The Eye of Science: Pirelli and Pictures of Research
As soon as it was invented in the mid-nineteenth century, the camera became not just as tool for a new art form, but also a crucial asset in the realm of science. It directly spurred the advance of science by assisting in research, documentation, dissemination and the teaching of technical knowledge. From archaeology to botany, to anthropology and geology: forever capturing fragments of reality, it has always facilitated and also encouraged greater levels of understanding. It is this combination of observation and knowledge that was so beautifully expressed in the words of Ingegner Luigi Emanueli: “Adess ghe capissaremm on quaicoss: andemm a guardagh denter (“Now we’ll understand something, let’s go and look inside”). A reference to Pirelli’s approach to research, but also to the very essence of scientific photography.
The pages of Pirelli magazine amply attest to the importance of photography as a tool for the sciences. One article, “Cento anni di fotografia celeste” (“A hundred years of celestial photography”) traces the history of astronomy, from the first image of a star – Vega, in the constellation of Lyra – dating back to 1850, all the way to the stunning shots taken through modern telescopes on the mountain tops which, a century later, were to lead the way in our understanding of the stars. From the infinitely vast to the infinitely small: a 1953 article explores the role of microphotography in analysing inorganic phenomena. The text was illustrated by magnified photograms – authentic “technical records” – showing the effects of ozonised air on vulcanised rubber surfaces, or the gradual tearing of repeatedly stretched rubber sheets. In 1954, an article entitled “Fotografa i messaggi siderali” (“Photographing celestial messages”), the journalist Franco Vegliani profiled Giuseppe Occhialini, a physicist who investigated cosmic rays using emulsions and photographic plates. Coral branches, schools of damselfish, and large octopuses take centre stage in photographs captured by divers in the Mediterranean. These images, from Gianni Roghi’s analysis published in the magazine in 1959, show the importance of photography in the realm of biology.
Photography also emerged as an indispensable tool for documenting the places, equipment and faces of the world of research at Pirelli factories, for scientific work requires full awareness and knowledge of the technological legacy that the Group has built up throughout its history.
In 1922, to commemorate the company’s fiftieth anniversary, a photographic shoot was conducted at the Milano Bicocca factory, ranging from the laboratories to the production departments. Photographs just showing the premises are certainly of great documentary value, but they do not fully convey the true spirit of the laboratory as a vibrant centre of visionary curiosity and as a crucial asset for the company.
Photographs from the 1930s and 1940s provide the first visual testimony of people working in these places of experimentation, with both women and men in white coats engrossed in various experiments. What is interesting is not just the scientists but also the tools they use: the work benches of the chemistry and physics laboratories have microscopes, ampoules, slides, test tubes, torque transducers and plastometers, and we see them being used or in close-ups that highlight the details.
In the 1950s some of the great names in photography were asked to immortalise the complexity of Pirelli research centres, offering new perspectives and personal points of view. These sites were chosen and arranged on the basis of their particular field of research and the areas of experimentation and testing that were involved in the manufacturing of the company’s products. Aldo Ballo visited the various departments of the Milano Bicocca factory, including the textile laboratory, the plastic materials development department and the organic analysis division, taking photos that clearly convey the concept of science as both study and application. Carlo Ancillotti – who in those years captured on film not only the Fiera Campionaria in Milan, but also the interiors of the Industria Nazionale Alluminio (INA) and those of the Duco factory in Avigliana – ventured into the rubber laboratory, going from the compound research and development section to the machine room where tyres were tested for resistance to crushing and impact. Giulio Galimberti, on the other hand, went into the physics labs and photographed the world of testing, with dynamometers, checks on fabric permeability and assessments of the elasticity of rubber samples under stress.
The camera also revealed the importance of the Milano Bicocca laboratories in Pirelli magazine: an article published in 1958 showed the advanced level of technology achieved in the research centre for the cable sector, with the text accompanied by numerous photographs. In 1960 came an article on the purchase and installation of two new pieces of equipment – a microphotometer and an optical comparator – both designed by Pirelli personnel. In 1963 came the opening of a new laboratory for the electrical sector, described as “one of the largest currently existing in the world for very high voltage tests”.
The R&D department has always been key to Pirelli’s activity, and is still today a place of knowledge and documentation, as we see in the 2021 reportage by the photographer and film-maker Carlo Furgeri Gilbert: from the raw materials, obtained from renewable and recycled sources, that are used in the laboratories, through to indoor experiments, and the stringent tests carried out on prototypes to ensure that the products are increasingly advanced in terms of safety, performance and sustainability. The decisive role of Research and Development in the history of the Group is well summed up in the words of Alberto Pirelli in La Pirelli: Vita di una azienda industriale: “Our technology is highly complex, in both the physical and the chemical field and in the mechanical sector. It is a testament to the dedication of our laboratory teams who have helped elevate the technical standing of the Pirelli brand, enabling us to triumph over the fiercest competition.”
As soon as it was invented in the mid-nineteenth century, the camera became not just as tool for a new art form, but also a crucial asset in the realm of science. It directly spurred the advance of science by assisting in research, documentation, dissemination and the teaching of technical knowledge. From archaeology to botany, to anthropology and geology: forever capturing fragments of reality, it has always facilitated and also encouraged greater levels of understanding. It is this combination of observation and knowledge that was so beautifully expressed in the words of Ingegner Luigi Emanueli: “Adess ghe capissaremm on quaicoss: andemm a guardagh denter (“Now we’ll understand something, let’s go and look inside”). A reference to Pirelli’s approach to research, but also to the very essence of scientific photography.
The pages of Pirelli magazine amply attest to the importance of photography as a tool for the sciences. One article, “Cento anni di fotografia celeste” (“A hundred years of celestial photography”) traces the history of astronomy, from the first image of a star – Vega, in the constellation of Lyra – dating back to 1850, all the way to the stunning shots taken through modern telescopes on the mountain tops which, a century later, were to lead the way in our understanding of the stars. From the infinitely vast to the infinitely small: a 1953 article explores the role of microphotography in analysing inorganic phenomena. The text was illustrated by magnified photograms – authentic “technical records” – showing the effects of ozonised air on vulcanised rubber surfaces, or the gradual tearing of repeatedly stretched rubber sheets. In 1954, an article entitled “Fotografa i messaggi siderali” (“Photographing celestial messages”), the journalist Franco Vegliani profiled Giuseppe Occhialini, a physicist who investigated cosmic rays using emulsions and photographic plates. Coral branches, schools of damselfish, and large octopuses take centre stage in photographs captured by divers in the Mediterranean. These images, from Gianni Roghi’s analysis published in the magazine in 1959, show the importance of photography in the realm of biology.
Photography also emerged as an indispensable tool for documenting the places, equipment and faces of the world of research at Pirelli factories, for scientific work requires full awareness and knowledge of the technological legacy that the Group has built up throughout its history.
In 1922, to commemorate the company’s fiftieth anniversary, a photographic shoot was conducted at the Milano Bicocca factory, ranging from the laboratories to the production departments. Photographs just showing the premises are certainly of great documentary value, but they do not fully convey the true spirit of the laboratory as a vibrant centre of visionary curiosity and as a crucial asset for the company.
Photographs from the 1930s and 1940s provide the first visual testimony of people working in these places of experimentation, with both women and men in white coats engrossed in various experiments. What is interesting is not just the scientists but also the tools they use: the work benches of the chemistry and physics laboratories have microscopes, ampoules, slides, test tubes, torque transducers and plastometers, and we see them being used or in close-ups that highlight the details.
In the 1950s some of the great names in photography were asked to immortalise the complexity of Pirelli research centres, offering new perspectives and personal points of view. These sites were chosen and arranged on the basis of their particular field of research and the areas of experimentation and testing that were involved in the manufacturing of the company’s products. Aldo Ballo visited the various departments of the Milano Bicocca factory, including the textile laboratory, the plastic materials development department and the organic analysis division, taking photos that clearly convey the concept of science as both study and application. Carlo Ancillotti – who in those years captured on film not only the Fiera Campionaria in Milan, but also the interiors of the Industria Nazionale Alluminio (INA) and those of the Duco factory in Avigliana – ventured into the rubber laboratory, going from the compound research and development section to the machine room where tyres were tested for resistance to crushing and impact. Giulio Galimberti, on the other hand, went into the physics labs and photographed the world of testing, with dynamometers, checks on fabric permeability and assessments of the elasticity of rubber samples under stress.
The camera also revealed the importance of the Milano Bicocca laboratories in Pirelli magazine: an article published in 1958 showed the advanced level of technology achieved in the research centre for the cable sector, with the text accompanied by numerous photographs. In 1960 came an article on the purchase and installation of two new pieces of equipment – a microphotometer and an optical comparator – both designed by Pirelli personnel. In 1963 came the opening of a new laboratory for the electrical sector, described as “one of the largest currently existing in the world for very high voltage tests”.
The R&D department has always been key to Pirelli’s activity, and is still today a place of knowledge and documentation, as we see in the 2021 reportage by the photographer and film-maker Carlo Furgeri Gilbert: from the raw materials, obtained from renewable and recycled sources, that are used in the laboratories, through to indoor experiments, and the stringent tests carried out on prototypes to ensure that the products are increasingly advanced in terms of safety, performance and sustainability. The decisive role of Research and Development in the history of the Group is well summed up in the words of Alberto Pirelli in La Pirelli: Vita di una azienda industriale: “Our technology is highly complex, in both the physical and the chemical field and in the mechanical sector. It is a testament to the dedication of our laboratory teams who have helped elevate the technical standing of the Pirelli brand, enabling us to triumph over the fiercest competition.”