American Dream

American Dream was used for the first time by American historian James Truslow Adams in his book The Epic of America, published in 1931. In the middle of the so-called Great Depression he used this expression to describe the complex beliefs, religious promises, and the political and social expectations of the American people.

The exhibition shows suggestive images of important international authors from the private collection of Rosella and Philip Rolla (Robert Adams, Lewis Baltz, Richard Benson, Margaret Bourke-White, William Eggleston, Steve Fitch, Lee Friedlander, Frank Gohlke, Anthony Linck, Ezra Stoller, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Henry Wessel) which represent the socio-economic and cultural development of America from the 1950s to the present.

In the catalog a short text by Christian Marazzi in conversation with Philip Rolla about some personal experiences collected during his time at the University of Santa Clara.