Articles by: M. T,

  • Facts & Stories

    “The Americans of Ellis Island Have Brought Together Heart and Reason”

    The Minister of the Interior Angelino Alfano has been on a very short anti-terrorism & safety mission  in the United States, where he held a series of meetings in both Washington and New York.

    At the Department of Homeland Security he met with the Homeland Security Secretary, Jeh Johnson, at the Justice Department he met the Attorney General, Loretta Lynch, at the Cosmos Club in Washington he participated in a Round Table organized in collaboration with the European Institute.

    In New York he stopped at the Ellis Island Immigration Museum, which was one of the topics discussed, along with a brief recap on all the institutional meetings he has had, at a press conference held at the Consulate General in New York which was attended by Ambassador Armando Varricchio and the Consul General Francesco Genuardi.

    “The mission was successful because we have strengthened our cooperation in the fight against terrorism, cyber crime, and the delicate issue of global immigration. I will see both Jeh Jonhson and Loretta at the G6 where they will represent the United States,” Alfano said.

    “Jeh Johnson and I wish to have a common platform to facilitate the exchange of information on  biometric data and immigration issues. We both see the necessity of a strategy that changes the concept of security seen as total isolation in our own home countries. It's an old concept of security: we felt safe building walls and barriers but the world was different back then, now security is obtained with th mutual exchange of information and tips.”

    After this introduction the Minister covered his visit to Ellis Island: “The idea that millions of Italians came here makes us extremely grateful. We owe the United States a great slice of our freedom. We wouldn't be a free country if the United States hadn't participated the way they did in the Second World War.”

    “Another element of gratitude is right in those names carved in the benches, in those rooms where thousands of Italians came through. The visit was incredibly emotional and you leave feeling the happy ending lots of Italians found here in America.”

    Minister Alfano was also struck by the fact that: “Millions of Italians, among them thousands of Sicilians but also men and women from Northern Italy, crossed an ocean in search of freedom and well being. They looked for a better future, putting their lives at risk. Today their grandchildren and siblings are succeeding here in the United States.”

    He also stressed that: “The United States also had some strict rules: there were instances where entrance was forbidden. They were strict in the application of those rules: they brought together heart and reason, opportunity and responsibility. The opportunity of being in a country that opens its doors but also the responsibility to say some “nos.” This is exactly what Italy and Europe must be able to do, by fusing together solidarity and responsibility because they are not antagonistic principles. The idea of solidarity does not exclude the responsibility to say no. The right to say no does not exclude solidarity otherwise Italy would lose itself.”

    We asked what he would tell his children once back in Italy, after this visit. Minister Alfano replied using Europe as a topic. “I'd tell my children that when I was a teenager in middle school I had to write essays on the “European Dream,” and now, as a grown man, I am fighting to protect that dream from becoming a nightmare.”
  • Fatti e Storie

    'Cuore e ragione' per affrontare l'emergenza emigrazione

    Il ministro dell'interno Angelino Alfano ha svolto questa settimana una brevissima missione antiterrosmo e sicurezza negli Stati Uniti, con una serie di appuntamenti tra Washington e New York.

    Dal Dipartimento della Sicurezza Nazionale, per incontrare l'Homeland Security Secretary, Jeh Johnson al Dipartimento della Giustizia per un vedere l'Attorney General, Loretta Lynch poi al Cosmos Club di Washington per una Tavola Rotonda in collaborazione con l'European Institute, fino al Museo dell'Immigrazione di Ellis Island.  

    Quest'ultima è stata una  tappa newyorkese su cui, dopo una breve informativa sugli incontri istitu zionali svolti, il ministro ha voluto soffermarsi particolarmente con la stampa presso la sede del Consolato Generale di New York, presenti l'Ambasciatore Armando Varricchio ed il  Console Generale Francesco Genuardi.

     
    “La missione è andata molto bene perchè abbiamo rafforzato la cooperazione, parlato dalla della lotta al terrorismo,  al cyber crime e della questione molto delicata che riguarda il tema dell’immigrazione globale.  Sia con Jeh Jonhson che con Loretta ci siamo dati appuntamento al G6 con la partecipazione anche degli Stati Uniti” ha esordito Alfano.

    "Abbiamo avviato con il collega Jeh Johnson un ragionamento per una piattaforma comune di scambio di informazioni relativo ai dati biometrici per quanto riguarda migranti e il tema dell’immigrazione. 

    Così abbiamo condiviso la necessità di una  strategia che superi il concetto di sicurezza intesa come una totalità di isolamento per stare più tranquilli in casa propria. E’ il vecchio concetto di sicurezza: ci sentivamo tranquilli erigendo muri e barriere quando il mondo era diverso, ma ora nuova idea di sicurezza prevede un nuovo scambio di informazioni."

    Ed ecco la parte legata alla visita ad Ellis Island su cui, almeno ci è parso,  il Ministro abbia voluto mettere maggiore enfasi: “L'idea che milioni di italiani siano arrivati qui ci fa esprimere ancora una volta un grande tributo di gratitudine. Noi in quanto italiani siamo riconoscenti perché dobbiamo agli Stati Uniti un pezzo importante della nostra libertà, Non saremmo il popolo libero che siamo se gli Stati Uniti non avessero fatto ciò che hanno fatto alla fine della seconda guerra mondiale. 

    “Un altro elemento di gratitudine sta proprio in quei nomi impressi in quella panchina su quel porto e in quelle stanze, quegli stanzoni dove sono passati centinaia di migliaia di italiani. Devo dire che l’emozione è stata grande perché poi quello che rimane dentro è la storia a lieto fine di italiani in un paese già grande come l’America”

    Alfano si è detto poi colpito dal fatto che:  “Milioni di Italiani e tra questi moltissimi siciliani, ma anche tanti uomini e donne del nord, hanno attraversato un oceano per la libertà e il benessere. Hanno cercato un futuro migliore rischiando la vita e oggi ci sono i loro nipoti e i loro figli che hanno avuto successo negli Stati Uniti ” 

    “Gli Stati Uniti al tempo stesso lì, ad Ellis Island avevano dato delle regole: vi erano casi in cui non si poteva entrare. - ha detto Alfano - Sono stati severi nell’applicazione di quelle regole. Hanno unito cuore e ragione: le opportunità e le responsabilità. Le opportunità di un Paese che si apre e le responsabilità di dire alcuni No. Ed è esattamente quello che l’Italia e l’Europa devono avere la forza di fare, facendo marciare insieme solidarietà e responsabilità che non sono principi antagonisti; l’idea della solidarietà non sfugge alla responsabilità di dire alcuni No. L’idea di dire alcuni No non sfugge al principio di solidarietà perché senno l’Italia perde se stessa.”

    Alla nostra domanda cosa avrebbe detto di ritorno in Italia  su questa visita ai suoi figli,  Alfano ha risposto così:

    “Ai miei figli dirò che quando io ero ragazzino alle scuole medie mi facevano fare il tema in classe sul 'Sogno Europeo' e che cresciuto e diventato ministro mi sto battendo per non farlo diventare un incubo.” 
  • Events: Reports

    Alberto Biasi "A Dynamic Meditation"

    Kinetic art, or kineticism, is an international movement that refers to art of both real and apparent motion. At its heart were artists who were fascinated by the possibilities of movement in art and its potential to create new and more interactive relationships with the viewer. 

    Kineticism went beyond the boundaries of the traditional, handcrafted, static object, engaging the viewer and encouraging the idea that the beauty of an object could be manifested through an optical illusion or a mechanical movement.

    Biasi's exploration of optical illusions was directly influenced by the observation of natural phenomena. He tried to capture the vibrations and pulsation of nature, such as ripples of raindrops or a sunrise, by translating such ephemeral occurrences and their visual and dynamic aspects in meditative yet mercurial works of art.
     

    On view:

    In the Rilievi Ottico-Dinamici series, Biasi creates complex wave like patterns by layering strips of colored PVC over an acrylic painting of interweaving geometric motives.

    The Torsioni series are created by stacking and rotating PVC lamels, almost always in contrasting colors, to create a dynamic torsion that constantly shifts according to the onlooker’s viewpoint.

    The Assemblaggi series are mainly monochrome diptychs and triptychs, created by assembling contrasting combinations of canvas, plastic and tridimensional shapes .

    The Performance Eco-ombre (1974-2014) is a phosphorescent interactive environment illuminated by a Wood lamp (a lamp for producing ultraviolet radiation). The audience is invited to stand in front of the Wood light illuminated canvases thus embodying the artist and allowing the surface to "steal" their shadow. Biasi created "Eco" in 1974, on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the disbandment of Gruppo N; this work is dedicated to Echo, the nymph of Heaven and Earth, which was reduced to a shadow because of her love for Narcissus.

    About the artist: Alberto Biasi, was the founder and leading spokesperson of Gruppo N in 1959 until its disbandment in 1964. He is internationally recognized a quintessential representative of Kinetic and Programmed Art. In the 1960’s Biasi actively participated in Azimut’s art happenings, became a member of the “Nuove Tendenze (New Trends)” movement and was among the founders of the “Programmed Art” movement. He began exhibiting his artwork on an international scale with high profile exhibitions such as the 1965 traveling landmark exhibition “The Responsive Eye” at the MoMA. 

    After experimenting with Kineticism, Alberto Biasi delved into a solitary research to develop new artistic languages which eventually led to several brilliant creative spurts in his career. The artist started collaborating with Studio d'Arte GR 25 years ago. 

    Throughout the years, Studio d'Arte GR has organized numerous exhibitions of the artist's work all over the world, among them Saint Petersburg’s Hermitage, MACBA, GNAM and many more. Alberto Biasi's works now belong to some of the most important museums and permanent collections among which the MoMA’s, Rome’s GNAM and Saint Petersburg's Hermitage.