Pandemonium – between life, death and miracles
31 October 2020
The exhibition was born from the idea of telling the story of the pandemic, in the present and in history, through the creative force of man who reacts to difficulties by creating beauty.
The exhibition is dedicated to the theme of epidemics and, in particular, to the delicate relationship between man and epidemics, tracing a historical framework that highlights the impact on the community and in particular on the protection system implemented over the centuries. The exhibition, which unfolds room after room in the Casaforte, begins with 48 works created by Aosta Valley artisans for the initiative “We, artisans in quarantine” promoted by the MAV. Started as a virtual project during the lockdown, it has now become part of a “real” exhibition: objects and sculptures tell the story of the creative force of Aosta Valley artisans as a tool to react to a difficult period. The exhibition continues with period newspapers and historical documents, from the Archive of the Regional Library and the Aosta Valley Historical Archive, which bear witness to epidemics in history and make us understand the importance of memory. Two rooms, coordinated by the expert Fiorenza Cout, express the reaction of popular culture through the traditional protection systems of ethnobotany and the secrets, magical prayers born from rural spirituality. The exhibition itinerary then turns its gaze elsewhere with the African sculptures from the Willy Fassio collection of Tucano Viaggio that recall the strength of spirituality in numerous African communities and the devastation caused by epidemics constantly present in some places. The exhibition also features sacred art with the sculptures of Madonnas and Saints called to protect communities from the great epidemics of the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries.
The works come from the collection of the MAV – Museo dell’Artigianato Valdostano di Tradizionale, the Brocherel Collection of the Fondazione Torino Musei and the Museo del Tesoro della Cattedrale di Aosta. The story of the pandemic does not stop in the past, but once again highlights our time with the exhibition of works created by 4 contemporary artists who, through different languages, have expressed their quarantine: the photographs of Francesca Alti between nature and man, the installation by Alessandra Maio in search of balance, the installation by Gigi Piana with the disease at its center and finally the cinematic painting video by Manuel Diémoz and Mario Calderaro. The exhibition project also sees the presence of men and women of international fame. The travel reports of the photographers Neos – Giornalisti di viaggio associati – who, with their splendid images, what is happening and has happened in the world exploded by this pandemic. The precious contribution of the pen of Pietro Tarallo and Maddalena Stendardi accompany the images with short stories about the lockdown. This journey, in space and time, ends with the presentation of a cycle of works by the artist Stefano Faravelli. His precious painted panels, accompanied by personal quotes and reflections, drag us into an intimate and personal story between thoughts, emotions and news from the news during the quarantine. Faravelli’s project “a small (visionary) exorcism of a pandemic”, recently published by the publishing house la Nave di Teseo. The exhibition opens and closes with the sculpture of San Rocco, made in 1974 by François Cerise, a well-known craftsman from Gignod who died this year of Coronavirus, for the Buthier chapel, the starting point for the procession to the Chaligne point to protect against the plague of 1630.
By: Nurye Donatoni Nurye MAIN Team: Stefano Parussolo