Art Povera literally translated means poor art in Italian. This style of art first began in Europe in the 1960’s and incorporates inexpensive, commonly available materials, such as stones, fabric or paper. In other words, the basis of this artistic concept is to make a visual statement using only items immediately available, not that the items were necessarily cheap or that the artwork was poorly created. That said, Arte Povera tends to be more sculptural in form. During this period a group of Italian artists were responding to “…the values placed on more established institutions of government, industry, and culture” (Wikipedia). The Arte Povera movement lasted about a decade, ending in the early 1970s.
The image below features, “Venus of the Rags” by Michelangelo Pistoletto, and is an example of Arte Povera from 1967.
In my Second Home-Finding Your Place in the Fun book project, I choose to present the concept of Arte Povera by inserting a grouping of business cards I had lying around around the house. Business cards are interesting to collect because they provide a trail through the interactions one has had with people over a period of time. Also, because no two cards are ever identical, they visually create something of a paper quilt when combined in patterns. However, the collection also represents something of a charming time capsule as the custom of printing and distributing business cards seems less significant with the availability of more practical and efficient technical tools methods for recording contact information.
kathelarkin - studio fundamentals 