Get inspired — unconventional stories
JAGO, Banksy, TVBOY and other unconventional stories, Palazzo Albergati, Bologna, Italy — March 26th, 2023, 4:00pm
The exhibition is composed of three parts, one for each related artist, JAGO, TV Boy and Banksy, and is developed in a temporary installation inside one of the most appreciated historical buildings in the city of Bologna: Palazzo Albergati.
JAGO
JAGO is an Italian artist working in the field of sculpture and video production. He was born in Frosinone (Italy) in 1987, where he attended art high school and then the Academy of Fine Arts (quit in 2010).
The first work to appear is Memory of Self (original: Memoria di sé) [Photo1] Created in 2015 and made entirely of marble, in this work a child is born from the head of an adult. The work represents not only the figure, but a process that establishes an event as mysterious as the result of that mystery embodied by our presence in the universe, the birth of a child, or a thought.
JAGO’s artistic research is rooted in traditional techniques and establishes a direct relationship with the public through the use of video and social networks to share the production process.
“From a material that can potentially contain any form, I extract just one. That is where the artist’s responsibility lies.” ~ JAGO
At the age of 24, he was selected by Vittorio Sgarbi to participate in the 54th edition of the Venice Biennial, exhibiting the bust of Pope Benedict XVI (2009): it was Joseph Ratzinger, inspired by the one of Pope Pius XI made by Adolfo Wildt (1926) [Photo2] and now preserved in the Vatican Museums.
On that occasion the work was admired by gallery owner Carmine Siniscalco and presented by him at the Pontifical Academies Award at the Vatican, where it was awarded the Pontificate medal. [Photo3].
When the Pope abdicated in 2013, JAGO decided to strip the sculpture of its liturgical parameters, uncovering the gaunt and dramatic bust and renaming it Habemus Hominen (2016), becoming one of his best-known works. [Photo4]
The pontiff’s once stern face now smiles with unprecedented gentleness as his gaze, painted by JAGO in the eye sockets, turns mutually toward us.
In the installation Circulatory Apparatus (original: Apparato Circolatorio) (2017), JAGO translated the frequency of the heartbeat into a work of art. [Photo5]
He initially made a clay structure, which was then computer-processed into a 3D animation, from which 30 plaster casts were made, inside which the clay was poured, then fired and glazed.
The result is Circulatory Apparatus, a series of thirty hearts, each one different from the other displayed in sequence, along with a looped video of their contraction, intended to recreate the exact movement of a heart during a single beat.
In 2019, for the European Space Agency (ESA) Beyond mission, JAGO was the first artist to send a marble sculpture to the International Space Station. The work, titled First Baby (2019) and depicting a fetus, returned to Earth in February 2020 under the custody of the mission leader, Luca Parmitano. He himself took the photograph showing the work gravitating inside the Space Station, with Earth orbit as its backdrop. The sculpture weighs just 200 grams and, given the impossibility of signing it, on the underside it bears JAGO’s imprint, imprinted with blood. [Photo6]
TVBOY
TVBOY was born in Palermo in 1980 and, although he grew up in Milan, he moved to Barcelona for love, where he became one of the most recognizable street artists. His cultural references are to be found precisely in the television bombardment that his generation has undergone and from which TVBOY, playing on this concept from the very name, invites us to detach ourselves. In 2007, he is one of the protagonists of the exhibition Stree Art — Street View, the first urban art exhibition promoted in Italy by an institution, which in a cettyo sense will make the public aware of this kind of art.
In his creations certainly looks at Pop Art, but also to the world of comics and video games. He has invaded the streets of Italy and beyond with his famous ideal kisses between contemporary icons (often in opposition) becoming not infrequently the image on social media spread to explain political and social cabiaments, TVBOY perfectly embodies our contemporaneity, because it breaks down The boundaries between disciplines and pushes us toward abandoning a sterile worldview by the categories, techniques, and tools used, but also by The content it addresses, speaking to us about racism, discrimination, environment, climate, cinema, sports, religion, violence, sex, death, immigration, love, friendship, power, art. TVBOY aspires to become an image encyclopedia of contemporary soiety, and it is succeeding.
TVBOY is a careful witness of society and with his works on the walls of our cities he imposes continuous reflections on us. European parliament school report is dedicated to a terrible news episode that in April 2019 outraged (not enough, it comes to say) public opinion. In a shipwreck in which more than a thousand people lost their lives, the body of a child was also recovered, on which du found a school report card, sewn inside his pocket. An illusion of the family, who thought that document could offer him a pass to some European country? In this work, it is Europe itself that is downgraded by the artist, who denounces the inadequacy of the migration policy adopted so far.
“Men’s right need to be every man’s right, really everyone’s; otherwise call them privileges” ~ Gino Strada
Banksy
The satirical character with which the Bristol-based artist, a keen observer of social dynamics, addresses current issues makes his works unique.
Terrorism, war crimes, eocnomic crisis, bullying, labor abuse are recurring topics in the news, images and information that reach us daily but rarely permeate within us. However, this is not the case with banksy, the most mysterious exponent of contemporary art.
In terms of form, Banksy uses Themes of victimization, with protagonists embodying innocence throughout their work; for example, many of his works feature figures of children or youth, and most audiences can identify with these itemi because everyone can relate to The concepts of innocence and disenchanted humor.
Arguably the world’s most controversial ostreet artist, with his works Banksy has created a subculture in his own right — charged with a disruptive vision and dense with tenacious political statements — capable of generating new ideal and symbolic impacts in different cities around the world ,provoking alternative viewpoints and encouraging a new revolution in the art world. What most shocks viewers is the rapidity, the immediacy in representing burning issues of global current events in his works, transforming walls, stairs, walls and anonymous street corners into spaces of reflection and marking, ineluctably, people’s souls and hearts.
While affecting the entire world, his artistic production creates a ripple effect ce stimulates the microcosm of young people and artists to continue to carry on this radical, tenacious behavior. Like society, art evolves, and Banksy will continue to provide more surprises for contemporary art and society.
The work comes from a famous and recognizable Vietnam War photograph taken on June 8, 1972 by AP photographer Nick Ut-the photograph would later win the Pulitzer Prize. The focal pnto of the original photograph shows a little girl, Phan Thi Kim Phuc (then 9 years old), fleeing the city of Trang Bang after an aerial bombardment by U.S. soldiers.
In his work, Banksy presents the little girl in the middle of two recognizable corporate institutions; Walt Disney and McDonald’s. Mickey Mouse and Ronald of McDonald’s are representatives of their respective corporations. They each hold the poor girl by the hand, and despite her pains from the burns she has suffered, The two giants are taking long strides forward with big smiles.
The fact that Banksy pairs such an eminent figure with a wartime image is a representation not only of how of the United States is a superpower in political and economic aspects, but also how the entertainment industry supports and embraces brutality and war. It seems that the industry is encouraging and supporting American warfare in foreign countries to showcase its military might and reach out to other agendas, instead of focusing on peace.
The Simpsons (2014) [Video1] represent the quintessential average American family, and those little yellow men have got the world talking. Fans know that it often happens that the opening theme song of the cartoon changes, and the one that has caused the most discussion is definitely the one from 2014, made with a collaboration between Matt Groening, father of The Simpsons, and Banksy. Fox (broadcaster of the animated series) had recently decided to relocate some of the work to South Korea to save money. Groening doesn’t go for it and asks Banksy to make a theme song to denounce the incident. Banksy creates a very harsh animazioe against exploitation, showing men, women, and children in slavery. Skillful maneuvers by Groening and staff cause the theme song to go on the air as it was intended, creating serious embarrassment for Fox.
Video1 — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhluMcgpkYw
Reflections
Personally, my favorite was JAGO, an artist I did not know and whose artistic gifts I can only admire. Banksy is globally appreciated, TVBOY has a narrative that is very close to ordinary people (like me) and conveys current values by fighting the battles of everyday people. But JAGO particularly impressed me first and foremost with his use of marble, in fact I could not upload any video here, but I was amazed while watching him transforming pure nothing into what I then saw at the exhibition. Photographs are nothing compared to the impressive detail work of the statues seen with the naked eye and up close. I was also particularly impressed with his first sculpture and the significance of remembering oneself, the cyclical nature of life, and the origin of thought. Also, the fact that from a rough piece of marble a person can get so much out of, simply fascinates me and makes me think even more about the origin of thought that happens for each work of art.
For those interested, I encourage you to watch his videos and performances on YouTube :)
