July 10th In Heat

July 10th, 2010

Still hot, I wake at 4am and put on light clothes to walk out to my studio, circle in a daze midst cooling breezes and return to sleep heavily, dreaming, my feet at bed's head pressed against cooler wood.

Summer is here and I am still going into water alternate days like the rest of Roma! Capocotta yesterday with B. and tomorrow with L. to outdoor pool. This is the life. Though the heat is calling me eagerly back to Nova Scotia....

Little birds drop into the coffee bar this morning, looking for crumbs, magical—like a painting— unafraid hopping. The city under heat and one does not willingly descend until dark.

Please note: The photos here are from Naples. Perhaps the marble statues can cool our hot skin?!

Yet i am still working. At the baths of Caracalla last weekend, I get thrown out when Michele (a student at Cinecitta) and I unwrap too slowly his professional tripod. We had been sitting there for two hours waiting for the light to improve. Two workers came out on a motorized golf cart and said they would call the police if we did not stop. Of course we closed up. I had only shot a minute unfortunately, gulls wheeling and screaming above the amazingly high walls. The baths are the model for Grand Central and the old Penn Station. So intense this huge block of buildings for Romans to bathe—men and women at different times. Hot and cold water pumped in from below. Elegant, immense.

The night before i had filmed off a motorino the city walls nearby with my still camera on video setting. I am going to try on serious motorcycle some late night dollies (moving shots to all you non-film types).

On similar foray, I have tried to locate a sailboat that can host a film shoot upcoming—my last big shoot for the Shelley film. A friend's boat fell through so I am renting for 300 Euros (!) one out of Fiumocino—the river near Ostia that goes out to the sea. Benoit will drive us and be a "stand-in " for Shelley since my Fellows—those Bressonian characters—cannot give me more time. Che peccato! Stefano a young filmmaker who works at the Academy and loved my work: he wrote me so beautifully: Your works are quite brilliant, ironic, sensual and fun (which are the adjectives that I personally use to describe the life that I wish). He comes to help out and perhaps be another "stand in" for Shelley's friend who dies with him on the boat almost 200 years ago.
We were to go to Porto Ercole, but this is actually easier if not as beautiful.


Previously Benoit has been driving me irregularly to the ocean early in the mornings and one time, on the way back he took me to Ostia Antica which was fabulous--- an abandoned city that at one point housed 80,000 people, excavated from the silt of the Tiber. Magnificent black and white mosaics--one sees from where Mussolini period mosaics are influenced (foro italico etc). There was a wonderful house of Cupid with patterned marble floor, a favorite sculpture of male and female embracing, a "sailor's bar" (!)complete with marble counter and private terrace, baths and storehouses, even a synagogue that i did not quite get to. it was hot and B was waiting reading in the shade. Another day he took me to Pliny's summer palace. More ruined, in between river and sea with b/w mosaic baths down a baked road. We are both slim enough to slip through the fence.


Benoit is a poet, whom I met when he came to Cryptoporticus show. He knows Kathleen Fraser—such a small world of international artists and serendipity! He has given me his books written in French and since we have been having such a nice time together, and inspired by my friend Christina who translated Russian texts, learning the language as she went along—I turned my hand to translating his book. It was amazing--intense and challenging, fun. B. thought i captured excellently the feel, rhythm, sound of it all. Such a wonderful way to understand another's inner life. I am thinking perhaps for Burning Deck to publish in the future....?

Meanwhile the menu has changed. We are now into green figs, fresh ricotta cheese and prosciutto. Spectacular and a rare (here at the Academy at least) fish meal yesterday with mussels and pasta, octopus salad as starter. How much i will miss this is un- imaginable!

What else? so much—Lauren picked me up on her scooter last Friday (after beach morning) to go to cafe jazz. We saw a wonderful band playing Cole Porter songs among other big band specialities in the open air . I have been invited to island—Procida— off coast of Naples by Swiss curator and will go there for long weekday or weekend hopefully before returning to USA. Two young women have interviewed me loving MIRRORWORLDS at the Santo Spirito in May. They came with others to look at work one, no two, weeks ago.

On Wednesday i finally went to Cinecitta. A friend of Peruvian origin who works in the archie there, Irela, got me in and through a number of odd concurrences I ended up with a pass, my camera and alone. It was miraculous. I was able to crawl over sets, fall through a destroyed stair even (!)—unhurt— and film wherever I went. The minute Irela showed up, the cops showed as well. We met up with some Montreal film historians who were somewhat jealous and even possessive that I was able to shoot while they with far more "professional" equipment were kept away. Ahhhh the advantage of the "amateur'.

Not least, I get a note back from Alessandro Alessandroni who is a composer who worked with Enio Morricone and who did soundtrack for Lady Frankenstein. I had written him to see if he would do soundtrack for my film. He wrote back! from Namibia and invited me to his country place to show him dvds to possibly compose for my film. I had to postpone returning home a couple of days as he was arriving in Italy the day I was flying out. An expensive plane switch but i had to try. Wish me luck!

The heat makes it so i can only work in front of a fan. Too hot hot hot but not as hot as NYC has been i understand. And luckily for me I go to ireland for 5 days next week (after sailboat shoot) as the heat shoots up over 100 here. I have a conference in Cork, with a show in Dublin. Looking forward to that as I have never been in Ireland and Kenny G. set this up saying the folks are wonderful.

So much excitement and writing this lets me see more clearly how exceptional this year has been, the days and weeks and months, so gloriously full and adventuresome. Perhaps one more posting before the end....?
Certo

Abbracci
Abby

Bracciano/Naples/Capocotta: July 1, 2010

July 1, 2010

It’s busy here and steadily getting hotter.
I’ve been playing every other day, swimming out of doors: weekend before last (Jun 18th ?) at Sperlonga, with friends Ross and Adair, first time there since the fall. Beautiful. The water cold on first take and then riding the waves you warm up. Almost as long to get there by car as by train, but more convenient return for sure. We climbed up the beautiful city on the rocks for a light late lunch —delicious —as always in Italy. We were with New Zealanders who were crazy happy when the following Sunday they held Italy’s soccer team to 1-1. I really have never been a fan but it’s fun gathering in the tv room and watching those beautiful boys kick balls around!
Then last Saturday, June 26th, —I believe I’ve lost track of days— with new pal Christina at Lake Bracciano—kayaking and swimming, eating lunch, swimming and kayaking to a better beach, swimming some more. She is pro kayaker and I can hold my own. What a wonderful adventure! The lake is large, a reservoir for Rome (why they let us swim there I do not know?). Christina is head of Harvard’s poetry archive and an adventurer who matches my spirit nicely plus very very funny about university characters and lovers and the strangeness of our “bubble” here. We have had many many laughs. She leaves tomorrow sadly.
It has really been marvelously serendipitous the way people come and enter my life here. Patricia Tinajera is a sculptor artist from Ecuador, working in Tennessee and she was a wonderful companera as well. We went shopping for dresses on Tuesday a week or so ago and had lots of fun, plus we did studio exchange visits. She is smart, talented, funny and kind. I know both of these women I will see again.
As well Rome is showing me friends left and right. Wendy Artin, an artist here who lives in Rome has hosted me for dinner which is lovely to be in a Roman home with her two beautiful children plus handsome husband, who owns a travel book shop on Via Pelligrino. She does classical drawings very strong and swims at the same club as i—so we went out down to the pool together one late morning happily.
On June 10th I opened in a group show at Spazi Aperti, at the Romanian Academy with two parts from L’impero Invertito. They looked good, “poignant” said one woman who had seen them at the Academy. In this context they were more tender if that’s possible. It was total fun to ride on a new friend’s motorcycle in the heat, with the wind moving around. (I was careful to wear tights under my dress.) The show was particularly well curated I thought in the cortile basement so that was nice as that was where my videos were. The closing was on June 24th and another new friend B showed up. He lives in Trastevere and had wandered into the Academy show and seemed to like the work. We walked out from the Romanian academy and it was an almost full moon night with the magnificent soft air so we walked and walked and talked. He is a poet, knows Rome well —is French, lived here 8 years I think? Knows my friend and poet Kathleen Fraser (such odd serendipities yes?)—and shares his knowledge. A wonderful night— lovely dinner at Café Edy (this was a place I had been to in the fall) and then wondering from the wealthiest store windows (like some kind of magic house---occasionally showing only one red shoe with studs!) and then through the Jewish quarter where 200 men were milling around as presumably they do every night. Strangely tribal or Arabic, only three women on the corner of the crowd. I the only woman to walk through. B showed me the turtle fountain and a special stair up through Trastevere where Nano Moretti filmed. I will need get the name of that film and check it out. Such a memorable evening.
Then Monday after the Lake we went to a beach, Capocotta—or cooked head! We left early and it was marvelous. Swimming great, viewing as well and building a careful tan. He has a car so it is easy. We go tomorrow again! I am looking forward to it.
Yesterday to Napoli with Stephen Westfall. I am working every other day!
Naples was wonderful— a mix of Palermo and Cairo. Intense colorful, a kind of 34th street in NYC. We first stopped at church with magnificent Caravaggio—my favorite large-scale work of his so far. With all the Caravaggio shows I have seen this year, we have seen almost all of his work: two large retrospectives in Rome, one in Florence and the odd ones in Naples and Sicily and in churches throughout Rome. Amazing.
On to the Duomo where we saw Peragino (which I miraculously recognized though it was not identified—the guard told us later). There is something in his landscapes, color and tenderness of the faces that suggested it was his to me. We also saw a fading Giotta and wonderful Domenichinos. Then onto the Madre which is a contemporary museum…quite great in terms of curatorical choices: very specific, related to the area interestingly: for example a Warhol of a volcano, beautiful. This is Vesuvius territory of course. There was a Franz West retrospective on and I don’t really know him well so that was good to see. He is very influential. You can see Rachel Harrison coming out of his blobs and also Rachel Whiteread. He is funny, a montage artist from Austria. Powerful show.
Then onto the Anthropological museum which was incredible: the Farnese marbles and Pompei frescos were overwhelming. The statues either huge or just simply beautiful and memorable —some from the baths of Caracalla: eros riding a dolphin, an amazon almost falling off her horse. Handsome men in pairs or older men very muscled. Glorious glorious. The Pompeian paintings are truly remarkable. I have now to go to Ostia and then Pompei if possible? Will I make this?
I still need to finish up some shooting . a sailboat is happening next week for the death of Shelley ! and this weekend I go to film the baths of Caracalla.
All this —after another 5 hours back and forth to Roma Est to the apple store for my computer on Monday AFTER the beach—I am still working hard it seems. Did get new one and still having trouble with Microsoft. Damn those apple guys. But happy. Things are moving along.
No time to relax except when it is immense relaxation …somewhere splendida . Life here is amazing. I am relishing every minute of this bubble. When the days appear where we are not fed, I am in shock. What will I do when real world enters? For now it is all poignant all pleasure intense with friends and light and heat and art.

I am loving Rome. It is where one falls in love, with the city and with a lifestyle that is sensual, rich in visual pleasure.
A presto mi amici

June 16th, 2010 Florence

June 16, 2010

Just back from day trip to Florence this Tuesday. Amazing, too fast, but what a city. Smaller than Rome, cleaner, and more yellow—as I remember from 25 plus years ago —than Rome. Rome is redder, the buildings yellow and red and rose and orange. And of course Rome is older and less neat, more lived in? Perhaps we didn’t go to the funky neighborhoods of Firenze? We managed to miss the tourists which is nigh impossible at this season. Thanks to Stephen Westfall whose obsessive painterly pursuits led the trip and these eyes into ecstasies. First the train station: a magnificent fascist blunt beauty with glass lining its front and roof. If a bit stolid from the outside (you could undervalue it as my brother did the fabulous Libero post office on Via Marmorata in Rome), it is wondrously airy and light inside— a feast of ceiling turning light and the clock the clock the clock. A marvel of typography and form. Quick easy legible and a beauty.

[Please note: the statue pictures above are from the electric plant that serves as backdrop to classical sculpture in Testaccio in Rome that I didn't have chance to include previously. We are definitely living simultaneously!]

Then –we hit the streets, turn a corner and there is the church S. Maria Novella with green and white striped marble front: Venetian arches via Islamic and Norman influence ( remember Sicilia). This version with thick columns in the inner cortile. The church itself filled with paintings and clearly different from Roman churches. Whereas Rome is a cradle of the Baroque, Florence was a bigger city in the 14th and 15th century, more powerful at an earlier era so it reveals a minimalist baroque or even, spare 14th century gothic styles. Altars are hung with paintings, not so much marble and gold and statuary or ‘shaping’ the presentation as there are walls with a canvas or panel, then a wall next-door with another canvas or panel, around the entire church. These seem airier, lighter, less heavy. Thus Florence is this feast of paintings and frescos—whether by Filippino Lippi, Masaccio, Bronzino, Domenico Ghirlandaio, or his apprentice the young Michelangelo (1485-1490), Giotta, plus a number of other talented contemporaries that I and even Stephen had not heard of…Bernardo Daddi for one. All in a single church!


On to the museum next door which is in truth a cortile with old monastery, square interior garden leading to a room of frescos topped by a boat: the ship of fools we are! decorated from 1365 to 1367 by Andrea Bonaiuti (I have never heard of him). Beautiful beautiful as it replays creation in front of us, the fall below. This is a period of art when mobility is in the clothes— vestiti—long skirts flowing ribbon-like behind skipping figures. Adam and Eve eating fruit happily dressed. There remains an order, a placidity, in faces and layout. Very satisfying, transcendent as well as light lit, with just a hint of the underworld nuttiness—in devils and creatures that tempt and play at the edges of the peopled world.. As we leave we note the nearly destroyed frescos outside under the roof of the cortile. A number are by Ucello, marvelously great: a snake with a woman’s head (yes we know she is seductive) and then a flood scene which is less Bosch and more di Chirico—amazing angles, shadows of people attempting fruitlessly to get on the boat: frightening and fabulous and decaying beautifully, the terror of drowning.

The Brancacci Chapel was closed on Tuesdays so we miss the Masaccio, which Stephen wanted to see. There was one in the church, but not as late or poignantly special as our Sicilian Madonna’s annunciation in Palermo. Along with Stephen I have become a fan of annunciations….those little doves or angels with their yellow light beams from hand/eye to belly! beautiful delicate quite marvelous—there hovers over these the mystery of birth. Living in obscure ambiguities indeed.

Speaking of which a new nephew courtesy of my older sister’s youngest Elizabeth. Born June 10th. 2010. AUGURI!

Back in Florence we are on to "the best" gelato place with indeed best pear gelato I have ever had…almost a sorbet with a strong taste of fruit….divine.

Walking on to The Basilica of Santa Maria del Santo Spirito…a gorgeous plain flat pre-baroque masterpiece. As if carved of a slab of cheese yellow with deep curls on the top end, few windows. Facing a square with no tourists. We have just gone the
"other” route to all the wonderful places where the tourists don’t go in Florence.

We repair with a short lunch: Stephen with pasta and sharing my salad. Then because the Brancacci was closed we head to Pitti Palace which is a feast (the Medici did well here in their inimitable overstated way): 8 Raphaels in a room. At least 4 Botticellis and one of them rivals La Primavera. Titian, Correggio, Rubens, and Pietro da Cortona. Caravaggio’s sleeping cupid which we have seen twice now. Giusto Sustermans of whom I had never heard, Tintoretto, Sebastiano del Piombo, Ribero, Bronzini, a small Cranach looped with anonymous paintings near a 4-poster bed. Weird odd fabulous conjunctions, feast for your eyes: blue and then rose and then green rooms with lush uglinesses of gold and splendor. This is enormous stamina for painting painting painting. Could you sustain? In 2005 the surprise discovery of forgotten 18th-century bathrooms in the Palazzo revealed remarkable examples of contemporary plumbing very similar in style to the bathrooms of the 21st century. Way oversize tub next to a chaise lounge I wanted to lie on.

We looked out periodically at the Boboli gardens that rose behind us in layered levels, high formal green, peopled with tourists while the Palazzo itself was rather quiet, empty. You could sit and look or wander or do as we did, pull each other by the arm and say “look look.”

Amazement. We were booked on an early train (Stephen and I disagreed on this part of the plan—to be home in time for Academy dinner!) so we rushed out of there, stopped
for a moment at Santo Spirito which had been closed previously to wander through the amazing paintings (as well!) and a quick stop back at Santa Trinita, a 14th century church best known for its collection of frescoes by artists such as Ghirlandaio, Aretino and Monaco. The Ghirlandaio annunciation is luminous.

On to the train station stopping long enough to photograph that clock that clock.
Back at AAR for rabbit dinner——quite delicious and I don’t particularly like rabbit.

Have missed telling you about computer problems. Don't you want to know!?!? New machine crashed and burnt within 7 days of opening it! Having to spend day with assistant crossing town to get to mac mall official store outside of Rome in depressing mall surrounded by half built suburbs whose folks don’t answer the phone. Don’t even ask! Seems so unimportant faced with these transcendent faces and shapes and sizings and landscapes.

Wishing you auguri and sun when you want to go to the beach. We are hoping this weekend to Sperlonga. Will keep you posted.

A.

June 7th 2010
New status of heat. I am keeping my Roman shades down during the day. With fan I am fine but just raising those blades and the heat pours in. It is summer 79 degrees at 10am. Lots of sunscreen, hats that ruin my curls et al. Hoping to hit the beach soon.

Meanwhile missed rainy days last week when I should have been photographing the grey grey skies. Will have to catch it once more if possible (maybe no?). All this for Shelley piece which is winding to a close. Shot the creature from Frankenstein this week, two nights ago, at Villa Aurelia with lights on the grounds at night. Had the inspiration to wrap the creatures’s head with gauze and white strips of cotton, make up his face scarily (tho no makeup artist am I) and then put a tan ‘puffy blouse’ on him. Which made him a disturbed clone of the poet himself. Perfect for Mary Shelley’s own feelings. She subtitles the book after all: the modern Prometheus.

Speaking of which, we went to the Villa Aurora, or Villa Ludovici yesterday. It was originally the American Academy before this building was built. Across town bordering on the Borghese, it used to have 80 acres of gardens that were broken apart by the construction of the Via Veneto. A beautiful villa with bare remains of the gardens but the frescos the frescos the frescos! Many amazing Guerini ones with the brightest colors I have seen, and the softest limbs, faces——a kind of shimmering skin edge. Lovely. Then on the second floor the famous Caravaggio done when he was 25, a tour de force on the ceiling with Jupiter pushing the celestial orb away (or towards?) Pluto and Neptune, all portraits of himself. You are looking up at the gods and presumably C. painted his own genitals, since you are looking up their legs—strange and wonderful foreshortening—while looking in a mirror. Three dogs bark dangerously close —the triple headed cereberus. Amazing.

The house a wonder and it was viewed as too small for real living, was instead a pleasure palace and hunting lodge originally. It would of course suit 20-30 people! Another Renaissance spectacular. The blue of one wall that had not been repaired yet was magnificent as were the three enormous elephant tusks sitting on the floor besides. All led by Princess Rita, a blond Texan who is new wife of the Count (who is very thin and speaks perfect English as educated in England and Switzerland), and dedicated to renovating the place. Very nice with lots of cosmetic surgery and a big smile. She told us to "come on back".

We left to lunch in the park with Patrizia (a visiting fellow artist from Tennessee via Ecuador) and Ann and Richard (remember Sicily?).

The week before my brother Jon was here with his daughter and her mom: Chloe and Becky. I showed them around a bit—including the magnificent Keats Shelley Graveyard (finally got there and filmed what I could with still camera) and the Museum Villa Martini down in Testaccio which combines classical sculpture with a power station from the early 20th c. Beautiful pieces of Roman mosaic and sculpture. An amazing goat from 400 bc that was very detailed, poigant. We got lunch from Volpetti’s and parked ourselves outside my swimming pool on plastic chairs to eat. So quite local. I could not however get them to go to a "real dinner" at a restaurant. I guess the cost was prohibitive, but to come all the way to Italy and not experience food as entertainment in the Italian way was hard for me to comprehend. Particularly after the foody experience of this academy and our time here We did eat one night at the Academy and I think that was fun for them. Chloe is very poised (as Jon has been telling me) and could answer the drunken Fellow who shouted at her the first night with aplomb. That first night was crazy however—with Jonny arriving and fearful that he was experiencing another heart attack. We landed at an Italian public hospital Sunday night —which treated him well and kindly (at no cost: as he said, they didn't even have his phone number!) and it was, luckily, a false alarm! Lots of relief there.

Almost forgot, right after Jon arrived, I was off for two days to Madrid for my show at Reina Sophia Contemporary Art Museum. Flight was uneventful though longer than I imagined—isn’t it simply across the Mediterranean? Show was fantastic. Films looked good (all on dvd pretty much) and audience was appreciative. Talk after was interesting especially since the translation they had done had “normalized” the poetic slippage I had created in the last two films: MIRROR WORLD and LIGATURES. Odd and perhaps predictable. So that “shimmying” became “brillante” which isn’t it at all. And “one on the face” became “one eye on the face” which erased the violent punchiness of the original mistranslation. Now I have to write on both the 'use of humor' and translation/mistranslation. I look forward to that as they have both been on my mind and in my work for a while now.

I am going to stop as I am about to be picked up to install the last of the group shows: spazi aperti at the Rumanian Academy and my computer—which has taken up tooooo much of my time lately (transitioning to new macbook pro)—is acting up on microsoft. Probably snow leopard demands a microsoft version that my school doesn't have...

ciao
a presto
A.

May 29th Trustee Week!

May 29th 2010,
I believe I will be playing catchup for the rest of my time here, or at least the next month.
It is wild living at such a furious pace. I feel I have been invited to a week long party on an island and I am stuck here! Its really rather lux but even too much lux is too much. We are in middle of trustee week, with open studios last Thursday after last Tuesday’s opening at Santo Spirito at Sassio.

Began the week mounting the show at Santo Spirito. Stressful as location built for me was quite small. I made mistake of giving image dimensions not room dimensions, but piece looked spectacular nonetheless—many people attested….! It was MIRRORWORLDS in its original three-screen incarnation, now shown on single wall, as secular altar piece, supposedly middle image larger but the small space made this hard to obtain. Left Santo Spirito Monday a bit unsettled to return Tuesday where we repaired as best we could. The opening itself went well. Many people, including some friends—the surprise of Magdalena Campos Pons and Carrie Mae Weems plus husband. Carrie seemed taken with MW. An independent curator friend of Giovanna’s showed up, very complimentary as was James Baron, another independent curator with whom my paths have crossed numerous times while here in Rome. His wife Jeannette is an accomplished photographer—enjoyed her book immensely, a less theatric Nan Golden but looking at same social set.

Next door to the enormous, aged golden rectangular space with 50 ft ceilings where we were exhibiting, was another space the same size. Not as well installed in fact but with many wonderful pieces. The show from a collection, I believe—of contemporary work. The Clairbout lovely and transcendentally clever, a beautiful Burri in reds and brown, an interesting heretofore not known Polish woman playing with light and space, a noisy video that said nothing but had a powerful percussive beat belaying the entire room, an early reflective Eliasson,

Wednesday came and Mary, my invaluable assistant, and myself set up for Open Studios for Thursday. This involved immense cleaning and moving and rearranging and imagining how to make the space work showing 3 different pieces. Ended up with Shelley dailies large in front (5x6 ft) , 2 portrait dvds from L’impero Invertito playing in left back , shaping the corner, rather small 2x3 ft projections. Across the way, right back was flat-screen monitor with The Future Is Behind You, to show my inspiration and what dailies might get shaped into (dangling preposition if not daring one).

Exhausted but happy with results and had 300-400 people come through. No less than 10, up to 30 at any one time. Here's a pix of one couple who seem to have followed my work. THey said lovely things in Italian that I could understand.
Some people loved the portraits from the installation, others The Future, others the Shelley 'dailies'. NO one seemed to see the conjunctions between them, or talked about all three in any interesting way. Robert Storrs came by late, was noncommittal, really did not spend enough time to warrant his “I’ve seen enough”. Ouch.

Mostly felt quite good: I had done a quick edit Wed night of Shelley footage, after leaving the job till too late (really), was tipsy a bit after dinner, but wanted still to make a longer dvd than I had had November last. Well…I really didn’t leave enough time……veramente. Got started processing the edit at 1am. Went to bed and woke up at 5ish am feeling anxious about technology involved. At 5:30 got out of bed and went to studio (had to pull on clothes, feeling grubby) to check. Well..there was a real problem and I realized it wasn’t going to make it by 6pm for opening. So there at the last moment., opened up my new computer that I just received the day before (bow to Lauren K. who carried back) and got it going. Did a version upgraded to new computer and had to re-back up some files that were on my itunes on old computer, not in capture scratch (okay this is tech talk…read on skip on).
After doing that, worked fine. Another hitch with new version of compressor, solved with Mary on phone (that girl is a tech wizard) and an hour and half later, I had the dvd! Okay speed is worth it!


Backwards two weeks, after arriving from nyc, we had a walk entitled “the other Rome” which involved traveling to various 20th century worker’s utopic housing units. May 7th a Friday. Still haunts. Pictures to follow in another post.

First up: Villagggio Olimpico by Adalberto Libera and Luigi Moretti, near the Renzo piano auditorium. These were housing for communal workers built in 1958-60 for the Olympics. Recently – 1998 – they state has sold the apartments to the renters who wanted to buy them and so they are slowly going on the market. Roberto our guide, pointed out the two story houses on pilotis by Libera. “These work as a repeated module on a cross plan with a stair in the empty middle space that leads to the four apartments per floor.” Very 50s 60s suburban, flat walls with half or full windows. The backs more interesting to me: the detailing of the concrete and floor to ceiling windows that were narrow and yet had a balcony feel. Suddenly no longer international style 50/60 modernism but a more original detailing of roman meditarranean dimension. And out the back fittingly, nature has grown wild, interacting with these rationalist buildings (rectangular shapes and ordinary materials) creating unexpected differentiations. “The randomness of how things have developed is what gives these buildings their humanity”

Then on to San Policarpo, a church next to a fantastic park. Built in 1960 by Giuseppe Nicolosi. Simple and very visible use of materials—concrete and metal— used in a striking vertical plan, odd, even shattered, or rather torn, yet placid.
The setting a long extended park with roman aqueducts in distance. Presumably a neighborhood where Pasolini shot. Now much changed: a kind of suburbia (really outskirts of rome) splaying out from park. Quiet.

Circling on ward, starting from the north and moving clockwise through the city we come to Unità d’Abitazione Orizzontale built by Adalberto Libera in 1950-54. These are 200 apartments of one story houses with small enclosed gardens and on a block plan. Reminded one of California single story homes. The shared blocks are not for cars and thus have all manner of plants and flowers, both communal and diverse. Pleasant and room for a bicycle although at this distance you might want a car. Nice green space and low density indeed. All the blocks are painted in different colors to distinguish and individualize the streets.

Quartiere Tuscolano II which I don’t remember as well was built in 1950-54, another post war developemtn of high buildings funded by the state as part of recreating the economy and giving modern housing to the many persons leaving the countryside to move to the cities in search of work. INA casa projects exist almost everywhere in the country, from Bologna to Matera. In Rome there are many other INA csa projects as Tiburtino I, II and III; Tuscolano I, across the way; Quartiere Ponte Mammolo; Quartiere San Basilio, but this is the largest. 35,5 hectares 3150 apartment for approximately 18,000 inhabitants.The long v shaped building is by De Renzi Muratori while the star shaped 9 story towers with 4 apartments per floor are by De Renzi alone. [much of my informative notes are from our guide Roberto Caracciola].

San Saba I and II: IACP housing project built between 1907 and 1923 by Giovanni Bellucci and Quadrio Pirani. Interestingly the mayor at that time, Ernesto Nathan, was English and Jewish (! Reasoning re romevs papal politics). He brought this English sensibility, creating small houses, with northern ‘piedmontese’ details: two stories in general with gardens in front and back. A more spacious Park Slope, Brooklyn? Glorious place to live indeed. Now quite valuable. a great example of housing in what was then a relatively new capital of the country. 567 apartment and 1952 rooms.


Garbatella—the most unique of the Roman neighborhoods. Coincidently our yoga teacher has just moved into one of the larger buildings. Built between 1921 and 1940 the overall plan was by Gustavo Giovannoni and Massimo Piacentini. 26 hectares, with individual houses by De Renzi and Marconi. Separated into large and small buildings, irregular blocks, running up and down hills south of Testaccio— the small buildings lovely, not individual houses but doubles, some 4 apts to a building. In one block all different styles but all within traditions of Italian architecture, whether with ships’ rail or farmhouse stucco roof and porch. Beautiful gardens. It is jasmine time.

We in the academy swoon coming into the Cornile.

In Garbatella, the blocks have signs in which the fascist symbol has been hammered out.

Then Corviale outside the city, nearer the airport. 1972- 1982 By Mario Fiorentino, Federico Gorio, Piero Maria Lugli, Giulio Sterbini and Michele Valori. The design on the walls are by artists Nicola Carrino. A huge narrow housing project. A city within a city but without charm and as result, all that was to be correlated to the residential apartments never came into being abandoning the inhabitants to their devices. Instead of being dynamited like US failed housing projects. This monstrousity, out in the wild so to speak is left alone. The tenants no longer pay rent. So though relatively far from the city with no amenities—no schools or supermarkets close—it is still inhabited, less dangerous than before with expensive cars in the parking lot.

I’m sleepy so for now I will sign off. Ciao.

may 24th 2010: "You keep it clean"

May 24, 2010
a month later. So much to say and do and remember. One is living so densely it is hard to keep up with events.
My dream life remains vivid

NYC ended with a wonderful welcome. The show at Poetry Project was ultimately a pleasure though the panel was vague. Not enough disagreement nor question. Remembering Ann’s lecture on Livy where he says "democracy needs opposition." So does thought and dialogue. The films —often with a bit too much b/w nature footage to my taste— set up SURFACE NOISE beautifully (okay, okay—I am writing about my own film here but in truth, I hadn’t seen it in at least 5 years. found it charged) came on as powercolor rollercoaster, or visual spoonerisms in a foxfire of ambient idioms. Indeed. Passion and velocity and humor and quizzical quotidians. Questions/comments rolled: in regard to the comic in art? transitions, speed of change, “You release the viewer from this or that associative impression as quickly as possible without being jumpy or evasive, using a subtle and terse language. You keep it "clean." Courtesy of poet Anne Tardos. Steve Benson’s voiceover in the film: “why you love the pastoral so much—is because your whole life is…… work” which is not only sociological reality (comically phrased) but also a mechanism of desire through/in opposition. Where when we are seeking.
This = vibrato of life.





More people to see and hang with before boarding my free Continental return flight—including Henry and Sean and Charles B and Susan and quick interface with Bob and Francie. Too many people I know have cancer on the West Coast, but here despite various grievances and strength joy smartaleck-y-ness, minds are clicking and my apartment with green plants red blossoms simply happy...so. Trip home (I have now just called Rome home!) was easy. My sister Toni and brother-in-law Bob visiting after postponed earlier tour-due-to-volcano, so turning round, unpacking, visiting, showing them Academy (glorious)—visiting ghetto and synagogue museum, if not the best installation, interesting particulars. You realize Jews were everywhere in Europe and isolationist. a kind of fundamental community as it would appear today —self defined, barely tolerated, religious, separate…both self and social.

speaking of which (?), Morton Feldman and Phillip Guston celebration today up at Villa Aurelia. Learned or re-remembered Guston changing his name from Goldstein. Puts in perspective, is this self-loathing…….? what kind of repression? Yet too the intricacy of gene pool. Said not the answer they wanted.
One great lecture this afternoon called "trauma/ideal". Arguing that Guston finding his father hung, released in/through painting this never=to-leave trauma; collapsed on him forever. A way to read light bulb cartoons and his depression, (internally I said to myself: obsession), repression too of course, even as he moves from abstraction to representation to undo repression. The speaker had found his own dad dead (!) and talked about always wanting to put things together to make beautiful, harmonious, but finding he was always tearing same apart. What we know. The status of the given. The answer they wanted.

Today was multiplex: trying to get show up at the st. Spiritus in Sassio down by Vatican. Very slowly eating lunch awaiting projectors, checking said projectors, then back up to academy via Janicula for recording voiceover with Mary, then a leap to Guston conference. once again reminding me of Guston's bravery, to brave the scorn of his colleagues, to do what he had to do—and that these colleagues largely missed the humor and desperation in the work.



Fun in very different sense to see him drawing in Villa Sciarra by the terribly strange, almost kitschy, lion-women fountain. I filmed same place in l6mm this winter, in nearly black and white since rare, once in 25 year, snow drained color out of the scene. The puffy paws become distortions of body in Guston. The snow on the palm trees a true impossible moment, surrealist and morning in mine.
In middle of talks, rain starts up with terrific thunder and then sun as musician played piano piece of Feldman upstairs towards sunset. Very beautiful as light leaped in; one expected a rainbow. The city ahead of us; the clouds increasing.



Later tomorrow back to Guston morning session, then Sassio to check up on install. Return to edit piece for open studios. Then back to Sassio for opening, maybe Guston after. Just writing this makes me tired.

More catchup in days to come. i go to sleep now.

April 27th-catchup NYC-Rome

April 27th, 2010 Manhattan for a while.

Home in New York City with my posse, my pals, my friends who can withstand error and contradiction fast talk irony wit. No longer hitchhiking.
The weather is wonderful, much like Rome and first night reading Charles Bernstein’s interview with Jay Saunders (who works at Greene naftali) in Bomb (an avant ‘art forum’magazine) where Charles challenges the visual out of its complacency. Take that decriers of rhetoric and ideology. It’s all ideology—otherwise known as “context”, what are you aiming to do.

Next day at poetry reading with Rob Fitterman and John Yao at Bowery Poetry Club. If not the most satisfying rhythmically, lots of food for thought and out at dinner after— with poet pals, the reading brought up ideas and challenges. Such a life of mind I love. Out later with Nada to film screening in Brooklyn. Best work documenting radical young (but mentally mature!) group of recent grads, poetish film folk…..? Who were hired by a press to disrupt the press’ own reading and do so with charm wit and playful dexterity. They are into guerilla poetry—to penetrate the ordinary. Lovely, walking home in light rain with a friend.

Next day off to Gisburg to work on foleys—sound track for China film which is still not finished (okay okay). Had fun and returned to brunch with friends when who shows up but the very great Julie Patton and her pal musician Chris Jones . We all sit together catch up and return to Chris’s apt with immense view of Thompkins Square Park —whole city laid out afore you. It felt so retro, the 70s, where one could go with the flow in terms of time and afternoons. Finally —we all left to be back at work!
Have already swum with my group and will again tonight.
More to come; the Biennial, friends, my show at St. Marks Friday night, MoMa and Banksy’s new movie. Yes.

Back at ranch of Academy, before I left, I missed discussing aqueduct weekend which was terrific because we were falling among trees and stone through the Italian steep forested slopes. Or wandering through 2000 year old aqueduct with water proof cement lining the walls (at one point over 5 feet high, many miles long—brings water into la Citta), showing years of calcium buildup---little rubble nubbles of stone. Beautiful and fun. Had lunch at monastry at foot of site.

Later that week Robert Hammond’s talk notable for Nancy Davenport’s comment about the Academy that it is cross “between Ivory Merchant and the Shining”!
Carmela was a bit upset perhaps…? It’s not quite so ghoulish for me but I do feel like a hitchhiker and may still on returning. Appreciating it’s paradisical qualities all the more being in a grittier NY paradise. My home here is quiet quiet and East Village where I live has so little traffic it feels like a Brooklyn outpost. You go towards the center Manhattan island or uptown and it is noisy high paced less liveable. Just where are the rooftops of Rome? Ahhh I miss the vistas and speaking my broken Italian.

After Robert’s talk, Wed was Kiel whose figures for the 2000 year old bridge covering the Tevere were beautiful and whose project however laden with rhetoric and ideology is wonderful. I wanted him to design me a home until I realized his box had no plumbing and he pointed out the northeast is hardest to build for because it is wet! Do I want a cement home? His designs would be interesting in any case.

Then Ann V. whom I missed some of her talk coming in late (mixing up place and time, mea culpa) but it was lively and as in all her lectures quite present: one line sticks with me : Democracy needs dissent.

Then just out of the blue we have a wed that begins with heading down to the Caravaggio exhibit at the Scuderie Quirinale with Jan, a visiting artist and Mary, my inestimable intern. Wonderful cupids, grinning with wings, but otherwise badly lit, crowded and not as many or just as many paintings as Bacon/Caravaggio show earlier in the year at Borghese. I guess I am spoiled. But the day wasn’t over. Late at night an impromptu performance by visiting artist Ivan Ilic of piece by Bach arranged by Brahms, for the left hand. Now that was ecstatic.

Next evening before dinner a practiced performance by choir of voices of Palestrina, then putting my show on after our meal : L’Impero Invertito. A friend of Bruce McLure showed up and loves the install work—frescos and the other pieces, enjoys the complication of ideas, what is more ‘difficult’ and will take me to a cocinema (kitchen cinema) group north of the city when I return. That night ends with visit upstairs to see Lucca Nostris photos.
aspetto con impazienzaare fare quello in avvenire
tutti baci,
Abigail