Fondazione Antonio Ratti

Allan Kaprow

Artists' Research Laboratory (III CSAV)


3–24 July 1997

"Allan Kaprow decided to split the three weeks of the course at the former St. Francis curch into two parts: two weeks of workshop under the ever-watchful guidance of the artist, allowing each student, in the third week, to work alone on his or her own project (to be presented in the end-of-course-exhibition). There were also private tutorials with the visiting professor. The first two weeks of workshop were characterized by unbashed childlike enjoyment, as primary sentiments found their physical expression: partecipants toyed with objects, crashed into each other, were crashed into, even slapped. They knelt before each other in a state of absolute passiveness, trusting, creating minimal experiences, potential containers of every possible encounter with things and people."
(Angela Vettese)

Director
Annie Ratti
Curators
Giacinto di Pietrantonio
Angela Vettese
Coordinator
Anna Daneri

Invited artist

Allan Kaprow (b. 1927, Atlantic City, New Jersey - 2006) was a pioneering American installation and performance artist known for his Happenings and his contributions to the Fluxus movement. In 1947 he studied at Hans Hoffmann’s painting school and under his guidance he begins to develop the expressive and vigorous style of action painting. He also attended from 1956 to 1958 a class in composition taught by the avant-garde composer John Cage at the New School for Social Research in Manhattan. Kaprow was deeply inspired by John Cage and Jackson Pollock, which he recognizes as a fundamental source of inspiration for the Happenings.

Happenings, a form of performance art Kaprow created and theorized about, focused on audience engagement as an integral component of the work. In his own words “A happening is a convergence of events which are being performed in more than one unity of time and place. The materials and surroundings can be constructed, taken over directly from what is attainable or easily altered: similarly the action involved can be either original or commonplace.”

Kaprow set up happenings in major American and European institutions, participating in the most important international events like the Venice Biennale (1993) and Documenta (1977, 1987). In 1974 he joined the faculty of the visual arts department at the University of California, San Diego, where he remained until he retired. Among his many publications are Assemblage, Environments, and Happenings (1966) and Essays on the Blurring of Art and Life (1993).

Participant artists

Elaine Boily
Stefano Bonacci
Marianne Bowdler
Marco Bragaglia
Rossana Buremi
Sonia Campagnola
Valerio Carrubba
Jorn Ebner
Flavio Favelli
Tine Fehr
Nicholas Floch
Nicole Kaestli
Clara Luiselli
Katarzyna Matoga
Pedro Moitinho
Rotua Magdalena Pardede
Awan Parulian
Keith Perelli
Stefano Peressini
Gabriele Picco
Mariuccia Pisani
Irene Prinzivalli
Farid Rahim
Edwin Riley
Romero Agustin Sanchez
Ilka Schulz
Carolina Silva
Stefan Simov
Rachel Stevens
Carmelo Tedeschi
Salla Tykka
Bruno Van Belleghen

Exhibitions

Allan Kaprow

solo exhibition

EXHIBITION
25 July–31 August 1997

Collective Environment

EXHIBITION
25 July–31 August 1997

Publications

Allan Kaprow

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