Actors establish their public persona based on negotiations among their characters, the expectations and the tastes of the audiences, and the media production system in which they are involved. But what does it happen when an industrial media apparatus doesn’t exist, and how does an actress of early Italian cinema give shape – alone and from the bottom – to her star image? Drawing from huge amount of archival materials, the paper examines the case of Mimy Aylmer, an Italian actress who for twenty years was active in theatre, cinema and put herself at the centre of public gossip. The analysis of her career, on the one hand, and a deep insight through her photo archive on the other, allow to understand how the idea of “performance” and of “performative” are at the basis of her work both in artistic and public activity, and in private life.
On the Stage: Mimì Aylmer’s Public and Private Life as a Performance
MOSCONI, ELENA;
2015-01-01
Abstract
Actors establish their public persona based on negotiations among their characters, the expectations and the tastes of the audiences, and the media production system in which they are involved. But what does it happen when an industrial media apparatus doesn’t exist, and how does an actress of early Italian cinema give shape – alone and from the bottom – to her star image? Drawing from huge amount of archival materials, the paper examines the case of Mimy Aylmer, an Italian actress who for twenty years was active in theatre, cinema and put herself at the centre of public gossip. The analysis of her career, on the one hand, and a deep insight through her photo archive on the other, allow to understand how the idea of “performance” and of “performative” are at the basis of her work both in artistic and public activity, and in private life.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
