PAZZA IDEA. Oltre il '68: icone pop nelle fotografie di Angelo Frontoni(PAZZA IDEA. Beyond ’68: Pop Icons in the Photographs of Angelo Frontoni)

From 20 September 2025 to 9 March 2026, the Museo Nazionale del Cinema in Turin presents the photographic exhibition PAZZA IDEA. Beyond ’68: Pop Icons in the Photographs of Angelo Frontoni, curated by Carlo Chatrian with Roberta Basano and Elena Boux. The exhibition offers a compelling portrait of the 1970s and 1980s through the lens of photographer Angelo Frontoni, who captured the spirit and contradictions of those decades with elegance and irony.

The exhibition begins in the Temple Hall, where visitors are welcomed by three giant Tripolina screens positioned 18 metres above the ground around the Panoramic Lift. A selection of the portraits on display comes to life on the screens, appearing to float beneath the Dome of the Mole Antonelliana. They enter into dialogue with the large screens below, which simultaneously present a montage of films featuring the artists portrayed.

Along the Helical Ramp, 200 photographs depicting 62 Italian and international artists take visitors on a visual journey from 1968 to the end of the 1980s. These two decades of profound social and political transformation are vividly represented and interpreted by some of the period’s leading actors, singers and models: from Jane Fonda to Brigitte Bardot, Jane Birkin to Claudia Cardinale, Fabio Testi to Ringo Starr, Elsa Martinelli to Marisa Mell, Ilona Staller to Moana Pozzi, Edwige Fenech to the Kessler twins, and Loredana Bertè to Ornella Vanoni and Raffaella Carrà—before ending, or perhaps beginning, with Patty Pravo.

With his unmistakably Baroque sensibility, always verging on excess, Angelo Frontoni photographed stars of cinema, television and fashion. In his images, published in Italian and international newspapers and magazines, seduction merges with the irony of his gaze, while provocation and tenderness coexist in a remarkable balance. Today, these photographs tell the story of the entertainment world of an era and, above all, of the desires and fantasies of a generation.

Digitally reproduced from original 35 mm, 6 × 6 cm and 6 × 9 cm transparencies, the photographs appear as vivid, contemporary images that continue to challenge the viewer’s gaze. The exhibition does more than recount a particular period: it also seeks to encourage discussion around gender identity, provocation, transgression and the display of the body. It creates a bridge between younger generations and those who experienced these decades first-hand, inviting reflection on what remains and on how the perspective of different eras can transform the perception of the same subject.

The exhibition is narrated through panels inspired by songs from those years. Music—particularly rock and pop in their many forms—is an essential element of Frontoni’s work, and a variety of musical references appear to emerge naturally from his photographs. To highlight this aspect, the exhibition is accompanied by an international music playlist available on Spotify. Its carefully selected tracks guide visitors through the exhibition and contribute to a complete immersion in the magnificent, imaginative world of the period.

Outside the Museum, four mirrored panels have been installed on the outer fence of the Mole Antonelliana, allowing passers-by to take selfies with some of the figures featured in the exhibition. Jane Fonda, the Kessler twins, Edwige Fenech and Raffaella Carrà invite visitors to take part in a playful exchange of reflections, where reality and entertainment meet in a timeless setting.

A self-taught photographer, Angelo Frontoni (1929–2002) began his career in 1957 with a feature on Gina Lollobrigida. From that moment onwards, his lens remained focused on the leading figures of cinema and entertainment, captured with a gaze that was both gentle and precise. His style was Baroque yet direct, combining the spirit of Swinging London with a distinctly Italian touch. His photographs appeared in publications including Stern, Paris Match, The Sunday Times, Photo and even the American edition of Playboy. More than simple portraits, they are visual narratives that helped define an era.

The Angelo Frontoni Archive comprises more than 546,000 images and was jointly acquired in 2004 by the Museo Nazionale del Cinema in Turin and the Cineteca Nazionale – Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia in Rome. This highly significant collection preserves not only the memory of cinema and popular culture, but also the portrait of an entire era.

From 23 to 29 September 2025, Cinema Massimo will present L’importante è non farsi notare, a film programme loosely inspired by the exhibition. The four films selected are Stanley Kramer’s Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, Roger Vadim’s Barbarella, Lucio Fulci’s One on Top of the Other and Serge Gainsbourg’s Je t’aime moi non plus. Moving between cinema, television, music, variety entertainment and fashion, the programme searches for the colourful, exuberant and almost recklessly carefree traces of a radical transformation in society and in the way people represented themselves. As a counterpoint to modern cinema and its strongly auteur-driven approach, the films that emerged from the revolution of 1968 reflected a new generation attracted to different genres and forms, drawing inspiration from the glam rock of Queen and David Bowie, the libertarian values of Woodstock and the sexual emancipation represented by Playboy. Comedy, science fiction and thrillers provided an ideal setting for new stories and characters that challenged established conventions with a strong sense of self-irony, placing the body—often emphasised through make-up and costume—at the centre of this transformation.

The Video Room, located in one of the chapels of the Temple Hall, presents a selection of commercials from the CSC – Archivio Nazionale Cinema Impresa in dialogue with the exhibition. Produced between the late 1960s and the 1980s, they offer a brief journey through the iconic objects of a generation. Seductive, ironic and often provocative, the advertising of the period portrays a bold and carefree youth at the heart of an era of transformation. Acting as a counterpoint to Pazza idea, this selection offers a journey through time by means of commercials that successfully combined entertainment and persuasion, playing a decisive role in shaping and transforming the collective imagination.

Images and videos can be downloaded HERE.