Mauro Staccioli, father of the sculpture-sign, is among the protagonists of the international land art.
His work, characterized by consistency, essentiality of shapes and perfect adhesion to the environment, is in close correlation with the place for which and in which he realizes his “action sculptures”.
Graduated in 1954 at the Fine Arts Institute of Volterra in cabinet making, Staccioli seems to carry along with him the precision of gesture of handling the ebony in the formal rigor that characterizes his work as a sculptor.
Director of the Brera Art School of Milan in the Seventies, Staccioli was invited to work for the XXXVIII Venice Biennale of 1978 by the theme From Nature to Art, from Art to Nature. The essential condition to realize his intervention was to change the point of view, “to deviate from the path” in order to explore the hidden aspects. The artist built a wall of 64 square meters of bricks and mortar, blocking the way to the Gardens of the exhibition. A wall in which the use of simple materials enhances the construction values, standing with his robust size and forcing the visitors to “make the effort needed to overcome the obstacle to access to the art biennial and enjoy the celebration of the artistic event”.The Wall became the iconic image of Biennale 1978.
Mauro Staccioli, a native of Volterra (Tuscany), left to his hometown many of the great environmental works installed in 2009 for the “Sites of Experience”: a path marked by geometric, minimalist sculptures, though of gigantic dimensions, thanks to which the artist reinterprets the native landscape and relives his childhood memories. Views and frames that change and renew themselves following the time of day and the seasons, in an ongoing and changeable game between work, landscape and viewer. Ideal for passionate lovers of photography, art and nature.
The sculpture “Stargate” by Staccioli framing the Tuscan landscape of Volterra
The ‘Ring’ of San Martino in Volterra (Tuscany), the birthplace of Staccioli
In Sicily, going from Messina to Palermo, either by car or by train, you cannot miss it: the Pyramid (a tetrahedron of 30 meters made of Cor-ten steel with the characteristic rust color) stands, spatially located on the 38th parallel on the height above the ancient Halaea, the current Tusa. The location is spectacular: above the “Fiumara d’Arte“, the largest outdoor museum of contemporary art in Europe, and in front of the Aeolian Islands.
Staccioli explains his Pyramid in Tusa (Sicily)
Even the timing is not accidental: inaugurated the day of the summer solstice, June 21, the day of victory of Light over Darkness: a date that has always been significant for the history of mankind, and the only day in which – from sunrise to sunset – you can visit it from inside.
Near the Pyramid, you can sleep in an extraordinary room made by Staccioli at the Atelier sul Mare: the room Trinacria.
http://www.maurostaccioli.org/
Photo Credits:
©Studio Archivio Mauro Staccioli
ann jako CC
Giampaolo Squarcina CC
stepaganini CC
Diana Skok Corridori CC
mari27454 (Marialba Italia) CC