Being Good at Making Naïve Art
Today, my friend Ale showed me a digital preview of his photography book, which focuses on his daily commute in Milan to his workplace and explores the societal and urban shifts occurring in 2025. These include our dependence on smartphones, the relentless pace of "mobile bipeds" constantly on the move, and a so-called "social world" that, despite its name, often leads to isolation and alienation.
Competition: Good vs. Bad
This unpublished work reminded me of ideas and approaches from more renowned photographers—Luigi Ghirri, among others—and made me reflect on what could drive me to take photographs and perhaps, one day, create a photography project of my own.
The first thing—the elephant in the room—is competition. There’s good competition and bad competition.
- Good competition: "I want to create a photo book too because I don’t like the idea of only him having done such a great job, and since I care, I want to create something just as good—if not better!"
- Bad competition: "I want to make a photo book too because I don’t like the attention he's getting; my work deserves recognition as well. Therefore, I need to garner just as much attention and—why not—undermine his work in others' eyes so I seem like the better photographer between the two of us."
I aim for sharing, not competition (the bad kind), and that’s what makes me truly appreciate his work. It allows me to give feedback—positive or critical, perhaps banal, certainly subjective—but always in good faith, and as such, acknowledged and valued.
Different Paths, Same Passion
The second thing—Ale and I have many things in common, yet we’re very different. We both graduated as IT technicians from ISII Marconi, likely in the same section but in different years (he's a bit younger than me), though our paths diverged significantly.
- Ale: High grades (perhaps the highest?), completed a bachelor's degree with ease, pursued computer engineering in a bilingual faculty, and now works at a successful startup, traveling across Europe discussing Machine Learning and AI.
- Me: Barely scraped through high school, started as a graphic designer, moved between IT technician and webmaster roles, and eventually secured a position as an IT system administrator in my city’s municipal office.
On paper, I’m the underdog. But in reality, I have more free time and a less hectic pace. My bank account reflects this difference too, but that’s a natural outcome of our divergent academic choices—he progressed with excellence, while I barely stayed afloat.
Interestingly, we’re both amateur musicians and play together. Our approaches to music mirror our approaches to life:
- Ale: Studied, understood, and executed with clear ideas.
- Me: Grasped passions instinctively, never stopped self-learning music recording and self-publishing.
Ultimately, we are very different: borrowing his vision, even for just the time it takes to flip through a photography book, opens my eyes to a world I hadn't seen before.
The Realization: I Can Do It
The third and final point—I’ve come to realize that I CAN do it. Years ago, fear of what "others" might think held me back.
Then, as an adult—especially after delving deeper into street photography, discovering the New Topographics movement, and exploring Luigi Ghirri’s work during lockdown—I understood that it’s not about what you say, but how you say it. A seemingly "banal" photo can take on new meaning when placed within a series that enhances or redefines its significance.
A turning point for me was visiting the Musée du quai Branly-Jacques Chirac and Centre Pompidou, where I encountered naïve art and its underlying concepts—the idea that accessible tools allow even non-"erudite" individuals to create art, often with no interest in money or fame. That resonates deeply with my approach to photography and music:
I can do it, so I do.
That doesn’t mean I lack skill—I focus on what I know I can do and steer clear of disciplines where I know I lack expertise. For example, I wouldn’t attempt filmmaking, theater, app development, or writing essays or fiction—though I’ve considered them before. If someone dislikes my work, I understand that, for me, it’s not about being incapable—it’s about having more limitations than a truly "skilled" photographer or musician.
In music, I compensate for my limited abilities with a high quantity of decent tracks and varied compositions and arrangements.
Moving Forward: A Shared Vision
Reading and viewing Ale’s first photography book moved me. Right from the lengthy introduction—filled with specific references—it was clear how much thought and effort he had put into it.
My mind works differently, which is why I’ve never created a photo book myself—I lack consistency, I don’t want to think, select, arrange, write, proofread, or articulate in words what drives me to photograph. MY words fail to convey it, and I hope this blog doesn’t sink because of it…
A promising idea for me is collaborating with friends to create a small photography group, curating photo books, and making them freely available online under a CC-ND-NC license for download and viewing.
Ale had floated this idea a few years ago, but nothing came of it—my life was about to change in the months ahead with the birth of my daughter.
I’m happy for this milestone Ale has reached. It would be great to see other photography projects come to life.
Who knows? Maybe something collaborative—four hands or more—could materialize.
Meanwhile, I’ll start photographing again.