Riccardo Falcinelli on Visual Culture, Image Collection, and the Illusion of Technology

Graphic designer and author Riccardo Falcinelli, known for his seminal books 'Cromorama', 'Figure', and 'Visus', discusses his method of image collection and cataloging in an interview at his Rome studio. He argues that creativity is proportional to the quantity of visual material we absorb, and he advocates for drawing rather than photographing as a way to truly engage with images. Falcinelli critiques modern technology for creating an illusion of competence, where automatic corrections mask real skills. He distinguishes between graphic design's traditional role of immediate visual impact and the need for some images to be contemplated slowly. The interview also announces a public dialogue between Falcinelli and photographer Silvia Camporesi at the Festival del Pensare Contemporaneo in Piacenza on September 13, 2025, at 6:30 PM, focusing on portraiture and the relationship between immediate perception and attentive observation. Camporesi, born in Forlì in 1973, works with photography and video, drawing from myth, literature, religion, and real life.