The Singing A.T.M.

Diddy once said, “the more money we come across, the more problems we see,” but this time we have to disagree with the hip-hop mogul. Across the pond in Venice, Italy, the artist duo Allora & Calzadilla have come up with something quite extraordinary: an A.T.M. pipe organ. Once visitors plug in their PINs, they are sung a unique tune and dispensed their money. Even those who return never hear the same tune twice. This functional art piece has become such a hit that lines form outside the pavilion in which it is installed. Reportedly, 100,000 euros were withdrawn in the first three days alone! That is nearly four times the normal activity of an A.T.M. in Italy.

Flavorful Art

Art for your appetite? Yes. Well, maybe?

Artist and writer Tim Etchells explored the taste of art in his exhibition with a video performance piece “Art Flavours.”

This project originated in Italy where Etchells set up a meeting between Italian gelato expert Osvaldo Castellari and Italian curator and critic Roberto Pinto. The pair worked to translate conceptual exhibition themes into confectionary ice cream flavors.

Pinto began by first briefing Osvaldo on a few areas of study in contemporary art that he hoped to explore such as: The Body, Memory, Spectacle and The Archive. From there, Etchells filmed as the pair worked and noted, “It was so great to see Osvaldo in his element, adding fruit for flavourings, whisking up the gelato. And great to hear his reasoning for the choices he made in the flavours too.”

Of the actual flavoring process he said, “In my mind The Archive was always going to be the tricky flavour of the four […] for me the idea of a taste somewhere between dust and yellowing book pages I wasn't finding […] the most appealing prospect.”

At Manifesta 7, the 2008 European Biennial of Contemporary Art in Italy, the debut performance of “Art Flavours” included ice cream samples for the public.

“Art Flavours” was recently on view in the spring of 2010 at Gasworks in London.

Although many artists and patrons may be understandably skeptical about the ability to taste curatorial concepts, this project has complicated art criticism. Next time you buy a painting you may want to stop and ask yourself, “But, would I eat it?”

Correspondence from Cortona

Our deputy director, Annelies Mondi, is currently abroad in Italy, and while we didn't get her set up blogging before she left, she did send us the following email about the 40th anniversary celebration of the program held there:

The internet at the hotel is down and so I am using a student's computer here at the school. The celebration went well. Rick Johnson and President Michael Adams presented Mrs. Willson with a beautiful ceramic hand-painted plaque honoring her for her contribution to the Cortona program. It will hang in the Kehoe center. The mayor of Cortona was there, the consul general of Florence and representatives of the major banks who have provided funding. Mrs. Willson also got to meet the recipient of the Willson scholarship. She is a student of ceramics, Krisha (sp?). We then went down the hill and had a lovely dinner (many, many courses) at Tonino's and sat on the porch overlooking the valley. The dinner was hosted by President Adams and the Kehoes. Frances Mayes and her husband were there. Sandra Menendez was at my table and we had a very nice visit.

The weather has been much cooler here and I am glad to escape the heat (and crowds) in Milan and Venice. Today we go to Gubbio, tommorow Orvieto and then I hope we can see Beverly Pepper in Todi. Then we will be off to Rome.

Ciao!