L'Italo-Americano

www.italoamericano.org 10 THURSDAY, JUNE 15 2017 L'Italo-Americano W i l l i a m P a p a l e o i s a p r o m i n e n t p a i n t e r w h o s e d r a m a t i c depictions are full of controlled and potent emotion. The New York-born artist, a third genera- tion American, captures the tex- ture, colors and toil of Southern Italy, which has absorbed layers of history and sunlight for cen- turies. S o n o f n o t e d I t a l i a n - American writer Joseph Papaleo, Bill has lived in Italy for more than 20 years, currently in Vietri sul Mare, beautiful town at the e a s t e r n l i m i t o f t h e c o s t i e r a a m a l f i t a n a . I n A m e r i c a h e divides his time between New York and Cape Cod. A transnational artist in har- mony with the philosophy of Robert Henri, a leading figure of the Aschan School of American realism, Bill is inspired by "all art, poetry, music, dance and writing that attempts to get to the e s s e n c e o f w h a t w e a r e , " h e says. His fascinating solo show " B r e a k i n g W a l l s : A n Emigrant/Immigrant Journey through Southern Italy" is on view through August 31 at the J o h n D . C a l a n d r a I t a l i a n American Institute, New York. The figurative painter mixes and mingles narratives of identi- ty, belonging and displacement in exquisite oil paintings and ceramic pieces. "I call myself an "Amero- Italian", a hybrid in the modern immigrant sense," he says. You were captivated by Italy as a New York kid. "In 1968, my father wrote a b e s t s e l l i n g n o v e l , " A l l t h e C o m f o r t s " a n d w e h a d t h e opportunity to come to Italy while he wrote another novel. We stayed a year in Naples and visited the Amalfi Coast and other parts of Italy that left last- ing impressions -- all Italian art I saw and the paradoxes of the city of Naples fascinated me." Did your father influence your choice to move to Italy? The book he wrote while we were here called "Out of Place" is about an Italian-American man who steals his children from school in the States and takes them to Italy because he c a n ' t s t a n d t h e n e g a t i v e American influence. The book explores how Italy influences the children and the Italian- American family. In a sense I MARIELLA RADAELLI William Papaleo: Blood bond with southern Italy am life imitating art. A n a n e c d o t e o n y o u r father? How did he communi- cate your Italian roots? Our life dealt with that in many anecdotes and all his short stories, poems and novels. We had a lifelong dialogue about it through art and painting. He definitely communicated a lot through endless Italian dinner parties with dear friends, artists, writers and workers that would w a l k t h r o u g h t h e d o o r . H e would listen to everyone and create conversations with people from all walks of life. Through Italian food we would always come to stories of Italy. My father was born in New York but my grandmother was born in Salerno. My father's grandmoth- er was born in Calabria: She w a s v e r y d a r k s k i n n e d a n d spoke in rhyme. The Italian- American family was embar- rassed by her but she may have inspired him. He wrote a short story called "Nonna" that was translated into Italian and pub- lished in "Italian Stories", which won the American Book Award in 2002. Was he proud? H e w a s v e r y p l e a s e d a n d proud when I first went to Italy on my own. Our relationship got much closer. He had wanted to be a painter before he became a writer so he felt like I had devel- oped, completed a part of him- self as well. The nature of immigration is fluid and complex. Yes, and transformative and t r a n s n a t i o n a l . Y o u h a v e t o understand who you are before you can understand what you want to express. Accept the lim- its of the self before you can enter the universal self. You try to understand the new immigration experience in a changing Italy by estab- lishing a personal relationship with the immigrants you por- tray. I feel I have to earn the right to paint someone, especially cre- ate trust with an immigrant that has suffered the trauma of being forced to leave their home. A s p r o f e s s o r F r e d G a r d a p h e n o t e s , y o u r "American" paintings vary a great deal from your Italian s u b j e c t s b o t h i n c o l o r a n d composition. There is truth in that observa- tion. It is also true I am evolv- ing, so my painting style has changed as well. When I return to the US I often have sensa- tions from childhood but I see the country very differently. When you travel between Italy and the US, it is a central experience alongside displace- ment. Is travelling, itself a kind of emplacement, one that co-exists with the notion and experience of displacement? Yes, in a sense I finally feel at home in both places, yet as I have become more aware cultur- ally, politically and psychologi- cally I realize how every culture can be limited by its inability to perceive its own cultural blind- ness. It is a modern reality that many feel like strangers in a strange land. In your father's generation, the formation of Italian identi- ty in America was unequivo- cally linked to the motherland. H o w d o I t a l i a n - A m e r i c a n s view the old land today? It is changing fortunately. There is still respect for Italy's heritage but there is also more awareness that Italy has evolved too. Naples was a seminal expe- rience to you. Naples for me was my bap- tism of fire in Italy. It doesn't let you remain objective -- you b e c o m e p a r t o f i t . I a l w a y s return to Naples and my son lives there. William Papaleo, son of noted Italian-American writer Joseph Papaleo, is inspired by "all art, poetry, music, dance and writing that attempt to get to the essence of what we are" LIFE PEOPLE MOVIES MUSIC BOOKS Workers above Naples- oil on linen 60inches x 48inches-(2012). Courtesy of William Papaleo

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