Presentation of the project "Dismantling the violent misuse of symbols" at the Post Coceptual Art Practise class (prof. Marina Grizinic_Akademie der Bildende Kunst Wien),

TITLE:

For a long period the title of this project was: The violent misuse of symbols. In the last weeks, especially during the meetings of the group that is dealing with the Vocabulary of decoloniality
(on which is based the book that will be realised in the upcoming
months in the class), I thought that this title was not enough, in a
way a reproduction of what in fact I want to criticize. Therefore I
decided to call it Dismantling the violent misuse of symbols
because in this way I focus on the very aim of the project. This is
what I’ll publically, hopefully, achieve through the realization of the
project, and that I’m in a way already doing through the preparation to
the project and this presentation for example. Anyhow it is and it will
be a work in progress.

 

But to what this title refers to?

 

1.Content of the project.

Acqui Terme is the city where I
grew up. It is located in west-north Italy, in the region call
Piemonte, and it has a population of circa twenty thousand inhabitants.
Acqui Terme has been the first city in Piemonte with a Lega Nord
administration (1997). Lega Nord, an extreme right wing party, is one
of the political parties in Italy that I consider the most racist,
xenophobic, homophobic and sexist. This party has governed in the city
for many years, from the late 90’s until today. Although in those years
the majors changed, the political tendency has been maintained. 
The aim of the project is to analyse and criticise the horrendous
politic agenda that Lega Nord administration has imposed in Acqui
Terme, 
 It’s more then one decade that Acqui Terme is the laboratory of
political power imposition, through symbols, in public spaces. It’s
never too late to go back up on such an issue, especially when it’s
about a political violent act of appropriation of public space and the
almost absence observation and reflection of the citizens on the
propagandist use of these symbols.
Many are the examples that can be done in reference to the already mentioned symbols.
 

In 1998 a quite huge cement
building, an amphitheatre, was built in the middle of the historic
center of the city. The intentions for the realization of this construction were
immediately clear: the space, supposed to be used for cultural and
artistic purposes, was instead the result of a political propaganda, a
practise of political corruption. On the pavement, between the stage
and the stalls, the symbol depicting Lega Nord has been built in big
dimension. 
I took this pictures last February. In winter time the amphitheatre is
not used. If these pictures would be taken in summer, on the stairs you
will see green plastic chairs (green is the representative colour of
Lega Nord).

This is the “ Giuseppe Verdi
theatre” plaque, placed on the walls of the building, on which stands
Padania (term used from Lega Nord to define an autonomous Northern
Italy).

 

 

The name and the music of
Giuseppe Verdi have been appropriated from the Lega Nord party and used
to spread the sense of belonging to the party. The “Va pensiero”, a
music composition from Giuseppe Verdi (the official Lega Nord anthem
which the party proposed to use as the national one) is broadcasted
everyday on Radio Padania and in Acqui Terme is used as
music-background of the municipal answering machine:

The Lega Nord adopted the “Va
Pensiero” with the justification that the librettist Temistocle Solera
was a member of the neoguelphism movement, an Italian movement from the
19th century that seeks the active presence of the Catholic Church in
politics and that sustain the federal system which is at the base of
the political program of Lega Nord.
The LegaNord symbol, () the so called “Sole delle Alpi/ Sun of the Alps”, seems to have Celtic
origin and has been used as decoration (on ceramic, closet, tiles,
etc.) in the popular tradition of communities that live in the Alpine
arc. The “Sun of the Alps” has been introduced in the public symbology
of several cities in Italy, from Lega Nord administrations. In Lecco
city for example, the city council Giulio de Capitani, member of Lega
Nord, propose to have the Sun of the Alps in the local flag.

 

Here is how the Lecco’s province has motivated this choice:

EN    “The sign known as “Sun or flower of the Alps” refers to an
age-old draw that look to the popular iconography of a wide cultural
area that includes the Alps, the Po valley and other central European
regions; the continuity and the diffusion of this sign combine to bring
its legitimation as qualifying symbol. It is about an age-old image
that had success both because of its metaphorical meaning connected to
the sun worship and for the beauty and the easy realisation of the
draw; graphically speaking the Sun of the Alps represents a stylized
flower with six petals, carmine colour, inscribed in a circle (left out
in the provincial patch);

IT    "Il segno noto come "sole
o fiore delle Alpi" riprende un antichissimo disegno che ricorre
nell’iconografia popolare di una vasta area culturale comprendente le
Alpi, la pianura padana ed altre regioni dell’Europa centrale; la
continuità e la diffusione del segno concorrono alla sua legittimazione
come simbolo qualificante. Si tratta di una immagine antichissima che
ha avuto successo sia per la sua carica metaforica legata ai culti
solari, che per la bellezza e la relativa facilità di esecuzione del
suo disegno; graficamente infatti il Sole delle Alpi consiste in un
Fiore stilizzato di sei petali, colore rosso carminio, inscritto in una
corna circolare (omessa nello stemma provinciale) ".

Also in Cividate al Piano (in Bergamo’s province) the “Sun of the Alps”
has been designed in the central square of the city, in front of the
town all, despite the protest and the petition (589 signatures, which
corresponds to more then the 10% of the population) of a committee of
citizens.

This is the answer of the major Vescovi:

EN    “I acknowledge that 589
citizens from Cividate are against the inclusion of political symbols
on the future square Giovanni XXIII. I’m aware that the current
regulation forbids to place political symbols in public place. However
I’m deeply persuaded that the Sun of the Alps is an age-old sign, its
origin is lost in the mists of time. It can be seen on the facades of
the Sforzesco castel in Milan, on the cloister of Santa Maria in
Bergamo, as well as on the doors of some buildings in the historic
center of Cividate. For these reasons I assume that the Sun of the Alps
cannot be considered a political symbol, but a popular sign, which
realisation wants to remember our popular, working-class,
peasantry-class, craftsmanship culture, still very rooted in our
community. It is also the emblem of an old culture handed down from our
ancestors. So, we will proceed with the insertion of the Sun of the
Alps in the square. At the same time, in the center of the future
square, there will also be a mosaic that represents the coat of arms of
our Municipality”.

IT    "Prendo atto che 589 cittadini cividatesi si dichiarano contrari
all’inserimento di simboli politici all’interno della futura piazza
Giovanni XXIII. Sono consapevole che la prassi vigente vieta
l’apposizione di simboli politici in luoghi pubblici. Sono tuttavia
profondamente persuaso che il "Sole delle Alpi" è un segno
antichissimo, la cui origine si perde nella notte dei tempi. Esso può
essere notato sulle facciate del castello Sforzesco di Milano, al
Chiostro di Santa Maria in Bergamo, ma anche sui portoni di alcuni
edifici nel centro storico di Cividate. Per tali considerazioni ritengo
che il "Sole delle Alpi" non possa essere ritenuto un simbolo politico,
ma un segno popolare, la cui realizzazione vuole ricordare la nostra
cultura popolare, operaia, contadina, artigiana, ancora molto radicata
nella nostra comunità. E’ anche l’emblema di una cultura antica
tramandata dai nostri avi. Quindi procederemo all’inserimento del Sole
delle Alpi nella piazza".

This strongly propagandistic act cannot be masked behind any kind of
legitimation for an artistic/cultural/decorative use. The brutal
political imposition is clear and must be publically denounced and
condemned.

But, let’s go on with other examples that reproduce the manifestation of power imposition in Acqui Terme.

The following is a small square
in the inner city (with a permanent playground for children), which has
been renamed in the past years as “Piazzetta della Lega
Lombarda/Lombard League square”(the Lombard League was an alliance
formed around the year 1167, which included many cities from the Po
valley).     

Moreover, a roundabout in the city with in the middle the depiction of the “Sun of the Alps” (built on August 1997).  

Now I’ll show you other
examples of how the city administration has imposed its political power
in Acqui Terme not just on the architectural level but also on the
administrative and on the ideological one.

* green (the representative colour of Lega Nord) urban furniture;

 

                                              

* green stamps and ink on municipal documents (identity card, certificates, documents, etc.);  

 

* In Acqui Terme there have
been for many years regional selection for the Miss padania beauty
contest in the Grand Hotel delle Terme.Miss Padania is a sexist,
xenophobic and racist contest where the “padania feminility” is
stressed. The requirements to be admitted to the Miss Padania contest
are implemented in the 5th ART. of the general policy:

– Italian citizenship + living in Padania (Lombardia, Piemonte, Valle
d’Aosta, Liguria, Veneto, Trentino A.A, Friuli V.G., Emilia-Romagna,
Marche, Umbria, Toscana)since at least 1o years;

– be of the same sex written on the birth’s certificate;

– never be involved in facts against moral values;

– age between 17 and 28 years old;

– don’t declare anything against the Padania ideology; 

During the contest the candidates have to show knowledge in the
traditional cousin, knowledge of the dialect, to show the knowledge and
the adherence to the padania ideology, to have physical peculiarity.

LOCAL CHRISTIAN NEWSPAPER’s ARTICLES:

articoli Ancora.pdf

1. anti-clandestine signatures collection on the main pedestrian street of the city;
2. clandestine reward (decision
of the city council to offer one million lire to whoever collaborate
with the repatriation of a clandestine from Albania). The major
Bernardino Bosio says: “Is not a reward, but just an amount of money as
reimbursement of expenses”.
3. padania schools (elementary and secondary schools); [schools for indoctrination to the lega nord ideology]
4. Camerata musicale padana/ Padania music orchestra at the opening of the  Teatro Verdi;
5. green fireworks in the
celebration day of the patron saint of Acqui Terme in combination with
the music composition "Va pensiero" + Major chase away Nomads (the
latter is a term used in Italy to refer to Roma people);
6. Prima Dieta federale
padana/first National Lega nord meeting hold in Acqui Terme by using
infrastructures, spaces, locations and money from the municipality;
7. padania guards/groups of vigilantes citizens/ people organize squads controlling the neighbourhood at night;
8. change of names of streets and squares, for example you can now find:
   *Piazzetta della Lega Lombarda
   *Seborga :street dedicated to Principality of Seborga: The
Principality of Seborga is a micronation located in the northwestern
Italian region of Liguria, near the French border, and in sight of
Monaco. Uniquely among micronations, Seborga possesses an undisputed
history as a feudal state.
   *Giovannino Guareschi

   *Bruno Salvadori (part of a regional movement for the independence)
 

 2. Why this project.

For me it’s important to
realize this project because i want to challenge the oppression I felt
for a long time living in this city and that i still feel everytime i
go back home.

This project seeks:

* to denounce publically the
misuse of political symbols in the city from this
administration/political party and the perpetuation of that during all
this years until now;
* to motivate people on a reflection about this issue;
* to fight the passivity and the alienation of people through a direct intervention/discussion/thinking process on this issue;
* and to likely develop a collective political practise of dissent.

3. Form of the project.

The project will likely be an intervention in public space.

At the very beginning, when I
was starting to think about this project (circa one year ago) I was
mostly concentrate on the symbol of the “Sun of the Alps” which stands
on the pavement of the amphitheatre. Full of rage for the “discover” of
this symbol, after many years of self-alienation, I was pushed from the
most radical side of me, to somehow destroy the symbol. Then, in the
thinking process, I realize that actually this was not a good idea,
because both the repressive state apparatus and the reactions of the
people and of the Christian local news-paper, would define that as a
criminal act. There will not be space for the discussion on the reason
why this has been done but probably just on the damage of the
construction, paid with the money of the citizens.

I though then that probably would have more sense to create the space
for this discussion and to face the people directly, talking about this
all issue. The idea could be to make a guide/tour in the city by
mapping the symbolic power imposition. Also in this case I then
realised that first to have a direct confrontation with the citizens
would be powerless because still the political orientation of the
majority of the citizens is clearly a right one and it could then
evolve in a kind of fight more then in a constructive process.  Second
because the visual symbols are just a part of the whole elements that I
want to stress and criticize, that would not be visible trough the city
tour.

Another option could be a
subversive exhibition/installation of pictures, texts, audio files (all
the collected materials) in one of the building, property of the city,
used for cultural/art events. The idea would be to criticize the city
apparatus from the inside. This option doesn’t really convince me, at
least not now, not at the very beginning of the project, maybe after
some months.

So, the final idea is to create
some post-cards. I thought about this format because Acqui Terme is a
turistic city (known because of the Terme, thermal baths since under
the earth there is an active Vulcain that warmed-up the water until the
temperature of 75 degrees) and the post cards are representative of
this aspect. The idea is to “send”, (in reality to put them on the mail
box of people one by one) the post cards that are related to the issue
I have been talking about concerning the city, to citizens of  Acqui
Terme, so to stress the idea of let them reflect on this issues about
the city where they live.

The idea is to realize the post-cards through the photomontage technique, in a way to stress out/overuse some elements/symbols and to make their use absurd.