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200 people died there, 1000+ were injured, and 100k left homeless. This art is a monument and tombstone. This is perfectly respectful. I think most communities

200 people died there, 1000+ were injured, and 100k left homeless. This art is a monument and tombstone. This is perfectly respectful. I think most communities wouldn't build a supermarket or park over a recent human disaster site like this. Its really a memorial, not modern art: "I told him immediately, ‘let’s go see the old town’. It was almost 20 km away and I was just shocked. I almost felt like crying and then this idea came to me: here I could do something… This is what I would do: we compact the ruins — which are a problem for everyone — we reinforce them well, and with concrete, we create an immense white crack as a permanent symbol of what happened here,” Burri described on first seeing the ruins of Gibellina.

Tronno 3y ago
A fair interpretation, but consider the work the artist is known for: https://www.maggioregam.com/artists/42-alberto-burri/biography/ https://www.maggioregam.com/artists/42-alberto-burri/biograp... Did he see the disaster as an opportunity to ply his trade at an even greater scale? Sixteen years after the earthquake, he was asked not to build a memorial, but to help reconstruct the new city. He declined and created this piece instead. Your quote in context: > mayor Ludovico Corrao called upon numerous architects and artists to help with reconstruction efforts. [...] “We went to Gibellina [...] When we finally arrived to visit the place, the new city was nearly complete and full of new pieces. ‘I can’t do anything here,’ I told him immediately, ‘let’s go see the old town’. It was almost 20 km away [...]
- hn_throwaway_99 3y ago
  > Did he see the disaster as an opportunity to ply his trade at an even greater scale? So what? The artist had a style of art in which he was an expert and known for. I totally get and respect that his art is not your cup of tea, but I don't see any negatives in the fact that he did see the opportunity to build this as a opportunity to "ply his trade" as you put it. Would you rather have him build something in a style he's totally unfamiliar with and bad at?

Tronno 3y ago

A fair interpretation, but consider the work the artist is known for: https://www.maggioregam.com/artists/42-alberto-burri/biography/ https://www.maggioregam.com/artists/42-alberto-burri/biograp... Did he see the disaster as an opportunity to ply his trade at an even greater scale? Sixteen years after the earthquake, he was asked not to build a memorial, but to help reconstruct the new city. He declined and created this piece instead. Your quote in context: > mayor Ludovico Corrao called upon numerous architects and artists to help with reconstruction efforts. [...] “We went to Gibellina [...] When we finally arrived to visit the place, the new city was nearly complete and full of new pieces. ‘I can’t do anything here,’ I told him immediately, ‘let’s go see the old town’. It was almost 20 km away [...]

hn_throwaway_99 3y ago
> Did he see the disaster as an opportunity to ply his trade at an even greater scale? So what? The artist had a style of art in which he was an expert and known for. I totally get and respect that his art is not your cup of tea, but I don't see any negatives in the fact that he did see the opportunity to build this as a opportunity to "ply his trade" as you put it. Would you rather have him build something in a style he's totally unfamiliar with and bad at?