Une certaine idée de l'histoire de mon père, I-IV
VITTORIO SANTORO
Une certaine idée de l’histoire de mon père, I-IV (2012)
a four-part installation
(image shows part I and III)
A few years ago I found a cotton bag with a faded English inscription in a drawer at my parents’ house in Sicily. My father recalled: It was one of those flour sacks, which had been given to his parents by the Americans as part of the Marshall Plan, the
economic reconstruction program, after the Second World War.
In the 1960s, my father left the Sicilian village Buccheri, where he grew up. He emigrated as a young man by train to Switzerland. He found a job as a migrant worker, first in agriculture and then mostly in factories. My mother, whom he married before his departure, followed him two years later. This four-part installation I titled "Une certain idée de l'histoire de mon pere, I-IV"(2012) begins with the biography of my father as a distant starting point.
Captions of the 4 parts:
Une certaine idée de l’histoire de mon père, I, 2013. Vintage coton Marshall Plan European
Recovery flour sack on cardboard on floor, 36.62 x 22.87 inches / 93 x 58 cm.
Une certaine idée de l’histoire de mon père, II, 2013. Colorless synthetic resin and crushed
Alcacyl tablets on found window framework with window glass, 39.37 x 29.5 x 2 inches /
100 x 75 x 5 cm, black blackboard paint on wall, white chalk on blackboard paint.
Une certaine idée de l’histoire de mon père, III, 2013. White paint on found window,
33 x 43.75 x 3.12 inches / 84 x 111 x 8 cm, mounted transversally on wall, light bulb with
base hanging from the ceiling with an electric cable. Photo: Marco Blessano.
Une certaine idée de l’histoire de mon père, IV, 2013. Split-flap display, white wood rack,
5.51 x 33.46 x 8.26 inches / 14 x 85 x 21 cm, 40 Italian texts (each: white screenprint on
black flaps), programmed cycle: ca. 7 min., loop.
Une certaine idée de l’histoire de mon père, I-IV (2012)
a four-part installation
(image shows part I and III)
A few years ago I found a cotton bag with a faded English inscription in a drawer at my parents’ house in Sicily. My father recalled: It was one of those flour sacks, which had been given to his parents by the Americans as part of the Marshall Plan, the
economic reconstruction program, after the Second World War.
In the 1960s, my father left the Sicilian village Buccheri, where he grew up. He emigrated as a young man by train to Switzerland. He found a job as a migrant worker, first in agriculture and then mostly in factories. My mother, whom he married before his departure, followed him two years later. This four-part installation I titled "Une certain idée de l'histoire de mon pere, I-IV"(2012) begins with the biography of my father as a distant starting point.
Captions of the 4 parts:
Une certaine idée de l’histoire de mon père, I, 2013. Vintage coton Marshall Plan European
Recovery flour sack on cardboard on floor, 36.62 x 22.87 inches / 93 x 58 cm.
Une certaine idée de l’histoire de mon père, II, 2013. Colorless synthetic resin and crushed
Alcacyl tablets on found window framework with window glass, 39.37 x 29.5 x 2 inches /
100 x 75 x 5 cm, black blackboard paint on wall, white chalk on blackboard paint.
Une certaine idée de l’histoire de mon père, III, 2013. White paint on found window,
33 x 43.75 x 3.12 inches / 84 x 111 x 8 cm, mounted transversally on wall, light bulb with
base hanging from the ceiling with an electric cable. Photo: Marco Blessano.
Une certaine idée de l’histoire de mon père, IV, 2013. Split-flap display, white wood rack,
5.51 x 33.46 x 8.26 inches / 14 x 85 x 21 cm, 40 Italian texts (each: white screenprint on
black flaps), programmed cycle: ca. 7 min., loop.
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