Within the extensive range of events devoted to contemporary art in Italy, exhibitions addressing the essential node of relations between the visual arts and advanced technology are surprisingly rare. Yet throughout the period since the mid 1960s the interaction between art and technology has become increasingly sophisticated, with the introduction of videoinstallations and production of original works in video. The history, current status and perspectives of research conducted in this dynamic communicative field of advanced experimental art are presented in this exhibition within a broad international setting.
The range of creations taken into consideration extends far beyond any narrow regional boundaries, and encompasses both a worldwide dimension and a productive comparison between different generations of artists. This exhibition, curated and coordinated by Vittorio Fagone together with Sandra Solimano and Lorenzo Bianda, can be seen as a renewal and amplification of the exhibition Journey of the Immobile Man, set up by the Museum of Contemporary Art of Villa Croce in Genoa. The present display offers an extremely rich selection of videos – 76 videos for a total of over 22 hours of projections – some of which, held at the Canton Museum of Lugano, were already placed on show at the VideoArt Festival of Locarno (1980-2001).
Visitors are thus offered an opportunity to retrace the developmental path of the most original expressive medium of our times, videoart. Its evolution, as it unfolded over no fewer than three decades, is portrayed through the two forms of expression that achieved greatest renown and appreciation by the public: the setting up of innovative environments and the installation and production of original video film footage and tapes. The exhibition, which will be inaugurated in Lucca, will be held at the Ragghianti Foundation, within the venue of the Complesso Monumentale di San Micheletto; the inauguration will take place on 20 March 2004 and the exhibition will be open to visitors until 23 May 2004.
To mark the occasion, a special catalogue is being published. It will feature not only illustrations of all the videoinstallations and descriptive fiches of the videos projected, but also a number of introductory essays by Vittorio Fagone, Sandra Solimano, René Berger, Viana Conti, Maria Perosino, Frank Popper and Sandro Ricaldone.
