Alighiero Boetti Mappa

cm 163 x 217

Alighiero Boetti made his artistic debut in 1967 with a solo exhibition at the Galleria Christian Stein in Turin. That same year, he also presented his work at the Galleria Bertesca in Genoa with a group of artists that will become the Arte Povera movement. However, already towards the end of the 1960s, he moved away from that group in favor of a conceptual approach. His artistic production is characterized by use of a wide range of media and languages, with special attention to the conceptual and planning aspect of conceiving the work of art. In 1971, he made his first trip to Afghanistan, where, fascinated by the local artisan tradition, he had his first "Mappa" made. Embroidered on canvas by Afghan women, the work presents the political planisphere (1969) with each nation represented with the colors and motifs of its flag. Boetti continued making his Mappe until the end of his career. Entirely produced by others, they highlight Boetti’s deliberate choice to keep the conception of his work distinct and separate from its material creation. The inscription along the edge, present on all of the maps, includes information about the circumstances, the date and location of the production, the artist’s signature – deconstructed and reconstructed in alphabetical order (ABEEGHIIILOORTT) – and the phrase “Mettere al mondo il mondo” (bring the world into the world), which explicates another of the fundamental principles of Boetti’s work: the correspondence between art and life. The decision to arrange the artist’s name in alphabetical order reveals not only a desire to objectify the artist’s role in the creative process, as noted, but also the importance placed by Boetti on organizing principles like the alphabet and, more generally, linguistic systems, which stand at the base of the structures and organization of society.

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J.C. Ammann, M.T. Roberto, A.M. Sauzeau (eds.), Alighiero Boetti. 1965-1994, exhibition catalogue (Turin, GAM-Galleria Civica d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea; Villeneue d’Ascq, Musée d’Art Moderne; Vienna, Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig), Turin 1996. J.C. Ammann (ed.), Alighiero Boetti. Catalogo Generale, vol. 1, Milan 2009. J.C. Ammann, Alighiero Boetti. Mappa, Zurich 2010. C. Rattemeyer, L. Cooke (eds.), Alighiero Boetti. Game Plan, exhibition catalogue (London, Tate Modern; Madrid, Museo Nacional Reina Sofía; New York, MoMA-Museum of Modern Art), New York 2011. M. Godfrey (ed.), Alighiero e Boetti, New Haven-London 2011.

Foto M3Studio

Purchased from Massimo Martino Fine Arts, Mendrisio

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