Italia Land Art Ancora!!!

Land art in Italy?

Yes, there is a long tradition of Land Art in Italy, going back to the 1960’s.  Over the years, I have been very lucky to have been invited to a number of them.  Recently, I was invited to an Italian Land Art symposium at the Villa Cernigliaro, near Turin.

Wait…what is Land Art?

Land Art traditionally has been defined as art in the landscape, being inspired or directly engaging with the idea of land, nature, and our human relationship to nature.  Land Art often is made from natural materials quite often found on the site where the art is created. 

 

Land Art is largely associated with art made in the 1960’s and 1970’s, often associated with artists in the United States and Great Britain.  I  have met many Land Artists practicing in Italy, a community that has perhaps been overlooked.  I am one of a growing few, that resist putting too many rules on Land Art, other than Land Art needs to be of and about nature.  The brach of Land Art that I practice is more akin to its evolved cousin, Eco-Art, or Environmental Art.  For me, Eco-Art is grounded in the self-evident belief that life is completely dependent on our environment.  You can read more about my philosophy here.  

SO what about making Land Art in Italy?

Yes, as I mentioned, I was invited in the spring of 2023 to make some Land Art in Italy, at the Villa Cernigliaro. 

The Villa and park are historic, having been occupied during WWII, a center during the Anti-Fascist period, then the Fluxus Movement, and much more.  The grounds are modestly manicured, filled with a wide range of plant and tree species, but not exactly the wild nature one finds in the forest.  This built-environment of compounded histories illustrated to me, our collective misunderstanding of current events, namely the inter-connectedness of migrants and climate change. 

I was drawn symbolically to the abundance of pine cones mostly from the same type of spruce on the property, and the various sizes depending on age.  My work has become incredibly more meditative and process driven of late, and I often find myself  designing a project around the need to be quiet and think.  I set about unwinding jute rope to the base strands, then fastening to each pine cone, and then braided the cones together into large groupings.   These groupings I suspended from a large beech tree silhouetted by the 19th century Villa. 

 

 

On the parapet wall directly underneath the beech tree are the remainders of the found pine cones, waiting to immigrate. 

The installation is titled, “The Other”.  In short, the concept is literally one tree suspended from another.  But then, as I’ve said, metaphorically you have themes of migrants, climate refugees, and post-colonization reparations.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The last point was a realization I had while braiding the cones together.  It should be no surprise that many of the climate refugees come from former colonies; and like it or not, in the northern hemisphere we can decide to be proactive about reparation’s or Gaia will decide for us.  I’ve made a few installations about migrants and climate change, its part of my larger body of work, and how I see the inter-connectedness of nature and culture.  Specifically, I feel, as do others, that we have all the solutions at hand to grapple with the monumental changes of the day.  In fact, the challenges aren’t so monumental, we just need courage, and humanity.  Which, we already have. 

 

 

 

 

I’m very thankful to have been invited to create the work, and hopefully it will be enjoyed by many.  We are letting it decompose in place, so I imagine weather permitting, it could be visited for a while to come, please contact the Villa for any specific inquires on the installation.  I’ll update this post as developments occur.  A deep heartfelt thanks to Villa Cernigliaro, Zero Gravita, Carlotta and Beatrice, all the volunteers, and the public that came to the inauguration, and thanks to all the other artists that participated, it was a gift to meet you all.  And of course, thanks to you, reader, friends and family, for all the support you continue to offer.  

The project has been blessed with publicity, I’ll update this post as the articles get published.  

Simposio Internazionale di Land Art, Villa Cernigliaro, Segnonline, publie 30/04/2023,

Simposio Internazionale di Land Art, Villa Cernigliaro Parco e Giardini Storici 2023, Il Giornale.ch, publie 03/05/2023,

A Villa Cernigliaro, 12 Artisti per valorizzare il territorio attraverso opere de Land Art, Alice Ioffrida, SegnoLine, 12/05/2023