Aria, 1982-83
GPO-0923
Air
Two photo prints mounted between shaped plexiglas sheets, plexiglas volume, steel cable
Hanging part 210 x 190 cm, plexiglas volume 100 x70 x 50 cm, overall dimensions variable
Triennale, Milan
Acquired in 1983, inventory no. 177/1983
The angel must be centred at the top of a plexiglas case, at a distance of at least 60 cm and it must be free to waver at a distance of at least 1 metre from the ceiling. The plexiglas case can be turned freely with respect to the sides of the space where it is located, depending on the specific exhibition. For the work to be enjoyed it must have enough breathing room all around it (at least 150 cm away from any other works or architectural elements) and viewers must be able to walk all around it without there being any visual interferences. The exhibition space must be at least 5.50 metres in height, and the ceiling must be such that a suspension cable can easily be attached to it.
A winged figure made up of a photographic collage with pieces from the reproductions of two works by Antonio Canova – mounted between two plexiglas shapes hanging down from the ceiling on a steel cable – wavers in mid-air in an upside-down position above an empty plexiglas volume.
The title alludes to the condition of an unstable form, suspended in the air, and at the same time to the homonymous musical motif.
The tension between the earth and the sky and the motif representing the fall include the work in a thematic area that is a distinctive feature of the artist's production from 1982 to 1984 (cf. by way of example La caduta di Icaro, 1982, GPO-0464, Place des Martyrs, 1983, GPO-0488, and L’idolo, 1983-84, GPO-0515).
The work, originally entitled La caduta dell’angelo, was conceived for the contribution of the Turin architect Piero Derossi to the preliminary exhibition cycle of the 27th Triennale in Milan entitled Le case della Triennale. Otto progetti di ambienti domestici contemporanei, presented in Milan in October 1983. The same theme was later developed in four other variants, made in 1983 (GPO-0502), 1984 (GPO-0528, GPO-0529), and 1988 (GPO-0626), respectively.
• Figure: Antonio Canova, Genio funebre from the Sepolcro di Clemente XIII, 1787-92, marble, 820 x 630 x 254 cm, Basilica di San Pietro, Rome; reproduction from L’opera completa di Canova. Classici dell’arte 213 (Milan: Rizzoli, 1976), plate XI.
• Wings: Antonio Canova, Genius on the right of the Cenotafio degli Stuart, 1817-19, marble, 560 x 280 x 140 cm, Basilica di San Pietro, Roma; reproduction from L’opera completa di Canova. Classici dell’arte 213 (Milan: Rizzoli, 1976), plates LVIII and LIX.
| 1983 | Milan, Palazzo della Triennale, exhibition series preliminary to the XVII Triennale di Milano, Le case della Triennale. Otto progetti di ambienti domestici contemporanei, 23 October - 30 November, touring to: Paris, Grand Palais, November-December, pp. 30-33, repr. p. 81 (as “La caduta dell’angelo”). |
| • | “La casa per lavorare”, in Domus 645 (Milan), December, 1983, col. repr. p. 33 (exhibition view Milan 1983). |
| • | Oltre la linea dell’avanguardia. Architettura, testo, contesto, edited by E. Calvi (Milan: Guerini Studio, 1992), col. repr. on cover (exhibition view Milan 1983). |
| • | Pietro Derossi. Per un’architettura narrativa: Architetture e progetti 1959-2000 (Milan: Skira editore, 2000), pp. 132-133 (titled “La caduta dell’angelo”). |
| • | Derossi Associati. Racconti di architettura, exhibition catalogue, Turin, Fondazione Merz (Milan: Skira editore, 2006), pp. 24-25 (titled “La caduta dell’angelo”), col. repr. pp. 18, 24-25 (exhibition views Milan 1983). |
