September 24th, 2015 – The relationship between cinema and contemporary art takes the stage at the Italian Cultural Institute of Amsterdam, as part of the series of meetings with Italian artists. These artists are asked to talk about their work in connection with suggestions generated from their favorite films and directors. Protagonist of the third meeting of 2015 (on Tuesday, September 29, at 8:30pm) is Alice Ronchi, who will present a selection of her works, including “Arabesco” (2010), “Camera con vista” (2010) and “Buongiorno Principessa!” (2012), as well as some film sequences considered a source of inspiration and reflection: “Mon Oncle” by Jacques Tati, “Akibiyori – Late Autumn” by Yasujiro Ozu and “Fahrenheit 451” by Francois Truffaut. In “Arabesco” the main character, Olimpia, looks and reproduces the expressions seen in the physiognomic trials by Messerschmidt (book in a reverse). Unaware of the true nature of the camera, she awaits a photograph that never comes. While waiting, on her face is expressed the same physical fatigue as the expression that Olimpia is trying to reinterpret. The protagonist of “Camera con vista” is a net mounted on a scaffold, covering an entire building: the video is shot with a fixed camera rotated ninety degrees. A slight rocking motion caused by the wind turns the net into a sea, evoking the landscapes seen in abstract paintings, particularly Agnes Martin and Bridget Riley. “Buongiorno Principessa!” tells the story of a man who everyday creates puddles with his bulky machine to clean floors. The video, which shows a possible transformation of an everyday action like mopping, reveals the true nature of the relationship between a man and his car. Alice Ronchi will be interviewed by art curator and critic Lorenzo Benedetti and the programmer and film critic Massimo Benvegnu. (Red)
