Thanks to the kind invitation of the guys at the Italian design and architecture studio Spacelab (Luca Silenzi + Zoè Chantall Monterubbiano architects), we (Socks-Studio and Microcities) will be guest contributors among a group of “twelve intellectuals, designers, bloggers of different ages, geographical origin, theoretical approach” for a “two-day round table discussion around the themes of the project, the conservation and the state of exception, not only in architecture, not only in Italy.”
The very interesting panel project, entitled “State of Exception”, will take place as one of the Weekend Specials of Monditalia at the 14th International Architecture Exhibition of la Biennale di Venezia (Corderie dell’Arsenale) and will investigate “Italy’s problematic relationship with its context and its historical legacy”.
Our hypothesis, ascribable to the “Preservation” category, aims to make an argument without preconceptions around the themes of context, pre-existence and relationship with history in Italy: it aims to stimulate an invitation to overcome this recent—but deeply rooted—inferiority complex, so fatalistic and so Italian, with regard to a past that is considered always better than the present, or—even worse—the future. Through a paradoxical, light, positive, antirhetorical, liberating reflection we will address some limit-issues, inquiring a possibility of intervention “ad absurdum” on themes and contexts that are still taboo, seemingly impossible to overcome in this country.
In the hope that our readers will come and actively participate to this round table, we’d like to repropose here some excerpts from the project’s description, and we invite you to explore the theme by reading the full text on “State of Exception” website:
Impossible commissions
Italy is the country with the most significant historical and natural heritage in the world, and also the one who first gave itself, over a century ago, the bodies and strict regulations for its preservation, so as to fix this attention in the founding principles of its own republican constitution.
But conservation for conservation spawned two paradoxes: on the one hand the unruly entropic drift for anything that is not covered by the rules of preservation. On the other hand, autistic immobility within the enclaves of conservation, which don’t allow the freshness and openness to the differences that have always marked the history of Italian architecture. While some exceptional works have been undertaken, in spite of everything and all current regulations notwithstanding.
Starting from these observations, we want to promote some ad absurdum arguments regarding Italy’s problematic relationship with its context and its historical legacy. Presenting a series of impossible commissions, we hope for a future of Italy where intelligent, reasoned, cultured and international breadth proposals—for millennia boast and pride of this country as well as world cultural heritage—will still be promoted and welcomed.
The curatorial project
State of Exception is a Monditalia ‘Weekend Special’ in the 14th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia which will take place at Corderie dell’Arsenale (Stage D) in august 23-24th 2014.
Starting from the above mentioned observations, State of Exception will deepen the concepts of rule and exception in architecture pushing the boundaries of the Biennial event in a multi-platform dissemination so to :
- Live event at Corderie: 12 international guest contributors on stage (August 23-24 2014)
- Guest editors online: 8 international architecture critics and writers will explore state of exception and the ambiguous relationship with norm in architecture, in a bunch of essays to be published on their sites/blogs and reblogged in the stateofexception.it website
- Instagram open call: we launched the #stateofexception and #commissionimpossible hashtags, dedicated to images, montages, references able to evoke the potential of the architectural act when interpreting, shaping and modifying existing structures and contexts considered, in the common sense, impossible to manipulate. The #commissionimpossible images, to be uploaded on Instagram or Twitter by anyone wishing to contribute, will be published live on the stateofexception.it website: a special selection will be shared during the live event at the Corderie.
- Jean Luc Godard’s Le Mepris film screening: as a State of Exception exclusive side-event, during the weekend will be screened in the stage E at Corderie dell’Arsenale “Le Mepris” (1963) by Jean Luc Godard in full and restored version, with legendary Casa Malaparte in Capri as one of the shooting locations.
Because we hope for a future where intelligent, reasoned, cultured and international breadth proposals – for millennia boast and pride of this country as well as world cultural heritage – will still be promoted and welcomed.
Saturday August 23th 2014, 3:00 pm
Intro: Luca Silenzi – Rule, derogation and exception in architecture
- Paolo Bettini – Preservation and tanathophobia
- Fabrizio Gallanti – Usucapio | I fought the law and the law won
- Joseph Grima – Italian exceptions
- Manuel Orazi – Critical editions
- Socks Studio / Microcities (Mariabruna Fabrizi, Fosco Lucarelli) – The atemporal condition
Sunday August 24th 2014, 3:00 pm
- Renata Codello – Dealing with architectural glassware
- Cristiano Toraldo di Francia – Superstudio VS Context
- Lucia Allais – The Italo-globalization of preservation
Final open debate – discussants: Luca Silenzi (Spacelab) and Ippolito Pestellini Laparelli (OMA/AMO).
Curatorial project:
Spacelab (Luca Silenzi, Zoè Chantall Monterubbiano)
Art Direction:
Folder (Marco Ferrari, Elisa Pasqual)
Be part of State of Exception: this is an open call to the production of images connected with the State of Exception project topics.
How it works: you can post an image (a photo, a project, a reference, a drawing/handwriting scan, a montage) via your Twitter or Instagram accounts using the following hashtags:
- #stateofexception for images dealing the exceptional nature of architecture design among its context
- #comissionimpossible for images about utopic/paradoxical interventions/hackings on a building or a natural/artificial/historical context which is commonly considered impossible to manipulate.
Your images will be updated live here.
The most interesting images uploaded before August 21th will be shared with the public during the live event in the Corderie dell’Arsenale.
See you there on Saturday and Sunday!
ONLINE EXPOSITION Emergent Digital Aesthetics. A collaborative project of the inter-textuality of photography, a politico-economic institution.
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