FluxusNine

Bennett, Christopher G. "Substantive Thoughts? The Early Work of Alighiero Boetti." October 124. Postwar Italian Art (2008): 75-97. JSTOR. Web. 01 Nov. 2015.

 

This article discusses Alighiero Boetti’s early works focusing mainly on his sculptures created from 1966 to 1969.  The article examines Boetti’s use of prefabricated materials and readymades, comparing and contrasting Boetti’s work to Marcel Duchamp’s readymades.  Boetti frequently refused to work in a single medium and blurred the lines between mediums by combining them.  The article also examines how Boetti’s work interacted with viewers, drawing them in yet keeping them at a distance, forcing them to accept what they are looking at. 

 

Cullinan, Nicholas. "From Vietnam to Fiat-nam: The Politics of Arte Povera." MIT Press Journals. MIT Press Journals, Oct. 2008. Web. 29 Oct. 2015.

 

Nicholas Cullinan describes in detail the political implications of Celant’s Manifesto which sparked this whole movement. He points out that in an attempt to dismantle the barrier between politics an art, accidentally unraveled a radical movement against capitalism. Cullinan also traces the implications of Celant’s statements and the events to which which they lead in contrast to the Italian artistic society.

 

Gilamberti, Jacopo. “A Third-Worldist Art? Germano Celant’s Invention Of Arte Povera.” Art History 36.2 (2013): 418-441. Academic Search Premier. Web. 1 Nov. 2015.

 

The Arte Povera movement is generally considered one of Italy’s greatest contributions to 20th century art. In this article, Gilamberti discusses this notion with an attempt to view Arte Povera not only from an art historical context, but to shift the conversation towards defining Arte Povera as a “critical category”. He argues that Germano Celant’s initial intention when coining the term “Arte Povera to engage both the artist and the viewer in activism as a form of guerilla warfare against the rich needs to become more visible.

 

Gilman, Claire. "Pistoletto's Staged Subjects." October no. 124 (Spring 2008): 53-74. Art Full Text (H.W. Wilson). Web. 1 Nov.2015.

This article examines Michelangelo Pistoletto’s artwork in the Arte Povera movement of the 1960s. Gilman makes sure to contextualize Pistoletto’s work by comparing it to the American Pop Art movement and Pistoletto’s contemporaries in Italian Arte Povera. Pistoletto’s rejection of modern artistic norms, most of which were American imports after World War II, echoes a in Arte Povera’s attitudes towards the West.

 

Krauss, Rosalind. "Giovanni Anselmo: Matter and Monochrome." (October): 124. Postwar Italian Art (2008): 125-36. JSTOR. Web. 1 Nov. 2015.

 

This article examines Giovanni Anselmo’s use of energy and entropy in his sculptures.  The article examines several sculptures by Anselmo including his 1968 Torsione and his 1968 Untitled (eating structure), both of which present entropy in different ways.  Gravity is another important force in Anselmo’s works and Krauss argues that Richard Serra’s Prop sculptures may have had a big influence on Anselmo’s own works.  The article also examines Anselmo’s use of materials, mainly his use of granite featuring fossilized remains of early life. 

 

Mangini, Elizabeth. “Parallel Revolution: Elizabeth Mangini On Arte Povera.” Artforum International 3 (2007): 159. Academic OneFile. Web. 1 Nov. 2015.

 

In this article, Elizabeth Magini explores Arte Povera’s origin’s from Italians beginning to protest social institutions to Germano Celant’s almost Marxist proposition of Arte Povera, or revolutionary art that would reject the modern art market. She explains Celant’s quasi-manifesto that details arte povera as a form of guerilla warfare. Overall, Mangini believes that our contemporary interpretations of Arte Povera are relatively watered down, forgetting the militant language and ideas originally utilized by Celant. While she recognizes that most art can be enjoyed without historical context, it would be valuable to revisit the roots of such an influential movement.

 

Pinkus, Karen. “Dematerialization: From Arte Povera to Cybermoney Through Italian Thought.” Diacritics 39.3 (2009): 63–75.  Johns Hopkins University Press. Web. 1 Nov. 2015.

 

This article discusses how the Arte Povera movement began through the desire to make art that was not consumed by what some artists considered the machine of the art market that engulfed all art, whether it opposed this system of art for profit or not. Artists in the Arte Povera movement avoided having their art documented in things like photographs or catalogues in the hopes that consumers would not happen upon them. The author explains that for these artists “dematerialization” was achieved by ridding their art of any excess that came from the economic boom. This is why artists turned to recycling industrial materials into their art. The article also specifically speaks of Gilberto Zorio’s interest in Alchemy which allowed him to include temporality and change into his art.

 

Potts, Alex. "Disencumbered Objects." October no. 124 (Spring2008 2008): 169-189. Art Full Text (H.W. Wilson), Web. 4 Nov. 2015.

 

This postwar Italian art issue focuses on the inventive and self-consciously crafted statements of Italian artists, including those of the Arte Povera movement such as, Michelangelo Pistoletto and Pino Pascal. The article explores the vast differences within two polar artistic movements of the time, American Minimalism and Italian Arte Povera. It discusses the limiting nature of the movements self imposed boundaries and its risk of alienating various cultural groups.

 

Schwarz, Dieter. "The Irony of Marisa Merz." October 124 (2008): 157-168. Academic Search Premier. Web. 1 Nov. 2015.

 

This article is about the works of Marisa Merz, specifically her earlier works of the 1960’s. The author comments on Merz’s use of architectural space, and how sometimes her works have been hindered by the space they were put in. Merz’s “Untitled” work of 1966 is mentioned, specifically in regards to how it does not interact with the walls or the floor, but the ceiling exclusively. Dieter further goes on to suppose that Merz’s works do not translate well into photography as you are only seeing a rough idea of what the sculpture it its entirety looks like, and must therefore be seen and felt in person to be truly appreciated. The article also goes into the materials used in many of the sculptures by Merz, including nylon, aluminum, and copper wire. These are all materials Merz used frequently at home and would have been very comfortable working with them. 

 

Veikos, Cathrine. "To Enter the Work: Ambient Art." Journal Of Architectural Education 59, no. 4 (May 2006): 71-80. Art Full Text (H.W. Wilson). Web. 5 Nov. 2015.

 

This article explores the relation between installation artwork and the architects that create it. Veikos focuses on these artists use of space and how the viewer is more completely immersed in this ambient art. The artists of the Arte Povera movement thoroughly explore this spatial perception relationship and inspired other Italian artists such as Lina Bo Bardi.