Meeting with Luigi Ontani

Friday, January 27, at 9 pm, the Alma Mater Studiorum of the University of Bologna, the Department of Visual Arts and UniboCultura, in cooperation with the City of Bologna, Sala Borsa Library and Arte Fiera Art First 2012, present the second edition of the homage dedicated to an internationally renowned artist invited to Bologna during Arte Fiera.

After Marina Abramovic who presented her "Lady Performance" in 2011, this
year’s homage is dedicated to Luigi Ontani, undisputed protagonist of the international art scene. The event is curated by Renato Barilli with Alessandra Borgogelli, Paolo Granata and Silvia Grandi.
Illy, a traditional sponsor of major contemporary art shows, has confirmed its support to this year’s event. UndoNet is confirmed as Official Media Partner.

The homage to Luigi Ontani includes pictures and videos of both his memorable performances in the 70s and his recent productions. It embraces the artist’s entire oeuvre, his endless and successful creation of paintings, objects, fabrics, ceramics, and the continuing series of tableaux vivants, carefully reconstructed in a projection on giant screen, down to his latest creation, a group of masks embodying the entire color palette and carrying bunches of flowers.
The presentation is complemented by a detailed commentary by the artist interviewed by Renato Barilli, who saw him take his very first steps. The audience may intervene with questions and comments.
The guest of honor of the encounter held on January 27, 2011 at the main Santa Lucia Lecture Hall had been Marina Abramovic. The invitation to Marina had another purpose - commemorating the International Week of Performance held in Bologna in 1977 with the Serbian artist as a superb protagonist along with other performers including Luigi Ontani. Born in Vergato, in the hills surrounding Bologna, Ontani would later relocate to Rome, and now calls himself a citizen of the world. He is invited everywhere to show his wonderful works and stage his performances, very different from those of Marina Abramovic.

Ontani’s may be defined as "performances in disguise" as the artist chooses to dress
up in costumes belonging to either historically or geographically remote situations by relying on a technique called tableau vivant.
He reenacts famous paintings of the past, or ritual situations that would belong in a museum of anthropology, thus virtually practicing a poetics of the alibi, of being elsewhere.
During the Week of Performance in 1977, Ontani performed Il sonno di Endimione in front of a large audience – Arte Fiera’s events were already crowded. He stood at the center of GAM’s large hall, at the time located close to the Fair, dressed as an Arcadian shepherd and carrying a stuffed sheep. He struck a dreaming pose, seemingly lulled by the appearance, at his sides, of the constellations embodied by mythological figures projected as slides. Unlike the past editions, this year the event will take place at the Sala Borsa, the cultural heart of Bologna.