Articles by: Mila Tenaglia

  • Art & Culture

    Culture: The soul of the Italian Economy

    These are event-filled days for the Minister of Culture and Tourism, Dario Franceschini, who just arrived in New York. On Wednesday February 25th, the new ENIT office was inaugurated – ribbon cutting ceremony and all – within the Italian Cultural Institute. 

    Alongside it, the Lorenzo Da Ponte Library was also re-opened and made available to the entire city of New York.

    “The re-opening of the Lorenzo Da Ponte Library, named after an Italian opera librettist, poet, and professor who became a naturalized American, is yet another strong signal of the presence of Italian culture. We want this presence to grow stronger in the world and particularly in New York” states the Minister Dario Franceschini.
     

    “We are on the right path to getting out of the Italian crisis” He states with conviction. “It’s important to make the people who look at Italy from the outside the extent to which investing in culture is a powerful strategy in global competition”.
     

    “The United States” Minister Franceschini continues “understood the concept of investing in cultural heritage quite a while ago. We have to open the doors to fundraising, a concept that is still scarcely diffused, as a tool for the valorization and safeguard of single museums and theatres”.
     

    A large room filled with journalists, art curators, and attaches to cultural sector for the press conference, listened to the consul general Natalia Quintavalle’s words of introduction regarding the government plan confirming this approach/ angle adopted by the Italian government, referred to in the media as Art Bonus: a fiscal incentive that will provide a 65% tax credit for donations to art.
     

    “It’s good for public and private sectors to collaborate to promote culture and protect Italian cultural heritage. An incentive has to be provided for patronage and the doors must be opened to the privates who want to invest or donate resources to support public heritage.” He continues.
     

    Art Bonus will re-launch Italian cultural heritage but so will Expo 2015. Franceschini urged to remain faithful in the face of difficulties. The numbers speak for themselves. “More than 150 national pavilions for the Expo and a great opportunity for our country. Eight million tickets have already been sold, many of which in developing countries. More than twenty million people are expected to come”.
     

    The Minister encourages doing more than visiting just the most famous Art Cities such as Rome, Florence, and Venice. A site was inaugurated for this very purpose: “Very Bello were all the quality events that will take place during the six-month Expo period are grouped: dance, lyrical music, exhibitions, concerts… From Sicily to the Alps, from the lakes to the small art towns scattered all over the national territory, people from all over the world will have the chance to explore the beauty of our country and to visit the true heart of Italy if they so wish”.
     

    Another engagement for Dario Franceschini: celebrating the 60th anniversary of the entry of Italy in the United Nations with the retrospective on Italian cinema at the UN headquarters. During the event, Prova D’Orchestra (Orchestra Rehearsal), a 1979 film directed by Federico Fellini, was shown.
     

    Other encounters worth mentioning are those between the minister and the director of the Guggenheim, Richard Armstrong, and that of the Met Museum, Thomas Campbell.  
  • Arte e Cultura

    Cultura. Anima dell’economia italiana

    Giornate ricche di impegni per il Ministro dei Beni Culturali e del Turismo Dario Franceschini arrivato da poco a New York. Mercoledì 25 febbraio sono state inaugurate in sua presenza la nuova sede dell’ENIT nell’edificio dell’Istituto Italiano di Cultura con tanto di taglio del nastro e la biblioteca intitolata a Lorenzo da Ponte ri-messa a disposizione di tutta la città di New York.

    “La riapertura della biblioteca Lorenzo da Ponte, librettista, poet a e professore italiano
    naturalizzato statunitense, è un altro forte segnale della presenza della cultura italiana. Noi vogliamo che questa presenza sia sempre pià forte nel mondo e in particolare a New York” afferma il Ministro Dario Franceschini.
     

    “Stiamo percorrendo la strada giusta per uscire dalla crisi italiana” dice convinto  “E’ importante far capire alle persone che guardano dal di fuori l’Italia quanto l’investimento nella cultura sia una carta formidabile nella competizione globale”.
     

    “Gli Stati Uniti” prosegue il Ministro Franceschini “hanno compreso già da tempo il concetto di investimento sui beni culturali. Anche in Italia bisogna aprire le porte al fundraising, metodo ancora non molto diffuso, per la valorizzazione e la tutela dei singoli musei e teatri”.
     

    Una grande aula affollata di giornalisti, curatori d’arte e addetti al settore culturale durante la conferenza stampa hanno così ascoltato le parole di introduzione della Console Generale Natalia Quintavalle sul piano governativo che conferma questa linea  del governo italiano,  chiamato ‘mediaticamente’ Art Bonus: un incentivo fiscale che prevede un credito di imposta del 65% per le donazioni in arte.
     

    “E’ giusto che pubblico e privato collaborino per la diffusione della cultura e per della difesa del patrimonio culturale italiano”. Occorre incentivare al mecenatismo e “spalancare” le porte a quei privati che vogliono investire o donare risorse per la tutela del patrimonio pubblico. Continua Dario Franceschini.
     

    Art Bonus per rilanciare il patrimonio culturale italiano ma anche Expo Milano 2015. Franceschini ha detto di essere fiducioso nonostante le difficoltà. Parlano i numeri. “Più di 150 padiglioni nazionali durante l’Expo e una grande occasione per il nostro paese. Sono gia stati venduti otto milioni di biglietti, molti in paesi in via di sviluppo. E’ previsto un arrivo di più di venti milioni di persone”.
     

    Il Ministro invita a visitare non solo le sempre più note città d’arte come Roma, Firenze, Venezia. E’ stato inaugurato anche un sito per questo: “Very Bello in cui sono raccolti tutti gli eventi culturali di qualità che si svolgeranno durante i sei mesi dell’Expo: danza, lirica, mostre, concerti... Dalla Sicilia fino alle dolomiti, dai laghi ai piccoli borghi d’arte sparsi su tutto il territorio nazionali le persone da tutto il mondo avranno modo di approfondire la bellezza del nostro paese e visitare il vero cuore dell’Italia se lo vorranno”.  
     

    Altro appuntamento per Dario Franceschini: le Nazioni Unite per per celebrare i 60 anni di ingresso dell’Italia all’ONU con la retrospettiva sul cinema italiano. Durante l'evento è stato proiettato Prova d'orchestra, film del 1979 diretto da Federico Fellini.
     

    Altra  tappe per il Ministro da menzionare l’imcontro con il direttore del Guggenheim, Richard Armstrong, e quello del Met Museum  con Thomas Campbell.
  • Art & Culture

    An Italian Breakfast 'to Save' Madre Cabrini

    ​The international Patrons of Duomo di Milano is a public charity that promotes a wider knowledge and understanding of the ​artistic and historical heritage of the Milan Cathedral in the United States.​

    With the help of this organization  Milan seeks New York's help to raise the funds needed to restore the spire representing Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, patroness of immigrants. ​The "Save the Saint" crowdfunding will be taking place between March 3 and May 1, 2015.​

    Saint Frances Cabrini, Italian religious sister and missionary later naturalized American, was a ​​key figure for the Italian immigrants.​ She founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart​ of Jesus​ and was the first American citizen to be proclaimed saint in 1946.

    An important symbol of the connection between Italy and America at a time when emigration was much different from today​, Saint Cabrini is​ considered by the New Yorkers as the 'mother of migrants'. "Not east but west" was her advice.​ 
     

    ​The no profit organization International Patrons of Duomo di Milano has hosted a breakfast, which has seen the participation of the Italian Consul General Natalia Quintavalle and other representatives of the institutions, in the covered terrace of Eataly's Birreria​.

    ​The bright Birreria in the prestigious Eataly food store was very well suited for the performance of the Maestro Finazzer Flory who has very effectively enacted the first chapter of  "I promessi Sposi" (The Betrothed). The novel, from the famous Milanese poet and writer, is to this day object of study in all Italian schools.

    ​During the breakfast , two delightful young women presented the garments of the fashion designer Raffaella Curiel: dresses that remind us of Caravaggio, inspired by the Expo2015 theme and by Milan's symbol, the Duomo.

    ​After the performance Stefano Albertini, director of the Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò, gave a talk about the importance of the Italian artistic and cultural heritage and about Saint Frances Cabrini.

    ​ The amount needed for the restoration of the spire dedicated to Madre Cabrini is $150000. Donations can be made through the website​ www.foritaly.org.

    ​Federica Olivares, from the organization, while introducing the initiative also portrayed Milan as 'global city' over the centuries, with its characteristics of excellence and style. The "Duomo' represents this beauty.

    ​Alessandra Pellegrini, Chief Development Officer of the International Patrons, also added :" Those who will make a donation will be receiving something in return. For example, if you donate $50, your name will be engraved on a plaque to be placed under Madre Cabrini's ​

    ​spire.

    It's a union that will bring people from Milan and New York together".​
     

    ​She finally expressed her gratitude to Oscar Farinetti who enthusiastically decided to present the Duomo di Milano.​

    ​Doing the honors, in a room brightened by a lukewarm sun which offered a real Italian breakfast and decorated with big bread baskets, Dino Borri, in charge of Eataly NY.​

    Finally we would like to remind our readers that, in connection with the long-awaited Expo Milan 2015, Eataly is hosting, in collaboration with  the Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo, a collection of prestigious pieces originating from the Duomo itself.

    The exhibition, open to the public, has been inaugurated by the Mayor of Milan Giuliano Pisapia two months ago.

  • Handimals, con il maestro del body painting Guido Daniele

    In mostra fino al 25 gennaio “Handimalds” sta attirando media e persone di tutti i tipi: studenti, giornalisti, artisti e la televisione locale di New York. Tutti incuriositi dal talento e dal modo di lavorare di Guido Daniele. L’opening, avvenuto la settimana scorsa, ha aperto con una performance dell’artista che ha trasformato in diretta una mano in un’aquila. 

    Nel lavoro di Guido le mani dell’uomo diventano come una tela dove esprimere il proprio messaggio di solidarieta’ nei confronti degli animali. Attraverso pose particolari, mani intrecciate, braccia messe in modi particolari e’ facile confondere cio’ che e’ reale da quello che non lo e’.

    Il pody painter infatti mostra di avere una grande sensibilita’ nei confronti della natura e degli animali e spera tramite queste opere, fotografate da lui stesso, di mandare un forte messaggio all’umanita’. 

    “Adopero i colori del teatro giapponese mischiati con un po’ di acqua senza colla. Quelli normali sono velenosi per la pelle dell’uomo” parla al pubblico mentre scrupolosamente dipinge la mano e il braccio del modello.

    Le foto di Guido sono illuminate dalla luce che circonda il Rockefeller Center. Pesci colorati, cani dall’aspetto vivace e straordinariamente realistici, elefanti, pitoni... gli animali realizzati dal maestro sono dei veri e propri capolavori. 

    “Abbiamo il cervello, il cuore che comanda e le mani per costruire e distruggere. Sta a noi decidere se essere positivi o negativi nella costruzione del pianeta”.

    Tutto e’ cominciato con un piccolo aerografo trovato in un cassetto che, come un vaso di pandora scoperta, ha segnato la vita artista del maestro. Fin da giovane Guido Daniele ha viaggiato in tutto il mondo, visto animali di ogni genere e studiato l’arte tibetana delle miniature nel 1972. 

    Nel 1985 avevo un agente che rappresentava i migliori fotografi come Helmut Newton, Fabrizio Ferri, Giampaolo Barbieri. Allora stava nascendo il backdrop painting in america. Scenografie iper realiste per la televisione e per il cinema. “In un momento di crescita in questo tipo di mercato mi trovavo nel posto giusto al momento giusto e ho cominciato a  lavorare nel campo pubblicitario”.

    “Questa mostra l’ho dedicata Jane Goodall, grande amica del maestro e  considerata un'esperta mondiale di scimmie e conosciutissima per i suoi 55 anni di studio sull'interazione sociale e familiare nel Gombe Stream National Park, in Tanzania”.
  • Events: Reports

    Handimals - Live Performance by Guido Daniele

    "Handimals", the exhibition open until January 25, is attracting all kinds of people and media: students, journalists, artists and the local New York television. They're all intrigued by Guido Daniele's talent and peculiar skills. Last week's opening saw a live performance of the artist transforming a hand in an eagle.

    ​Guido uses human hands like a canvas through which he conveys his sense of solidarity towards animals. The unusual poses, the crossed hands, the arms arranged ​
    ​in a certain way, make it difficult to distinguish what's real and what is not. The body painter shows great sensitivity towards nature and animals, and through his work, that he photographs himself, he aims at sending a strong message to humanity.

    ​ "I use the colors of the Japanese theatre, mixed with water, without glue. The common ones would be poisonous to human skin" he tells the audience while he meticulously paints the model's arm and hand.

    ​Guido's photos are illuminated by the lights surrounding the Rockefeller Center. ​
    ​Colourful fish, lively and extraordinarily realistic looking dogs, ​
    ​elephants, pitons...his animals are true masterpieces. ​

    ​" We have brain and heart to make decisions and hands to build ​
    ​and destroy. Having a positive or negative attitude towards our planet is entirely up to us".

    ​ It all started with a small airbrush found in a drawer that, like a just opened Pandora's box, marked the artistic life of the master. He traveled the world from a young age, encountering all sorts of animals and studying Tibetan miniatures in 1972.
    ​
    ​"In 1985 my agent was representing the best photographers , like Helmut Newton, Fabrizio Ferri, ​
    ​Giampaolo Barbieri. It was the time the backdrop painting, hyper realistic set designs for television and cinema​ started to make their appearance in America. In this growth phase I found myself in the right place at the right time, so I started working in advertisement"

    ​This exhibition ​ is dedicated to Jane Goodall, great friend of the artist​ and considered to be the world's foremost expert on chimpanzees and best known for her 55 years study of social family interactions of wild chimpanzees in Gombe Stream National Park, Tanzania.​
  • Art & Culture

    The Beauty of Italian Lettering: Fonts, Words & Street Signs

    The book really began during Fili’s first trip to the birthplace of typography, during which the author swooned over the country’s signs. Fili was sixteen at the time and accompanied by her parents, who hadn’t returned to their country of origin since her birth.

    The first advertisement to catch her eye showed a couple embracing under the words Baci Perugina. “I didn’t know what product this advertised,” says Fili, “but it didn’t matter. This was the pivotal moment when I fell in love all at once with Italy, type, and food.”

    Ever since then, Fili has amassed hundred of images of the signs she adored in cities and villages both north and south, including Turin, Lucca, Rome and Taormina. Flipping through the book, you’ll find photographs of a wide variety of one of a kind signs for hotels, butchers and greengrocers.
     

    Few words, but lots of pics

    The book has few words but lots of images that unearth “vintage” Italy, with its signs engraved in wood, lit up in neon, sculpted in marble or painted on ceramics, so that today we can actually lay our hands on them.
     

    “I started photographing in the late 1970’s, in 35-millimeter slides,” writes the author. “These evolved into point-and-shoot snapshots, which were assiduously placed in binders, by city, on a dedicated shelf in my studio.”

    During that period, the development of early information technology was beginning to make its presence felt, but it was still a long way from the kind of technology we know today; no one was photographing street corners with his iPhones just yet.
     

    Among her many stays in Italy, Fili was also an artist-in-residence at the American Academy in Rome. A typical day was spent with a map in hand and the desire to get lost n the streets of Rome. During her long walks she came across markets, antique shops and bookstores. It became a real obsession. The simple “T” of Italian Tabacchi (tobacconists), for example, aroused in her a sense of wonder she could not control.
     

    A well organized journey

    The book opens with a short introduction by the designer before taking the reader on an intelligent journey. The sign photographs are divided into three stylistic categories, as Fili points out, “classic, traditional and eclectic, followed by more specific genres: Futurist/Fascist street signs and numbers, signs at the seaside and ghost signs,” old signs that have been kept for decorative purposes. The final section is dedicated to Sandro Ponzi—“Impossible things we can do right away; miracles take a little more time”— the last living sign painter in Rome and heir to a family tradition that began at the turn of the 20th century with his grandfather Aristide.
  • Style: Articles

    Promoting the best of Italy in NY & the Best of America in Italy

    laFondazioneNY, established by the late design icon Massimo Vignelli and Riccardo Viale, former Director of the Italian Institute of Culture, has over time built a bridge between the United States and Italy, two very different cultures that also have surprising points in common.

    The Foundation has encouraged a continuous flow of young talents who have been awarded and honored for their achievements in the arts and human sciences.

    Thanks to laFondazioneNY, they have been given the opportunity to have unique, firsthand experiences outside an academic setting.

    Initiatives of exceptional quality and originality have followed one after another, often surprising the public in New York and its surrounding areas by promoting a winning and often unfamiliar image of contemporary Italian culture.
     

    The year 2014 has also been filled with events like the Gotham Prize, which awards the excellence of Italian artists in the areas of cinematography and arts.
     

    We would also like to remember “A Conversation with Prof. Paola Salvi” from the Accademia di Belle Arti Milan, and the “Italian Master of Contemporary Art Michelangelo Pistoletto on the Vitruvian Man by Leonardo da Vinci,” as well as the recent conference about Slow Luxury, “Luxury in Today’s Society: Between Excellence and Excess,” organized by the Museum of Arts and Design, which saw the involvement of many journalists from the Financial Times and Italian companies like Buccellati and Cesare Attolini.
     

    The Foundation’s initiatives not only aim to better promote the best of all things Italian in New York, but also to ‘export’ the best of all things American to Italy.

    Like, to cite one example, the exhibition recently inaugurated at the Fondazione Roma Museum – Palazzo Sciarra, which will be hosting “American Chronicles: The Art of Norman Rockwell” through February 2015. For the firsttime in Italy, more than one hundred iconic works from the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, MA will be on display.
     

    The passing of President Massimo Vignelli last spring has been a difficult moment for laFondazione NY: He was the heart and soul of the Foundation.
     

    Today the baton has been passed on to another icon, Dante Ferretti, a multiple award-winning artist of Italian cinema and cinematography.

    You might remember his recent solo exhibition here in New York at MoMA, “Dante Ferretti: Design and Construction for the Cinema,” in cooperation with Luce Cinecittà, Rome, and strongly supported by well-known writer and journalist Antonio Monda.
     

    Riccardo Viale, the mastermind behind all this and Founder and Chairman of laFondazioneNY, tells us about the eccentric highlights of their annual gala which will be held on December 8 at the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, Queens.
     

    For the occasion, six dreamlike costumes from the wardrobe archive of Tirelli Atelier will be on display. This extraordinary Italian ‘sartoria’ has dressed actresses from all over the world in movies such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Robin Hood, and The Brothers Grimm.

    The atelier was founded in 1964 by Umberto Tirelli, and creating costumes for movies soon became his major business activity. The costumes will be contributed to the permanent exhibition opening at MoMI in 2015, a main sponsor of which is Dolce & Gabbana.
     

    “The idea of promoting an exhibition of the Sartoria Tirelli in New York was conceived many years ago,” Riccardo Viale tells us. It has been possible to realize it for 2015 and in preview for this gala thanks to the generosity and cultural interest of Dolce & Gabbana. Specifically, I would like to thank Federica Marchionni, sensitive interpreter of Italian excellence of which the Tirelli costumes are one of the finest examples.”
     

    The MoMI has in turn enthusiastically welcomed the idea and the new President of laFondazioneNY Dante Ferretti has made himself available to help with design and set up.

    The absence of a fundamental figure, the foundation’s father, will certainly be felt at this year’s gala. We’re talking about Massimo Vignelli, of course, the great designer, world famous architect and icon of the Italian culture.

    Vignelli wanted the foundation to promote the best of contemporary culture. “Massimo is always with us, in our hearts and in our minds,” Viale continues. “The activities and laFondazioneNy’s style follow his imprint. At the gala a short video made by i-Italy, which has worked in close contact with him on a number of projects, will be broadcast in his memory. I would also like to mention that a new award for young Italian and American designers has recently been established by us in his name.” 
  • Art & Culture

    Maurizio Cattelan. Art and provocation

    Two irreverent and provoking retrospectives, just like Maurizio Cattelan himself, are animating the city of New York. Ironic, sharp and biting artist, Cattelan continues to be the talk of town.

    From Turin, where the exhibition Shit and Die has recently opened in the evocative “Palazzo Cavour,” the parallel variant of Artissima One Torino, to New York, that previously hosted the colossal exhibition All at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in 2011.

    One could define Maurizio Cattelan as an art visionary, a postmodern artist of the time who expands on popular culture as well as historical and religious concepts to shape plastic artworks that reveals the distress of society. 
    For the art dealer and collector Adam Lindemann, the time had come to once again display Cattelan’s work with the exhibition Cosa Nostra—an emblematic and provocative title for Italy, where a mixture of political and social satire incites criticism.

    Cattelan’s sculptures unveil a profound and thorough conceptual reflection of modern-day life, dramatically analysing history, society and individuals that represent an era.

    A vast array of works, about twenty in total, are shared between the two galleries: S|2 Gallery, situated in one of the world’s principal auction houses, Sotheby’s, (Oct. 30 – Nov. 26) and on Madison Avenue at Venus Over Manhattan (7 Nov. – Jan. 10, 2015), a gallery which was opened a couple of years ago by the exhibition’s curator, Adam Lindemann.

    We visited the Sotheby’s location on the exhibition’s opening night.  It was a complete cultural immersion: salami and garlic hanging from the ceiling set the stage in perfect Italian style, intentionally too Italian, for a table with a red and white chequered tablecloth, with service of bread, olives and prosecco.

    One then proceeds to a large, bright gallery with mirror-covered walls, reflecting the image of each individual in attendance. The exhibition’s title, Cosa Nostra, is written backwards on a mirror at the entry, and reflects across the room.. 

    Cattelan’s work is based on past events which he re-interprets in a disorienting, contemporary manner, creating a sense agitation in the viewer and prompts profound reflection.

    These sculptures become a performance that invites direct interaction from the viewer and often elicits shock, as with Him where the viewer is in direct contact with one of history’s most infamous figures: Adolf Hitler kneeling in prayer… juxtaposing God and Evil.

    Untitled hyper-realistically portrays a young boy being hanged from a tree limb. The figure’s gaze is piercing. There were three figures that made up the original work, all of which were executed in 2004 and installed hanging from a tree outside the Fondazione Nicola Trussardi  in Milan. 

    Another work, Ave Maria, displays three outstretched arms from a mirror in a Fascist salute, an intimidating gesture symbolizing power and strength.

    The resin installation representing a girl trapped in her bed like in a modern crucifixion is inspired by a photograph of Francesca Woodman from 1977.

    This sculpture sums up Cattelan’s oeuvre: art, profanity, provocation, and social criticism. This piece was shown for the first time in Germany on the Kölner Synagoge Stommeln façade, and at the time drew a great deal of attention.

    The exhibition traces a path where the viewer is inevitably forced to asks questions; to reflect on the human condition, society and the passing of time. All of this is further enhanced by the sarcastic and razor-sharp humour of one of the greatest contemporary artists on the international scene.
  • Arte e Cultura

    Maurizio Cattelan. Arte e provocazione

    Due retrospettive irriverenti e provocatorie, proprio come Maurizio Cattelan, stanno animando la città di New York. Artista ironico dall'arte tagliente e graffiante, Cattelan continua a far parlare di sè.

    Da Torino dove è stata inaugurata da poco nel suggestivo palazzo Cavour la mostra Shit and Die, la variante parallela di Artissima One Torino;
    a New York che nel 2011 aveva già ospitato al Guggenheim Museum l’imponente mostra All.
     

    Maurizio Cattelan si potrebbe definire un visionario dell'arte, un postmoderno dei giorni nostri che rielabora concetti della cultura popolare, della storia e della religione per dare forma ad opere plastiche che rivelano il malessere della società.

    Il gallerista e collezionista d'arte Adam Lindemann ha deciso che fosse giunto il momento di portare di nuovo tutta questa irruenza attraverso Cosa Nostra.

    Un titolo emblematico e provocatorio per l’Italia, dove la volontà di denuncia in un mix di satira politica e sociale riecheggia forte.
     

    Le sculture di Cattelan rivelano una riflessione concettuale profonda, esaustiva sulla vita dei giorni nostri analizzando in maniera drammatica il passato, la storia, la società, i personaggi che hanno segnato un'epoca. 
     

    Le venti opere sono state installate dunque in una delle più grandi case d’asta al mondo, Sotheby’s S|2 (Oct 30 - Nov 26)  e nella galleria su Madison Avenue Venus Over Manhattan (7 Nov - Gen 10, 2015), la galleria aperta un paio di anni fa dallo stesso curatore Adam Lindemann.
     

    Una grande gamma di opere, una ventina in totale, sono state distribuite tra le due gallerie. Siamo stati a quella di Sothebys e l’immersione è stata totale: un soffitto da cui sono appesi salami e agli introducono a un tavolata in perfetto stile italiano,  volutamente troppo italiano, dove vengono serviti pane, prosecco, olive, la tovaglia a quadretti bianca e rossa.

    Si arriva poi nella stanza, luminosa, grande, specchi che coprono gli interi muri. Riflettersi per riflettere. La scritta Cosa Nostra ne invade uno di questi e tutto il resto è lascio lo spazio alla retrospettiva.

    Cattelan prende il passato e lo riutilizza in una chiave contemporanea spiazzante, fa riflettere, crea agitazione.
    Queste sculture diventano come una performance che invita lo spettatore all’interazione diretta, allo shock.
     

    Come Him, il contatto diretto con la tragicità della storia: Adolf Hitler è inginocchiato a terra, le mani giunte, l’interpretazione tra dio e il male. 

    L’untitled che rappresenta un giovane impiccato è veritiero, tragico, le vene verdi e lieve sul piede. Lo sguardo dell’impiccato è penetrante. Originariamente ne erano stati creati tre nel 2004 che furono messi fuori la Fondazione Nicola Trussardi a Milano, appesi ad un albero. 

    Ave Maria, tre braccia tese a mo’ del saluto romano attaccate allo specchio: un gesto retorico simbolo di potere e di forza.

    Tratto da una fotografia di Francesca Woodman del 1977, l'installazione in resina  che rappresenta una ragazza come in una moderna crocifissione, intrappolata nel suo letto, totalizza l'arte di Cattelan: arte e profano, provocazione e critica sociale.

    Questa scultura fu messa in mostra per la prima volta in Germania nella façade Kölner Synagoge Stommeln attirando ovviamente non poche persone.
     

    L’exhibition traccia un percorso dove è inevitabile porsi delle domande, riflettere sulla condizione umana, sulla società e sul tempo che passa. Tutto questo condito dall'umorismo graffiante e provocatorio di uno dei più grandi artisti contemporanei del panorama internazionale.
  • Arte e Cultura

    A Rose is a Rose is a Rose...

    Nella verde toscana alle soglie tra Pistoia e Grosseto, centro principale di produzione delle rose, esiste una realtà unica e speciale quella di Rose Barni: la più antica famiglia di coltivatori di rose forse al mondo.
     

    Rose Barni, infatti, ha alle spalle fin dal 1882 una storia fatta di passione, tradizione e innovazione nella ricerca sulle rose e la  loro coltivazione. A testimoniare questa lunga attività di ben cinque generazioni dal “pollice verde” è stato Luca Bracali, fotografo, regista ed esploratore italiano ben noto per i suoi documentari in tutto in mondo e nei programmi televisivi RAI come Kilimanjaro e Storie.

    Il progetto, come ci racconta Beatrice Barni, quarta generazione, è nato un po’ per caso, quasi per magia. Luca Bracali ha voluto narrare scatto dopo scatto il percorso delle rose in tutte le sue fasi. A Rose is a Rose is a Rose infatti non è un classico libro di belle immagini, ma racconta tutta la storia e il ciclo di vita di questi soffici, fragranti e delicati fiori, dal medioevo simbolo di purezza e bellezza, dell’identità femminile e della Vergine Maria.

    Il libro, pubblicato da Mondadori, è stato presentato dalla Console Generale Natalia Quintavalle che ha introdotto il fotografo e Beatrice Barni. Subito dopo la visione del video realizzato da Luca Bracali.

    Appena terminata la visione sono state mostrate delle immagini di rose bellissime, diverse tra loro dai colori forti e delicati, malinconici e potenti. “E’ un grande onore per Rose Barni aver dedicato rose a personaggi assai famosi e aver conosciuto così grandi personalità della storia. Tuttora alcune varietà di Barni portano nomi celebri e rinomati in tutto il mondo”.

    Al pubblico vengono fatte vedere le immagini e cominciano i quesiti:
    “Questa è la regina delle scarpe…” Qualcuno prontamente risponde “Ferragamo”
    "Questo rosso 'rosso'  non può che rimandare invece a…" Valentino e la Ferrari, ovvio!
    "Questa è invece è connubio di bellezza e sensualità"...  dopo qualche istante esce fuori il nome: Marilyn Monroe.
     
    Così via fino ad arrivare a quella che ha preso il posto in copertina: Rita Levi Montalcini “Per me una rosa straordinaria. E’ morta a 101 anni e per noi ha rappresentato l’Italia”. Un’altra rosa che mi ha emozionato è stata quella di Giovanni Paolo II... quando l'ho fotografata ho pensato a Dio”.

    Luca ci spiega che le 2500 immagini scattate in questo lungo viaggio hanno voluto portare in vita le quattro stagioni delle rose in tutta la loro bellezza “(...) Partendo da maggio quando la rosa e’ piu’ giovane e bella".
     
    “Io sono un purista delle immagini, nessuna ha subito ritocco, e ho scelto di fotografarle in assenza di sole senza luce diretta per non ferire la bellezza dei fiori e deturparli”.

    Il titolo del libro viene dalla celebre frase di Gertrude Stein (Allegheny 1874 – Neuilly-sur-Seine 1946) scrittrice e poetessa statunitense, musa di Picasso, odiata e amata dalle persone.
    A Rose is A rose is Rose infatti vuole spiegare che le cose sono ciò che sono nella loro essenza.
     
    “Addirittura questa frase è stata scelta come epitaffio da mettere sulla tomba del padre dei Barni” racconta Luca. De resto come dice la stessa Gertrude Stein  “La rosa perfetta deve ancora nascere”.

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