ART SHOW:
Alighiero Boetti: La Forza del Centro
Gladstone Gallery
515 W. 24th Street
through March 23 (sorry, you missed it!)
Part of the arte povera (literally: "poor art") movement, this Italian artist (1940-1994) aimed to create works of art out of modest materials meant to take art off its highbrow pedestal. Many of his ideas were executed (per his loose direction) by others. These embroidered alphabet grids ("arazzi") were embroidered by Pakistani and Afghan artisans, who selected and combined colors according to their own ideas. In order to really appreciate these colorful word treats, a working knowledge of Italian is required to pick up on the word plays and phrases within. But for the non-Italian literate, these charming and vivid patterns are still worth a look (especially for the littles who are obsessed with the alphabet!)
photo: Michou Mahtani
photo: Michou Mahtani
photo: Michou Mahtani
QUESTIONS TO ASK:
1. What differences/ similarities do you see in these pieces?
2. Why do you think the pieces are grouped as they are? And why do you think the artist chose to make these grids in so many different sizes?
3. These pieces are all hand embroidered by artisans. How would these be different if they were simply painted or done with crayons?
4. Look at one of the pieces and see if you can find any phrases or anagrams that you recognize in the alphabet.
5. Many of the Arte Povera artists made works of art that appealed to all five senses. How do these embroidered pieces do that? Does the embroidery make you want to touch them?
6. What is the mood of these works?
LINKS TO GO DEEPER:
MOMA curators talk about the artist and "The Radical Decade" in this video
Watch the preview (or better yet, find the full length version) of the video essay "Tea" by Mario Garcia Torres which "documents an artistic gesture surrounding Alghiero Boetti's One Hotel in Afghanistan."
Check out some of the other projects that Boetti did with Afghan artisans.
EXTENSIONS:
For kids:
*What kind of project can you do using the alphabet? Get out markers, scissors, bric brac and construction paper and let yourself be inspired by Alighero Boetti.
For Parents:
* The arte povera movement was influenced by 1968 student protests started in Paris and eventually all over Europe. The Occupy movement is also disenchanted by the establishment. There were makeshift art shows that cropped up in response to this shift in thinking. Take a look at some:
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