Elio Grazioli and Hou Hanru

Art to Art

I was just wondering if art should be returned to art once more, after so much dedication to the extra, when an unexpected phone call from my friend Mario Cristiani struck me to the heart, in every sense of the word, asking about my availability to curate the eighth edition of Art to Art. The foreign co-curator would have been the Chinese national Hou Hanru. You won't believe it, but I had read a news item about him that morning which had caught my attention. Of course, a Chinese national is exactly what I want too, an open-minded Chinese national who understands and appreciates the international situation with the eye of someone from a culture that isn't the so-called Western one. It's an excellent premise according to Arte all'Arte's ethos and the current need to come to terms with so-called extra-Western issues, which have been at the centre of current art discourse for years.

But, then, should art be returned to art? The pun is only meant to express my personal concern that in recent times, due to a historical situation that is certainly entirely evident and understandable, and due to social afflatus, the 'content' in art is in danger of taking a place that, it seems to me, has always taken it too dangerously far from itself, too much in subordination to something else. It is one thing to make art by doing something else, according to a felicitous expression repeated to me on this occasion by one of the participating artists, and quite another to do something else by claiming to make art.

The 'relational' art, the 'postcolonial' situation, the debate on the 'return to the real', 'public art', the analysis of the overwhelming power of communication or the simulation of its modes are the context not only of aesthetics that has been drawn in recent years. Art, in general, seems in this sense to have had an urgency to confront the real that has changed so much and with such pressing urgencies. But in what sense can art take this on? What is the critical point, the point of overload, i.e. the margin beyond which art no longer belongs?

In this same context, it seems to me the case to focus on another fact that is descriptive of the situation and decisive in illustrating my position in it. It seems to me that a further change has only recently come to the fore, the one whereby, whereas until not so long ago non-western art, we continue to call it generically so, only that which in some way fell within the stylistic or problematic standards of western art was exhibited, thus giving a rather awkward and embarrassed image of chasing after updates, today the question seems rather to have been reversed and not only is non-western art 'mature' and proposing its own, but it is rather western art that has to come to terms with what is being done there, without exoticism or universalist pretensions. Now it is art that is made 'outside' that questions the aesthetic status of art, especially 'Western' art. In this sense, the renewal of anthropological, social and historical studies is not a content intrusiveness in the sphere of art or its exit in search of ever new themes, but the symptom of a global interrogation of the Western being. Extra-artistic facts prove this even more effectively: the term 'globalisation' also has this meaning.

From this perspective, the debate about the monument, which clearly has to do with Art to Art, suffers a conspicuous turn: what is called into question is not so much the commemorative aspect – which in any case takes on a more “anthropological” sense of the need to remember what founded the coexistence of men, of those men in their territory – nor so much the celebratory aspect – of which, however, the ideological components and hidden contradictions are laid bare, “deconstructed” as we say today – but rather the muscular exhibition of the dimensions of an art that thus presents itself as dominant and dominating, which claims to crush any different interest, any difference with its evidence. Not only that: do we simply want to place monuments of contemporary art in our squares or landscapes instead of ancient art, or one type of contemporary art instead of another? Hasn't art become “contemporary” precisely by critiquing these issues?

On the other hand, how can one not also view the touristy and idyllic side of some of these events or installations with a modicum of suspicion? I do not hold it against tourism, let me be clear, nor against idyll, of which, on the contrary, I retain the tranquil vision of a John Cage who bound them together by wishing for a similar attitude towards life itself, i.e. an ever-active receptive availability, a 'listening'. But for art to be 'integrated' in this way, not into the landscape but, we might say, into the psychological expectations of the public, in a generic, globalising sense, sounds strange to me, it seems to dampen too much, to the point of making it invisible, the critical vocation that art has always had, the pungent aspect of its presence, of its making a 'punctum' where it is located.

Elio Grazioli, from the Arte all’Arte VIII catalogue

Making Glocality

Arte All'Arte For some years now, it has represented one of the most significant events on the Italian exhibition scene. It distinguishes itself from other artistic events, even those of greater importance such as the Venice Biennale, not only by virtue of the physicality of the creations, located outside conventional exhibition spaces, but above all for its direct involvement in the local reality, both geographical and social, of the Tuscan region. Now in its eighth edition, the event, the result of the immense and tenacious efforts of the Arte Continua Association, is now entering its most mature phase. This achieved maturity is evident in the deep involvement and commitment shown by the organisers and, naturally, by the artists, towards local reality and interests, and at the same time, an equally relevant element, in the ingenuity of the conception and realisation of artistic projects created expressly for that situation.

The group of artists participating in this year's event undoubtedly offers an extremely fresh and original combination, involving people from different countries and cultures. These artists often embody singular experiences of globalisation but are at the same time deeply committed to specific local realities, of which they offer innovative readings and creative proposals. Sarkis, of Armenian descent, was born in Istanbul, has lived in Paris for 30 years and has travelled and worked all over the world. Jimmie Durham, a Cherokee 'American Indian', now lives in Berlin and works everywhere to 'escape' 'imperialist centralisation'. Emilio Prini, an almost mythical figure of the Arte Povera generation, re-emerges from behind the scenes. Marjetica Potrc is a Slovenian 'third-worlder' who has explored various 'glocal' urban conditions, especially outside the West. Wang Du, a Chinese national living in Paris, exhibits all over the world and is progressively focusing his work on different local realities, while his main interest evolves through a more global theme: reflection on the power of the media. Eko Prawoto, an Indonesian architect who lives in Jakarta but trained in Europe, bases his social commitment on the invocation of ecological and cultural progress as a further step in the long march to improve the living conditions of local communities and on the revaluation of traditional and alternative technologies. The above-mentioned artists ensured that the most diverse and stimulating projects met and dialogued with local societies and the natural scenery of the six towns involved in the event: San Gimignano, Siena, Colle di Val d'Elsa, Montalcino, Buonconvento and Poggibonsi.

It is crucial to emphasise the considerable efforts these artists have made to introduce important changes in the notion of public art. These efforts represent the most significant trend of our times, i.e. the renewed involvement of art projects and public dimensions, social and environmental realities.

Traditionally, public art means first and foremost monuments dedicated to famous people, from national heroes to celebrities from the worlds of culture and politics, or events of local or national significance, such as wars, declarations of independence and so on. And, in addition, symbolic images, decorative figures and forms reflecting the cultural landscape or natural conditions of the place, etc. In the last quarter of the 20th century, we also witnessed the appearance of larger-scale sculptures and installations under the banner of Land Art, as an extension of the conceptual movement. This has undoubtedly expanded the artistic space for new experiments by bringing artistic inventions closer to immediate reality. In the last decade, contemporary art has gone through some extremely interesting and challenging changes. Suggesting certain principles, in the sense of re-establishing a close relationship between contemporary art and real life, affirmed by earlier movements such as Situationism, Fluxus or Conceptual Art, many artists are nowadays developing strategies to bring art out of museum and gallery spaces and into the everyday. The interactive relationship between the artist, the work and the audience is now the focus of many artists' intellectual and even political interest. Their creations become more and more open to dialogue with the public, while formally they are increasingly linked to the local reality, thus linking art, architecture and urban design. On the other hand, this also includes a large portion of 'immaterial' elements. This induces a fundamental shift from the relatively 'metaphysical' nature of Land Art and introduces a significant dose of sociological, cultural and even political elements, often taking a certain kind of progressive stance. At the same time, contemporary public art, as part of the increasingly "multiculturalised" global art scene, is being reinvented by new contributions from artists who are located beyond the traditional, in this case Western, international centres. Gradually, contemporary art is thus brought back towards the front of social reality and is, directly or indirectly, linked to social, cultural, political and ecological activism.

The invention and continuous development of Arte All'Arte Among projects of a similar nature worldwide, it represents one of the most exemplary cases of this trend. Conceived by a group of activists who consider art an effective means of improving the existential meaning of local life in Tuscany, the annual event aims to draw provocations and new inspirations from the international artistic scene in response to historical clichés linked to the image of one of the most important crucibles of European culture since the Renaissance. Addressing a present-day reality characterised by globalisation and (often regressive) changes in natural conditions, Arte All'Arte is organised to revitalise the cultural life of the region, emphasising once again the importance of artistic imagination and spiritual values belonging to different regions of the world. However, beyond easy provocations, Arte All'Arte It embodies the most significant intervention strategies in the region's cultural and social reality: harmony constitutes the heart of the event. At the same time, this specific harmony inevitably implies a necessary critical sense. In the present edition, this type of strategy is detailed in the individual artists' projects.

Hou Hanru, from the catalogue Arte all’Arte VIII

From the catalogue Art in Art X, 2005

The best moments? Undoubtedly the outdoor dinners, at long tables in the squares of San Gimignano, dusk falling, conversations, euphoria and melancholy. And then the awakening the next morning with the view of the hills from the bedroom window. Finally, the improvised lunch to delay the final departure and spend some more time together on the terrace of Continua's garden, with a sense of lightness mixed with new reflections, a last exchange of opinions before the last goodbyes to those who had not already left. From then on, the works remain where they are, alone, ready to be observed.

Some regrets: the fact that Sarkis did not manage to realise the other part of his work, a stained glass door that would have complemented the 'watercolour fountain' in the square, fully completing his intention and multiplying the references to his other works (as Durham managed to do with the rooms of the 'card museum'). What could be more poetic than the relationship between interior and exterior, between architecture and landscape? It would be interesting to try to read the Arte all'Arte works from this perspective... By the way, will anyone ever offer an overall reading of all the works created over the years? How about another notebook with the reflections of all the curators? That would finally be (another regret?) an exchange between everything and everyone.

Another regret is that I was not able to better express my preferences in the choice of artists, to insist more and to give the event a more personal touch (although I think Prini's presence speaks more eloquently than many explicit remarks). On the one hand, I take the terms imposed by the specific task too seriously and rely too much on authentic communication rather than its visible results; on the other hand, I believe that in the end everything can be seen, so why does it matter what cannot be seen? (Isn't this, or almost this, precisely the question of art?)

By the way: perhaps what frightens me most is exposure, showing too much, being too direct, theatricality. I would have liked - and would like - to see more possibilities for art to be 'public' and, in its public moment, to be able to communicate the value of the private (in every sense of the word). But I am thinking too much about myself, which is meaningless. After ten years, Arte all'Arte must be considered in its entirety, in the various occasions and relationships it has created, in the signs it has disseminated throughout the territory, effectively contaminating other contexts. I want to align all the catalogues and try to see them together, as a great unitary initiative, because that is what it was after all.

Congratulations to all and... good continuation! (Mario would never have forgiven me if I hadn't made this pun!)

Elio Grazioli