MUSEO D’ARTE CONTEMPORANEAVILLA CROCE

Palazzo Ducale e Villa Croce presentano

FOLLOW MESUSAN PHILIPSZ

Curated by Ilaria Bonacossa and Paola Nicolin September 10th-October 11th 2015

Palazzo Ducale, The Internationale, 1999;Ex-Convento di San Francesco a Castelletto, Stay With Me, 2005; Palazzo Reale Lachrimae, 2010;Palazzo Bianco, Follow Me, 2006;Palazzo Nicolosio Lomellino, The Lost Reflection, 2007;Altrove-Teatro della Maddalena, Palazzo Fattinanti Cambiaso, The Dead, 2000; Museo d’Arte Contemporanea di Villa Croce, Elettra, 2015

Follow Me is the title of Susan Philipsz’s new solo show. Set in the historical centre of Genova, the exhibition presents a new work inspired by the yatch Elettra, Guglielmo Marconi’s floating laboratory, together with a selection of six works realized between 1999 and 2011.Among the most significant artist of her generation, Philipsz (Glasgow,1965) creates sound installations (recordings of the artist’s own voice as she sings existing songs a cappella) that explore the psychological and sculptural potential of sound. In Genova, the artist traces a captivating itinerary that unfolds within the architectural framework of Palazzi dei Rolli - in- cluded in the Unesco World Heritage List - and other historical buildings, along which she explores the relationship between art and architecture, the subtle shifts in the public perception of the artwork, the relation between performance and sculpture, and the emotional effect of sound.

Following her installations, visitors are led from the Grand Courtyard of Palazzo Ducale, through the narrow alleyways of the historical center to the Palaces in Via Garibaldi, up to the park of Villa Croce. Susan Philipsz won the prestigious Turner Prize in 2010 and has presented her installations in 2007 at Skulptur Projekte, Muenster, in 2012 at Documenta 13, Kassel and in 2015 at the Istanbul Biennial. Susan Philipsz has gained widespread recognition in the international artworld for the sharp execution of her works, unique in their genre, based on the rigorous analysis of the history, memory, and traditions of a specific place that she transposes into immaterial architectures creating an introspective environment for the “viewer”. The universal narrative of loss, hope, and homecoming is conveyed through the reproduction of tunes and melodies that, blending with the genius loci, generate a subjective storytelling.

REGIONE LIGURIA

On the occasion of the show Humboldtbooks will release a publication focusing on this exceptional project. The book will collect the documentation of the show, drawings of the palaces and maps of the city, together with two texts by the curators Ilaria Bonacossa and Paola Nicolin, and critical essays by Luca Cerizza and Chus Martinez, that will be enriched by rich iconographical material and entries on the works presented in the show.

1. Museo d’Arte Contemporanea — Villa CroceLocated in the scenic park on the Carignano Hill which overlooks Genoa’s harbour, the villa that houses the Museum of Contemporary Art was built in the 19th century by the Croce family over an existing palace. It was bequeathed to the City of Genoa in 1952 for the establishment of a public museum. Built in the Neoclassical style, the palace features harmonious proportions, a rigorous sense of elegance and measured classicism derived from Renaissance architecture. The façades are marked by two banks of windows, demarcated by stringcourses, with alternate triangular and arched pediments. The original pastel-painted façade has been whitewashed on occasion of the Museum opening in 1985.

Produced by Villa Croce Museum in collaboration with the Istanbul Biennial, Elettra (five-channel soudnd installation, photographs, 2015) is positioned in the frescoed rooms with sea view on the ground floor. The work is inspired by Guglielmo Marconi’s theories on the persistence of sound waves in the atmosphere and, through sounds and images, it speaks about the epic deeds of Marconi’s floating lab, the yacht “Elettra”, which used to be docked between Genova and Santa Margherita. At the same time a work-place and the ideal memorial for the inventor of the radio, Elettra comprises photographs of the boat’s remains, scattered among several sites in Italy, and recordings made using Sonar technologies which suggest that, once they are created, sounds never die and are propagated as waves across the universe. With this work, Susan Philipsz subtly evokes the history of sound waves and, for the first time, she explores the transmission of sound underwater.

2. Palazzo RealeOwned by the eminent dynasties of the Balbis, the Durazzos, and the Savoy, the magnificent 17th century aristocratic residence, located in via Balbi 10, still preserves its original interiors and was included in the prestigious registers, known as Rolli, of the palaces deemed suitable to receive kings and emperors during their state visits in Genoa. The front façade on via Balbi conceals the rather complex arrangement of the interior designed by architect Carlo Fontana (1638-1714). The central part of the building extends into two side wings with a spectacular opening toward the sea. The imposing atrium, decorated with exquisite stuccoed decorations dating from the 18th century, gives access to the main courtyard and to the garden framed by a three-arched structure supporting the terrace of the second piano nobile. From the terrace, one can enjoy a stunning view on the harbour which used to be directly connected to the palace through the so-called Royal Bridge, demolished in 1963.

On the terrace is located Lachrimæ (seven-channel sound installation, 36'), a work by Susan Philipsz installed for the first time in Milk Street, in the heart of London’s financial district, as part of Surround me, the project which earned her the Turner Prize in 2011. The work is a seven part instrumental piece based upon the image of a falling tear. The seven motifs are interpreted and played indipendently, each one coming from its own individual speaker. The symmetrical structure of the terrace of the second piano nobile generates a series of visual and acoustic correspondences that are intensified by the sound installation. With the speakers spread throughout the space, the motif ends up relating to other sounds such as the traffic noise in the background or the sound produced by rubbing the rim of a wine glass, sounds that are all inescapably dispersed across the sea.

3. Ex Convento di San Francesco di CastellettoThe church of San Francesco and the annexed monastery were built in the 13th century on a rural area in the outskirts of the medieval city, on the hillside of Castelletto, in salita San Francesco 7. Between the 15th and the 16th century, the monastery was theatre of siege, looting, and fights caused by domestic struggles and foreign occupations. In keeping with the Napoleonic suppression of religious congregations, the Ligurian Republic expropriated the entire complex and the church, which had been the burial ground of famous people for centuries, was demolished in 1820. In the 18th century, the chapter room of the Gothic convent was transformed in an ornate Rococo chapel whose architectural structure is underlined by curvy decorations made of gilded stuccoed reliefs. Today, it houses a conservation laboratory.

Susan Philipsz has selected this historically layered location to site one version of Stay With Me (sound installation, 45'), a work made in 2005 she originally presented at the Malmö Konsthall and, in a different version, at T1 - Torino Triennale Tremusei in 2006. The work has multiple layers in itself as it touches on themes of loss and memory. It speaks about the persistence of the past in the present and is characterized by overlapping histories and chronologies. In this work, the artist performs three songs in a row - “I want it now” by Echo and the Bunnymen (1997), “Watch with me” by Joe Wise (1972) and “Pyramid Song” by Radiohead, (2001). The emptiness of space where the work is placed, together with the use of instruments such as rims of glasses and organ pipes, conveys the idea that the architecture itself is breathing and participating in the production of the work.

4. Palazzo BiancoThe construction of Palazzo Bianco, situated in via Garibaldi 11, dates back to 1530 and precedes the building of Strada Nuova. Between 1711 and 1714, the architect Giacomo Viano was commissioned by the Durazzo Brignole-Sale family to rebuild the austere 16th century structure from the ground up. Since then the palace was named “Bianco” (“White”) in order to distinguish it from Palazzo Rosso (“Red”), the family’s main residence on the same street. In 1884, the Duchess of Galliera, the last member of the family, bequeathed the building to the city to serve as a public gallery. Severely damaged during the Second World War, it re-opened to the public in 1950 with the cutting-edge display designed by Franco Albini.

The garden, which preserves its 18th century layout graced by a black and white pebble mosaic (named risseu, in the Genovese dialect) and by the symmetrical arrangement of boxwood shrubs around the octagonal fountain, has been chosen to host the work, made in 2004, that lends the exhibition its title, Follow Me (four-channel sound installation, 2'27"). It is inspired by Michelangelo Antionioni’s film Blow up, especially by the scene where the main character happens to witness a murder in Maryon Park. The event is “seen” through the camera which captures the shooting from a distance. In this area of London everything is silent, only the sound of leaves in the wind can be heard. This place was the first location chosen by Susan Philipsz to present her work. In Follow Me she performs a cappella Happenings 10 Years Time Ago (1966), the song by the English rock band The Yardbirds. The recording is played by four speakers each one of which reproduce different interpretations of the song that overlap in space. Both the film and the music are an ode to relationship between reality and illusion, memory and remembrance: they conjure up figures that come back from the past and seem to spill over into the present. The work has been later presented at sites of pause and passage such as Berlin’s Alter Garnisonfriedhof in 2006, the Paseo de Recoletos in Madrid and the Bonaval Cemetery in Santiago de Compostela in 2007. In Genova, Follow Me is installed in a private context turned into a public gallery, a place crowded with presences from the past (as proved by the outstanding collection of portraits in the picture gallery) which also features intimate corners, such as the site chosen for the installation, wherein one can let herself “sinking deep into the well of time” (from Happenings Ten Years Time Ago).

5. Altrove-Teatro della Maddalena, Palazzo Fattinanti-CambiasoIn the small Cambiaso Square, once known as “the square of the Seven Sorrows” for the votive aedicule of Our Lady of Sorrows, right in the middle of the tangled Maddalena neighbourhood, it is nestled the palace built in the 16th century by the Fattinanti family. Severely damaged in the bombing attack that took place on October 22, 1942, the edifice preserves its 16th century marble portal surmounted by a lintel and the distinctive asymmetrical courtyard with a loggia supported by exquisite Corinthian capitals. The mural decorations are attributed to the circle of Andrea Ansaldo (1584-1638) and were commissioned by the Cambiaso family who purchased the palace at the end of the 16th century.

The small theatre built in the postwar period hosts the projection of The Dead (film installation, 35mm, 21'), a work by Susan Philipsz made in 2000 where the artist performs a cappella the Irish ballad The Lass of Aughrim and transfers the recording on a 35mm film. “I first heard the song in John Huston’s last film, The Dead adapted from James Joyce’s classic”, the artist writes. “The turning point of the story is when the heroine overhears someone singing this song as she is leaving to go home from a Christmas party. The song has a devastating effect, catapulting her back to a time in her youth when she remembers a suitor who died for her love.” The film itself is devoid of images. As time passes, it deteriorates and comes to evoke the famous final image of the story with the snow falling “upon all the living and the dead”. The reference to the origins of experimental cinema as a source of inspiration is reinforced by the fact that today the palace houses a screening room and a centre of cultural research run by a collective made of seven associations who share a deep commitment to the Maddalena neighbourhood.

6. Palazzo Nicolosio LomellinoBuilt between 1559 and 1565 for Nicolosio Lomellino in the sumptuous Strada Nuova, the building was designed by G.B. Castello called the Bergamasco (1525? -1569) and is located in via Garibaldi 7. The façade is adorned with festive stucco decorations in a graceful interpretation of the Mannersit style that makes the building structure look lighter. The choreographic succession of atrium, entrance hall, and courtyard frames the nymphaeum, attributed to Domenico Parodi (1672-1742), above which one can glimpse the marvels of the garden that climbs up the hillside of Castelletto offering multiple views on the inner façade and of the cityscape in the background. Enlivened by statues representing Dionysian subjects, the second level of the terraced garden is delimited by a wall on the northern side of which a 18th century pergola frames a shadowy grotto containing the hunting scene of Adonis chasing the boar.

In this context is presented one of Susan Philipsz’ most famous work The Lost Reflection (two-channel sound installation, 2'50"), realized in 2007 for the Münster Skulptur Projekte, the renowned event of sculpture in the public space. The artist writes: “I recorded myself singing the soprano and mezzo soprano parts of Jacques Offenbach’s barcarolle from The Tales of Hoffmann. My voice was split across two separate channels and the recordings call out to each other from across the two sides of the lake.” The motif is about Giulietta, a character from The Story of the Lost Reflection by E.T.A. Hoffmann of 1815. The woman makes a pact with the devil and looses her reflection in the vain attempt to seduce her beloved. Set among Venetian gondoliers, the story contains several references to both Italian culture and the male fantasies on the female body painted by Rubens, Rembrandt, and Callot. Originally created for the shores of the Lake Aasee in the German town, here the work is put in relation with the outstanding features of the garden: the view of Genoa and the balance between nature and artifice, the real and the imaginary. The two voices of the duet call out to each other within this architectural setting that looks out on the city as if it was a magic mirror reflecting one’s own image and desires. The visitor finds herself caught in a dialogue between the past and the present, real space and imaginary space, while both the tale and the melody take on new meanings in this specific social and spatial context.

7. Palazzo DucaleBuilt towards the end of the 13th century by the Captains of the People (Capitani del Popolo) of the rising Maritime Republic of Genoa, Palazzo Ducale stands out in piazza Matteotti, in the strategic heart of the medieval town. Since 1339, it was the residence of the Doge of Genoa. The Palace was renovated in 1591 by Andrea Ceresola (active between 1575-1624), called “il Vannone,” to match both the stately and the defensive needs of the Oligarchic Republic. After the ruinous fire of 1777, the damaged parts and the façade on piazza Matteotti were rebuilt in Neoclassical style by the architect Simone Cantoni (1739-1818), whereas the “painted architecture” on the side facing piazza De Ferrari were made in the 19th and 20th century. Headquarters of the medieval government, prison for political prisoners and prominent people, kernel of the institutional life of the Republic, Palazzo Ducale has been for centuries the stage of the most solemn and dramatic events in the history of Genoa.

The stately Grand Courtyard, marked by the austere pattern of the loggiato, reverberates with The Internazionale (one-channel sound installation, 2'), a work created by Susan Philipsz in 1999 in which she sings the anthem of the socialist movement. It has been sited in several locations such as Manifesta 3 in Ljubljana (2000) or, before that, the College Green House in Belfast (1999). In Genova, the loudspeaker is positioned on the main axis crossing the two courtyards and the atrium of the palace. The single minimalist-looking speaker sends out the “collective” acoustic body of the Internationale as it is sung by an individual, female voice. The installation mobilizes different sets of oppositions in relation to the work itself (woman/man, individual/group, essential device/complex meaning) and to the context wherein it is presented (site of power/leisure place, the city of factory workers/its conversion in a tourists’ destination). Thus, the work questions the structural logic of the palace and turns it again into a place of social and political negotiations.

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Guided Tours last 2 hours80 euro per group Opening Times Thursday — Sunday 330pm – 630pmAltrove Teatro della Maddalena Thursday 330pm – 630pm and by appointment