L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2018 www.italoamericano.org 22 L'Italo-Americano " This exhibition comes from the desire and the need to talk about profes- sions related to art and creativity, which is what we teach at the European Insti- tute of D es ign," s ays Igor Zanti while describing the exhi- bition Not an Artist - Toyboyz Edition that will remain open to the public at the Institute of Cul- ture in Los A ng eles until November 2nd. Zanti is a critic, curator of independent art and, since 2013, director of IED, the European Institute of Design in Venice. Not an Artist is an interna- tional research project conduct- ed by the IED with the involve- m e n t o f c u r a t o r s , a r t i s t s , designers and cultural institu- tions involved in international events such as the Istanbul and the Venice Biennale. The exhi- bition investigates the artistic phenomenon of toy design as a s y m b o l o f h y b r i d i z a t i o n between different disciplines and focuses specifically on the w o r k o f f o u r a r t i s t s : F i d i a F a l a s c h e t t i , J o e L e d b e t t e r / J . L e d , M a s s i m o G i a c o n a n d Simone Legno / Tokidoki. "We have identified four different personalities, linked by a strong and sometimes exclusive dia- logue with toy culture," empha- sizes Zanti, curator of the exhi- b i t i o n a l o n g w i t h J a c o p o Manganiello, IED's marketing manager. The artists chosen for the exhibition are four. Massimo Giacon, who has taught at the IED in Milano for over twenty years, comes from the world of comics and illustrations, but h e r e p l a y s w i t h t o y c u l t u r e , approaching the world of sculp- t u r e w i t h t h i s s p i r i t . F i d i a Faleschetti is a different kind of artist: starting from New Pop examples, he appears to inte- g r a t e t o y c u l t u r e i n h i s o w n sculptural research, creating what we could define "mega- toys." More related to toy cul- ture are Simone Legno/ Tokido- ki, former student of IED Rome, and J Led. Tokidoki could be a master Murakami's pupil: he transforms toys in a complex world and in different projects, coordinated images, capsule col- lections, interventions of prod- uct des ign, hotel chains and m o r e . J L E d , w i t h h i s r a b b i t sculptures, embodies contempo- rary toy making and research in a more traditional manner. "The artists selected for the exhibition - in a vision that per- haps might seem a bit outdated - are not considered traditional artists and the limit, which is the border between the classical a r t i s t i c d i m e n s i o n a n d m o r e modern creativity (or perhaps it would be more correct to call it p o s t m o d e r n ) i s r e a l l y t h i n , " Manganiello tells us. "IED is a lively, culturally avant-garde reality; giving voice to these types of artistic production and highlighting its aesthetic and cultural potential is, in fact, not only a choice, but also a duty." T h e r e i s n o p r e c i s e d a t e marking the birth of toy culture, a l t h o u g h i t s o r i g i n s c a n b e found in the early 1990s in the Hong Kong area. "And it is pre- c i s e l y i n t h e f o r m e r B r i t i s h enclave, an ideal cultural bridge between East and West, that the new wave of toy culture and toy designers seems to start from." Underlines Zanti, at the begin- ning of our interview. W h a t ' s t h e i n s p i r a t i o n behind toy culture? This type of production find i t s p l a c e h a l f w a y b e t w e e n sculpture, product design and merchandising. It grows and feeds on different creative sub- strata: on one hand we have street art and the visual aesthet- ics of the American West Coast, which has developed between LA and San Francisco since the 1970s and continues to thrive. O n t h e o t h e r , t h e r e i s a n extremely strong relationship with the universe of manga, the experience of otaku - young p e o p l e o b s e s s e d b y m a n g a , anime and technology - and sev- eral oriental subcultures which developed between Korea and Japan, and brought to the fore artists such as Takashi Muraka- mi and Kai Kai Kiki, Yoshitomo Nara, MR and, albeit not direct- ly, Kusama. How would you describe this art? This phenomenon is the out- come of a very profound cultur- al hybridization, where elements of what might be called high culture come together with more traditional examples, belonging to what's often unceremoniously called "subcultures." The toy itself as an object assumes value as a collecting memorabilia and, consequently, becomes a fetish. Semantically, it seems to bring together different inspirations and origins: both urban vinyl and resin toys on one side, nd d e s i g n e r p l u s h o n t h e o t h e r have, in fact, a common root w i t h c h i l d r e n t o y s , b u t t h e y clearly hybridize with product design, graphic design and fash- ion design. How did the idea of devel- oping the Not an Artist exhibi- tion come about? We wanted to highlight ele- ments of cultural and aesthetic hybridization between creative languages that, in a more tradi- tional vision, are not considered purely artistic. What are the more evident peculiarities of toy culture? As it happens for all creative phenomena, it is difficult to pin- point the exact moment toy cul- ture came into being. Certainly, it is profoundly influenced by eastern culture, but it immediate- l y m i n g l e s w i t h e x p e r i e n c e s coming from the macro-area of street culture, lowbrow, illustra- tion and graphics. T h e e x h i b i t i o n w i l l a l s o highlight business models and connections with design com- panies such as ALESSI, IKEA, K A R T E L L a n d r e l a t i o n s between Italy and the United States. In what ways? The toy, in many cases, tran- scends traditional production and craftsmanship to be mass produced and distributed on a larger scale. In this sense, the role played by these companies is f u n d a me n ta l b e c a u s e th e y allow this type of artistic pro- duction to become popular. In another way, it is interesting to note how huge companies like Ikea, Kartell, Alessi have real- ized how aesthetic research in the field of toy culture is inter- esting for consumers who may not even be specifically into the world of contemporary art. It is a way to have new consumers, especially the younger, like their product. What is the vision of Ameri- cans regarding this form of Italian design? I b e l i e v e t h a t t h i s w a y o f doing art and design by Italians is a bit unexpected. The world knows we are creative people, but our artistic production is more linked to a classical dimen- sion, even in contemporary art. W h a t i s t h e g o a l o f t h i s exhibition, in particular in Los Angeles? It's interesting to show the A m e r i c a n p u b l i c h o w a c t i v e Italy is in the field of contempo- rary artistic research and produc- t i o n , i n p a r t i c u l a r l y w h e n i t c o m e s t o i n f l u e n c e s c o m i n g from other countries. Italy man- ages to happily blend them with the Made in Italy dimension and to all that it represents. In this sense, it's very important that the exhibition is hosted at the Italian Institute of Culture. SILVIA GIUDICI Massimo Giacon, uno degli artisti rappresentati alla mostra Not an Artist a Los Angeles Not an Artist: Toyboyz Edition arrives in Los Angeles LOS ANGELES ITALIAN COMMUNITY

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