PERFORMER: A young woman
PROPS: A white wooden cube (50 × 50 × 50 cm), a ‘Giovane Italiana’ Fascist uniform
DIMENSIONS: Wooden cube: 50 × 50 × 50 cm
DURATION: Variable, 90–120 min.
DOCUMENTATION: Photographs, video
RE-ENACTMENTS: Yes
COLLECTION: Fabio Mauri Estate, Rome
CATALOGUE: P_1973_3324
A girl in a Fascist ‘Giovane Italiana’ uniform enters the scene and stands before a white wooden cube. On that spot, she turns counterclockwise ninety degrees, then another ninety, and again, until returning to a frontal position. Next, she sits down, extends her feet outwards on the floor, and opening her legs she stares at the audience, allowing her wide skirt to fall to the sides revealing her white cotton panties. The young woman stands up. With slow, composed movements, she takes off her hat, folds it, and holds it out in front of her. As before, she makes a quarter turn on the spot, then another. With her back to the audience, she puts the folded hat down on the cube, then slowly, in two stages, returns to the frontal position. Next, she removes her cape and repeats the sequence identically, and so on for each garment, until she is naked.
Following the same process, the girl puts on one garment at a time, and then again undresses and puts her clothes back on. At this point, the perfect discipline of the action is disturbed by an unusual sequence of clothes, generating bizarre combinations that undermine the seriousness of the uniform, suggesting an underlying distortion, a spontaneous resistance to ideological dressing, in stark contrast to the naturalness of the nude. ‘Along the gradual path toward symbolic nudity we witness the unravelling of every ideological costume, slowly falling apart, showing how the only datum of reality and certainty is the idea of nature, which overcomes every garment imposed by a culture of its time.’1 The action was first presented in January 1974 at Galleria Duemila in Bologna, entitled Natura e cultura; the title was later changed to Ideologia e nature. A number of variations followed over the years: in early performances, the action took place on a carpet with Hebrew writing and motifs on it, accompanied by a ticking metronome and an image of a clock with an effigy of Il Duce (Benito Mussolini) hung on the wall,2 which the artist later removed. In Vancouver, Canada, the action featured a soundtrack on which, amidst background Fascist chanting, a female voice softly repeated ‘Non voglio essere fascista / I don’t want to be Fascist’. In Amsterdam in 1979, rather than wearing a Fascist uniform, the girl wore contemporary ‘civvies’. In 1974, Ideologia e natura was included as part of a more complex performance entitled Analisi dell’opera con essa stessa (inv. 3475), in which Mauri entered the scene and interacted with his ‘living work’ through a dialogue on art that had psychoanalytic overtones. ‘Unlike others, this action is almost completely delegated to a body. It is not, as in others I have done, cast from “objects”, esteemed as inevitably pervaded by action in the “physical” and “intellectual” sense. Exact cadencing nullifies all immobility, as well as all dynamics understood as movement, in a person, the sign of his or her dress and sound signals. It is not a person, it is not a statue …3 Eyes not half-closed, through action, one observes meaning.’4
1. M. D’Alesio, Natura e Cultura in Fabio Mauri. Opere e Azioni 1954–1994, catalogue of the exhibition (Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Rome, 1994), edited by C. Christov-Bakargiev, M. Cossu, Editoriale Giorgio Mondadori / Carte Segrete, Milan / Rome, 1994, p. 142.
2. The clock in the photo is the one hanging on the handlebars of the wheelchair in the ‘Ebrea’ exhibition- installation (inv. 309). Mauri donated the print to Roberto Rossini, the Falconiere gallery owner, who staged the performance in 1976 (inv. 3380).
3. F. Mauri, ‘Con/senza – Ideologia e natura 1973’, text distributed on the occasion of the performance at the Western Front Society, Vancouver 1977, published in F. Mauri, Scritti in mostra. L'avanguardia come zona 1958–2008, edited by Francesca Alfano Miglietti, il Saggiatore, Milan, 2008, p. 33.
4. F. Mauri, invitation card for Ideologia e natura, Galleria del Falconiere, Falconara, 1976.
1974, Bologna, Galleria de’ Foscherari, Ghenos Eros Thanatos, 15 November – 16 December, curated by Alberto Boatto.
1974, Bologna, Galleria Duemila, Fabio Mauri aggiornamenti a & da D.P.V., opening 12 January.
1974, Milan, Galleria Eros Libreria, Analisi dell'opera con essa stessa / Ideologia e natura (action), in Eros come linguaggio, 23 October, curated by Lea Vergine, Pierre Restany.
1975, Salerno, Università di Salerno, Analisi dell’opera con essa stessa, curated by Filiberto Menna.
1976, Falconara (Ancona), Galleria del Falconiere, Ideologia e natura, 13 November.
1977, Rome, Palazzo Taverna, Ideologia e natura (action), in Incontri internazionali d’arte, 15 April.
1977, Certaldo (Florence), Palazzo Pretorio, L’Esperienza, 1 October – 30 November, curated by Lara-Vinca Masini.
1977, Graz, Landesmuseum Joanneum, Trigon ’77. Der kreative Prozess: Beispiele und gegenbeispiele. Steirischer Herbst ’77, 8 October – 13 November, curated by Umberto Apollonio, Lea Vergine.
1978, Vancouver, Western Front Gallery, Language is war, 19 September – 1 October.
1979, Amsterdam, De Appel, Muro d’Europa: La barca, 25 May – 2 June.
1979, Genoa, Teatro del Falcone, Liberi vettori di cultura, opening 29 June.
1992, Milan, Studio Casoli, Fabio Mauri. 3 performances, 8 April, curated by Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev.
1993, Prato, Centro per l’Arte Contemporanea Luigi Pecci, Inside Out, 27 March – 16 May, curated by Ida Panicelli.
1994, Rome, Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Fabio Mauri. Opere e Azioni 1954-1994, 21 June – 5 October, curated by Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev, Marcella Cossu.
1995, London, Istituto Italiano di Cultura, Le grandi carte, opening 27 February, curated by Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev, Francesco Villari.
1995, Locarno, Palazzo della Sopracenerina, Ideologia e natura (action), in XVI Festival international de la vidéo et des arts électroniques, 31 August, curated by Achille Bonito Oliva.
2003, Tourcoing-Lille, Le Fresnoy, Studio national des arts contemporains, Fabio Mauri – L’écran mental, 1 March – 27 April, curated by Dominique Païni.
2013, Venice, LV Esposizione Internazionale d’Arte di Venezia, Italian Pavillon, Vice versa, 1 June – 24 November, curated by Bartolomeo Pietromarchi.
2014, Buenos Aires, Fundación PROA, Fabio Mauri, 6 September – 23 November, curated by Giacinto Di Pietrantonio.
2016-2017, Naples, Museo Madre, Retrospettiva a luce solida, 26 November 2016 – 6 March 2017, curated by Laura Cherubini, Andrea Viliani.
2018, Paris, Centre Pompidou, Ideologia e natura (action), in In vivo – Hommage à Fabio Mauri, 24 May, curated by Valérie Da Costa.
2018, Rome, Studio Fabio Mauri, Ideologia e natura (action), in Fabio Mauri: le passé en actes, 5 July.
Artefiera Bologna, exhibition catalogue, Artefiera Bologna (Bologna, 1974), p. 14 (ill.).
“Dramma, suspense, dolore per la regia di Fabio Mauri”, in Il giornale d’Italia, 17 January 1974, p. II (ill.).
Catalogo nazionale Bolaffi. Segnalati Bolaffi 1977 - 59 artisti scelti da 60 critici (Turin: Giulio Bolaffi editore, 1976), p. 110 (ill.).
Fabio Mauri. Ideologia e natura 1973/1976, exhibition catalogue, Galleria del Falconiere, Falconara (Falconara, 1976), n.p. (ill.).
Fabio Mauri, “L'Olanda”, in Traccia, no. 0, Bologna, January 1981, n.p. (ill.).
La casa di Dedalo, no. 1, Parma, 1983, pp. 66–70 (ill.).
Documenti per l’arte contemporanea. Fabio Mauri: Che cosa è, se è, l’ideologia nell’arte, no. 11, Il Bagatto, edited by Simonetta Lux, Rome, 1984, pp. 17–18 (ill.).
Lea Vergine, L’Arte in gioco (Milan: Garzanti, 1988), n.p. (ill.).
Lara-Vinca Masini, Arte contemporanea. La linea dell’unicità: Arte come volontà e non rappresentazione (Florence: Giunti, 1989), p. 1066 (ill.).
Giorgio Di Genova, Storia dell’arte italiana del ’900: Generazione anni Venti (Bologna: Edizioni Bora, 1991), pp. 405–406 (ill.).
La pietra svelata: Contributi alla seconda Biennale ’91 / ’92, edited by Andrea Taddei (L’Aquila, 1992), p. 93 (ill.).
Inside Out. Museo città eventi, exhibition catalogue, Museo Pecci, Prato, edited by Ida Panicelli, Antonella Soldaini (Milan: Charta, 1993), p. 105, no. 57 (ill.).
Patrizia Ferri, “Fabio Mauri ”, in Flash Art, Year XXVII, no. 187, Giancarlo Politi Editore, Milan, October 1994, p. 94 (ill.).
Fabio Mauri. Opere e Azioni 1954-1994, exhibition catalogue, Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Rome, edited by Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev, Marcella Cossu (Milan / Rome: Editoriale Giorgio Mondadori / Carte Segrete, 1994), pp. 142–145 (ill.).
Shape your body, exhibition catalogue, Galleria La Giarina, Verona, edited by Luigi Meneghelli (Verona: La Giarina, 1994), p. 49.
Video art: XVI Festival international de la vidéo et des arts électroniques, exhibition catalogue, Palazzo della Sopracenerina, Locarno (Locarno, 1995), p. 36.
Luciano Marucci, “Fabio Mauri ”, in Juliet, no. 77, Trieste, April–May 1996, p. 44 (ill.).
L’Art Vidéo 1980-1999: Vingt ans du VideoArt Festival, Locarno. Recherches, théories, perspectives, edited by Vittorio Fagone (Milan: Mazzotta, 1999), p. 287 (ill.).
Fabio Mauri. La meva cosina Marcella i la guerra civil, exhibition catalogue, Fundació “La Caixa”, Barcelona, edited by Martí Peran (Barcelona, 1999), p. 10 (ill.).
Nottefonda, exhibition catalogue, Associazione culturale La Palma, Rome, edited by Angelo Capasso (Rome: Associazione culturale La Palma, 2000), pp. 24–25 (ill.).
Akropolis: Catarsi dell’arte contemporanea, exhibition catalogue, Teatro Comunale Fraschini, Pavia, edited by Giacomo Zaza (Pavia, 2000), n.p. (ill.).
Angelo Capasso, “Intervista a Fabio Mauri”, in Homo Sapiens, Year IV, no. 5–6, Teseo editore, Rome, May 2001, pp. 87–103.
Angelo Capasso, Aª L’Arte per l’arte (Rome: Marta Massaioli Editore, 2002), p. 115.
Lara-Vinca Masini, L’Arte del Novecento n.6: Dall’Espressionismo al Multimediale (Rome: Gruppo editoriale L’Espresso, 2003), p. 1066 (ill.).
Fiodor Sologub, La luce e le ombre (Rome: Edizioni Kami, 2003), cover (ill.).
Ludovico Pratesi, “L'uomo che proiettò Gesù sul corpo di Pasolini”, in Il Venerdì, no. 780, Rome, 28 February 2003, p. 98 (ill.).
Elisabetta Catalano, Le fotografie, edited by Laura Cherubini (Turin: Galleria Civica d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, 2005), pp. 210–211 (ill.).
Giovanna Le Noci, “Fabio Mauri”, in Osservare il pensiero riflesso, exhibition catalogue, Atelier Arco Amoroso and Mole Vanvitelliana, Ancona, edited by Gianluca Ranzi (Grottaferrata, Rome: ArteCom editore, 2007), p. 99 (ill.).
Stefano Chiodi, “Attraversando lo specchio dell'ideologia. Intervista con Fabio Mauri”, in Reset, no. 100, Milan, March–April 2007, p. 89 (ill.).
Fabio Mauri. L’universo d’uso, exhibition catalogue, Auditorium Parco della Musica, Rome, edited by Francesca Alfano Miglietti (Milan: Skira, 2008), p. 72 (ill.).
Fabio Mauri, Scritti in mostra. L’avanguardia come zona 1958-2008, edited by Francesca Alfano Miglietti (Milan: il Saggiatore, 2008), pp. 32–33, 224 (ill.).
Flash Art, Year XLII, no. 277, Milan, August–September 2009, cover (ill.).
Fabio Mauri, Io sono un ariano (Milan: Lampi di stampa, 2009), pp. 121–128 (ill.).
Alfabeta 2, Year I, no. 2, Milan, September 2010, p. 16 (ill.).
Elena Volpato, “Fabio Mauri: starting from the end”, in Mousse, no. 29, Milan, Summer 2011, p. 141 (ill.).
Lea Mattarella, “Fabio Mauri - Quando l'arte mette in scena tutto l'orrore del Novecento”, in la Repubblica, Year 37, no. 185, Rome, 5 August 2012, p. 44 (ill.).
Lea Mattarella, “La storia come tragedia”, in Arte, no. 467, Milan, July 2012, p. 83 (ill.).
Marco Vallora, “Mauri. La colpa si espia con l'arte”, in La Stampa, Year 146, no. 168, Turin, 19 June 2012, p. 35 (ill.).
Federica Boràgina, Fabio Mauri. Che cosa è, se è, l’ideologia nell’arte (Catanzaro: Rubbettino editore, 2012), pp. 67–69, no. 12, p. 67 (ill.).
Fabio Mauri. The End, exhibition catalogue, Palazzo Reale, Milan, edited by Francesca Alfano Miglietti (Milan: Skira, 2012), p. 146.
Vice versa: 55. Esposizione Internazionale d’Arte di Venezia, exhibition catalogue, La Biennale, Venice, edited by Bartolomeo Pietromarchi (Milan: Mousse Publishing, 2013), pp. 129, 130–133 (ill.).
Elisabetta Catalano, Work with Fabio Mauri, edited by Laura Cherubini (Milan: Maretti Editore, 2013), pp. 10, 48–59 (ill.).
Lea Mattarella, “Gruppo di sculture con cantante e coiffeur”, in la Repubblica, Rome, 29 May 2013, pp. 52–53 (ill.).
Insideart, Guido Talarico Editore, Rome, June 2013, p. 95 (ill.).
Fabio Mauri, exhibition catalogue, Fundación PROA, Buenos Aires, edited by Giacinto Di Pietrantonio (Buenos Aires, 2014), pp. 46–47 (ill.).
Ennesima. Una mostra di sette mostre sull’arte italiana, exhibition catalogue, Palazzo della Triennale, Milan, edited by Vincenzo De Bellis (Milan: Mousse Publishing, 2015), Vol. “La performance dal tempo sospeso: il tableau vivant tra realtà e rappresentazione”, p. 35 (ill.).
Fabio Mauri. Archivio di memoria, edited by Dionigi Mattia Gagliardi (Rome: Numero cromatico editore, 2015), pp. 121–123 (ill.).
Eugenio Viola, “Fabio Mauri, coscienza critica del tempo”, in Arte, Milan, January 2016, p. 126 (ill.).
Fabio Mauri 1968-1978, exhibition catalogue, Fondazione Malvina Menegaz, Castelbasso (Teramo), edited by Laura Cherubini (Cinisello Balsamo: Silvana Editoriale, 2018), p. 55 (ill.).
Valérie Da Costa, Fabio Mauri: le passé en actes (Dijon: Les presses du réel, 2018), nn. 69–72, pp. 128–133 (ill.).
Burcu Dogramaci, Fotografie der Performance: Live Art im Zeitalter ihrer Reproduzierbarkeit (München: Wilhelm Fink, 2018), pp. 123–125 (ill.).
Stefano Chiodi, “Fascismo in azione, meccanica ipnotica: Fabio Mauri”, in Alias, Rome, 11 November 2018, p. 11 (ill.).
Laura Cherubini, Contro corrente: I grandi solitari dell’arte italiana: Alighiero Boetti, Gino De Dominicis, Luciano Fabro, Fabio Mauri, Vettor Pisani, Marisa Merz (Milan: Christian Marinotti edizioni, 2020), pp. 112–113.
Marcella Vanzo, “Il corpo si fa poesia. Fabio Mauri e le sue prime performance”, in Artedossier, no. 387, Florence, May 2021, pp. 42–43 (ill.).
Sara Codutti, “Fabio Mauri, Bologna 1938-1978: poesia, ideologia, azione”, in La performance a Bologna negli anni ’70, edited by Uliana Zanetti (Bologna: Settore Musei Civici Bologna / MAMbo – Museo d’Arte Moderna di Bologna, 2023), p. 263 (ill.).
