L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JUNE 30, 2022 www.italoamericano.org 30 L'Italo-Americano T h r e e I t a l i a n - American female a r t i s t s c a m e t o g e t h e r f o r a n outstanding exhi- b i t i o n t h a t o p e n e d a t the Museo Italo Ameri- cano this past March. R h a p s o d y , c u r a t e d b y B i a n c a F r i u n d i , t h e Curator and Communications Director of the Museo, is a journey across different arts, highlighting the strong influ- ence of the artists' Italian her- itage. An explosion of colors, movements, and talent that will let everyone navigate the past, the present, and the future in a unique way. Kara Maria is a visual artist working in painting and m i x e d m e d i a . H e r m o s t recent work turns the lights on the Earth's biodiversity crisis and the place of animals in our unstable environment. Kara's work is included in the permanent collections of the Berkeley Art Museum and P a c i f i c F i l m A r c h i v e ; t h e C r o c k e r A r t M u s e u m i n Sacramento; the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (Achenbach Foundation); the San Jose Museum of Art; and the Cantor Center at Stanford University, among others. Can you tell us about your art? It comes from the broad vocabulary of contemporary painting, blending geometric shapes, vivid hues, brush marks, and stains with some focus on social and environ- m e n t a l c o n c e r n s s e e n through flashes of representa- tional elements. I included images of cell phone towers; surveillance cameras; frag- ments of women's bodies; the wreckage left behind after disasters; military aircraft and birds in flight. Other ref- erence materials for my work include comic books, Japan- ese woodblock prints, and camouflage patterns. I am aesthetically influenced by the popular culture of the 1970s – especially the toys I grew up playing with like Lite Brite, Colorforms, and Spiro- graph. How did you incorpo- rate the Italian connec- tion into the exhibit? I was asked to consider the influence of Italian American heritage on my artwork. My mother's grandparents immi- grated to the United States from Italy in the early 20th century. Arzignano in the Veneto region and Ancona in the Marche region are their hometowns. I never met my great grandparents, however I did grow up with lots of interaction with my grand- parents. They gave me some e a r l y i d e a s a b o u t w h a t i t meant to be Italian American, and so did my mother. This usually involved both large quantities of food and attend- ing Catholic Mass on Sun- days. M y g r a n d p a r e n t s b o t h spoke Italian but did not pass the language down to their children. What's your memory of your first time in Italy? I visited Italy for the first time in 1990. I was 21 years old and I was traveling in Europe after participating in a study abroad program in Paris. I went to Rome to visit some of my grandfather's cousins. At the time, I was just developing an interest in visual art. The magnificent museums I visited during my time in Europe inspired me to take my first painting class upon my return to the US. Since then, I have visited Italy multiple times—often to view the Venice Biennale. What's your plan for the future? I hope my artwork com- municates a sense of humor and playfulness as well as an engagement with the world we live in today. Although many issues are referenced, the work itself remains non- linear, seeking to raise ques- t i o n s r a t h e r t h a n t o g i v e answers. N o l a P a r d i P r o l l expresses the love of stone and nature's found objects in her imaginative multi-faceted sculpture. Born in San Fran- cisco's North Beach to Italian American parents, she comes from a family of master wood carvers. Nola studied dance with Walton Biggerstaff and then launched a solo dance career performing throughout the United States, Europe, and the Far East. Her interest in African culture was reflect- ed in her dance choreography and in her self-taught wood carving. She became a profes- sional puppeteer in the Bay Area and enrolled in the Mar- b l e A r t s W o r k s h o p i n Pietrasanta, Italy. She has since sculpted in marble at her studio in Danville. She returns to Pietrasanta annu- ally to carve and relish the immersion in the ambiance of marble art. What makes your work unique? M y s c u l p t u r e h a s b e e n motivated by a lifelong love of nature, stones, rocks, shells, driftwood, and the sea. My dance background and my interest in African, Etruscan, and Near Eastern art have influenced my approach to stone. As I sculpt, the marble lends itself to a form I have been sketching or molding or I a m v i s u a l i z i n g a t t h a t moment. What did you learn in Italy that influenced your work the most? An artigiano in Italy told me that a chisel is similar to a brush in painting a picture. Sometimes a piece of marble chips off and the sculpture seems to take on a personality of its own. Some marble sings as you strike it with the ham- mer, and this binds you to the stone, too. I feel that each sculpture is a metamorphic expression that develops even f u r t h e r i n t h e e y e o f t h e beholder. Can you describe how the connection with Italy emerges? My Italian heritage possi- bly emerges in my love of Classical and Latin music, dance and puppetry, and also sculpture, and Etruscan cul- ture after visiting studios in Pietrasanta. I've always loved stones and rocks and I am fascinated by how marble, when polished, reveals special veins and colors. I still have several blocks of marble from Italy to carve. Serena Bocchino's stu- dio has focused on a painterly interpretation of music and movement for the past 30 years. Considered a contem- p o r a r y a r t i s t , s h e b e g a n exhibiting her work in 1986 in the East Village, New York. She was chosen by Susan Rothenberg to participate in t h e 4 X 4 , A r t i s t s C h o o s e Artists exhibition at the East V i l l a g e g a l l e r y , J u s d e Pomme. The success of that exhibition led her work to be included in many others. What's at the core of your work? These paintings incorpo- rate many aspects of both music and dance. The works e x p l o r e m u s i c ' s l y r i c i s m , melody, and rhythm through s o f t a n d l o u d a b s t r a c t imagery, as well as represen- tational movements analo- gous to dance. Choosing to exhibit selected works that span twenty years of my art e n a b l e s t h e a u d i e n c e t o accompany me on a creative journey over a specific period and experienced through my eyes. What's your relation- s h i p w i t h y o u r f a m i l y heritage? Including a heritage wall with my mother and grand- m o t h e r ' s w o r k w a s q u i t e organic, and came after many conversations that I had with Bianca. L a s t y e a r m y b o o k HEROES: Women Artists Who Influence and Inspire was published and the idea of the "heroes" in my life was at the forefront of my mind. Growing up with two artists, it seemed natural to mention that to Bianca, who in turn thought it would be both aes- thetic and informative to have t h e " I t a l i a n R o o t s " w a l l i n c l u d e d . I t w a s b o t h a n honor and an inspiration. How did they influence your work? Living in a home with two very talented women influ- e n c e d m e a n d l e d m e t o express my ideas through a c r e a t i v e m e t h o d . I l o v e d watching them and learning how they created their work and it excited me to do that at a very young age. I found great joy and peace in making things. I'd duplicate what I saw in my everyday life and would translate it into what I wanted to say with my eyes and hands. As I became older, I w o u l d s p e n d m o r e a n d more time making things, even taking formal pastel and oil painting lessons outside the home. Rhapsody will be on dis- play until August 28th, 2022 at the Museo Italo Ameri- c a n o a t F o r t M a s o n , S a n Francisco. Rhapsody, a striking exhibition revealing the journey of three Italian-American female artists SERENA PERFETTO Kara Maria, one of the three Italian-American artists protagonist of the Rhapsody Exhibition. Photo courtesy Museo Italo Americano San Francisco SAN FRANCISCO ITALIAN COMMUNITY

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