 | Arte Ambientale, Urban Space, and Participatory Art Subjects: Arts; Humanities; Politics & International Relations; Urban Studies; Urban Studies; Art & Visual Culture; History; European Politics; Contemporary Art; History of Art; Modern Art; European History; Contemporary History 1945-; Urban History; Italian Politics; Working in 1970s Italy, a group of artists--namely Ugo La Pietra, Maurizio Nannucci, Francesco Somaini, Mauro Staccioli, Franco Summa, and Franco Vaccari--sought new spaces to create and exhibit art. Looking beyond the gallery, they generated sculptural, conceptual, and participatory interventions, called Arte Ambientale (Environmental Art), situated in the city streets. Their experiments emerged at a time of cultural crisis, when fierce domestic terrorism aggravated an already fragile political situation. To confront the malaise, these artists embraced a position of artistic autonomy and social critique, democratically connecting the city's inhabitants through direct art practices.
Martina Tanga is an independent art historian and curator. |
