Carrara is a typical example of a town which economics handbooks define as a “one-company town”, i.e. a town which depends for its living on a single source of production/ industry. In our case, we are talking about the marble from the Apuan Alps and its processing. So, over the centuries Carrara has attracted, and today still attracts, international sculptors, fundamentally for two reasons: here they can find white statuary marble, one of the most precious marbles in the world; and here there are specialised master craftsmen who can offer the artists manpower, expertise and workspaces (we need only recall that it was here that Michelangelo quarried his stone).
In order to give visual expression to the idea of the town as a continuously-evolving hotbed of creativity, the 2023 edition of White Carrara addresses the theme of the transformation of the rough block (STILL LIFE) into the various forms of contemporary sculpture (STILL ALIVE).
To what extent has the concept of sculpture changed with the advent of technology? To what extent have the classical canons been subverted by the use of new materials other than marble, with interventions on the plastic art using video, photographic or robotic supports? Where does the definition of sculpture end and that of installation begin?
We have tried to answer this question with eight sculptors, from the Maestro Giò Pomodoro to contemporary artists who have gained recognition in Italy and internationally, and who through their works demonstrate the heterogeneous nature of the language of sculpture, whether it be in marble or in any other material or medium used for sculpting.
So, the theme is also approached via the image, with an exhibition of six artists/photographers at Palazzo Binelli entitled Visioni Plastiche (Plastic Visions). Each of them has captured the versatility of marble and three-dimensional art via their own personal interpretation, in totally different ways.
Finally visitors can see two short films: the first one, Il Capo (The Chief) by Yuri Ancarani, on permanent show at the mudaC/Carrara Museum of Arts, is a heroic documentary which narrates the rites, powers and traditions of mountain quarrying exclusively through body language; the second one, by Andrea Botto, exploits the language of explosions recalling for the citizens of Carrara historical moments from the recent past, such as the demolition of the council houses in the Caina district, or the use of explosive in the quarries.
The guest sculptors are Sergi Barnils, Mattia Bosco, Stefano Canto, Michelangelo Galliani, MOG–Morgana Orsetta Ghini, Mikayel Ohanjanyan, Giò Pomodoro, Quayola.
The video artists: Yuri Ancarani and Andrea Botto.
The photographers: Bruno Cattani, Giacomo Infantino, Carolina Sandretto, Simon Roberts, Dune Varela.
