JOURNALS: DAVIDE SORRENTI

A NEW BOOK FROM IDEA REFLECTS THE PASSION OF DAVIDE SORRENTI’S SHORT-LIVED BUT EVERLASTING CAREER.

By Morgan Becker

Volume 1 ofJournals is the fourth book on the short but visionary career of Davide Sorrenti, published by IDEA and edited by his mother, Francesca Sorrenti. Zeroing in on the photographer’s practice during 1994 and ’95, it’s also the most personal text yet; while ArgueSKE, POLAROIDS, and My Beutyfull Lyfe reflected Davide’s deep imprint on youth culture at the end of the 20th century, Journals is a look at what truly moved him to create: In his personal diaries, he sketched, wrote, pasted flyers and contact sheets and test prints, collaging his dreams until what started as a one-inch notebook grew to nearly four.

“Davide’s journals were never just notebooks. They were fragments of a restless life,” comments Francesca. “To open these journals is to step into Davide’s world—a world that was fast, beautiful, and filled with love. They remind us that he wasn’t only documenting a culture; he was documenting a life—his life—in all its intensity and fragility.”

Upon the publication of Journals, Beyond Noise had the privilege of hearing from Francesca—matriarch of one of fashion, art, and culture’s most prominent and prolific families—on why her late son’s work continues to be generative, for her and for artists of all walks of life.

MORGAN BECKER: What drove you to share Davide’s practice with the world?

FRANCESCA SORRENTI: What drives me is simple: Davide’s voice deserves to live. When I began putting these books together, it wasn’t only as a mother; it was as someone who understood the depth of his creativity and the clarity of his eye. Over time, my role has evolved from archivist to translating his raw, instinctive way into a form that new generations can access. I want people to feel the immediacy that he felt when he filled these journals: the pulse of 1990s New York, the fragility and intensity of being young, the search for meaning inside the noise. Sharing his work keeps him present. And it allows others to recognize themselves in his vulnerability, his humor, his defiance, and his vision. That is what continues to drive me, book after book

MB: How has your process evolved from ArgueSKE to Journals?

FS: In the beginning, with ArgueSKE, I was still learning how to look at Davide’s work without delving into my memories. That first book was about gathering, collecting the images, the drawings, the fragments of a life that felt too close. My process then was all about tender moments. The material carried an emotional charge I had to respect. By the time I reached Journals, my approach had changed. I became more of a curator than an archivist, stronger in letting Davide’s own voice lead the way. Instead of shaping the work around narrative or chronology, I allowed the journal pages to speak exactly as he wrote them—unedited, full of energy, humor, longing, and that gritty downtown energy of the ’90s. Journals is the most direct line to Davide. No polish, just him on the page. My process became about letting people meet him exactly where he was at that moment in his life.

MB: These journals are so personal, a look into Davide's inner world. What did you discover as you looked through the pages, and what do you hope his admirers—present and future—take away from them?

FS: What struck me most, going through these pages again, was Davide’s extraordinary clarity. He was so young, yet his self-awareness was far beyond his years. The journals show not just notes or sketches—they’re a record of a mind in motion, absorbing everything, questioning everything, trying to shape a life through art. What I hope people take from them, now and in the future, is that creativity doesn’t always come from perfection. Davide’s strength was his vulnerability, his willingness to look closely at his world. These journals remind us that the most powerful work often begins in private, simple moments. The scribbles, the raw thoughts before they become images. If readers walk away feeling closer to him, understanding the sensitivity, curiosity, and energy that defined him, then the journals have done exactly what they were meant to do.

MB: In a sentence, how would you characterize Davide's creative legacy?

FS: Dave’s creative legacy is the imprint of a young artist who dared to reveal his world with complete honesty, turning private moments into a universal language of his life in the ’90s.