“I am not an artist, nor do I wish to be. I am only a witness of my era.”
~ Gianni Berengo Gardin
(1930-2025)
I beg to differ with Gianni. I think he was an artist, but he was deeply humble and would never adopt the stance of one. I’m still saddened by his passing because photographers like him simply do not exist anymore. This is one of his greatest political portrait photographs—a simple Morris Minor car, which was, in fact, my first car, bought after I managed to save up for it as a young man growing up in Great Britain.
The car is parked at the border of England and Scotland on a very cold and windy Sunday. The English love nature a lot and enjoy looking at it come rain or shine. This couple, who one senses have been together for a long time, stay inside to keep warm. They don’t need to talk much, but together they share a special moment. It is so quintessentially English. I can recall witnessing scenes like this growing up there, but the emotion Gianni evokes for us is deeply moving and universal.
