Donna by Valeria Mitelman (February 26, 2010) 
(40 votes, average: 3.18 out of 5)
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Introduction by Sophia Greiff
In her series of portraits Valeria Mitelman explores a very personal facet of female identity, presenting images that are part of the private documentation of expecting mothers. Placing them in front of a black background she puts the women and their bodies in the centre of the image and the contemplation. Strong and all-powerful, with clemency and gentleness in their gaze, they are looking down to the viewer. Their tender and Madonna-like poses and gestures bring up associations of Botticellis pictorial representations of women or of renaissance oil paintings showing the Virgin Mother – with the sole exception that the child she is usually carrying in her arms is yet to come. The title “Donna,” which is Italian for “lady,” supports the femininity but also respect that Valeria is showing in her images. She created a universal visual story about pregnancy, while at the same time picturing individual women with their singular physique, underwear and charisma.
Sophia Greiff is an arts educator specialized in photography connected to the Hamburg Arts Museum.
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There is a change in a woman’s mind that occurs when she is expecting a child, a certain calmness and serenity that surrounds her. She is in the process of giving life and experiences an incomparable certainty to do the right thing.
The images of the “Donna” series intend to capture that impression of a time-transcending wisdom, expressed by individuals that experience their bodies in a continuous process of change.
Making use of theatrical light and a black backdrop, every day life masked, the series of portraits brings to the front the sheer presence of the women in their role as a mother-to-be. Commenting on the privateness of that moment, the women are staged wearing their every day underwear, pieces of clothing that are convenient rather than alluring.
But in spite of the women’s unadorned appearance they represent a form of undeniable beauty.
Artist Statement: I use photography to understand other people and places. I am especially interested in the relation between the two, in which way the environment has an influence on people’s personalities. I was born in Minsk, Belarus where I spent the first twenty years of my life. I then went to Germany where I stayed for eight years before I moved to the UK two years ago. Having lived in three countries I became fascinated by examining the differences and similarities. By trying to understand others, I am better able to understand myself.
Valeria Mitelman (1980) lives and works in Berlin, Germany.
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