Last days of 'Català-Roca, Rastres Compartits, Ramon Manent' at Nau Gaudí

The Nau Gaudí de Mataró is extending the exhibition Català-Roca, Rastres Compartits, Ramon Manent, which has been on display since October 27, 2023, for one more week.

This exhibition is part of the commemoration of the Year Francesc Català-Roca on the occasion of the centenary of his birth. Francesc Català-Roca and Ramon Manent are two photographers who leave us traces of landscapes, people and activities that no longer exist. Both traveled through Spain in the second half of the 20th century fixing the world from which we come to pass it on to later generations.

In the words of Català-Roca, "when we take a photograph we have so many possibilities, points of view, situations, that the simple fact of choosing is already a creation. The photograph is already taken, but you have to take it, select it. Go -to look for it wherever it is and think reality in a photograph, translate it into a photograph".

According to the director of Nau Gaudí, "the images of Català-Roca and Ramon Manent document reality because they reflect it above artistic experimentation, in a constant search for humanist documentary photography. They portray cities and their people, ways of living, hardships and illusions. A whole compendium of our recent history in images built through his gaze, while creating a narrative content." A picture is worth a thousand words, says the Chinese proverb.

Following the criteria of Català-Roca, shared by Ramon Manent, the exhibition has no posters. The photographs are to be read by looking at them, to observe them. Captions have done quite a bit of damage because people read them and don't look at the photos. Photo books should not have text next to the image; people have to get used to reading the photograph, analyzing it, trying to figure out what the photographer wanted to say, discovering things that the photographer didn't notice.