My article “An insight into South-Italian culture through the art of Angelo Formica” has just been published on the web magazine Global Comment.
This is my second article for this web-magazine. What I’m aiming at with this long-winded articles is to show how contemporary art can be an invaluable tool to investigate topical issues of modern society with a global perspective.
Here’s the link to the article
Read More
Coming back from Australia, I decided to see the Venice Biennale before it ends.
Maybe it was not the greatest Biennale ever, but there are some artworks worth talking about. Here you are, my personal list of favourites:
I didn’t know about this incredible Brazilian artist before. Apparently he spent fifty years confined to the attic of a psychiatric institution because he started telling people about his visions. In the institution he started making art not with the idea of becoming an artist, but for his own eternal salvation. His work was first shown at the Venice Biennale in 1995 and now he is exhibiting again at the Arsenal.
I have always been attracted by work that relates with paganism, religion and folk tradition. His clusters of waste material, paper, wood and rags are just beautiful. His installations look like toys or fetishes.
Che cos’è il Popolo?
Ci sono solo due modi possibili per rispondere a questa domanda, o chiamare in causa studi antropologici del tipo Fabio Dei, Cirese, De Martino, oppure argomentare con l’arte.
L’una comprensione è intellettuale (vi parleranno di società dei consumi, snaturalizzazione bisogni, egemonizzazione e compagnia), l’altra parla direttamente ad un sentire.
Il lavoro di Angelo Formica, che ho avuto modo di beccare alla fiera Rome Contemporary, va esattamente in quella direzione.
Con un’operazione surrealisticamente a supportare un significato, anzi un’identità, quella popolare più precisamente, Formica gioca con i simboli della tradizione.
Il suo background siciliano (è originario di Milazzo) l’ha immerso fin da bambino in un humus culturale che è riuscito a rielaborare solo una volta trasferitosi a Milano, recuperando quel necessario distacco.
Un po’ come Jorge Amado, grandissimo scrittore del Popolo, il quale riusciva a narrare del suo natio Brasile solo quando si trovava a Parigi.
Naima Morelli is an arts writer and journalist specialized in contemporary art from Asia-Pacific and the MENA region.
She has written for the Financial Times, Al-Jazeera, The Art Newspaper, ArtAsiaPacific, Internazionale and Il Manifesto, among others, and she is a regular contributor to Plural Art Mag, Middle East Monitor and Middle East Eye as well as writing curatorial texts for galleries.
She is the author of three books on Southeast Asian contemporary art.
Reach out: contact [at] naimamorelli.com
