Art & Experimental Film is a project curated by Jennifer Malvezzi, Mirco Santi and Paolo Simoni born in 2017 with the aim of rereading in a contemporary key the production of some of the most significant Italian artists and filmmakers of the golden age of Super8 (and other reduced formats), recovering their performative character, the materiality of the film and the aesthetic and perceptive dimension. The project is realised by the Home Movies Archive Foundation in close collaboration with authors, archives, cultural institutions, galleries and independent curators.
From the mid-1960s until the middle of the following decade, in Italy, an increasing number of artists approached cinema, moved both by the need to “get out of the picture” and by the need to use a medium with a higher communicative potential than traditional arts. At the same time, very young filmmakers from the amateur world are experimenting more and more radically in the name of a proud independence from the film industry. Two parallel tracks which sometimes met (and clashed) but which both contributed, in the long run, to influencing mainstream cinema, audiovisual communication and the media system. However, on the whole, it is still a little-known production that, although it was born in the climate of general protest in which the so-called militant cinema had also developed, was part of a broader discourse of visual culture, aiming to transform the spectator into a participating and conscious actor, calling into question his senses and at the same time his ability to analyse the image.
Home Movies, starting from the films in the archive and from works found in other archives, cultural foundations and private institutions, addresses the public and cultural institutions and intends to characterise itself through the study, historical and philological recovery of film materials, accompanied by the re-edition in film and re-enactment of works and experiences that constitute a heritage whose rediscovery can make a significant contribution to contemporary reflection.
Since its foundation, the artists and filmmakers who have been involved in this project are:
Massimo Bacigalupo, Valentina Berardinone, Mirella Bentivoglio, Gianfranco Brebbia, Gianni Castagnoli, Tonino De Bernardi, Fernando De Filippi, Nato Frascà, Andrea Granchi, Francesco Leonetti, Ugo Locatelli, Ugo Mulas, Gianfranco Pardi, Arnaldo Pomodoro, Giovanni Rubino, Franco Vaccari.
The program Art & Experimental for Archivio Aperto 2023 is curated by Jennifer Malvezzi and Mirco Santi.
With the collaboration of Archivio Gianfranco Pardi, Emilia Patruno Pardi,Marialuisa Pani Rubino, Archivio Mirella Bentivoglio, Ilaria Bentivoglio, Ludovica Fales.
