THE EVENT
Environment - Non-protected areas, supervised by Martina Corgnati, is the first international event that Credito Valtellinese promoted and hosted at its Gallery in Sondrio. The event will be held within the 15th Sondrio Festival, International Exhibition of documentaries on Parks, which will be open from October 11 to November 10 2001.
Subject
The exhibition focus is placed on the ENVIRONMENT, a word that is understandable in different ways - says Martina Corgnati, while asking the artists to approach the subject. Today, the environment is subjected to the violence of men who excessively take advantage of natural resources. All the more because the environment is often regarded as a "limit" to the economic growth and to the development of capitals. That's why, men are delivering powerful attacks on it.
Program
The calendar of events includes a number of exhibitions and meetings with artists from all around the world. All the events are open to the public.
Three art exhibitions and a series of meetings are expected to take place within the Sondrio Festival
ART EXHIBITIONS
Exhibition Mail Art - Palazzo Sertoli, Credito Valtellinese Gallery
More than 350 exhibits from all around the world are hosted at the Gallery inside Palazzo Sertoli. Places of origin are various: from Japan to Canada, from the Reunion Island to Northern Europe, from the United States to the ex USSR, as far as the Republic of Panama.
The exhibition presents works that will remain the property of the addressee who is publishing a catalogue of the exhibits, then sending it to all the participants in the project.
Credito Valtellinese Foundation is realizing the catalogue of the exhibition.
MAIL ART Historical background
Instances of mail art are artistic and creative communication forms exchanged by mail, overcoming the ordinary art system to exchange independent and spontaneous expressive forms, which are free from any sort of influence of the market.
The early instances of mail art can be observed in peculiar postcards and correspondence games by the futurists (in particular Giacomo Balla and Fortunato Depero), dadaists (e.g. the "improved" postcards by Ernst and George Grosz) and in some of the works by Marcel Duchamp.
The Mail Art was institutionalised in 1962, as Ray Johnson (Detroit 1927 - New York 1995) founded the New York Correspondence School of Art. "A sympathizer of the Group Fluxus and author of fantastic collages, Johnson regarded the art as a form of open exchange, free from any influence of the market, and worked accordingly. To him, the "school" is by no means institutional nor educational but it is the first expression of the network created by mail artists".
From the '60s onwards, a great number of artists (today there are approximately 100,000 of them) have been promoting the circulation of their works, taking part in the network, challenging the art market or supporting the exchange of material with other artists through the mail art.
The works by mail artists range from forged or variously personalized stamps to artist stamps and stickers, as well as postcards, envelopes, collages and various objects including funnels and plastic bottles.
Zoe Leonard photo exhibition - Palazzo Pretorio
The exhibition hosted inside Palazzo Pretorio presents black and white photographs taken by the American artist Zoe Leonard. At present, she lives and works in New York supporting projects for the protection of the environment.
Exhibition of paper works painted by chimpanzees - Palazzo Pretorio
About twenty exhibits are presented at the stands inside Palazzo Pretorio. They are abstract works consisting of signs and colours painted by some chimpanzees a group of American researchers initiated into painting in the '70s. Supervision by Gianni Emilio Simonetti.
THE MEETINGS
Martina Corgnati, who is entrusted with the supervision of the event, is meeting the artists every day at 3 p.m. (sometimes there will be a repeat meeting at 9 p.m.). The artists are presenting their work on the various aspects of the Environment.
Ambiente come Linguaggio, Environment as a language, Sunday October 14
Julien Blaine, Marseille (performance), Sarenco (Io amo la sacra montagna, video and performance)
Ambiente come citta', Environment as a town, Monday October 15
Reiner Görß, Berlin (video), Moatar Nasr, Cairo (video and speech), Social aid cooperative ECOSMED, Messina (the case Messina - text and debate), Enrico Mascelloni, art reviewer (speech and debate)
Ambiente come costrizione, Environment as a constraint, Tuesday October 16
Claudio Costa (video), Michele Ciardiello (video and speech, Long Vehiche realised in association with prisoners of Aversa judicial mental hospital), Association for self and mutual aid for cultural purposes Il Clandestino, Saronno (text and speech).
Ambiente come diversità, Environment as a variety, Wednesday October 17
Francesco Garbelli, (installation with the co-operation of pupils from Sondrio schools, debate), Patrizia Guerresi (Madonna of the Rocks, video), Moreno Pasquinelli, "Praxis" editor-in-chief (speech and debate, Globalisation and Technoscience. The crisis of the Enlightenment conception of progress)
Ambiente come Natura offesa, Environment as damaged nature, Thursday October 18
Gualtiero Jacopetti (excerpts from Mondo Cane I and II), Gianni Emilio Simonetti (Matter and reflection, speech), Maddalena Bellorini (Mad Cow Disease, performance), Franco Vaccari (I cani lenti, video).
