L'Italo-Americano

SEATTLE ITALIAN COMMUNITY THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2023 www.italoamericano.org 32 L'Italo-Americano I t a l o S c a n g a was a multi-talented artist b e s t k n o w n f o r h i s s c u l p t u r a l a s s e m - blages that included found or everyday objects – s e a s h e l l s , b r a n c h e s , g l a s s bottles, or cast-off musical instruments. Besides sculp- ture, he also worked in print- making, ceramics and glass, a n d t a u g h t a t s e v e r a l a r t schools around the US. Scanga was a close friend and collaborator of interna- tionally renowned glass artist a n d T a c o m a n a t i v e D a l e C h i h u l y . O v e r t h e y e a r s , Dale and Leslie Chihuly col- lected many of his works. On February 18, the Museum o f N o r t h w e s t A r t i n L a Conner, Wash., opens two exhibits dedicated to the life and art of Italo Scanga. Both exhibitions were organized by guest curator Matthew Kangas and include works from the Chihuly collection. P e r m a n e n t I m m i - grant: Italo Scanga in the Dale and Leslie Chihuly C o l l e c t i o n demonstrates how the artist used autobio- graphical themes from his Italian roots – cypress trees, the hills of Calabria, food, religion – as part of his cre- ative process. The accompa- nying exhibit Geppetto's Children: Italo Scanga at Pilchuck Glass School, d i s p l a y s w o r k g e n e r a t e d from Scanga's many summer residencies at the renowned glass school in Stanwood, Wash. Both exhibits will be o n v i e w t h r o u g h M a y 1 4 , 2023. " T h e e x h i b i t i o n s h o n o r Scanga's contributions to the studio glass movement and his role at Pilchuck," said Stefano Catalani, execu- tive director and chief cura- tor, Museum of Northwest A r t . " H i s a r t a d d r e s s e s t h e m e s o f p o v e r t y , f e a r , homelessness, the primacy of food, immigration, and iden- tity. Even two decades after his death, his work still res- onates with so many of us." S c a n g a d i e d o f a h e a r t attack in California in 2001 at the age of 69. An immi- grant who arrived in the US some 55 years earlier, by the t i m e o f h i s d e a t h h e h a d become widely known in the art world. During his life- t i m e , h e h a d o n e - p e r s o n shows at New York's Whit- ney Museum of American A r t , L o s A n g e l e s C o u n t y Museum of Art, the Muse- um of Fine Art in Boston, a n d t h e M u s e o R u f i n o Tamayo in Mexico City. The M e t r o p o l i t a n M u s e u m o f A r t a n d t h e M u s e u m o f Modern Art as well as the A r t I n s t i t u t e o f C h i c a g o , among other institutions, include Scanga's art in their collections. His work provides a link to postwar Italian art known as arte povera (poor art), a style that repurposes com- mon materials, such as trin- kets, glass bottles or wood boughs. Visually invigorat- ing, Scanga's themes were sometimes gruesome, illu- m i n a t i n g e p i s o d e s f r o m G r e e k m y t h o l o g y o r t h e deaths of martyred saints. Scanga's formative years w e r e v e r y c h a l l e n g i n g , although his early life mir- rors the journey taken by so m a n y i m m i g r a n t s f r o m southern Italy. He was born in 1932 in the village of Lago di Cosenza, Calabria, the youngest of four children. A few years after his birth, his f a t h e r a n d o l d e r b r o t h e r immigrated to America to work on the railroads; Scan- ga and his mother planned to meet them in 1939. But o n t h e d a y t h e y w e r e t o d e p a r t , A m e r i c a n t r o o p s i n v a d e d I t a l y a n d t h e i r plans were scuttled. Scanga returned with his mother to their village for the duration of the war and t h e y w e r e l e f t t o p i e c e together an existence with meager resources. During this time, he was appren- ticed to a cabinetmaker and learned to carve by working with a local craftsman who fashioned statues of saints out of wood. After the war, Scanga and his mother left for America, joining his father at Pt. Mar- ion, Penn. The family then moved to Michigan where he got a job on the assembly line at General Motors. It was in Detroit that he began his art studies, eventually earning a BA and MA from Michigan State University. In 1959, Scanga came to the attention of Look maga- zine, which hired him to cre- ate a photographic essay on the immigrant experience based on his mother's life. By that time, she had been left a widow. As part of the essay, he accompanied his mother to Calabria where she chose to remain for the rest of her life. Scanga taught art at many top schools, including the University of Wisconsin at Madison, Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia, University of California at San Diego, and the Rhode Island School of Design. One year, while lecturing at RISD, he met D a l e C h i h u l y w h o w a s a graduate student there and w h o l a t e r c o - f o u n d e d t h e Pilchuck Glass School, locat- ed in the foothills of the Cas- c a d e M o u n t a i n s . T h e t w o b e c a m e l i f e l o n g f r i e n d s , drawn by their mutual love of art, antique road trips, a n d a p a s s i o n f o r I t a l i a n food and wine. They shared an aesthetic of spontaneity, found objects, and bright colors. Scanga visited Pilchuck numerous times at Chihuly's invitation, using its wilder- ness environment to inspire his painted wooden figures a n d o t h e r f r e e - s t a n d i n g sculptures. When Chihuly s u g g e s t e d t h a t S c a n g a b e c o m e a n a r t i s t - i n - r e s i - d e n c e e a c h s u m m e r a t Pilchuck, Scanga suggested instead they create an annu- a l p r o g r a m w h e r e a r t i s t s w o r k i n g i n m a n y m e d i a could come, work and learn from their colleagues. P e r m a n e n t I m m i g r a n t puts Scanga's body of art into perspective, exploring his early childhood and how being caught between two cultures influenced his cre- ative vision. Geppetto's Chil- d r e n d r a w s a n a n a l o g y between the woodcarver's s o n , P i n o c c h i o , a n d t h e y o u n g I t a l o f r o m L a g o d i Cosenza who was appren- ticed as a boy to a woodcarv- er. The companion exhibit i n c l u d e s e x a m p l e s o f t h e artist's work along with the work of other artists he nur- t u r e d a n d e n c o u r a g e d , i n c l u d i n g L y n d a B e n g l i s , Donald Lipski, Deborah But- t e r f i e l d , B u s t e r S i m p s o n , Laddie John Dill, and Judy Pfaff. Pilchuck celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. F o r m o r e i n f o r m a t i o n : Museum of Northwest Art, h t t p s : / / w w w . m o n a m u s e - um.org/ ISSNAF President Cinzia Zuffada. Photo: Ambasciata Italiana DC Museum of Northwest Art celebrates sculptor and painter Italo Scanga RITA CIPALLA

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