WORDS WITHOUT ACTION POISON THE SOUL

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "WORDS WITHOUT ACTION POISON THE SOUL"

Drusilla Foster
5 years ago
Views:

WORDS WITHOUT ACTION POISON THE SOUL a project by Eva Frapiccini curated by Connecting Cultures and Isole 15 JUNE 2018 PUBLIC FORUM ON ART, REMEMBRANCE, AND LEGALITY Biblioteca Comunale in Palermo //

1 WORDS WITHOUT ACTION POISON THE SOUL a project by Eva Frapiccini curated by Connecting Cultures and Isole 15 JUNE 2018 PUBLIC FORUM ON ART, REMEMBRANCE, AND LEGALITY Biblioteca Comunale in Palermo // via Casa Professa 18 H OPENING RECEPTION Archivio Storico Comunale in Palermo // Sala Almeyda // via Maqueda 157 H Sketch of the installation Words without Action Poison the Soul by Eva Frapiccini, 2018, courtesy of the artist On Friday, June 15, 2018 the cultural associations Connecting Cultures and Isole will present to the public for the first time Words without Action Poison the Soul by the artist Eva Frapiccini, project winner of the first edition of the 2017 Italian Council grant, a competitive grant created and supported by Directorate General for Contemporary Art and Architecture and Urban Peripheries (DGAAP - Direzione Generale Arte e Architettura contemporanee e Periferie urbane) of the Ministry of Culture, Cultural Heritage and Tourism (Ministero dei Beni e delle Attività Culturali e del Turismo) to promote Italian contemporary art around the world. The Project Originally designed in 2014 as part of an exhibition to be held at the Courthouse in Palermo on the subject of legality curated by Connecting Cultures, Isole and Caterina Niccolai, and after spending a period of time in the Sicilan capital, Frapiccini resumes her work and unveils this

2 project thereby concluding her research on the victims and the leading figures of the mafia killings. Via photographic documentation of notes, diaries, and other research as found in public and private archives, the artist emphasizes the intimate and intellectual testimonial value of everyday documents, tracing the thoughts and actions that embody the individual paths of struggle. Despite the strong historical, political and moral prominence that characterizes them, these documents astonish at times due to their simplicity and ability to communicate directly the details and the facets of these life choices. The entire research project captures the artist s complex fieldwork and, along with the associations involved in curating the project, offers a collective journey of investigation and reflection on the meaning of testimony and memory. Eva Frapiccini's project, designed as an interactive journey into the local institutions and the values of the people involved (government agencies, schools, associations, entrepreneurs and local artisans) along with the use of seminars and educational workshops, has been transformed into an exhibition that showcases the results of a collective effort. The work exhibited at the headquarters of the Municipal Historical Archive (Archivio Storico Comunale) in Palermo is an installation designed as an itinerant archive, which may be consulted by the viewer, a wrought-iron structure that contains framed photographs of unique documents, otherwise unavailable for viewing. The photographic work therefore becomes a testimonial and vehicle for research, finding its place within the context of an important historical archive and engaging in a dialogue with it. The project is part of two cultural events of an international calibre: the official program of Palermo European Capital of Culture (Palermo Capitale della Cultura) 2018 and Manifesta After the initial important debut in Palermo in June 2018, the installation will also be exhibited and presented to an international audience at the Italian Institute of Culture (Istituto Italiano di Cultura) in Brussels. The project ends with the acquisition of the installation by the Municipal Museum of Modern Art, Information and Photography in Senigallia (Museo d'arte Moderna, dell'informazione e della Fotografia), which will organize an additional, temporary exhibition before accessioning it into its collection. Words without Action Poison the Soul has been realized with the support of the Municipality of Palermo Department of Culture and the Department for Youth Policies, School, Work, and Health. Contributors: Accademia di Belle Arti in Palermo Department of Communication and Art Education; Archivio Storico Comunale di Palermo; Istituto Italiano di Cultura in Brussels; Liceo Artistico Catalano in Palermo; Liceo Artistico Ragusa-Kiyohara in Palermo; MUSINF - Museo d'arte Moderna, dell'informazione e della Fotografia di Senigallia.

3 Media Partner: Exibart WE THANK THE FOLLOWING FOR THEIR COOPERATION IN THIS PROJECT AND FOR PROVIDING ACCESS TO THEIR ARCHIVES: Government agencies, associations, private archives: Associazione Casa Memoria Felicia and Peppino Impastato ONLUS, Cinisi (PA); Centro Diocesano in Palermo; I.C.S. Padre Pino Puglisi, Brancaccio; Centro Siciliano di documentazione "Giuseppe Impastato"; Istituto Gramsci Siciliano for Nisticò Fund, La Torre Fund, and Terranova Fund, Palermo; Fondazione Giuseppe Fava, Catania; Memoriale Falcone e Borsellino, Tribunale di Palermo. Relatives of the victims: Francesca and Giuseppe Maria Andreozzi; Flora, Augusta and Vincenzo Agostino; Manfredi Borsellino; Giovanni Chinnici; Michele Costa; Valentina Rigano and Marco D'Aleo; Giulio Francese; Emanuela, Selima and Ines Leotta Giuliano; Alice Grassi; Carmine and Franco Mancuso; Marene Ciaccio Montalto; Dario Montana; Tina Martinez Montinaro; Salvatore Lorusso; Maddalena Rostagno; Antonio Scaglione. We thank the following for their support: Francesco Deliziosi, journalist for Giornale di Sicilia; Franco Nicastro, historian and journalist; Ignazio De Francisci, Attorney General in Bologna; Antonello Marini, Assistant Police Chief, Palermo; Salvo Palazzolo, journalist for La Repubblica; Emilia Valenza, professor at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Palermo; Clara Cardella, Agostino Di Trapani, Nino di Ciaccio, Calogero Russo, Giovanni D'Oca, Giusy Viola, teachers at the Liceo Artistico Ragusa-Kiyohara di Palermo; Letizia Lo Re e Lucia Corsaro, teachers at the Liceo Artistico Catalano di Palermo; Giovanni Papa Arcuri, manager of Memoriale Falcone e Borsellino, Courthouse of Palermo.

Public Forum on Art, Remembrance, and Legality Presentation of the Project Words without Action Poison the Soul Biblioteca Comunale in Palermo Via Casa Professa 18 H 10.00-13.

nationally and internationally recognized associations, foundations, and public institutions to discuss the complex issues of a culture of lawfulness, the importance of private archives in bearing

4 Public Forum on Art, Remembrance, and Legality Presentation of the Project Words without Action Poison the Soul Biblioteca Comunale in Palermo Via Casa Professa 18 H Pio La Torre, Appunti from the series Words without Action Poison the Soul by Eva Frapiccini, 2018, courtesy of the artist The exhibition created by Eva Frapiccini is an opportunity to invite nationally and internationally recognized associations, foundations, and public institutions to discuss the complex issues of a culture of lawfulness, the importance of private archives in bearing witness, and keeping alive memory. A second aspect is that of how the Arts can best represent these tragic historical facts, mediating between fact, fiction and an appeal to the emotions. With this in mind, the conference at the Municipal Historical Library (Biblioteca Storica Comunale) in Palermo becomes not only a public presentation and introduction to the installation Words without Action Poison the Soul, but also a moment of reflection, in which, following the words by the project s curators and the artist, various voices and testimonials from the artistic and cultural world alternate, representing photography theatre, the graphic novel and documentary films. In reference to the themes dealt with in the artist's work, the conference proposes a platform for discussing present-day Italy and the perception of the concept of legality using creative methods. Through speeches and the use of audio and video materials, we will reflect on the potential of artistic expression to stimulate new and unprecedented interpretations - even in the younger generations - of the history and events that have profoundly influenced the political, social and cultural scenario in Italy for the last 40 years.

5 Furthermore, the artist's work - focusing on the papers and private documents of the victims of the mafia - opens another key theme: the Archive of Remembrance. How can we restore value and dignity, in 2018, to the daily actions of men and women who freely decided to fight a corrupt system and have made it their personal vocation, not as heroes, but as ordinary people dedicated to their work and faithful to a personal culture of legality? In this sense, the documents and manuscripts preserved by the families of the victims or present in the State Archives, in the archives of the Police Headquarters, the Police Commissariats and in libraries, remain to this day the only evidence of their vocation and, as such, should be preserved and valued. This is the invitation which closes the conference, and we leave it up to participants to reflect more broadly on the importance of archiving these private papers, on the meaning of their preservation, and their subsequent use. PROGRAM H // Greetings Andrea Cusumano, Cultural Councillor City of Palermo Eliana Calandra, Director, Archivio Storico Comunale in Palermo Federica Galloni, Director, Directorate General for Contemporary Art and Architecture and Urban Peripheries, Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Tourism H // SESSION I > Presentation of the Project Anna Detheridge, President, Connecting Cultures Costanza Meli, Curator and President, Associazione Isole Eva Frapiccini, Artist Carlo Bugatti, Director, MUSINF Museum of Modern Art, Information and Photography (Museo d'arte Moderna, dell'informazione e della Fotografia) H // SESSION II > Art and Legality Antonio Calabrò, Director, Fondazione Pirelli and Vice President, Assolombarda Pasquale Scimeca, Filmmaker and Education Director, Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia in Palermo. Marco Rizzo, journalist and writer Fabrizio De Pascale, Filmmaker Documentary screening An Overlooked Massacre (Una strage ignorata) by Fabrizio De Pascale and Roberto Carotenuto, for Fondazione Argentina Altobelli, dedicated to the relatives of some of the agricultural unionists killed by the mafia after World War II. H // SESSION III > Open Discussion Refreshments served

EXHIBITION Words without Action Poison the Soul Created by Eva Frapiccini Curated by Connecting Cultures and Isole June 16-August 30 2018 Opening Reception: June 15, H 17.

6 EXHIBITION Words without Action Poison the Soul Created by Eva Frapiccini Curated by Connecting Cultures and Isole June 16-August Opening Reception: June 15, H Sala Almeyda - Archivio Storico Comunale in Palermo // via Maqueda 157 Installation Words without Action Poison the Soul by Eva Frapiccini, Archivio Storico Comunale (Municipal Historical Archive) in Palermo, 2018, courtesy dell'artista. Photo Giovanni Di Giugno The work created by Eva Frapiccini is the fruit of a participatory project that engaged historical archives and mafia think tanks, relatives of the victims, schools, and libraries in Palermo and in the rest of Italy, in a journey to research the figures that characterized the fight against the mafia from the 1970s to the 90s. The approach chosen by the artist focuses on the personal and intimate dimension that is seen in the testimonies of magistrates, journalists, trade unionists, police inspectors, and private citizens who have spent their lives battling the mafia. Through photographic documentation the project highlights everyday tools, such as speeches, registers, notebooks, and other notes that have been collected and stored in many private archives. The artist s work is therefore an archive in progress, which, through an accessible, searchable and engaging installation, invites the public to delve into the daily life of these individuals. The artist's analysis focuses in particular on the relationships between the lines of inquiry that were pursued either at the same time or years later by various people. These leads were interrupted as they

7 constituted a threat to mafia trafficking; and the artist reminds us that people have been killed precisely because they were far too virtuous by way of their actions. Each photograph presented in the exhibition wishes to highlight the importance of this constant action, beyond the iconology constructed around victims and heroes. Frapiccini's research moves towards this brilliance of thought in examining the choices of police commissioners, the investigations of journalists, the slogans chosen by activists to encourage the bravery of the Sicilian people, the declarations of entrepreneurs against paying protection money, and finally the draft legislation of the most committed politicians. The Installation The archival structure, which externally appears as a single cubic body, is internally composed of 6 modules mounted vertically on drawers that can be pulled out as individual photographic racks, inside which photographs will be set in pairs. The archival structure is placed on a wooden platform, circumscribed by the 4 central pillars of the Almeyda Room. The viewer has the opportunity to physically "enter" the cube and to view each of the photographs contained in the archive in an engaging way. This installation, designed to make images easily accessible to the public, at the same time enables a personal and intimate use of the archive. It is also conceived as a stackable and modular structure and the photographs it contains can be, if necessary, removed and exhibited individually on the wall. Workshops with Schools and the Academy of Fine Arts in Palermo Two high schools - Liceo Artistico Catalano and Liceo Artistico Ragusa-Kiyohara, thanks to the involvement of the Department for Youth Policies, School, Work, and Health, helped us to complete this project and create the actual exhibition. Both high schools were involved in a storytelling and urban mapping workshop designed to provide the historiographical and research system that accompanies the exhibition. During meetings with the artist, the students were invited to examine some of the leading actors in the fight against the mafia using analogue and digital tools and under the guidance of teachers who took part in the project. Through photographic surveys of urban mapping, the students were encouraged to walk through the sites of their day-to-day environment, the city s streets, in search of places where mafia attacks took place and which today retain traces of that tragic legacy. The information collected by them was incorporated in the exhibition labels displayed in the cases, which enrich the didactic and narrative nature of the work. The Liceo Artistico Ragusa-Kiyohara High School, by allowing the use of school equipment, was involved in a creative woodworking, graphic design, and screen printing workshop to build the installation under the direct guidance of the artist and the teachers responsible for specific sections. Specifically, their work consisted in the construction of the wooden platform placed under archival structure and in creating the promotional graphics for the exhibition. Finally, with the Academy of Fine Arts in Palermo, a museum and photography education laboratory was created for student groups, led by the teacher Emilia Valenza (coordinator of the course on Art Communications and Teaching). Over the course of three seminars, the students were able to visit the exhibition space of the Municipal Historical Archives, where they were

8 taught about the themes and characteristics of both the artistic project and the exhibition. They were also asked to study and prepare a series of guided tours for the exhibition during the months of June, July and August Refreshments The wine is offered by the courts administration which manages the Val di Suro company, currently impounded. Information The exhibition will be open June with the following schedule: h. 9:00 13:00 / h. 15:30 17:30. From June 16 to August 30, 2018 with the following schedule: M-F h. 9:00 13:00, W h. 9:00 13 / 15:30-17:30. Free of charge. Guided tours available. Contacts Connecting Cultures Via Novi 2 // Milano Laura Riva // t l.riva@connectingcultures.info Isole Palermo // Roma Costanza Meli // t g.costanzameli@gmail.com

VENEZIA/TRE OCI FROM 20 MARCH TO 18 AUGUST LETIZIA BATTAGLIA Fotografia come scelta di vita. curated by Francesca Alfano Miglietti

VENEZIA/TRE OCI FROM 20 MARCH TO 18 AUGUST 2019 LETIZIA BATTAGLIA Fotografia come scelta di vita curated by Francesca Alfano Miglietti From 20 March to 18 August 2019, the Casa dei Tre Oci in Venice will