Лекция Ирины Кулик об итальянских художниках Пьеро Мандзони и Маурицио Каттелане / Irina Kulik's lection about Italian artists Piero Manzoni and Maurizio Cattelan: script of the lecture (1)

Piero Manzoni / Maurizio Cattelan

ichuly 25.06.15 в 19:32

So, as you can see, Irina has already came. Please welcome, culture expert, art critic - Irina Kulik. Today we're going to talk about two Italian artists - Piero Manzoni and Maurizio Cattelan. And I hope, it will be as interesting as always.

ichuly 25.06.15 в 19:34

Good evening! Our today's heroes are artists the difference between whom is exactly in one generation, i.e. Kattelan, in principle, could be a son of Mandzoni. And also these artists both have reputation, probably, of the main provokers in the art world. Both of them are well-known for their primarily scandalous and provokative works. Of course, Mandzoni's provocations and Kattelan's provocations are provocations of different eras. Well, and it was a lot easier to provoke public of the beginning of the 60th than to provoke the 90th's and 2000th's public, already experienced public. That is why provocation of Mandzoni's art, at first sight seems, so to say, to be more romantic, than Kattelan's art.

ichuly 25.06.15 в 19:52

Well, anyway, I think the main idea of provocations in the art at all times remained the same.

ichuly 25.06.15 в 19:56

What is exactly provocative art? Provocative art - is an art, which is not perceived as an art, because we find ourselves in the space of conventional art, which doesn't seem neither scandalaous nor provocative. That means that we are in a situation, when we know for sure that this piece of art is art and it's worth to be in a museum, that is should evoke artistic admiration, the so-called katharsis, i.e. the certain selection of feelings. At the time when art becomes provocative, in other words it doesn't look like a real art, a regular man will say "It's not an art".

ichuly 25.06.15 в 20:27

And that's why the main goal of any provocative art - to go outside of the art, and find the edge between a real art and a fake one. As a matter of fact, from the times of historical avant-garde, from the beginning of 20th century artists tried to imbed the art in life and to cross this line between cultural reality, artistic reality, and actually life and to influence on this reality, to intrude in this reality, to take part in it somehow. And that is what both of these Italian artists do.

ichuly 25.06.15 в 20:34

Well, lets begin with Piero Manzoni, the artist who unfotunately spend a very short life. He had died by the time he reached 30 years old. Nevertheless, for this short but bright artistic career he has managed to show what art can be and what cannot. At this point he has a full, very astonishing and unique story, which he told in his works. He didn't have an artistic education, he had studied the law and at the age of 24 decided to drop out the school and become an artist. His first works were very nontypical for Mandzoni as an artist.

ichuly 25.06.15 в 20:59

He became a member of italian avangarde assosiation "Nuclearia" - it is a nuclear art, the art of the nuclear century, the age of atom. And there he did these rather naive works. Rather naive, rather delicate, where he just places silhouettes' prints of real subjects on a canvas, in this case it's keys, as far as I can see. Generally speaking, this idea of making objects' prints came from dedaists. They left a subject's print on a canvas instead of painting it. And this way made the work of art more material/

ichuly 25.06.15 в 21:13

In his works Mandzoni tried to make everything material as much as possible, tried to show the whole density of colourful substance. For this purpose he didn't used a paint. So, in works of the 57th year insted of paint he used a tar, with its characteristic invoice and characteristic feeling of materiality that it is not simply a paint by which pictures are made that in this case this pigment with which the cloth is covered, is not the image, but it is a new matter, is a certain material element.

ichuly 27.06.15 в 12:00

Since 58th year Mandzoni begins to make a new series of works called "Achromes". I think he was inspired by experience of Yves Klein, French artist, who in the beginning of 50th starts to make a new series of works - Monochromes. It was a number of canvases painted in one colour. At first it was multicoloured but then Yves Klen reduced these coloures by his favourite colour, the colour of the sky, which is called "International Blue Klein". And earlier in 52nd, the first "Achrome" (which is not a monochrome, just chrome) - absolutely white canvas was first exhibited by American artist Rober Rauschenberg.

ichuly 27.06.15 в 12:06

And, if to speak, about possible influence under which Mandzoni came, it is worth mentioning the Italian artist of the previous generation - Lush Fontana who launched a new movement "Spatsiolizm" - art of space. Fontana is known under such popular aniconic gesture. He did not only exhibited monochrome canvases, but it cut opened them and this gesture was considered as a peculiar destruction of a picture, destruction of a canvas, destruction of a work of art, and in general as a cancellation of need for a work of art. But thus Fontana's idea, who partially continued ideology of the Italian futurists, was an idea that this type of art comes out in a new space, in a new measurement. Therefore the name "Spatsiolizm",as an art of space - means that behind a cut opened canvas opens the entrance to the space, or the entrance to the diffrent dimension.

ichuly 27.06.15 в 12:17

And these pictures, these cut opened canvases by Fontana, are pretty much good looking. By the way they were brought to Moscow exhibition not so long ago. In his works it was possible to distinguish that this cut from the back side of a canvas was very accurately stuck with a black fabric, like a gauze, in order to hide the wall on which this cut opened canvas was hanged, and this opened here the illusion of infinitely black space.
What is an Achrome? It is not a picture without color because there is colour, in this case it's white. But it is a picture which is not a canvas covered in the color anymore. It is a picture which represents something else. Therefore Mandzoni starts working with invoices. His first Achromes were simply covered with glue, paint and so on, and he allowed these canvases to be wrinkled so there was a relief so that these canvases stopped being pictures which work with color and became pictures which work with space and time. That is why they are called Achromes, because they are deprived of color because color is not important anymore.

ichuly 27.06.15 в 12:38

Therefore Mandzoni has it, naturally not entrance into a new space, new space opens outside of a canvas, not behind a canvas, as it does in Fantana's works. Mandzoni knew Fontana because they exposed their works at the same exhibition. So that was something that goes out of a canvas towards the viewer, something that somehow interferes into viewer's space. Actually, he made incredibly beautiful experiments with these spaces, with these textures which could be the most different, the most experimental. The textures could be of different size and shape. They could have certain pictures in it or they could represent a window like we can see in this picture. In other words, it is kind of an ingenous and diverse following of the way how an ordinary picture can transfer into an object, into a space.

ichuly 27.06.15 в 14:35

Not only fill this space but also form this space. I.e. this is exactly what minimalizm did after Mandzoni, for example. There are different types of Achromes, works of art, that take place between art, object and sculpture, because it is a space, emptiness, which in reallity is not empty but full.
In this picture we can see Mandzoni hiding between these dressing screens. Mandzoni has been making Achromes through all his life. The last Achrome was made in 1963, the year of his death. And it is true that Mandzoni never repeated in his works, he always made up different variants: folds, cuts, divisions into squares. And as long as he worked, as less these pieces resemled art.

ichuly 27.06.15 в 14:43

It was a certain oversupply of the texture, these are pictures which changed colors, changed in time and at the same time they were ephemeral because the original of a picture collapsed and the picture grew as a living being. He used paints or added substances which changed color over time therefore the picture could absolutely change its colour throughout the existence. So here certain alchemical processes happened. At some point he began to do his works as if they kept this idea of a white surface, white volume, and he also started to do such things as parody in relation to painting, including parodies to Yves Klein.

ichuly 27.06.15 в 15:16

And quite often Mandzoni was treated like a clown who makes parodies to at first sight much more romantic Yves Klein. And instead of a white canvas it could be simply a sheep skin, or a set of lumps of cotton wool, or the canvas weaved from wadded fibers which looked like a canvas under magnifying glass as though the invoice of a canvas would be visible and it would be visible from what it is weaved.

ichuly 27.06.15 в 15:16

There are many different versions of Achromes. Different ways of how they become dimensional, how this dimension is represented. These achromes had incredible textures which made the surface of a picture become a micro-landscape. As you can see Mandzoni also used rudiment because at some point these Achromes appear to be such collages made of plaster castings, rolls, actually extremely unappetizing and shocking. It is almost a pop-art work. Or it can be hard-boiled egg drowned in a pitch or in plastic. Here is such an entertaining object with organic elements, which is very important for Mandzoni. Or it can be simple a subject which is nailed to a white canvas. Here you can see different parcels. A parcel that keeps a secret because we do not know what is hidden behind these seals, behind this paper.

ichuly 27.06.15 в 15:16

And really, it is the photo of a modern exhibition, a modern retrospective, of recent Mandzoni. And you can see it, all of it stopped being a painting and turned into a certain installation. And one of the works is not a canvas anymotre, it almost became a sculpture, as you can see it is a huge white, fur, fluffy sphere which is placed on a black pedestal. In general, this idea, spherical sculpture will follow Mandzoni throughout his career and at the same time in 58th he makes his first concept. The main idea of this concept is that Achrome can be the image, it can be a sign. Mandzoni makes two pictures with cards, he makes pictures with the alphabet, along with experiments which were made in America by Jasper Jones. I.e. pictures consist only of signs.

ichuly 27.06.15 в 15:16

At some point from painting, from borders of limits of painting, the fine arts, of what can be a canvas,of what can be its surface or dimension of a canvas, Mandzoni comes not to bigger materiality of creativity, not to assemblage or sculptures, i.e. not to exaltation of materiality to which he,as it seems, went in his Achromes, but to conceptual art. And in the 59th he launches his own art magazine "Azimuth" and sets up the art gallery where he makes the first exhibition "12 lines" - one of the first models of conceptual art.

ichuly 27.06.15 в 15:17

What is "12 lines" and what was presented at this exhibition? There were these cardboard containers, tubes which could not be opened. The idea was that there is something that is closed and we do not know that is inside of it, but we have to believe to the artist that there's something inside it. In a case with containers it was checked. These containers contain something like scrolls, i.e. each of these containers contains the line which is honestly drawn by the artist. These lines were of different length, and there was a note on each container which included the real length of the line. So, here you can see one of the lines painted by Mandzoni. Mandzoni painted line of different length. It could be of a kilometer or of 7 km.

ichuly 27.06.15 в 15:17

The project with these lines was supposed to be worldwide. It had an idea that one of the longest lines, which you can see on the silde, is 7 km 200 m. This huge line is kept in a monumental container. Mandzoni buries it in the park, in the museum of Denmark where he held an exhibition. And he assumed that it will be the beginning of a certain project where various lines, the same containers with lines of various length have to be buried in all main cities of the world, and line length in each city depends on its geographical arrangement. The longest line, which length is like the Greenwich meridian, white, has to be buried in Greenwich. I.e. it is a certain idea of total measurement of the world. Art which is the description of the world, anyway. So, this kind of a project in general is anticipating a land art.

ichuly 27.06.15 в 15:17

And this here as these lines look. I.e. everything was valid frankly here. They were really drawn by the artist, except one container which contained the infinite line. And this container was not full, it simply was the pig., in which it is possible to read, guess this infinite line. I.e. it is some kind of exit in absolutely conceptual, speculative art which thus is a certain description of the world, that card which Mandzoni started drawing instead of pictures and Akhromov.

ichuly 27.06.15 в 15:17

His other conceptual project which began together with the lines project - was a project to sell the air. He offers as a works of art balloons which can be inflated. And there are two options: it is possible to buy a baloon and to inflate it at home, having participated in this sculpture, having participated in this set. Or, it will be more expensive, to buy a baloon which was inflated by the artist. Then you buy not just a ball with air, but you buy breath of the artist. Naturally, it is a certain "hi" from Marcel Duchamp, which had a remarkable work "Air in Paris" - it is the pharmaceutical bottle had been soldered in a drugstore in Paris which he brought from Paris to his American friends and collectors. Mandzoni had a similar idea but he changed it a little bit, because it was not simply air of Paris, not just the air that has the value because it is moved from one place to another, but it is a relic of the artist, breath of the artist, his continuation.

ichuly 27.06.15 в 15:18

And of course it is in the context of Italy, the context of a catholic world, which has different saint relics that contains hair, nails and other pieces of saint bodies or shrines. In other words, Mandzoni wanted to show that an artist is - a saint person of modern world. Not only Mandzoni said about this but also Umberto Eco wrote about it. And then it will be kind of a story about a martyr: if we speak about a performancist artist - we talk about a prophet. In other words it is a brand new mythology of th 20th century, i.e. an artist is a modern holy man, with his own life, miracles, suffers and martyrdom. Thereby, Mandzoni starts to sell a piece of himself, in this case - his breath.

ichuly 28.06.15 в 19:09

And these works really very much ephemeral because baloons burst, after all it is a relic which is not eternal, it is a relic that does not rescue from caducity, it emphasizes it. Therefore in the majority of the museums balls naturally burst, that' why Mandzoni's project "Breath of the artist" looks as something blurred, and if it's red - than a bloody, stiffened spot.

ichuly 27.06.15 в 15:19

This story with baloons existed a very long time and it was not only about "Breath of the Artist" project. In general , Mandzoni was very interested in maing sculptures out of air, making a sculpture which can soar, which is free, and is not attached to the earth. He had another project that interested Yves Klein, who wanted to make the project of an aerodynamic. The idea of this project was to let 1001 blue baloon fly into the air. Unfortunately this project failed. In his turn Mandzoni also had ambitious project. He dreamed to make city sculptures, a public art of these baloons. He wanted to install them in the same parks and cities where the line was dug. The baloons would constantly inflated and hardly fluctuated in beat of human breath, i.e. such sculpture which is not only capable to soar but which is the antropomorphic because it is a sculpture which breathes, behaves like a living being.

ichuly 27.06.15 в 15:19

Mandzoni had an idea to create sculptures, representing a balloon which soars over a blast of air which he did not create since it was not technically feasible. But Tomás Saraceno made this project, it had an inflatable globe which soared over a blast of air. Also there was an idea to create such Platsentarium, a huge sphere, manned, created in the form of the joint project with the German group of artists Zerros with which Mandzoni communicates in the 60th years. And there was a remarkable artist Otto Pino who created light projections, such here inflatable sculptures. The idea was to create a huge sphere which on the one hand could be the screen for Otto Pino's projections, on the other hand the same sphere could be Inhabited Island, a peculiar inflatable building, membrane.

ichuly 27.06.15 в 15:19

This sphere was silver outside and white inside and it should contain about 60 capsules. But this remained just a project, more or less atopic. One of Mandzoni's atopic ideas was to create the earth, a globe, another universum.

ichuly 28.06.15 в 20:32

Another idea that appeared with the project "Breath of the artist" is the idea to make pictures with fingerprints. Obviously this idea is a bit criminal, because fingerprints are taken from criminals. So this is what from the first side crimilalizes an artist, but from the other side it is his signature, his evidence, his continuation. This project with fingerprints appeares as a performance, where people are suggested to "swallow" the art. During the performance Mandzoni boils eggs and mark each egg with his fingerprints and that is a certain way of oblation of the public which takes part in the meal.

ichuly 28.06.15 в 20:54

Some of these eggs remained, here you can see organic fingerprints on, once again, organics. After that Mandzoni created monochrome from the assemblages sealed in the pitch. So, there are kind of evidences, kind of instruments.

ichuly 27.06.15 в 15:21

The best-known and most provocative Mandzoni's project is "Artist's Shit" appears the culmination of the project "Breath of the artist". It a multiple on 90 cans which Mandzoni closes and preserves. His father possessed a small factory which produced cans. Therefore it was technically easy for him to carry out this project, because it did not demand any additional efforts.

ichuly 27.06.15 в 15:21

These cans each of which was noted in different languages, i.e. the whole story with labels observed. Each of these cans contains the artist's shit, and that is said on this label. All these cans were sold like multiple, they were in a limited number and were worth its weight in gold. Thereby, I must say that as a result by now, one can has grown in its price and became a hundred times expensive than gold. In the end it has created a certain economical story - to make gold out of shit, it's almost something alchemical - one of the aspects in history. Artists plays with art-market and it was the most daring provocation. Another side of the story - is that nobody knows for sure what is kept in these cans. To believe the artist or not.

ichuly 29.06.15 в 07:43

Meanwhile everything was honest: in a ball there was a breath of the artist, fingerprints were left directly on an opening day, containers with lines really contained lines, it was checked. None of owners of a can did not open it because any collector, any museum will not open this can because thus it will destroy this work, a relic in which it is necessary to trust.
Therefore this is a project of a modern artist, who showed an opened can which contains something unidentified, covered with a materia. This something actually looked like a mummy. And the same artist created a series of portraits-collectioners, which also include Mandzoni's work, a relic of the dead artist - shit. These respectable people demonstrated this relic "The artist's shit" with a certaing tremor and proud.

ichuly 27.06.15 в 15:22

And it is clear that nobody of them, as in the case with the real relic, won't verify its authenticity, whether this work has been done by Mandzoni or not. Thus, there are a huge number of apocryphal stories (none of them was confirmed by the way) that any of these cans has explode, as it can happen with old canned goods. Nobody opened these cans, nobody found out that these cans contain just a piece of gypsum. Although there is one story says that somebody opened the can and found another can in it. But still these stories were not confirmed so they are called apocryphal stories.

ichuly 29.06.15 в 10:38

I think that the most beautiful story of all these apocryphal stories is one about can in a can, because it will remain a secret that cannot be exposed. So this story shows us what can be an art and what cannot be. So art is important as a continuation of artist's personality, as his relic. And here everything is absolutely unique and real. Just imagine, what can be more intimate, more real that literally artist's excrements, because any art is the artist's excrements, even phisiology. So, that is a certain game with the art-market. Whether you want to believe it or not.

ichuly 29.06.15 в 10:43

Thus, everyone is free to perceive it as he pleases - take it or leave it. His next project after the cicle "Breath of the artist", "The Artist's shit and fingerprints" had to become a project with the artist's blood but Mandzoni haven't made it real. He had an idea - breath, shit and blood of the artist, but the last one wasn't destined to become real. So we do not know what would it be like.

ichuly 29.06.15 в 10:59

There is another version - a concept of Enrico Baj, Italian artist, Mandzoni's colleague, who believed that the idea to make an art out of shit is a desire to make an art out of everything dirty. He explained it in the following way - first, Mandzoni made achromes, i.e. he started from works that cleaned art from paint, colour and materiality, then he made lines, i.e. he did something conceptual, pure and nonmaterial. In other words, Enrico Baj was sure that the art of making works made from shit brought Mandzoni to death, because the reason of it was - alcohol. But that was just Baj's opinion and remains of his conscience.
Moreover, the project "Artist's shit" wasn't the last of Mandzoni's concepts, because in 1961 he launched another project - the story about living sculptures.

ichuly 29.06.15 в 11:09

Besides he thought up its the first it goes to an overlap with ideas of Yves Cliaen who started history with live brushes, with anthropometry enough, with that that it is not necessary to write the person that is enough that the model left the print on a canvas which appears without participation of the artist, the print of any person can become a work of art. The m took a step further, proved that is not necessary any prints, there is enough that I signed this or that person as the work and issued to it the certificate that here such since such moment yav-sya my work. And there were different versions of these certificates, there were different options there were different forms and there were different quotations because game with quotations there too was present quite to itself, there could be a certificate that M.'s work is only the hand of this person there could be a certificate that this person is work M. only when he sleeps or when he sits or on the contrary when he costs or when it is in a certain pose, there were certificates that the person is work M. of 5 hours in day or 1 month in a year, i.e. various options.

ichuly 27.06.15 в 15:25

He signed rather large number of people, including he signed as the work of Robert Ek which besides that it to write and the philosopher it also the live work of art M. which exists among us and some more such works exists. These are remarkable anticipations of idea of Boyce, at Boyce each person can become художником.то at M. each person of Mb a work of art and that that really after the certificate there was an idea of a magic pedestal where all these certificates were not necessary any more, there any got-up person on this pedestal could feel a work of art. But in any history there is the dirty trick, if each person the artist, who the viewer?

ichuly 27.06.15 в 15:25

If each person a work of art, besides who the viewer and who the artist, i.e. every time when art goes beyond the limits and unites with reality the idea of the audience is lost, the idea of the one who can estimate it disappears and as a matter of fact the idea of the artist, it always disappears, it is a utopia which comes to an end notorious death of the author.

ichuly 27.06.15 в 15:25

Really, each person who comes to this pedestal is at that moment and that time is a work of art. Therefore these pedestals were perfectly exposed, and everyone can get up on it and feel themselves a work of art. But in any stoty about each person — the artist, that everyone has the right for fifteen minutes of fame, that each person is the work of art and there is always a dirty trick because if each person is the artist then who the viewer? If each person — a work of art, then who is the viewer, and who is the artist? In other words, as soon as art goes beyond the limits and unites with reality, the idea of the audience disappears, the idea of the one who can estimate it disappears and, as a matter of fact, the idea of the artist disappears.

ichuly 27.06.15 в 15:26

It always a utopia which comes to an end notorious death of the author. And in this sense Manzoni's project, last, final on time — it "The world pedestal" is such sculpture which is made for the same park museum in Denmark — the turned socle on which it is written "A world socle". And, respectively, the earth is based upon this socle. Having put this turned socle, Manzoni "signed" the whole world as the work. It was valid last work which the artist can make — to sign the whole world as the work, to put it on this socle. It is gesture after which only the parody to this gesture at what even to create the similar parody very difficult is possible. For example, Peter Weibel's project — the artist, the theorist and the curator — where he instead of a pedestal constructed the handle, which in the same way a vryta to the earth.

ichuly 27.06.15 в 15:26

It is the handle for which it is possible to take and lift the world instead of putting it on a socle and to admire it as a work of art. That is Manzoni, even without having lived about 30 years, made everything that the artist can make — signed the whole world and came to a certain history of the absolute deadlock. It turned into such relic, what even its shit in bank exceeds at the price gold cost, but thus, it everything is senseless because the whole world is art on the same bases. It is absolutely paradoxical situation which can really be read out and as extremely parody and ironical since it, of course, can be considered as the clown or as the situation, kotoyry can bring art to the absolute deadlock. The only thing that it is possible to do after that, - not to perceive this situation seriously.

ichuly 27.06.15 в 15:26

But nevertheless it is worth understanding that Manzoni — the artist is rather tragic than a comedic one. He did everything possible to deliver a checkmate to art. What can be farther? What can be done after that? Only to continue doing it because it is still interesting to do that!

ichuly 27.06.15 в 15:26

Kattelan — is also an artist who had the reputation of the court clown of the modern art. He is often compared to Roberto Benigni — his character from the comedy "Del Arte". He is the artist to put all his efforts to avoid what art is doing. He does not call himself an artist, he calls himself the worker of art and all his idea of making art is made up of the fact that this cannot be a work. As well as Manzoni he has no professional art education, he is the native of the simplest proletarian family: his father was a truck driver, and mother was a housecleaner. I.e., he did not receive any background, and he didn't visited any museums when he was a child.

ichuly 27.06.15 в 15:26

He explains the desire to be engaged in art quite ironically since this character is imperceptible, and he designs himslef as a character, so don't take his interview as for a pure coin, it always has a certain mystification. He says: "Yes, I incidentally started being engaged in art because, first, there it is no need to work, and secondly, I was told that artists travel a lot, they have lots of girls and is full of money. But, when I started painting, I found out that everything I've heard was a pure deception — no girls, no money, no travelling". The only thing that was true— it is really possible not to work. As the person without the higher education, with poor origin Kattelan managed to work as anyone before he after all became an artist.

ichuly 27.06.15 в 15:27

And all his stories were how he had lied to his employer. In other words, when he worked in the laundry, he was fired out of there, because he did his own laundry. When he worked in Padua, where he had been born, in a souvenir shop, he spoiled statues that were sold here by painting moustaches on them. Then he worked in a morgue.

ichuly 29.06.15 в 10:12

It was an unbearably hard work that he had found a doctor who sold him fake bulletins that he was fired and couldn't work. But his whole working career has failed. So for him art was an opportunity not to work. And he is one of those artists who make big, huge installations, although he has no workshop or studio. He started with these unfunctional things of design and art, i.e. it was a home-made design which became his first exhibition.

ichuly 29.06.15 в 10:08

The next big thing that he did — is a self-portrait approving him as the artist. Here, in this self-portrait the frame and the idea of such old-fashioned bourgeoisness is important. But it has no falsifications.

ichuly 27.06.15 в 15:28

And there is a certain ambiguity in the portrait where he put hands in the form of a heart, .

ichuly 27.06.15 в 15:28