cocoaa project

La seconda delle due residenze artistiche per il 2019 ha avuto luogo a Conzano dal 10 al 24 giugno, con un’apertura speciale a Dryphoto, Prato. Ginny Sykes ( USA ) è l’ artista che è stata presente con un progetto che lei stessa ha voluto intitolare “Collaborazioni oltre il velo”. Sykes intrattiene con l’Italia un rapporto significativo da vari anni ed è stata selezionata per la residenza Artegiro in particolare per darle l’opportunità di sviluppare il suo più recente progetto che si rapporta alla sua esperienza collaborativa con una figura dell’arte italiana recentemente scomparsa, Teresa Mangiacapra.

Come curatore della residenza ho cercato di creare un opportunità per Sykes di presentare la sua ricerca in Italia e di contribuire allo stesso momento al dibattito più che attuale di identità di genere. Ho scelto Dryphoto,( Prato, Italia), in quanto realtà importante nella contemporaneità artistica ed interlocutore significativo per il progetto Artegiro.

L’evento organizzato con Dryphoto, ha dato a Sykes l’occasione di presentare una sua performance,ma è stato anche un forum di discussione aperta al pubblico, accompagnato dalla presentazione del gruppo storico napoletano Le Nemesiache, nonchè la visione del film di Nadia Pizzuti sullo stesso tema.

A Prato si è quindi inaugurata la residenza di Sykes, con un’occasione unica per i partecipanti di discutere con l’artista non solo il suo progetto ma le intersezioni significative tra genere e arte contemporanea, alla presenza e con la partecipazione di rappresentati storiche di movimenti politici e artistici che sono attualissimi in Italia e altrove: la regista Nadia Pizzuti; Rita Biancalani, responsabile per Spazio Donna Toscana; Loredana Dragoni, Centro Antiviolenza La Nara e Cooperativa Alice.

La residenza artistica di Sykes si è articolata quindi tra questo momento a Prato, in collaborazione con Dryphoto, e il periodo di tre settimane a Conzano, (sede della residenza artistica Artegiro dal 2013), dove l’artista ha sviluppato un nuovo stadio del percorso iniziato dall’artista già anni fa, dopo l’incontro con il teatro delle Nemesiache di Napoli.

Come dicevo, il ricco e complesso lavoro di Teresa Mangiacapra e la collaborazione di Sykes con lei, non si sono arrestati dopo la prematura scomparsa di Mangiacapra nel 2018. Il suo lavoro incompiuto, “Io sono un intero”, alla base della collaborazione don Sykes, è continuato in un’investigazione che trova nel corpo, nei cambiamenti fisiologici e interiori, pieghe e finestre per micro performances, documentazioni e occasioni per espressioni artistiche.

Era desiderio di Ginny durante la sua residenza di interagire con le comunità locali a Conzano e Prato, cercando l’occasione per una documentazione fotografica e filmata che integrerà materiali da usare per una nuova performance.

Come si vedrà dal diario ( di seguito la prima parte- per la seconda e conclusiva sezione, per favore scaricare dal link sotto il titolo) tali occasioni si sono presentate e come sempre accade nella residenza artistica Artegiro accade molto di più. Sykes è riuscita a realizzare un corpus di disegni e stampe, una documentazione foto e video di azioni micro-performative, ha sviluppato riflessioni scritte in risposta a “Io sono un intero”. Il progetto stesso, il senso e le ripercussioni del suo sviluppo, nozioni di eredità politica e culturale, responsabilità e trasmissione di una collaborazione femminista attraverso il corpo stesso del partner performativo che è sopravvissuto alla perdita dell’altro, sono stati come previsto oggetto di tale scrittura.

Ginny Sykes/Collaborations Beyond the Veil/Diary in Residence June 7-24 2019

Part 1
June 7
In transit from Naples. Fortunately, after a scary moment when the car’s clutch failed to go into reverse, Luigi Montefoschi and I had only to go forward. We arrived safely at dryphoto arte contemporanea in Prato with a lot of gear—wood to build the set, costume, banners, my two weeks’ worth of residency necessities. Vittoria Ciolini, dryphoto’s Director, greeted us with a big welcome, and we immediately got to work, Luigi building the set, while I supervised and ironed 12 7ft x 3 ½ ft banners.

Vittoria and Giulia Deganello, who was interning, patiently cut mounds of carrots and vegetables and organized the other foods for tomorrow’s reception.

Dryphoto is in a predominately and very lively Chinese neighborhood, and so we ate lunch local, cafeteria style. Dryphoto has installed a number of large photo murals by various artists throughout the community, to create points of connection between them. The history of Chinese migration to Prato is interesting and complex and there are many small businesses, factories, and services. After lunch we installed the banners and speakers and staged a dry run-through of my performance. Vittoria and Giulia walked us to the historic center where we would stay two nights. I noticed the lack of graffiti, unlike in Naples. The lovely Duomo has unique features, most particularly a pulpit esterno, designed by the architect Michelozzo and decorated by Donatello. Nearby is a lovely elevated green space with places to sit and talk and hear music, and archeological evidence of an earlier city. Later that Friday evening hundreds of young people filled the main piazza with their energy and voices.

June 8
Back to dryphoto in the morning for final touches to the set, video and sound check, and a full run through. I had time to rest in the afternoon, and then head back for the evening’s events.
After words of introduction from Vittoria Ciolini and Renata Summo-O’Connell, Artegiro Contemporary Art curator, and some contextual remarks from me about the performance in homage to Teresa Mangiacapra, inspired by her text io sono un intero, I slipped away and into my costume. I moved into the garden, and began with a deep breath. It was late afternoon toward sunset, the atmosphere was beautiful, the sky growing softer, the banners slowly swaying in the light breeze.

I felt Teresa’s presence throughout the performance; in the stones, in the netting, in our communion beyond the veil of death. The soulful tones of Victor’s music moved through me. I was grateful for the attentive and intimate audience, especially Bruna Felletti and Fausta Base from le nemesiache’s original group, who came in from Rome and Naples respectively.

Afterwards, we went back in the gallery to watch Nadia Pizzuti’s film Lina Mangiacapre, Artista del Femminismo, followed by a participatory public discussion.

Big questions emerged around how to carry the legacy (herstory)of le nemesiache, and feminism in general forward (a clear necessity for those of us who are aging), while engaging productively with younger generations, who have their own ideas and their agendas. This is not a top down project, nor should it be totalizing. The politics of this moment are startlingly similar in the US and Italy, with severe oppressions and ever more restrictive regressive laws across gender, racial and ethnic lines, threatening reproductive and other freedoms, migration and human rights, and the environment, to name just some, all of which have been and remain feminist issues. Teresa elegantly stated in her text,

“la fraumentazione è la grande illusione di cui abbiamo bisogno per comprendere, volere, decidere, e scegliere”

We must talk and talk and organize across genders, across many spaces. Coming together in dryphoto was a small action toward this purpose, to further discuss and follow up on. As important, are the less formal aspects of an evening like this, with drink and food, and more personal exchanges. I reached out to a group of men as I was curious to ask their thoughts. We had a good discussion with critique which is always welcome. One man was from Israel, which informed a discussion of gender and power relations in comparison to those of Italy or the US. I would argue that we are all colonized in some form or other by patriarchy, even if (some) Israeli women seem to have more rights and equality with men. Too much to get into too deeply here. I will have much to reflect on in Conzano.
On the way back to the hotel, gelato in the main square!
June 9
Goodbyes at the station and transfering me and my things to Renata’s car. Fausta returned to Naples with Luigi. Renata and I hit the road for Conzano, each of us probably needing to rest our thoughts, but talking the entire way instead!

First evening in Conzano.
There are no sirens, just an enveloping silence.
The bell in the clocktower rings 11 times.
A single bird, caw, caw, caw.

I will reside in the Villa Vidua, former residence of the Count Vidua. It is a 17th century villa, built over an original 14th century plan. There is an exhibit space on the ground level, murals and frescoed ceilings on the second level.
(My) apartment at the top of the stairs is spacious, light filled, and high enough up to have panorama views adding up to 360 degrees from the various windows.
I feel a bit like a princess in a castle.

June 10
The sun is a golden smear in the sky. Ribbons of fog roll over the eastern landscape. An enormous cherry tree in the garden offers its bejeweled sugars. In the long hallway like front room, a row of curtains is a translucent red skin lining southwestern facing windows.

I am mindful of Marina Abramovic’s work “The Artist Is Present”. I feel here, present, to sight and silence, immersed in visual impressions, birdsong, and the utter contrast to urbanity to which I am more habituated. Around 10am Renata drove me to Asti to pick up my rental car. I studied the big shapes in the landscape, slender arcs and broad solids in greens, golds and browns. Little cross marks on hills where vines are laid out in neat rows, a copse of trees, all of it inviting ideas. Returning to Conzano, I felt lazy, or rather quite tired, after so much moving and doing since the end of May: Chicago to Naples, Naples to Prato, Prato to Conzano. I am content to be inside, cocooning, feeling my way into the space, and to make it a temporary home and studio.

Later Renata and I went back to Casale to get a wifi adapter followed by an aperitivo in a beautiful piazza and dinner with Emanuele DeMaria, Sindaco of Conzano, at which I met Anna Bruno, a local guide and Carlo Pesce who is an art writer and literature teacher. Anna lives talking-out-the-window distance from Villa Vidua and offered her help in any way I might need. We agreed to speak in the next couple of days. I dropped exhausted to sleep.

June 11
First full day on my own itinerary. Back to Casale for the big Tuesday morning market, I always like these. Carlo met me for a coffee and we talked art, art criticism, the state of both. I wanted to see the inside of the nearby church. Inside is a spectacular altarpiece, a Virgin, a Madonna, surrounded by crisp rounded cloud-like shapes, unlike any baroques style I have seen, either in Naples or Rome, with their more open brushy curves.

Renata calls: photos are needed for one or two articles that will announce Sunday’s program here in the local papers. I do this in the afternoon. In the evening, I have an urge to walk off the hall like room hoping it will inform how I begin to paint. It is 25 paces or “feet”. I then measure my sandal length in cm (25). 25 actual feet is 762cm. Divided by my height (63.5”) =12. 1+2=3 in numerology. I don’t know where this strange “math” comes from, or my sudden interest in it. I look up 3 and 25 on the web, and the site gives “Angel numbers”. Each reading seems auspicious:

Number 25 brings us the intuitive, curious essence.
Number 25 brings you a new sense of self. You will take your actions more seriously and you will almost grow up overnight.
Number 25 helps us get into our own mind and self, because it is a symbol of introspection.
Number 25 accumulates wisdom and elegance, beauty and taste at the same time. Private kind of life is what is described by this number, but it still is a symbol of companionship and relationships.

The number 3 carries a vibrational frequency that is associated with self-expression and creativity.
When we see the number 3 it is a reminder from the universe of our creative potential and our innately divine nature.
The vibrational frequency of the number 3 is a sign of our alignment with powerful spiritual forces that can help us achieve our aims.
When angel number 3 appears in your experience, it means that you are in spiritual alignment with your guardian angels and the Ascended Masters and that they are intervening on your behalf.

WOW!

June 12
I woke with thoughts of branches and roots, of feminism and the two branches that connect le nemesiache (Teresa) and me. Fausta said I am the one who can carry the artistic vision forward that Teresa left off. I am not sure what this means, beyond the performance I just did, and how Collaborations Beyond the Veil will next manifest, which in itself needs more thought and development. Fausta’s words are a gift and a responsibility, certainly not to be carried by me alone. But I can try to help as things inevitably transform, and as the overall project of feminism and the particulars of le nemesiche’s specific legacy unfold. Several young scholars are beginning to write theses on le nemesiache but such scholarship proceeds slowly.

Last night I dreamed of a friend’s daughter: she held her ground in a family conflict and proceeded to go to sleep. It felt like an affirmation, for me to drop into a kind of sleep state, that of the unconscious contents in my own creative psyche. I need time to integrate the many events and contents of the last few days, if not the year since this work began upon Teresa’s death.

In the afternoon I took a drive to Vignale, needing to wander. On a back street was an unusual house, named La Serpentella. The façade was decorated with cement relief and tiles.

That night I began to make some marks on the rumpled cloth.

June 13
i vincoli, però she. This is the phrase that came to me upon waking.
The bonds, the links, the constraints, the ties.
But her.
Jung is useful here. I tiptoe around the work, literally; the linen laid out on the ground like a shroud. I try to find the place beyond (or beneath) theory and certainty, as that is where creativity begins for me, with the image that insistently wants to rise up. I had stuffed some straw from the roadside in my pocket in Vignale, but crumpled and tossed it, in favor of its memory. I speak in images: the “image” is not yet known to me. I am alone with myself, choosing this way to be out of an inner necessity.
I am still tapping my foot at the doorway.
I feel both closed up and self-selectively hidden away, Jung’s “both/and” are at work.
A circular glass table top catches my eye—one could say it “spoke” to me–and I lift it carefully off the stand and began to trace it onto the linen in pencil. This feels totally out of character. I make several circles, overlapping, half circles, looking for clues.
The doorway that always leads to the same place.
The same place where I stood, I suddenly remember, as a teenager, brushing my teeth in the mirror in the morning before school, when the circle appeared to me. It was a yellow circle, the missing element in a 6 ft x 6 ft painting I was trying to finish. This circle would join an enormous textured field of red ochre, gestural marks, a little white space, and thick splatters of black paint. The circle would bring the painting to resolution.

How did I know the circle would work? The membrane between my conscious self and my unconscious psychological contents (and those of the collective) was thinner then, and much less defended. I was only 17. The trick now is to get back there, through many more layers of lived experience.

I throw down some paint. I am experimenting with fabric paint, this too is new. Only the linen feels familiar. I got the last piece they had at Solombrino in Naples, where I had shopped with Teresa three years ago for our costumes plus a red cloth for a huge painting I did for our set in the apartment in Posillipo where le nemesiache held many of their meetings.

Slowly I start to see it. A figure, in the most basic sense. But it is unmistakable. She. Her.

June 14
I am thinking about the challenges for women as we gain small increments of power in the political and cultural realms. Of not replicating power structures but dismantling them. How impossible this task seems. I read Ilze Petroni’s paper A Kangaroo Was There, where she describes her impressions of Conzano, and then, the imperative of analyzing the meanings of the kangaroo on the wall in Conzano. Our methodology is different, but like me, her mind weaves many strands toward meaning. I have been discouraged albeit awakened to our collective imprisonment in the language of patriarchy since reading Luce Irigaray years ago, while holding on to some notion that within the language of art there can be more freedom, more of a chance to posit a different sort of philosophy, avoiding a colonizing co-optation of its vision, message, beauty, ugliness that happens today with lightning speed…even within the realm of the residency these difficulties are coupled with awareness, which while important, can strangulate an emergent idea or form. Theory can drown me in words; words are not my primary métier.

I have picked up a book I started back in Chicago. The Swerve, by Stephen Greenblatt, is about a voracious book hunter named Poggio Bracciolini who in 1417 makes a huge discovery in a musty monastery in Germany. As described in the liner notes, “he finds a copy of Lucretius’ ancient poem On the Nature of Things, the return of which to circulation changes the course of history.” The poem had been lost for more than a thousand years. Greenblatt draws his narrative from Poggio’s many letters, and the despair he felt at the times he was living in. The abject corruption of the Church, and Poggio’s view of the lesser condition of men in all facets, compared to his fantasy of Roman times, was exemplified by literature left behind. Poggio withdrew into books whenever he could. Worth quoting both writers, first Poggio: “Your Poggio is content with very little…sometimes I am free for reading, free from all care about public affairs…I live free as much as I can.” Greenblatt follows =, writing about Poggio: “Freedom here has nothing to do with political liberty or a notion of rights of the license to say whatever he wished or the ability to go wherever he chose. It is rather the experience of withdrawing inwardly from the press of the world—in which he himself was so ambitiously engaged—and ensphering himself in a space apart.”

I return to my dreams. Not to withdraw from the world, or its complexities or problems, but to create form that unites the waking and sleeping dreams. This is the alchemical, meditative invitation to drop into, if just for a brief while, a state of being that I still believe holds promise.

Tue. 21. May. 2019
It was very long journey in the end but once you arrived in Venice, everything
was fine. Since only 2 hours left before closing, I visited the closest pavilions.
Portuguese, Bulgarian, Iran and Dominican. It wasn’t my favorite though, the
architecture of Portuguese pavilion was very atmospheric. And I like the
theme of this year.
Wed. 22. May. 2019
First, went to New Zealand pavilion as I like works of the artist Dane Michele.
Then arsenale, the works of Haris Epaminonda, my favorite artist since long
time who won the silver lion was simply amazing. As well as Gabriel Rico,
Apichatpong Weerasethakul. And nice discovery was Tarek Atoui, sound
installation with objects and organic technology. The performance of
Lithuanian pavilion was only on Saturday, but the empty beach was also nice
as an installation.
Thu. 23. May. 2019
It is my tradition to start from Spanish pavilion and it was a very good start. I
liked the way to install the soil at Dutch pavilion, very much in order like the
impression I got from the country. Finnish pavilion was interesting,
combination of organic creatures and nice video. I like nordic pavilion a lot as
an architecture and this year, exhibition was really fitting well together. The
work of Nabbteeri was very inspiring. Australian pavilion shows beautiful video
with a nice way of typing code and music. UK pavilion was about particles but
bit more ghost side. Japanese pavilion was a surprise, very similar sound
installation to my partner’s ( and his instruments are more beautiful ). Of
course concept is different and I liked the story and stones. I think I enjoyed
and stayed at French pavilion the most in the end. They always make very
nice seating place for the audience as a part of installations and this year was
like something from the palace Cheval. I always try not to stay too long for
video works in Biennial but I couldn’t move and wanted to watch again, with a feeling of being involved in the world of which the artist had created. I enjoyed Venice Biennial this year a lot, but the biggest evocation of feeling was the works of Jannis Kounellis at Fondazione Prada. It was stunning and really good with the atmosphere of the building.
Fri. 24. May. 2019
In the town, I came across a very beautiful printing artisan where they use 53 years old machine. As a gift, I bought a set of ‘ EXLIBRIS ‘ with a pattern of printing artisan. Then, it was just very easy and comfortable journey this time to Milan. I had an aperitif with a curator friend and enjoyed urban life after some time.
Sat. 25. May. 2019
Finally went to the Alps, even in France, with Michele and Silvia. At the
lake mont Cenis, since it was with less water, we could see some parts
of ancient village at the bottom. The color of the water was very special
kind of blue and of course I collected some stones in the same blue. I
love mountains in general but the Alps is really special. And this special
couple is extremely sweet. I really had a nice day.
Sun. 26. May. 2019
I feel very happy to be back in Conzano. In the end, living in the nature
is the most luxury. In the afternoon, I have visited Simona’s beautiful
garden with lots of different kind of roses, many herbs and fruits. I saw
trees of hazelnuts for the first time in my life. We had very nice wine and
amazing food which she made, the life is truly beautiful here and I will
suggest my partner to find a house in Conzano. ..
Mon. 27. May. 2019
Maybe because of the election, wifi is not really working since yesterday
and raining all the day, I was working inside. Simona told me that she
sensed something in Villa Vidua, I have been feeling the same, but Mr.
Vidua seems very interesting person, so I’m not scared. Mario and
Bona came to visit me to say bye in person with lovely presents. My
partner said that I have a talent for it, but I think it’s the people here.
Italians and Japanese have many things in common actually and one is
that we both are crazy for presents.

Tue. 28. May. 2019
Yesterday, for the first time during my stay in Italy, I didn’t have any wine at mealtimes. Maybe that was why I felt something was missing in my body and since it was not raining yet in the morning, I went out with the bicycle to fulfill myself. It was really wonderful on the way out from Conzano and on the way back, it took 3 times more time and 100 times more energy.  In the afternoon, in the storm, finally went to the kurumiri shop. ( on my arrival, Renata told me that I should visit there and it was my last day finally I managed to go ). Already on the street, I could feel the flavor of happiness but
when I open the door, it was almost like the heaven. They gave me one to try
even, it was very different from the one I had at a cafe and I understand why
everyone here recommend kurumiri.  

Simona came to say bye in person with a huge gift set. I only met her 2.5  weeks ago but feels like we know each other since long time and I’m dreaming about cooking my serious Japanese food course for her in the near future.
After Casale, Sandro showed me his favorite church in the rock. Very beautiful and special place. Then, Kamy took me to a wonderful organic shop where they sell honey from hazelnut and chestnut. Nowadays it is very difficult to find real honey and since my partner and I are crazy for honey, it was really the best souvenir shop.
They took me to a beautiful dinner place for my last supper to try truffle pasta. It was really amazing. They said it is traditional recipe and I felt that people here have been too gourmet since long history. And they gave me a very special wedding gift which is a sort of hammock for a couple made in
Venezuela. They said that it is even for making love on it but I think it’ll be very acrobatic and need lots of practice. They have been treating me like a queen and I really hope they will visit me in Amsterdam and Japan that I can treat them back as a king and a queen.

 I am very happy to get to know this
wonderful couple with warm hearts and their cute dog.

Wed. 29. May. 2019
In the morning, I had a coffee with my very professional guide Anna. I don’t
know why but I really love talking with her. Next time we should do trekking and cycling all over around Monferrato with her guide book. It was very nice to see Mario again before leaving as well as Emanuele and Sara. People here are truly warm and caring and I am very happy for Conzano to have a very nice and cultural Mayor.

 

 

I was not ready to leave at all though, I also miss my partner and Kamy and Sandro was very responsible to give me a lift to the airport on time.

 

    

 

The Alps were again very beautiful on the way and from the plane, it was really the best view ever in my life. ( I have had more than one hundred of flights already, I guess ).

Staying in Conzano and especially meeting with all the beautiful people was priceless. And this opportunity gave me very important notice for the future. The residency period was too short though, it is just a begging of our project with Artegiro Contemporary Art and I’m very excited to develop further more.

This is the last day of my diary this time but I hope next opportunities will come again and I am very grateful to Renata, our wonderful curator with warm heart and good sense of humor. To get to know her is one of the best thing about this residency and I believe that we both were already and will be inspired by our conversation to be continued.

“The world is very small when you are away and very big in the same city.” Mariko Hori

Uno dei motivi per cui la residenza artistica Artegiro è stata pensata alla sua fondazione nel 2009, è proprio il desiderio di rendere il mondo dell’artista più piccolo, più praticabile, nonchè per ravvicinare, in una sorta di gioco di prestigio, il pubblico alla pratica artistica, oltre che agli artisti stessi.

Gioco di prestigio prima di tutto perchè nel luogo di residenza artistica l’artista ora c’è e dopo poche settimane non c’è più, dato che quando conclude la sua residenza,  parte, ma anche perchè ,davvero, in quei giorni della sua presenza il mondo è più piccolo, più gestibile, le barriere che sembravano essere presenti fino a ieri tra opere d’arte e vita quotidiana cadono davanti a lei o lui che ci racconta quello che fa e ci coinvolge nel suo spazio come per  incanto. Mariko Hori, una delle due artiste in residenza nel 2019, con una generosità straordinaria, ha concesso tempo, ha prestato ascolto, ha condiviso parole, ha raccolto e mostrato immagini e nel contempo è riuscita con pochissimo italiano a disposizione ( per ora) a incontrare persone nuove, a formare amicizie, a stringere rapporti solidi con tanti.

A un certo punto Mariko, in occasione della scoperta di suoi amici che il proprietario di un ristorante monferrino che loro prediligono è di Roma, e che abitava nel quartiere originario dei loro genitori, pur non essendosi mai incontrati, scrive nel suo diario : “The world is very small when you are away and very big in the same city.” Ed è vero, il mondo è davvero piccolo quando sei in giro per il mondo, e può essere invece molto grande quando ti muovi solo all’interno di una zona.

Dal 2010 a oggi, da Montefiascone a Malta, da Venezia a Conzano, l’arrivo dell’artista in residenza Artegiro ha sempre mostrato un annullarsi delle distanze dal canto dell’artista e una scoperta delle dimensioni reali degli spazi culturali nella città ospite.

A parte le considerazioni che questo stato di cose ispira – cioè lo specifico rapporto tra artista e lo spazio, includendo in questo anche gli ambienti tra i quali l’artista si muove, a confronto con il rapporto che coloro che risiedono stabilmente nel centro che ospita le residenze hanno con il loro spazio consueto – il rimpicciolimento ulteriore del “mondo” è per me una garanzia che la residenza ha davvero soddisfatto le aspettative. Quando l’artista lascia una traccia forte e condivisa nella collettività e la residenza lascia nell’artista una traccia altrettanto forte e condivisa, la residenza artistica si fa produttiva, continua in progetti futuri, si sviluppa in modi inaspettati. 

Ma la considerazione più importante non può trascurare la condizione per cui tutto questo accade, cioè il gioco di prestigio: la disponibilità a essere spaesati appunto, a uscire dal proprio mondo per ritrovarsi nel grande mondo che però diventa piccolo. Per questo si chiama Artegiro.

Diario Mariko Hori, Parte 3

Thu. 16. May. 2019
Day 1: Experimenting day in the Oriental room.
I am trying to make works including the special atmosphere in the room. I have made a bigger water cube with a bigger stone but it immediately broke as the stone was too heavy. So made the
cube again with a bit smaller stone. The
atmosphere is changing so much with the light every moment. The room is extremely clean but
hope some particles from Carlo Vidua would be still here.
Fri.17. May. 2019
Day 2: Experimenting day in the Oriental room. It was misty day and the room looks completely different. I did some other experiment and still want to do more though, there are already 500 of photos and I can only choose one or two. So I would stop for now. Villa Vidua has an atmosphere like a castle. It is always cool/ cold and bit wet inside, even when it’s very hot outside. Indeed bit closer to the caves.

Sat. 18. May. 2019
It was very nice to have a beautiful dinner together with Renata and Fatima, whose story inspired me a lot. I am interested in lots of different elements to reproduce an atmosphere but especially in Italy, one’s feeling is very strong which will be left behind at the place in order to make a certain aura for the future. I couldn’t see the Alps today but I know that it’s there.
Sun. 19. May. 2019
It was very nice evening and big surprise that so many people were up for participating in my request. I thought it might be too much to ask someone to sing in front of camera. But people were not shy at all and there were so many nice stories. I really appreciate all the support from everyone who were at Villa Vidua and for the nice atmosphere.
Mon. 20. May. 2019
Kamy and Sandro took me to Casale and while walking on the street, I run into 2 different parson whom I know from last night. It was very nice that I could feel like local here. We had a nice dinner at a cute restaurant which they serve Roman style dishes. It as Sandro’s favorite and even the owner used to live in the neighborhood of his family house. But they never met in Roma. The world is very small when you are away and very big in the same city. Anyway I always eat very good in Italy.

Un curatore condivide con l’artista una vita interiore tanto piena quanto vuota. Artisti e curatori sono in una dimensione socialmente popolata. Popolata anche se mai affollata, solitaria anche se non triste. Ma il privilegio del rapporto artista-curatore, così come mi è apparso fin dall’inizio del mio interagire con Mariko Hori, è stato in questo caso uno dei più rappresentativi della dinamica di curatela artistica che il progetto Artegiro teorizza e pratica. Privilegio forse non è la giusta definizione per quello che è un reciproco flusso rigoroso di idee e pratiche che somigliano più al sentimento di scoperta e scambio tipico dell’amicizia intellettuale che a un esercizio accademico. Nell’amicizia adulta in particolare si praticano in fondo capacità critica, spirito di collaborazione, una comunione di intenti, generalmente caratterizzati da una serenità che è appunto tipica dell’amicizia. Il rigore professionale accompagna l’artista e il curatore che lavorano ad un progetto che è comune, in quanto l’artista condivide il proprio progetto che generalmente è in divenire e il curatore ne abbraccia l’afflato, così come tutto il peso specifico. Qui, però a un certo punto, tra Mariko e me è entrata la gelatina. Mariko ha infatti prodotto degli straordinari bonbons di gelatina d’alga, ispirati al sambuco e al bosco. Mi ha spiegato che dovevano però restare per tre o quattro giorno al vento, per potersi cristallizzare all’esterno. La creazione di questi bonbon rientrava nel suo obiettivo di catturare il MA. Tra Mariko e me c’è un sacco di MA, siamo insieme in una gelatina che si cristallizza all’aria del mondo che essendo nomadiche entrambe è oggi a Conzano, domani a Venezia, dopodomani a Firenze, la settimana prossima a Amsterdam e così via. ( fine parte 1).

Artegiro Contemporary Art Residency Journal vol.2
Thu. 9. May. 2019
While collecting materials ( a perfect looking stone ) I was very curious about what are seen on the other hills around Conzano, I walked to Camagna where I met wonderful women Kamy, she speaks excellent English, and then, Lu, where I found very nice winery. I wish I could buy 10 liter of very quality and inexpensive wine of theirs. Now I remember that ‘ it is very easy to go out from Conzano, but very hard to come back.’
Fri.10. May. 2019
It was very windy and lots of that fluffy stuff were floating in the woods. It could be a terrible thing
for someone who has an allergy but it looked very beautiful and mystical. In the evening, I went to
Alessandria with my new friend Kamy and her husband. They drove through all the small towns on the way in order to make a little tour. I am always surprised that many Italian people can explain the history of their town very well and they love their place very very much. That is why
everyone loves Italy.
Sat. 11. May. 2019
Just before the opening, it was hail that I realized I live under the Mountain weather. It is always nice to see the storm especially when you are safe inside. Mario’s exhibition was very nice and I was
surprised that so many people came to this isolated town for the exhibition. People are very very nice here and I enjoyed long conversation in English almost after a week. The oriental room in
the night looks very atmospheric and I am excited to install something here.
Sun. 12. May. 2019
I made pressed plants from what I had collected in Conzano. And syrup from elder flower with
which I would like to experiment on the flavor as one of the elements for atmosphere. Or maybe more feelings for being in the forests. There are too many things what I want to experiment. And I wish it will be warmer next week.

Mon. 13. May. 2019
I spent most of the day doing experiment. And found that there are even more photos of the Alps
than ones for my research.

 

 

 

Tue. 14. May. 2019
Anna took me to an abandoned church. It was very very marvelous and one of the best art
works I’ve ever seen. I wish I could make such a strong atmosphere or wish I could do something there. Anna also teaches me about the nature,
birds and wild lives as well as Italian. So far I love all the Italian names for birds. We also visited the nice young farmer and the garden of Emanuele which is full of roses and other flowers. They said the life is beautiful. Especially here, I thought.
Wed. 15. May. 2019
Michele took me to Vercelli and we visited Basilica Sant Andrea. It was also very atmospheric place and I often feel the atmosphere in the church,
temple, shrine or synagogue have something in common. It was very nice evening to talk with
Michele after in Mongolia.
At the Chinese Salon, I had some test experiment and now making the bigger one for tomorrow.  Hope it will work.

di Renata Summo-O’Connell

Comunicato Stampa MHori.docx

Ecco finalmente, come ogni anno dal 2010, con l’ arrivo della primavera, arrivano in Italia da tutto il mondo gli artisti in residenza Artegiro. Dal 2013, gli artisti selezionati da Artegiro, arrivano a Conzano, con la speranza unica e sola di incarnare la propria arte al cento per cento per un periodo seppure breve, ma significativo e intenso.

Mariko Hori, un’artista tanto giapponese quanto internazionale, arriva a Conzano con un progetto affascinante quanto inafferrabile ed effimero, MA 間 MA ( vedi comunicato allegato in alto dopo il titolo) . Con il patrocinio del Consolato Generale del Giappone a Milano.

 

Ecco la prima parte del suo diario di residenza, per ora in inglese.

Sat. 4. May. 2019

I have never been able to imagine how lovely to live with the view of the Alps, even from my window. Conzano welcomed me very warmly after through unexpected very pretty way from the airport with Renata and her unique navigation which knew my taste. And I tasted rabbit for the first time in my life.

 

Sun. 5. May. 2019

I was very busy to explore this beautiful commune for my first day even it was very cold. I found very nice spot to greet the Alps and beautiful smell of Ippocastano everywhere.

 

 

 

 

 

Mon. 6. May. 2019

I had a lunch with two gentle men, Mario, an artist who is going to have an exhibition at Villa Vidua and his friend photographer Rui. All the conversation was in Italian and little bit of German but we could understand each other very well. I often feel that I can see the spirits of a person more when we don’t speak the same language.
And also all the Italian people have amazing talents for communication.

Tue. 7. May. 2019

I was very lucky to have an opportunity to visit Crea, where my lovely neighbor Anna who is a professional guide, could open the door to the heaven with the special keys. I brought some dusts from the heaven back for my research.

 

 

 

 

 

Wed. 8. May. 2019

Since it was raining and very cold, I spend most of the day inside with writing and experimenting.
I am trying to capture a certain atmosphere with Kanten, a sort of seaweed from which we make jelly in Japan. I still need to wait to see how it will work and meanwhile I regret that I didn’t buy enough wine.

 

di renata summo-o’connell, may 30 2018

ITALIANO – (English version will follow).

Giulio Rimondi, l’ artista presente a maggio 2018 a Conzano (AL) per l’Artegiro Artist Residency, ha scritto nella pagina conclusiva del suo diario visivo della residenza “tutte le strade che portano qui non finiscono mai qui!“.

Nella pagina del giorno 4 del suo passaggio nel Monferrato da artista residente, tanto veloce quanto profondo nel suo impatto artistico e personale, scrive, riferendosi ad una scultura di Tamburelli presente a Villa Vidua :

“ c’è una balena d’ottone appesa sui tetti del paese. Il mare qui sono campi e filari di pioppi mossi dal vento al canto dei grilli ” ( immagine di seguito).

La sera, su dieci giorni di diario, compare ben tre volte, da una delle primissime sere, dove Villa Vidua è il faro che viene acceso la sera sulla collina, fino al microcosmo dello stagno nel giardino della villa . Una sera che si accende e si spegne, una sera dove si è e si ascolta: “La sera si spegne il paese e il piccolo stagno del mio giardino si anima di balli di zanzare e dei canti delle rane” recita il diario del giorno 5 ( le due immagini di seguito).

 In questa fortunata posizione di osservatore e accompagnatore che svolgo dal 2010 in quanto curatore di Artegiro Contemporary Art, ho notato che l’artista in residenza , in questa sorta di sfida scelta autonomamente che è la residenza artistica, sembra essere predisposto per la creazione, è sempre pronto all’espressione.

Se ci si riflette non è una realtà scontata. Per l’artista in residenza sembra non esserci mai la necessità di un periodo di adattamento, di crearsi e recuperare punti di riferimento, consuetudini o certezze: l’artista in residenza atterra e corre. Non importa da dove arrivino gli artisti in residenza, se dall’Australia, dagli Stati Uniti, dalla Svezia, dalla Serbia, dalla Germania: sono tutti pronti sempre.

Conoscendo molto bene la fotografia di Rimondi però, sono rimasta incantata e sorpresa dalla svolta espressiva avvenuta in pochi giorni, dove la simbiosi testo-immagine diventa quasi scultorea ( per la fine della residenza ero stupita di non trovarmi davanti delle opere tridimensionali!).

In realtà, proprio perchè conosco Rimondi dal 2011, so quanto importante sia il linguaggio scritto per lui e quanta parte abbia svolto nella sua opera, da Beirut Nocturne a Les Heures Blanches ( vedi http://www.giuliorimondi.com), per nominare solo due corpus di lavori. 

Quello che mi ha sorpreso però, abituata come mi ha a delle immagini che hanno la capacità di essere tanto serene quanto stravolgenti nella loro voluta povertà, è stato questa improvvisa virata nella dimensione microscopica della riflessione, dell’elaborazione, nella riduzione che poi, proprio per questo sforzo analitico, conduce dritto a enunciati, a chiarificazioni.

Di cieli e radici ( non dai cieli alle radici, come magari qualcun altro avrebbe fatto), di sere e di strade, e di colline: si tratta del contrario della descrizione, si tratta invece di quel lavoro che a me interessa di più, cioè dell’ incidere nella realtà, di quel famoso “knick of time” di Grosz, quell’irrompere nella realtà di una visione, di uno sforzo di comprensione da parte dell’artista, se visione risulta troppo astratto.

Tra mappe e sentieri, colline e campi, Rimondi ha reso una volta ancora questa residenza unica. Non ce n’e una uguale a un’altra. La dimensione lirica non è l’unica, quella individuale, sì per un instante mi ha fatto pensare a Pasolini ( come l’Italiana di Rimondi del resto), la cercata solitudine, i multipli punti di vista: una residenza bellissima e come sempre indimenticabile per me.

Quello che spesso accade a un critico e curatore smarrito come sono io, che si smarrisce volutamente, è che mi riacciuffano gli artisti, curandomi dal destino storico al quale chi fa attività critica sarebbe condannato. La posizione del curatore negli ultimi venti anni è malsana di per sè, resa rischiosa e malsana da una storia esploitativa che spinge il critico e curatore in aree di squilibrio tra pensiero e sfruttamento di sé e degli altri, rendendo estremamente difficile il suo ruolo e il suo rapporto con l’arte e con il mondo. Il momento creativo del pensiero, della valutazione, che è sviluppato poi in una relazione critica positiva con gli artisti con i quali ho la fortuna di collaborare, vive una vita spericolata e pericolosa dopo il primo stadio di ispirazione che viene ristabilizzato solo nel mio rapporto con l’artista, con la sua opera, con la sua fiducia. Ma questo non interessa a nessuno. Rimondi ritornerà e lì ci perderemo e troveremo di nuovo.

I primi giorni di Giulio Rimondi, smarrito volutamente per le strade del Monferrato si rivelano in sprazzi di riflessioni intime ma condivise con noi.

Ecco le prime tre giornate di residenza condensate in immagini d’autore.

 

 

Qarm Qart è uno degli artisti partecipanti a COCOAA 2018 Homo Sacer, con l’opera Untitled with NoName ( 2018). Qarm è stato già partecipante con due opere della serie IO LEGO, all’edizione COCOAA 2017.

English Qarm Qart, already a participant in COCOAA 2017 with two works from the IO LEGO series, is one of the artists participating in COCOAA 2018 with the work Untitled with No-name.

Dopo più di 15 anni in Egitto, Qarm Qart è parte di quel gruppo poco conosciuto e poco discusso di artisti europei che lavorano in Medio Oriente. Qarm Qart è in una rara posizione, come si voleva esplorare in Homo Sacer, perché rivelando il suo contesto è né eurocentrico né geopolitico, non orientalizza, ma produce  invece uno sguardo nuovo e originale.

After more than fifteen years in Egypt, Qarm Qart is part of that scarcely known and discussed group of European artists working in the Middle East. Qarm Qart is indeed in a rare position, as we wanted to investigate in Homo Sacer, because, besides revealing his surroundings, he is neither Eurocentric nor geopolitical, he does not orientalize, but produces instead a novel and original gaze.

L’opera, prodotta proprio in occasione di Homo Sacer, cosa di cui siamo molto grati a Qarm, è volutamente senza titolo e senza nome come precisa Qarm. Qarm parla di noi italiani, di noi che “andiamo dagli altri” e degli altri che vengono da noi. Qarm prova, come sempre, ad attirarci sulla sua parte del campo, a giocare con lui. L’artista tenta di promuovere una riflessione sul mondo che cambia, sulla diversità e la libertà di essere in un luogo. E’ un tentativo tanto giocoso quanto verosimile, una possibilità aperta, un gioco a cui si può partecipare.

We are very grateful to Qarm for the work included in Homo Sacer, as it has been produced by Qarm Qart especially in occasion of this COCOAA edition. The work is deliberately untitled and with no-name, as Qarm specifies. Qarm speaks of  displacement: Italians going to other places and others coming to their country. Qarm, as usual, invites us on his playful territory to reflect together. The artist invites the audience to a reflection moment together, a reflection around our fast changing world, around a  transformation, where diversity and freedom to be wherever we want can be as appealing as daunting. It is a playful endeavor as  well as an open possibility, a game we are free to join in.

Ana Vujovic è uno degli artisti partecipanti a COCOAA 2018 Homo Sacer, già residente dell’ Artegiro Artist Residency nel 2017.

English Ana Vujovic already Artist in residence in 2017, is one of the artists participating in COCOAA 2018.

Ana Vujovic come Artegiro Artist in residence, artista in residenza, nel giugno 2017 a Conzano si è concentrata sulla scelta degli emigranti transoceanici della fine ‘800- inizio ‘900, di partire dal Piemonte, sull’abbandono delle proprie famiglie, del proprio mondo.

Ana Vujovic, during her residency chose to focus on the choice made by many Conzano migrants when leaving Piedmont for overseas between the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century, on their experience of abandonment, forsaking their families and their world.
Il titolo scelto da Ana, “To make rooms for the other “, far spazio all’altro, si riferiva alla motivazione indicata dai migranti conzanesi in risposta alla richiesta formulata dagli ufficiali preposti al rilascio dei loro documenti di viaggio.

Ana’s title to her residency research, “To make room for the other”, referred to the actual reason formally given by the migrants to the immigration officers requesting a motivation for leaving the country later to be written on their passports.

Il lavoro fotografico e performativo che ha sostanziato il suo progetto, ha trovato in Anna una regista capace di materializzare nuovamente da un lato gli abbandoni ma dall’altro una sorte di riparazione, di riempitura dei vuoti lasciati. Questo ha avuto luogo attraverso fotografie che ritraggono un desco familiare appenza abbandonato, dove lo zucchero svolge un ruolo importante, visto che le piantagioni di canna da zucchero in Australia erano una delle mete più ambite dai Conzanesi emigranti. Il suo costante interesse nel “ glitch”, nell’ imprevisto errore della storia, della vita, che da origine però a una ‘ri-creazione ‘ del corso della vita, dà, per Ana, opportunità di scelta. Installata per strada come altre quattro opere di altri quattro artisti, sarà una delle opere parte di To Make Room for the Other.

The works produced by Ana during the residency are staged photographs and a performance that have found in Ana a capable director, who has reenacted on one hand abandonment and on the other reparation. This took place staging images of an empty room, of a just ended family dinner around an old table, a table that is all set, apparently left by its diners in hurry. Sugar, the principal reason for migration to Australia , where Conzanesi in particular, went in huge numbers to work in Queensland sugar plantations, takes centre stage in these images. Ana’s constant interest in “glitch”, in the unforeseen error, error also as a reality in history and in life, becomes in her work an opportunity for re-creaction, a chance to make choices. Installed in the streets of Conzano, like the other works, will be precisely one of the images from the “To Make Room for the Other” collection.