Pasquale Prunas Biography
Pasquale Prunas (1924 – 1985) was born in Cagliari and, passionate about graphics and journalism since he was a boy, began to have experience in this field: in 1943 he was editor in chief and took care of the graphics and layout of the periodical "Gioventù in marzo". He had also joined various cultural associations such as the Italian Youth of the Littorio and the Neapolitan Guf. In 1945 the twenty-one year old Prunas gave life to a new periodical, Sud. Giornale di cultura, bringing together a large group of young intellectuals around the project. Once Sud's adventure was over, Prunas continued to organize concerts, editions and painting exhibitions. He then took care of the Gruppo Sud Pittura which he had founded in 1946 and in the following years he collaborated on other magazines. After his Neapolitan experience he moved first to Milan (from 1953 to 1960) and then to Rome, continuing to work in the world of journalism, but gradually shifting his interests and knowledge to the field of graphics. In 1953, together with well-known names in photojournalism, such as Salvato Cappelli and Giuseppe Trevisan, he founded the magazine Le Ore dedicated to current cinema and of which he was editor-in-chief until 1962. The format of the magazine represented a true innovation in the photojournalism of the time, being the newspaper made up almost exclusively of photographs accompanied by more or less long captions. In the 1960s, having now moved permanently to Rome, he directed some documentaries, including Benito Mussolini. From the march to the catastrophe of 1962, co-directed with Roberto Rossellini and with commentary by Enzo Biagi and Sergio Zavoli and Italiani come noi of 1963, written with Giancarlo Fusco. His ability as a graphic designer obtained important professional recognition when in 1968 he was called to direct with Piergiorgio Maoloni the brand new graphic office of Il Messaggero, the first example among Italian newspapers of an office dedicated exclusively to the problems of layout, the relationship between images, texts and titles. He remained there until 1980, introducing important innovations on a formal level, such as the use of full-page photographs with incisive and lapidary titles. In the last years of his life he was responsible for the graphics of the newly founded television station RTI Rete Televisiva Italiana.
