Istituto Italiano di Cultura di Toronto

ISTITUTO ITALIANO DI CULTURA
NEWSLETTER
496 Huron Street, Toronto
 416.921.3802 ext. 221
 iictoronto@esteri.it
Aurelio Amendola will be in attendance
Opening remarks: Lloyd DeWitt, Curator
of European Art, Art Gallery of Ontario
The exhibit runs through Monday, January
12, 2015.
Gallery hours:
Monday - Friday: 10:00am1:00pm; 2:30pm-5:00pm
(and by appointment)
The 37 black-and-white photographs of
Aurelio Amendola capture in unexpected
ways the sensuality and tragic force
emanating from the statues carved by
Michelangelo. His lens seems to coincide
and overlap with the sculptor’s eye at the
moment of observing the different angles of
the marble surface. From the Dying Slave
of the Louvre, to the statues of Sagrestia
Nuova of San Lorenzo, to the Pietà
Rondanini of Milano, to the Crouching
Boy of St. Petersburg, Amendola offers a
sophisticated and unexpectedly new vision
of Michelangelo’s works, by being able to
capture every little sign left by the artist in
creating his work.
Bio
PHOTOGRAPHY
In concurrence with the exhibition
Michelangelo: Quest for Genius, which
features 30 drawings from Casa Buonarroti
in Florence, held at the Art Gallery of
Ontario (October 18 – January 11), the
Istituto Italiano di Cultura is proud to
present the photographic exhibition
MICHELANGELO’S SCULPTURES
THROUGH THE LENS OF AURELIO
AMENDOLA
Opening reception:
Wednesday, October 1 - 6:30pm - 8:30pm
Istituto Italiano di Cultura
Free admission
Infoline: 416-921-3802 ext. 221
Over his long career as art photographer,
Pistoia native Aurelio Amendola has
developed a special sensibility for the world
of sculpture, by documenting the works of
Jacopo Della Quercia, Michelangelo
and
Donatello, and by illustrating
single works and monuments such as the
Pistoiese pulpit of Giovanni Pisano,
the Robbiano Frieze at the Ospedale
del Ceppo, also in Pistoia, Santa Maria
della Spina and the Battistero in Pisa,
St. Peter’s in the Vatican. This last work,
the first of a series dedicated to the great
themes of Italian art visited according to the
photographer’s personal outlook, presents a
completely new iconography, calibrated on
the “taglio”: by taking advantage of a rare
occasion of a contact without restraint with
Bernini monuments, Amendola is able to
OCTOBER 2014
capture the most unexpected and detailed
point of view. This becomes his artistic
style in many of his subsequent works. In
1994 his book Un occhio su Michelangelo
– dedicated to the Medici Chapel in San
Lorenzo, Florence – won the “Premio
Oscar Goldoni”. In 1995 an exhibition
on this same theme was organized in
Milan at the Palazzo Reale by the City’s
Administration. In 1997 he was awarded
the “Cino da Pistoia”, a prestigious career
prize. In 2014, 23 of his large-format
photographs of Michelangelo’s sculptures
have been exhibited at the Medici Chapels
in Florence to commemorate 450 years of
the great Renaissance artist’s death. On
the occasion the publishing house UTET
Grandi Opere-FMR published the precious
limited-edition volume Michelangelo, la
dotta mano, featuring 83 photographs
by Aurelio Amendola. Contemporary art
represents the opposite pole of great interest
for Amendola, who through the years
has been able to collect a true gallery of
portraits, comprising the most renowned
masters of the twentieth century like
De Chirico, Lichtenstein, Pomodoro,
Schifano, Kosuth, Warhol, to name but a
few. This collection, which is daily refreshed
with unaltered passion, updating the names
and the most cutting-edge artistic trends,
acquires special cultural and human value
thanks to the long friendships between the
photographer and the artists.
To Amendola’s work we owe the many
monographs dedicated to the most famous
contemporary sculptors and painters,
including Mario Marini, Burri, Manzù,
Fabbri, Ceroli, Vangi and Kounellis. At
the Fondazione Pomodoro there are some
of the most symbolic portrait pictures
of the Maestro from Pistoia on view.
In 2007 he was the first artist to have an
exhibition at the Hermitage Museum in
St. Petersburg. In May 2014 the Triennale
of Milano dedicated him a retrospective In
atelier – Aurelio Amendola: fotografie
1970 –2014.
The Istituto Italiano di Cultura is pleased to
support the photographic exhibition
12-year-old son tries to come to terms with
his father’s traumatising violent outbursts
in games with other children. He tries to
teach Marie, who is of his age and suffers
from her own relationship with her father,
to feel nothing. In fact, both of them are
transformed by their experience of the joys
and pains of first love. A film about the first
steps towards a life of one’s own.
FOUNTAINS OF SPOLETO; BEAUTY
OF UMBRIA
MUSIC
PHOTOGHAPHY
Photographs by Karen Perlmutter
– Wayne Shorter wrote: “Andrea Marcelli’s
music is vibrant and thought-provoking as
today’s events. Andrea is such a chameleon.
When I first heard his music, it struck me
that he played drums, clarinet, percussion,
keyboards and composed in a variety of
styles that defied classification, moreover,
his display of sensitivity and creative
approach to the work produced.”
Organized by the Joseph D. Carrier Art
Gallery.
Through October 6.
Lower Gallery - Joseph D. Carrier Art
Gallery Inc.
Columbus Centre
901 Lawrence Avenue W., Toronto
Inquiries: 416-789-7011 (245)
Gallery Hours: Mon - Fri: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
CINEMA
In the anticipation of the 14th Annual Italian
Language Week in the World, the Istituto
Italiano di Cultura and the Consulate
General of Switzerland in Montreal, present
the screening of
GIOCHI D’ESTATE
by Rolando Colla
Wednesday, October 8 - 6:30pm
Istituto Italiano di Cultura
Free admission
Infoline: 416.921.3802 ext. 221
To RSVP http://bit.ly/1u2xuNI
by Monday October 6
Giochi d’estate/Summer Games
(Italy - Switzerland - 2011 - 101 min.)
Directed by Rolando Colla
Language: Italian with English subtitles
Cast: Armando Condolucci, Fiorella
Campanella, Francesco Huang
Genre: Comedy
Synopsis:
The story of an adult and a teenage couple
during a brief summer holiday by the sea.
While Nic’s parents remain trapped in
a precarious mutual dependency despite
repeated attempts at reconciliation, their
Major Jazz Label VERVE/PolyGram. Two
of Andrea’s compositions are included in
“The European Real Book” and “The
Digital Real Book part two” by www.
shermusic.com. More than 190 of his
compositions have been recorded in CDs.
He performed live and/or recorded with
Wayne Shorter, David Liebman, Don
Menza, Bob Mintzer, Markus Stockhausen,
Mike Stern, Allan Holdsworth, Eddie
Gomez, Eberhard Weber, Rick Margitza,
Frank Gambale, a.o.
ANDREA MARCELLI in CONCERT
Live in Hamilton, Toronto and Waterloo
– John Kelman (www.allaboutjazz.com)...
Marcelli’s compositions transcend simple
melody, transporting the listener to places
known and unknown, eliciting hidden
emotions...
Program:
Oct. 9th - (2-4pm)
Mowhak College, Hamilton
Workshop
Darcy Hepner - sax; Kim Ratcliffe
- guitar; Roberto Occhipinti - bass;
Andrea Marcelli - drums
Oct. 10th - (3.15 - 4.30pm)
University of Toronto
Drums - Masterclass
Oct. 10th - (8.30pm)
The Jazz Room in Waterloo
Quartet with Kirk MacDonald sax, Roberto Occhipinti - b, Brian
Dickinson - p, Andrea Marcelli - dr
Oct.11th - (9.45pm)
The Rex, Toronto
Quartet with Kirk MacDonald
- sax, Dave Restivo - p, Roberto
Occhipinti - b, Andrea Marcelli - dr
Andrea Marcelli
Drummer/composer born in Rome. He
moved to USA in 1989 spending 8 years
in Los Angeles and 4 in New York. He is,
since 2001, resident in Berlin, Germany.
During his career he performed succesfully
in 5 Continents. and recorded dozens of
CDS and two acclaimed CDs for legendary
MUSIC
The Istituto Italiano di Cultura is happy to
promote the concert
THE CANALS OF VENICE
Tafelmusik, with Italian violinist Davide
Monti and the singing gondolier Alessandro
Bressanello
October 9, 10, 11 at 8pm
20% off
Regular and
October12 at 3:30pm
Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre, Senior Tickets!
Use the code BCC20
Jeanne Lamon Hall
online, in person, or by
October 14 at 8pm
George Weston
Recital Hall
telephone (discount
excludes Sunday Oct 12
performance, and cannot
be combined with 35 &
Under ticket prices).
A singing gondolier, played by Italian
commedia dell’arte actor Alessandro
Bressanello, leads this journey through
the Italian baroque, featuring concertos by
Albinoni, Marcello - and, of course, Vivaldi.
Directed by Italian violinist Davide Monti.
feature computer animations that bring to
life some of Michelangelo’s most ambitious
and ultimately unfinished designs.
For more info. http://bit.ly/1qzi39K
Talks
Michelangelo Drawings: The Artist Revealed
Wednesday, October 15: 7 – 8:30 pm
Baillie Court, Art Gallery of Ontario
Members $13 | Public $15 | Students $10
ART
The Art Gallery of Ontario, in collaboration
with Casa Buonarroti, Florence, presents
MICHELANGELO:
QUEST FOR GENIUS
An exhibit of 30 drawings by Michelangelo’s
hand.
October 18, 2014 - January 11, 2015
Art Gallery of Ontario
317 Dundas Street West Toronto
For tickets http://bit.ly/Yevw0g
20% OFF WHEN YOU USE CODE ICI
Infoline 1-877-225-4246 or 416-979-6648
These drawings are among the best of the
esteemed Casa Buonarroti’s collection and
represent the range of Michelangelo’s work.
Dating from before and after the completion
of the Sistine Chapel, the works on
display include preliminary drawings
–both architectural and figural sketches– as
well as presentation drawings. Organized
thematically, the exhibition takes a critical
look at the notion of the genius at work,
locating the creative search at the axis
of ambition, exploration, frustration,
defiance and unrealized dreams. Drawings
will be grouped according to these
issues. Developed by Lloyd DeWitt,
curator of European Art at the AGO,
and David Wistow, interpretive planner,
Michelangelo: Quest for Genius will
Hugo Chapman is Curator of Italian
drawings at The British Museum and the
author of Michelangelo Drawings: Closer
to the Master. He will explore what we
learn about Michelangelo from looking at
his drawings.
This talk is generously supported by the
Master Print and Drawing Society of
Ontario. http://bit.ly/1usJs4S
Creativity and Failure after Michelangelo
Wednesday, October 22: 7 – 8:30 pm
Jackman Hall, Art Gallery of Ontario
Member $15 | Public $17 | Students $12
For tickets http://bit.ly/1v50ODB
Inspired by the exhibition Michelangelo:
Quest for Genius, artists, architects, writers
and other creative thinkers consider the
value of failure to the creative process.
This talk is presented in collaboration
with the Toronto Society of Architects
http://bit.ly/1uKbdCi
CINEMA
On the occasion of the publication of the book
World Film Locations: Florence (Intellect
Books), the Istituto Italiano di Cultura
presents
READING
THE
CINEMATIC
CITY: WORLD FILM LOCATIONS
FLORENCE AND TORONTO
A panel with editor Alberto Zambenedetti
and contributor Luca Somigli, Fiona Luck
and Kevin Harrison, contributor and
photographer to the World Film Locations:
Toronto.
Wed., October 22: 6:30pm – 8:30pm
Istituto Italiano di Cultura
Free admission
Infoline: 416.921.3802 ext. 221
The panel will discuss the symbiotic
relationship between the rise of filmmaking
as an artistic and social practice and
urbanization on a global scale, with
particular emphasis on Florence and
Toronto. These cities are the subject of two
new volumes in the World Film Locations
series published in the United Kingdom by
Intellect Books and distributed worldwide.
Written by leading scholars in the field of
location studies, the series also includes
books devoted to Venice and Rome. Each
volume discusses how a specific urban
fabric is used on film, how its representation
changes in the hands of different directors,
how genres influence its depiction, and how
time changes both the cinematographic
medium and its privileged set, the city.
Panelists
Alberto Zambenedetti is a Visiting
Assistant Professor of Cinema Studies and
Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow at Oberlin
College. His scholarship has appeared in
various publications, such as Short Film
Studies, Journal of Adaptation in Film
& Performance, Annali d’Italianistica,
and Studies in European Cinema. He
is the editor of World Film Locations
Florence and has also contributed to the
Venice and Rome installments in the series.
Alberto regularly writes reviews and festival
coverage for the online film magazine Gli
Spietati.
Luca Somigli is an Associate Professor
of Italian Studies at the University of
Toronto. His research focuses on European
modernism and on Italian genre fiction.
A life-long reader of comics, he is also the
co-author of Il cinema dei fumetti. Dalle
origini a Superman Returns (2006), a
history of film adaptations of comics.
Proud member of the
Bloor Street Culture Corridor
Fiona Luck is an eclectic mix of spirit, blood
and character. Born in Glasgow and raised
partly in the Scottish highlands and partly
in suburban Canada, her Scottish, English,
Chinese and Guyanese family made her a
natural at living in multicultural Toronto.
Luck has taught English, history, and a
range of courses in the arts, humanities,
and social sciences. Living in the Distillery
District gave her a front seat to many film
productions and a keen interest in finding
Toronto in the movies.
Kevin Harrison is a photographer and
multi-media designer. He has studied and
practiced in a range of areas from film
production to direction and his passion
lies in capturing moments in time in a
constantly changing world. His work seeks
to find beauty in the mundane, importance
in the ordinary, and the humor in all
things. Kevin has been photographing his
native city for more than 15 years. World
Film Locations Toronto brings together his
interests in photography and the city.
Copies of World Film Locations on
Florence, Rome, Toronto and Venice will
be available for purchase.
HISTORY
On the occasione of the 14th Week of the
Italian Language in the World, dedicated to
the New Europe, the Department of Italian
Studies – University of Toronto and the
Istituto Italiano di Cultura-Toronto present
an International Conference
EUROPE FROM THE OLD TO THE
NEW: FROM THE AGE OF PRINT TO
THE DIGITAL ERA
October 23-24
University of Toronto - address TBA
The conference focuses on the accelerated
cultural transformations taking place
in Italy within the European context.
The topic relates to at least two fields of
analysis and interpretation. On the one
hand the historical aspect of the cultural
changes must be taken into account, and
on the other there is the need to face the
pedagogical challenge inherent to the
printed book losing its supremacy in the
classroom, as conduit and symbol, medium
and message, of world culture.
The Italian scholars attending the
conference are: Renzo Bragantini
(Università di Roma La Sapienza), Corrado
Calenda (Università di Napoli – Federico
II), Rita Librandi (Università di Napoli –
Orientale), Andrea Mazzucchi (Università
di Napoli – Federico II), Matteo Palumbo
(Università di Napoli – Federico II).
ARCHITECTURE
The Istituto Italiano di Cultura, in
collaboration with OCADU and the media
support of Azure Magazine, presents
TOBIA SCARPA MEETS
ANDREA PALLADIO
On the recent restoration and enlargement
of the Galleria dell’Accademia di Venezia.
Wed., October 29 - 6:30pm – 8:00pm
Istituto Italiano di Cultura
Free admission
Infoline: 414.921.3802 ext. 221
Tobia Scarpa works in the field of
architecture, design and restoration. In
1969 he graduated in architecture from the
University of Venice and just a year later
the sequence of museums that includes
François Pinault’s Punta della Dogana, the
Fondazione Vedova, and the Guggenheim
Museum.
OCAD University, in collaboration with the
Istituto Italiano di Cultura, presents
TOBIA SCARPA: A LIFE IN
ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN
The celebrated Italian architect and
designer, on his first visit to Toronto, will
offer an overview of his long career.
won the “Compasso d’oro” prize for the
“Soriana” easy chair. He has received many
other awards for his work as a designer,
including the “IF Industrie Forum
Design Hannover” in 1992. In addition
some of the objects he has designed are
exhibited in the most important museums
worldwide, beginning with the “Libertà”
chair at the Louvre in Paris. With regards
to architecture, he works with public and
private clients: for the Benetton Group
he designed their entire complex in the
industrial area of Castrette di Villorba
(Treviso), still considered a true aestheticfunctional paradigm and an exemplary
work of industrial architecture. Since 2002
Scarpa has been teaching in the Art and
Design Faculty of the Istituto Universitario
di Architettura (IUAV) in Venice. In
October 2004 the Istituto Italiano di
Cultura hosted a one-man exhibition of his
work in the fields of architecture and design
in Chicago and in 2005 in Los Angeles. In
2008 he received the “Compasso d’oro’ for
his career. Scarpa has recently completed
the renovation and extension of the
Galleria dell’Accademia in Venice, which
is now part of the city’s “Museum Mile”,
Public Lecture
Thu., October 30 – 7:00pm – 8:00pm
OCAD U – Auditorium Room 190
100 McCaul Street, Toronto
Free admission
RSVP at www.ocadu.ca/scarparsvp
For more information: www.ocadu.ca
416.977.6000 (423)
ART
FADO Performance Art Centre presents
I WAS THERE
A live art project by Italian artist Francesca
Fini, in the context of the tenth 7a*11d
International Festival of Performance
Art, which takes place from October 29 November 2, 2014.
This event is sponsored by the Istituto
Italiano di Cultura in Toronto.
Friday October 31, 2014 - 8:00pm
Artscape Youngplace
180 Shaw Street, Toronto
Admission: $10
www.performanceart.ca
“I was there is a live art project where the
traditional languages of documentary and
“mockumentary” are subverted and updated
while blending with the surrealism of live
media performance. In the performance I
approach the past of western civilization and the one of my own family - by digitally
and lively inserting myself into historical
pictures and movies. I sabotage the past in
a metaphysical scenario that integrates live
media, video projections and chroma key
technology, and I end up by loosing myself
while becoming “part of the picture”. It’s an
impossible encounter with the past of my
culture and of my family in which space
and time collapse into the ideal dimension
of performance art. I was there, because I’m
here now. I was there, even before being an
idea in my mother’s head.” (Francesca Fini)
Francesca Fini is an interdisciplinary
artist living and working in Rome, Italy.
Her live works often address social and
political issues, and are a mixture of lo-fi
technology, homemade interaction design
devices, and live audio and video. Primarily
interested in video and live art, she also
creates artworks assembling performance
art ‘relics’.
In the artist’s own words:
“I am basically a performer. The action
of a body, generally mine, in space and
time is essential in my work. My videos
and my tangible works are the chapters
of a never-ending story of which I am the
protagonist. I believe that all art should be
“gesamtkunstwerk”. My body, the ship on
which I make this long exploration, has
always been a battlefield. Former anorexic,
eternal feminist, still and always a lone wolf
in search of the moon between the branches
of the trees.”

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