIONS
The exam consists of a presentation and discussion of the photographic project completed by the student during the course.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Fototensioni. Augusto Pieroni – Castelvecchio
La fotografia come arte contemporanea. Charlotte Cotton – Einaudi
La furia delle immagini, note sulla postfotografia. Joan Fontcuberta – Einaudi
The course aims to develop students’ skills in the design and production of visual environments and multimedia installations for museums or exhibitions. The course will focus on learning the various techniques for creating audiovisuals, as well as interaction and automation systems, through the use of the software and hardware essential for producing a video installation. Students will be required to explore in depth the various stages of the process involved in creating the event and, during the design of the installation, will produce the architectural drawings for the set-up and the visual content that forms the subject of the work itself. During the examination, the installation design as a whole will be assessed, as well as its feasibility in terms of its actual realisation.
TOPICS
Fields of application
- Analysis of exhibition itineraries
- Museum multimedia communication
- Study and design of interactive systems
- Visual settings for exhibitions and museums (audiovisual).
- Visual settings for the performing arts
- Theatre set design
Analysis of the production phases
- Identification of the installation’s functional uses.
- Identification of the exhibition space and the conditions of use.
- Preliminary analyses and architectural survey of the exhibition space.
- Study of video and audio content and lighting design.
- Simulation of the installation in the exhibition space using 3D modelling software.
- Identification and selection of the production equipment (software).
- Selection of exhibition technologies and materials.
- Research into visual and audio content
- Image and audio processing (compositing and audio/video editing).
- Content production
Study of production and broadcasting equipment and systems
- Video projectors, monitors,
- Video mapping and multivision software
- Architectural modelling software (SketchUp) and video compositing software (After Effects)
- Proximity sensors and motion controllers
- Touchscreens
EXAMINATION
The exam consists of creating and presenting a project for the design of an exhibition space and developing a short multimedia piece.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Comunicazione multimediale per i beni culturali, M. Rossi, P. Salonia, ed. Pearson 2003
Musei di Narrazione, Studio Azzurro, ed. Silvana Editoriale, 2011
Interattività: S.A. opere tra partecipazione e osservazione, Studio Azzurro, edited by G. Mattei, Fondazione Umbria Spettacolo.
Studio Azzurro, Bruno di Marino, ed. Feltrinelli 2007
Lecturer’s handouts