This section reports a series of short stories whose characters are Tulio (who speaks in the first person), Vincenzo, and Francesco. They are three unlikely protagonists who enjoy producing and discussing art. Each short story describes a series of artwork.
Absurdly enough, some of these tales have been a source of inspiration to flesh out actual art products. In this case, the short story itself became artwork and explanation of the artwork at the same time.
Why do I do it?
I write these stories because:
- I love to capture the mental journey that takes an artist from A to B, where B is usually the result of his or her artistic product: a painting, an installation, a photograph, etc. Even when I am satisfied with the result of B, it is meaningful for me to express A.
- I want to produce art while having fun. A painting almost never laughs. I am not good at telling jokes, but when I write about serious things I feel an extreme need to downplay. The mind loves disposable plot twists, spare love, adventure, pill catharsis. Delving deeper costs superhuman mental effort. When I read Piet Mondrian's "Universal Rhythms[1]," I fell asleep countless times, as much as I love his works and the theories encapsulated in the book more than the works themselves. Therefore, I have decided to talk about my art by trying to put people to sleep as little as possible.
- The work of art is often confusion of feeling. Often the artist simplifies by not making explicit the reasoning that led him or her in a certain direction. Respectfulness, justificationism, a sense of impropriety -- these are ingrained in me more than aesthetic sense. Therefore, resorting to three such different characters allows me to give voice to my varied feeling. Vincenzo is the cultured but risks being pretentious. Francesco is instinctive but exaggerated. Tulio is responsible but banal.
[1] Piet Mondrian, Ritmi Universali, 2014, Castelvecchi.