ARTE POVERA OF THE 1960s
The genesis of every significant artistic movement is characterised by a period of enigmatic evolution, characterised by the refinement and articulation of a set of ideas through artistic productions and actions. Arte Povera is no exception, and it is for this reason that it is regarded as one of the most significant movements of twentieth century art. During the late 1960s, a group of Italian artists working primarily in Rome and Turin, as well as in Genoa, Milan and Bologna, began to exhibit their work collectively. Avoiding the adoption of a singular signature style, these artists instead promoted the value of diversity, and their body of work included sculptures, photography and entire installations. This artistic practice came to be known as 'Arte Povera', a term that literally translates as poor art, yet its significance extends beyond the mere use of inexpensive materials.
The primary proponents of this movement, such as Michelangelo Pistoletto, Alighiero Boetti, Giovanni Anselmo, and Gilberto Zorio, were preoccupied with a conceptual nexus wherein the domains of art and life, nature and culture, intersect. The objective of this artistic endeavour was to establish a subjective comprehension of matter and space, whilst concurrently enabling an encounter with 'primary' energy, or more precisely, a pre-industrial era. This was achieved by employing conventional materials such as rocks, clothing, paper, ropes as well as elements like fire or water. This artistic movement can be perceived as a reaction against the abstract paintings that dominated European art in the 1950s and which were characteristic of the Modernists. Indeed, the use of sculpture was a key feature of the group's work, and this is one of the reasons why much of their output is of a sculptural nature.
The movement itself refers to the concept of 'impoverishing' each person's experience of life, freeing oneself from layers of ideologies and preconceptions. Its fundamental principles, while limited in number, were unambiguous: artistic expression is the transformation of 'attitude' into 'form' through the utilisation of diverse materials; any medium, technique or location is deemed suitable, as all elements have the potential to become a work of art; art serves as a medium for achieving authenticity and truth; and finally, art is expected to engage with social concerns and reject the ideology of the consumer society.
It is widely accepted that Michelangelo Pistoletto is one of the most prominent exponents of Arte Povera, and his work is of particular significance in this context. His early pieces, including the Minus Objects (1965-66), which were created prior to the official establishment of the movement in October 1967, are particularly noteworthy. However, it is the Venus of the Rags (1967) that has become synonymous with the Arte Povera movement. The juxtaposition of the classical statue of Venus, the Roman goddess of love, beauty and fertility, with a large pile of brightly coloured, discarded clothes that are heaped on the floor, is a key motif in the artist's oeuvre. In the Venus of the Rags, the statue is positioned with its back to the viewer, the figure's face and body pressing lightly against the pile of fabrics that rises up before it, so that the front of the statue is hidden. The employment of a sculpture of Venus, an iconic motif of the Western artistic tradition, serves as a poignant reminder of Italy's cultural legacy, albeit with an ironic undertone. Through the juxtaposition of the classical statue with the piled-up rags, the artist unveils a series of oppositions as formed vs unformed, monochrome vs coloured, historical vs contemporary.
Undeniably Arte Povera cannot be considered a rigid or exclusive movement. Indeed, the production of a specific manifesto or set of formal beliefs would have been antithetical to its core principles. The movement's primary objective was to exploit the sensual qualities of various materials in order to appeal to our senses of smell, hearing and sight.
