Jannis Kounellis Exhibit

The Teatro Margherita in Bari is the site of an exhibit of installations by Jannis Kounellis, the "patriarch" of Italy's 1960s arte povera movement. Arte povera was a movement meant to shake up the art world and redefine the very concept of art. Kounellis introduced "found" objects in his paintings, among them live animals, but also fire, earth, burlap sacks, gold. He replaced the canvas with bed frames, doorways, windows or simply the gallery itself.
The Teatro Margherita has been rennovated externally, but has been an empty shell for the 20 years that I have lived in Apulia, and perhaps longer. Kounellis designed these installations specifically to use the large unfinished spaces inside the theater.

His artwork has been called "Kafkaesque" and, personally, I find it a bit dark and depressing. I felt weighed down and flattened by his work...but perhaps that is exactly the effect he is trying to achieve!

For more information on Kounellis, you can read this review in English of another exhibit of his.

The exhibit in Bari is running until September 20.

Man Ray - The 50 Faces of Juliet 1941-1955

A collection of original photos by Man Ray entitled "The 50 Faces of Juliet" is on exhibit at the Lorusso Gallery in Andria. The photos are all of Man Ray's wife, Juliet Browner, and were taken between 1941 and 1955. Also on exhibit are some of his famous Objects d'Affection, which are objects of daily use, removed from their usual context and reinterpreted. The exhibit runs until July 30.

Man Ray was a dadaist and a surrealist, and taking photos of his photos felt like a rather surreal experience itself.

Petito Cafè

The Petito Cafè is a new bar/restaurant/night-spot with snazzy interior design and a rotating exhibit of works of art by local artists.

Vittoria Facchini, Artist

Vittoria Facchini is a Molfettan artist and is pictured here in her studio. In addition to painting, she is also an illustrator of children's books and has published a few books of her own. One of these is an illustrated version of the traditional Molfettan Christmas song, the Santa Allegrezza, which was released in December. To see a couple of photos about that event, click here and here. In the photo above she was discussing her "Pin-Up" series, which is inspired by 1950's pin-up calendars.

Her studio is a colorful and crazy collection of a thousand different odds and ends, plus two cats who crawl all over everything. I couldn't get a photo of them because they just wouldn't sit still. Vittoria wasn't all that easy to stop either!

Molfettans of Note

The walls of the City Hall Board Room are lined with portraits of important men from Molfetta's past. Above we can see His Excellency Lieutenant General Gaetano Pastore, 1778-1849.
Here we have General Giuseppe Eugenio Poli, 1898-1967.

This fellow is another member of the Poli family, local nobility. He seems to have been a scholar of Italian and Foreign literature in the 1800s.

Book Signing

Molfettan artist Vittoria Facchini signs copies of her book "La Santa Allegrezza" after it was presented at City Hall last Saturday evening. Facchini is a successful writer and illustrator of children's books and advertising campaigns and she has designed a line of household objects decorated with her art. Her work has won international awards.

Santa Allegrezza

The "Santa Allegrezza" is the traditional Molfettan Christmas song. A series of events has been planned around the song this weekend. Last night an illustrated book of the song's lyrics was presented at city hall, followed by an exhibit of the original paintings, by local artist Vittoria Facchini, in the old town.

This video is of terrible quality, but at least you can hear the song...

Aritmia Mediterranea, 3

Before I had my technological breakdown (!) I had started a series on the annual street art and culture festival "Aritmia Mediterranea" and I promised to show you the completed versions of the murals being painted by graffiti artists on the first day. Well, a promise is a promise and better late than never, etc., etc. So here we go...

What do you think? Did they turn out the way you thought they would? Which one is your favorite? To see the works in progress, click here.

Aritmia Mediterranea

The 7th annual Aritmia Mediterranea festival is taking place this weekend in Molfetta. Its goal is to promote "music, art and all forms of creativity." The centerpiece of the event is always the murales painted by local graffiti artists.
This year's theme is "Pulsioni Sotterranee," which means "underground drives" or "desires." A "pulsione" is that which pushes you to do something.

Today's photos show some of the artists in action. I have to go back today to photograph the completed works.

The artists featured here are (from top to bottom): Pino, Pokè, Miste and Gigi. Some of them were willing to be identified by the name they sign their work with and others preferred to use their actual name. There are legal issues for them to consider, since their creative efforts are considered vandalism in certain cases.