TANITALIA
ABSTRACT: In anticipation of the 2015 Milano World Fair, APCG (Art Power Consultancy Group) proposes a new public works project: TANITALIA. By the year 2015 we aim to have all citizens of Milano at a tan level equivalent to U.S. President Barack Obama.
REASONING: In preparation for the 2015 World’s Fair to be hosted in the city of Milan a great amount of public and private money has gone towards the architectual expansion and beautification of the city. Construction project in Milano are building new public facades, commercial centers, monuments, and residences. By the year 2015 the city will reach a new level of modernity and the city will be a model of a contemporary architecture to welcome the millions of visitors anticipated. Thus we propose that the physical face of the inhabitants of Milan should also be at a level that is aesthetically attractive and reflective of the values of Italians and welcoming to the world.
PROBLEM: As Italians we value our perfect tans, however we recognize how difficult they are to maintain during the cold winter months, especially for Milanese people who have cloud cover and rain for much of the winter. Many Italians spend countless hours and a large fortune on maintaining their tans through frequent visits to the numerous tanning salons that abound in the city.
PROPOSAL: In partnership with the largest manufacturer of tanning beds in Italy we propose to make tanning a public right and not the exclusive domain of those with the luxury of money and time.
Phase 1(to be completed in 2012): With the collaboration of Trainitalia and ATM we will replace all lighting units in the metro and trains and in all stations throughout the city of Milan with specially designed Tanlights (copyright reserved, patent pending). These lights will produce the necessary light waves that can promote a healthy tan in the limited times that citizens spend passing through the public transportation system.
Phase 2 (to be completed in 2013): Private partnerships will enable the installation of our specialized lights in the following establishments: Supermarkets, banks, commercial centers, bakeries, cafes, apartment building lobbies.
A couple of months ago v and i were asked to participate in 1 hour art, an Italian/international project based in Bologna from the curators Viviana Checchia and Anna Santomauro. The project proposes the question “Have you ever thought about one hour of contemporary art at home?” and offers an index of proposals by Italian artists all over the world of a one hour art project that they will enact in your home if interested. Looking through the website and proposals we realized just how distant they are from any actual person inviting them to their house. At the same time, since arriving in Milan we have felt quite isolated from any art community and wondering if one even exists in an Italian contemporary art scene that values commodity over exchange. In fact many of the artists listed are no longer even based in Italy, choosing instead the more fertile contemporary art grounds of New York, Berlin, London. So, we decided as our proposal to create the conditions possible for the realization of the other 1 hour art projects by taking the role of the “ordinary” individuals being sought, and requesting the realization of a project for us. Through this we hope to get in touch with some artists and start a conversation about the potential for contemporary art practices in Italy. While you would think that Milan would be a good starting place for having a project realized, we still have not been able to schedule a time when one of the artists are present and available. Possibly next week we will host a visit in our apartment. However, while we were in Berlin we were presented with an option of three different available artists. Since we didn’t have a home to host the art in Berlin, we asked for an alternative proposal. Enrico Bressan proposed the following project for us:
“…a very short performance inside the Tacheles building. The Kunsthaus Tacheles, constructed in 1907, is a former department store which now houses a self-organized collective of artists on Oranienburgerstr. 54-56a in Berlin-Mitte. Though today Tacheles is a popular art center with a nightclub, the lease with the property owner expired with the end of 2008 and the future of the art house is uncertain.
After the many insistent voices about a probable demolition of the building I’d like to improvise a little tribute to this original art space. The impression when you are inside the entrance hall is strange because you find yourself arounded by multi-colours graffiti, posters and writings. But instead of joining to the writers and let my personal sign, I’d like to simulate a cleaning hour trying to dust and brush the stairs and the painted walls. In this way I’m trying to increase the graffiti value of those who pass there and in that way to prepare Tacheles to an other (maybe the last) challenge.”
We enjoyed meeting Enrico and spending the morning together cleaning Tacheles. It was funny cleaning while people that worked there passed us without thinking twice about why or who was cleaning the space (though this is a phenomenon i appreciated in general about berlin, the ability to enter and move in spaces that straddle the public/private line without being questioned or asked to leave). Tourists that entered the building asked us questions, which we tried to answer as best we could. While the act of cleaning may have been a symbolic one, what i appreciated most was the absurdity of the gesture. there was really no point to pick up cigarette butts or broken bottles from a space that is defined by its irreverence. and it felt silly to sweep the dust from a floor that has years of dirtiness caked into its surface. but it felt nice to care for the space a bit. to think of the walls as needing some caressing, and the floor of some agitation. now, writing about it, i am thinking about shel silverstein’s book the giving tree. the tacheles has been that for a couple of generations of german and foreign occupiers, and maybe it needed a little bit of love in return.
After the performance we presented Enrico with a certificate that we created for the actualization of a 1 hour art project. It is the way we hoped to insert our intervention, to acknowledge the mutual exchange necessary for any shared artistic experience.
Enrico documented the project here.
Since then we have e-mailed a bit, most recently I explained to him why v and i were interested in getting in touch with other artists, and that it was unfortunate that he wasn’t actually in Italy anymore. Enrico responded thoughtfully that “As you know, artists need to be in movement trying new experiences and collaborations. The geographical area where I come from (Veneto) is economically very rich but, about art, remains a desert (with only few exceptions). So I decided to move away trying to make a step longer, so I went outside Italy.”
So after the first 1 hour art, our question is still open, whether there is a potential for art community in italy that is engaging with challenging (social) issues in creative (artistic) modes from within.
the art bookstores of berlin are something special. do you read me?! has a focus on art journals and magazines, including many hard to find in just about anywhere all the way to over produced glossy fashion “art” mags. also, a select section of self and small publishing art books. picked up dexter sinister’s portable document format, and report (not announcement) on artist mobility. walther koenig is represented in most german museums, but their stand alone shop was a vast and time sucking utopia of art monographs, artist books (behind a glass door), architecture and urban planning, and even a large theory section in english. spent lots of time staring at the hans-peter feldman books and picked up the francis alys catalog from the hammer museum. retrospective on sale for just 10 euros. as we are on a bit of a budget these days, it was all we could do not to lose control.
on our final day we arrived at pro qm which carried just about every book i’ve dreamed of and i even found a copy of BAVO’s art of overidentification which i have been madly in search of recently, and then when browsing through it decided i no longer wanted it, or maybe the guilt of having spent too much money was setting in…
in all shops kept finding myself drawn to the newly reprinted buckminster fuller’s education automation, need to get that one of these days.
in berlin v and i met up with ana and andres of helena producciones with whom i collaborated in cali on la vida es un teatro.
the day before we met daria (sorry no link). we worked with her at manifesta. we went for a walk whilst she recorded me for possibly maybe a romanian radio broadcast on art with bicycles. will post here when it is aired.
seems like everyone is in berlin at this moment.
while in berlin we visited with our friend gisela whom we met this past summer in the czech republic, we bonded over cow projects. she taught cows lessons in manners (though i can’t find the documentation on her site).
v and i visiting kunst-stoffe in berlin, a recycle art center where we applied for and didn’t get a residency. corrina the director told us she really enjoyed our proposal but that they opted to award their residencies to artists from developing countries. fair. she showed us around and invited us to utilize the materials while in berlin this summer, possible in exchange for leading a workshop on reggio-emilia style remida art.
looks like a busy august in berlin!
sibylle took us to visit dada post where she invited us to collaborate on a project this summer.
dada post is an old fish smoking factory turned art space two years ago by an american sculptor howard mccalebb.
since arriving in Berlin, we’ve been so impressed by how much of a feeling of potential there is.
people we’ve met with have all been open and interested in ways to collaborate/participate/open conversations about work.
a very big change in attitude from our Milan experience. I think in the few days that we have been here in Berlin we have already made more connections than in the last few months in Milan.
Not to say it isn’t a total scene here in Berlin, which it is, but there is so much space, physical and creative.
Whether focused on the individual’s relationship with technology, family, or institutional structures-my work originates in personal narrative. I am currently focused on educational aesthetics in performativity and the performative aesthetics of education. My practice is realized in performance, video, and collaborative events.
