Boom

art and industry in 1960s Italy

BOOM

COVER Michelangelo Pistoletto, Persona in piedi [Standing Person], 1962-63

EDITORIAL PROJECT Forma Edizioni srl Florence, Italy redazione@formaedizioni.it www.formaedizioni.it

PROJECT BY Tornabuoni Art Ursula Casamonti EDITED BY Flavia Frigeri

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Laura Andreini EDITORIAL STAFF Maria Giulia Caliri Livia D’Aliasi GRAPHIC DESIGN Archea Associati, Florence Elisa Balducci Augustina Cocco Canuda Isabella Peruzzi Mauro Sampaolesi Alessandra Smiderle

TEXTS BY Flavia Frigeri Ursula Casamonti Special thanks to the Tornabuoni Art staff, especially Elizabeth de Bertier, Marta Colombo, Ermanno Rivetti and Jenna Romagnolo

PHOTOLITHOGRAPHY LAB di Gallotti Giuseppe Fulvio Florence, Italy

All works are courtesy of Tornabuoni Art

© Carla Accardi by SIAE 2018 © Franco Angeli by SIAE 2018 © Alighiero Boetti by SIAE 2018 Fondazione Palazzo Albizzini-Collezione Burri, Città di Castello © by SIAE 2018 © Tano Festa by SIAE 2018 © Fondazione Lucio Fontana, Milano

by SIAE 2018 © Mimmo Rotella by SIAE 2018 © Mario Schifano by SIAE 2018

© 2018 Forma Edizioni srl, Florence, Italy The editor is available to copyright holders for any questions about unidentified iconographic sources.

All rights reserved, no part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher.

First edition: April 2018

BOOM art and industry in 1960s Italy

BOOM: ART AND INDUSTRY IN 1960s ITALY Ursula Casamonti

The Italian post-war cultural scene was the setting for new artistic movements and radical experimentation, particularly in Milan, Rome and Turin. From cinema to fine arts and design, architecture and industry, this period is marked by a rebirth of cultural and economic production known as “il boom”. Italian society underwent a rapid development that brought the economy and the country to unprecedented prosperity. It is in this context of cultural awakening and industrial growth that Italy produced some of its best known and most beloved visual and cultural material.

Exchanges with the United States were especially dynamic, and many American artists came to the Italian capital to experience the “dolce vita” first hand.

Tornabuoni Art London is proud to present Boom: Art and Industry in 1960s Italy, the first instalment our curatorial fellowship, in which UK-based curators are given the keys to our collection with the aim of exploring new connections between our artists.

The desire to engage with freethinking art critics, unhindered by the more traditional interpretations of Italian culture is designed to generate new ideas and draw previously unseen connections between artists through original interpretative threads such as their engagement with the industrial production of objects and images.

I am delighted to be launching this exhibition cycle with the collaboration of Dr Flavia Frigeri – currently Teaching Fellow at UCL and co-curator of The World Goes Pop exhibition at Tate Modern in 2016 – who has brought to light new facets of the work of great Italian artists such as Lucio Fontana, Alberto Burri, Mario Schifano, Carla Accardi and Pino Pascali through their response to the economic boom of the 1960s.

BOOM: BETWEEN ART AND INDUSTRIAL DESIGN Flavia Frigeri

Between 1958 and 1963 Italy experienced a period of accelerated industrial development. Growth rates reached unprecedented levels and a substantial rise in per capita income transformed the material, social and cultural landscape of the country, introducing a new range of consumer habits.

Customarily described as the ‘economic miracle’ or ‘boom,’ this transformative moment was materially emblazoned by a range of consumer goods, including: cars, fridges, televisions, typewriters, washing-machines and plastic goods. As historian Paul Ginsborg records: “In 1951 Italy was producing just 18,500 fridges. By 1957 this number had already grown to 370,000; by 1967 it had reached 3,200,000, by which time Italy was the third largest producer of fridges in the world, after the United States and Japan.”1 Electric appliances, industrially designed furniture and car production thus emerged as the quintessential emblems of the boom. Both at home and abroad the general perception was that success could only be measured through material possession. Goods, in other words, defined who had made it and who had not.

And Italian directors and screenwriters soon turned their attention to this phenomenon. In Gian Piero Brunetta’s words: “Ever careful not to glorify the economic boom of the 1960s, directors and screenwriters observed the transformation of the country and its people through the lens of a microscope.

Suddenly, it became clear that the classic image of the poor Italian and the idyllic countryside had been contaminated; the ‘good-hearted’ Italian species had been transformed into self-serving social climbers – monsters controlled by the triumphant civilisation of consumerism.”2 It is precisely in this vein that Vittorio De Sica, presciently identifies the thirst for material possession as a defining trait of the economic miracle in his film Il boom (The Boom) from 1963. Here, the deceptive nature of the economic miracle emerges in full force through the perilous adventures of Giovanni Alberti, a young and avid entrepreneur. The protagonist falls into a spiral of luxurious living shaped by holidays in Capri and St. Moritz, fast cars and opulent dinner parties. This all comes to a sudden halt when Alberti realises that his earnings do not match the lifestyle he has become accustomed to. His business partners deceive him, his wife promptly leaves him and he is left alone revelling in his loss of wealth and status. The answer to his problems comes in the form of an illicit and rather surreal proposition,

which consists of selling his eyes to a wealthy real estate developer who has lost his in an accident. Initially repelled by the proposal, Alberti reconsiders when it becomes apparent that without money there is no purpose in being able to see the world. Out of this bleak satirical tale, the notion that vision and consumption are deeply embroiled emerges most forcefully.

Taking as a starting point De Sica’s movie, this exhibition is specifically concerned with the relationship between postwar Italian art and the economic miracle. The way artists envisioned, represented and reacted to the boom is at stake here. Likewise, the influential role played by contemporary industrial design is highlighted to reveal the proximity between art and industry in the late 1950s and 1960s. Finally, through this select and varied group of works it will become apparent how artists oscillated between appropriation and rejection of the visual vocabulary engendered by the economic miracle.

THE CULT OF THE OBJECT Now a cult-object in its own right, the bright red typewriter Valentine (1969) designed by Ettore Sottsass and manufactured by Olivetti was conceived as a symbol of youth predicated on mobility and portability.3 With its agile and futuristic shape, the Valentine embodied the ideals of a generation imbued in counter-culture, free love, social activism and a widespread desire to transgress. While the Valentine’s promotional agenda was premised on lightness and the potential for the typewriter to be used anywhere in the world, from remote corners to hustling and bustling city centres, its look suggested a keen awareness of aesthetics as a fundamental marker. Sottsass’ chief ambition was, in fact, to design a typewriter that would make an aesthetic statement. Whether its users were interested in typing was secondary, as the Valentine was first and foremost a stylish object of reverie. Thus, for all its counter-cultural posturing, the Valentine was still connected to the many goods and furnishings that had populated the post-war Italian home.

Industrially designed products, such as Pier Giacomo and Achille Castiglioni’s Arco (1962) floor lamp and Marco Zanuso’s and Richard Sapper’s Doney 14 (1962) television, were heralded as emblems and perpetrators of the Italian lifestyle of the economic miracle years. A particular premium 7

LIST OF WORKS

CARLA ACCARDI 14 • Argento verde, 1966 16 • Oro arancio, 1967 18 • Rosa, 1968-2008 FRANCO ANGELI 20 • Untitled, 1970 MARINA APOLLONIO 22 • Gradazione 15N nero

bianco su nero, 1966-72 24 • Dinamica ellittica, 1967-2011 ALIGHIERO BOETTI 26 • Mimetico, 1967 ALBERTO BURRI 28 • Cellotex, 1967 MARIO CEROLI 30 • La Cina, 1968

TANO FESTA 38 • The strike of the stars

Michelangelo according

to Tano Festa n°17, 1967 40 • Le dimensioni del cielo

n°5, 1965 LUCIO FONTANA 42 • Anta di armadio, 1952-53 42 • Anta di armadio, 1952-53 44 • Concetto spaziale, Attese, 1965 PIERO GILARDI 46• Campo di papaveri, 1966 FRANCESCO LO SAVIO 48 • Filtro: depotenziamento

cromatico e dinamica

d’assorbimento, 1960 50 • Filtri: depotenziamento

cromatico e dinamica

d’assorbimento, 1959

GIANNI COLOMBO 32 • Strutturazione fluida, 1960 34 • Strutturazione acentrica, 1960s

SERGIO LOMBARDO 52 • Aldo Moro, 1961 52 • Krusciov, 1962

DADAMAINO 36 • Ricerca del colore.

Marrone su rosso, 1966-68 36 • Ricerca del colore.

Celeste su rosso, 1966-68 36 • Ricerca del colore.

Verde su arancio, 1966-68 36 • Ricerca del colore.

Viola su arancio, 1966-68

PINO PASCALI 54 • Quattro bachi da setola, 1968 56 • Guerriero, 1963-64 57 • Guerriero, 1966 58 • Scenografia Porto King

440, 1958 60 • Studio per lo spot “FF

SS”, 1962 60 • Caffè Camerino, 1963-64 61 • Volto d’uomo, 1962-63 63 • Velocipedista, 1963-64 63 • Englisch, 1963-64

63 • Missile Y, 1964 64 • Studio per “Dolce sogno”, 1963-64 64 • Studio per “Dolce sogno”, 1963-64 64 • UHT, 1963-64 66 • Forno, 1963-64 68 • Civico 3, 1963-64 70 • Montagne, 1963-64 70 • Kive, 1964 72 • Autovettura anni Trenta, 1963-64 72 • Autovettura anni Trenta, 1963-64 74 • Gita, 1963-64 75 • Gran General, 1963-64 76 • Studio per “Gemello

Kisler”, 1963-64 76 • Tenente O’ Clock fra

i grattacieli, 1963-64 78 • Studio per “Prima pagina”, 1963 79 • Varianti A B C per “Prima

pagina”, 1963-64 80 • Sottomarino, 1964 82 • New York, 1967 MICHELANGELO PISTOLETTO 84 • Persona in piedi, 1962-63 MIMMO ROTELLA 86 • Prove gratuite, 1962 88 • La rapina, 1964 MARIO SCHIFANO 90 • Untitled, 1974-76

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GIANNI COLOMBO Strutturazione acentrica [Acentric Structuring], (1960) metal, plastic and electric engine 21 × 21 × 12 cm • 8 1/4 × 8 1/4 × 4 3/4 in 34

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DADAMAINO

Ricerca del colore. Marrone su rosso [Colour Research. Brown on Red], 1966-68

Ricerca del colore. Celeste su rosso [Colour Research. Sky Blue on Red], 1966 - 68

tempera on paper on masonite 20 × 20 cm • 7 7/8 × 7 7/8 in

tempera on paper on masonite 20 × 20 cm • 7 7/8 × 7 7/8 in

Ricerca del colore. Verde su arancio [Colour Research. Green on Orange], 1966 - 68

Ricerca del colore. Viola su arancio [Colour Research. Purple on Orange], 1966 - 68

tempera on paper on masonite 20 × 20 cm • 7 7/8 × 7 7/8 in

tempera on paper on masonite 20 × 20 cm • 7 7/8 × 7 7/8 in

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TANO FESTA

“When I did these Michelangelos, moreover, I never went to see the Sistine Chapel. They were things deeply bound up with Rome, with a kind of image that is consumed here.

Remember my argument then: an American paints Coca-Cola as a value and for me painting Michelangelo is the same thing, in the sense that we are in a country where instead of consuming canned food we consume the Mona Lisa on chocolates.”14 This is Tano Festa speaking. As evinced by this statement Festa was a stark defender of Italy’s independence from American artistic hegemony. Specifically, he rejected any connection with American Pop art by reasserting the connection with Italy’s art historical legacy. This connection was, however, filtered through the unavoidability of Michelangelo and the Mona Lisa as commercial icons. The original artwork did not interest Festa, who turned to the cheap replicas found on postcards and chocolate boxes.

The strike of the stars Michelangelo according to Tano Festa n°17, 1967 enamel and pen on canvas 92 × 91 cm • 36 1/4 × 35 7/8 in 38

In the The strike of the stars Michelangelo according to Tano Festa n°17 (1967) Festa appropriates a detail of Michelangelo’s well-known Medici Tombs in Florence.

Festa’s appropriation of this monumental opus, however, was not premised on outright rejection, but was centered on the work’s commercial popularity. In other words Festa aspired to consume the image of Michelangelo’s sculpture, while also drawing attention to the image’s own self-consumption.

14 Tano Festa interviewed by Giorgio De Marchis, in Tano Festa, exh. cat. (Rome, Galleria La Salita, April 1967) rpt. in Luca Massimo Barbero, Imagine: new imagery in Italian art, 1960-1969, Marsilio, Venice, 2016, p. 92.

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LUCIO FONTANA Concetto spaziale, Attese [Spatial Concept, Waiting], 1965 water-based paint on canvas 82 × 66.5 cm • 32 1/4 × 26 1/8 in 44

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PIERO GILARDI

Piero Gilardi’s Campo di papaveri (1966) is a field of poppies only in name. No poppies are, in fact, blossoming on this artificial stretch of land. A counterfeit in plain sight, Campo di papaveri is a quasi-truthful reconstruction of a natural setting. Like all of Gilardi’s Tappeti-natura (Nature Carpets), this work is made out of polyurethane, a material commonly used in the design of industrial furniture. For example Pier Giacomo and Achille Castiglioni chose polyurethane to upholster their now iconic Sanluca armchair manufactured by Gavina in 1961.

Gilardi was first drawn to polyurethane’s softness and ascribes to this very material the birth of his Tappeti-natura. In his words: “The knowledge of this material marked the beginning of the Nature Carpet works: its softness gave me the sensation of comfort; I did nothing but unite it to the hidden desire of the idea of nature.”15 In an increasingly artificial world, Gilardi aspired on the one hand to naturalise artifice and on the other hand to artificially recreate nature.

Campo di papaveri [Poppy Field], 1966 mixed media on foam 150 × 150 cm • 59 × 59 in 46

He took this one step forward in 1967 when he exhibited in Milan, Rome and Turin his Tappeti-natura rolls. Wrapped around aluminium tubes these reels of stony-nature and flowered-nature could be cut and purchased by the metre. Treated like common fabric, Gilardi’s contrived natural expanses were at once removed from the rarefied realm of art and closer in scope to the consumer logic underpinning industrial manufacturing.

Ultimately the Tappeti-natura, including Campo di papaveri, should be recognised for their programmatic ambition to subvert the natural order in light of rampant industrialisation.

15 Piero Gilardi qtd. in Maurizio Vanni (edited by) Piero Gilardi: il suono della natura, Carlo Cambi, Poggibonsi (Siena), 2008, pp. 29-30.

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PINO PASCALI Forno [Bakery], 1963- 64 mixed media and collage on cardboard 25 × 100 cm • 9 7/8 × 39 3/8 in 66

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ISBN 978-88-99534-83-7

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