Keep Walking Intently: When Nature Meets Art
Una Boccata D'Arte brings Sali e Tabacchi Journal to Valle D'Aosta
Take artists out of their home context, put them in new surroundings, and let them etch a piece of themselves into the local cultural fabric. The result is a unique cultural itinerary that spotlights tiny Italian villages and their centuries-old traditions, seen from the eyes of the visiting artists. An intimate contemporary art experience, una boccata d'arte is now in its third edition, initiating a dialogue between the locals, the territory, the artwork, and most importantly, the visitors.
Democratizing art and transplanting the conventional mise en place from inside galleries into the alleyways and landscapes of Italy, the initiative is a tribute to the grassroots origins of art - bringing people together for a communal purpose. Across the country's artistic and scenic heritage through art installations, exhibitions, and performances by 20 artists in 20 villages, one for each region, Sali e Tabacchi Journal takes you to Valle D'Aosta, where we walk to reach the sky.
A Walk of Tales in Valle D'Aosta
"It is perhaps from the valley's mountains that one experiences the truest sky. This is why it is important to protect the access and help walkers find it."
Graze the earth with your feet, hear the wind that carries whispers of the mountains, follow the trails of your forefathers, see the green that gives from grass to pasture, and feel the stillness that reverberates with the beating of your heart. Sensations that seem grandeur but are just primal that come simply by walking. The plain act of putting one foot ahead after another is the leap into a history of exploration for mankind and the pure and modest gesture of an ordinary man who just wants to see what lies at the end of the road.
In Morgex, walking is a ritual as sacred as the mountains that surround the quiet Alpine town of about two thousand residents. Its name takes after the term that defines walls built from rocks collected from the river bed, while its landscape is a continuous panorama of vineyards after vineyards dotted by structures of stones and wood. It is this geographical and traditional essence that imparts the work of Antonio Della Guardia in his elegantly poetic tribute 'to the walkers of tales,' Ai camminatori di storie, a collection of seven walking sticks dispersed across the town where wandering walkers might need them most.
The intrigue of Morgex's rituals in wood and walking inspired the young Neopolitan artist's study in his commission for the una boccata d'arte project. "And well-being. After dinner, especially on Sundays, the locals spend their time on woodwork, so it becomes a form of leisure and relaxation, right? It's a sense of detachment from this world that operates at a certain speed, but here, time takes on new meaning at a slower pace allowing you to pay attention to certain inner wellness," he explains.
And then there's the symbolic role of the wooden walking stick - a precious object handed down from one generation to another - in a custom practiced throughout history by the families living in this mountainous Italian town. "They stay in the family, in the home, and at a certain point, they become common objects that are shared."
With the insight of Matthew Noble, the project's curator and a local of Valle d'Aosta, Antonio converges intimate spheres of private life and the locals' bond with the valley and brings to life seven sculptures that can be aptly defined as living, functional art.
Carved from wood, each of these walking sticks of different forms and sizes features symbolic items of the culture and the land. A loaf of bread, lace doilies, a glove, or snail shells finished in aluminum embellish the sticks, each with its own function, lyrically etched onto the frame.
"Raccogli tutto che porta il vento", reads the stick with two vessels, "From my research, the strong wind here often blows away things, and this is my way of representing that identifying element of this place," Antonio says.
Placed in landmark locations across Morgex, the sculptures become outposts of a walking trail that forms a discovery route for visitors. From the town's cultural center, one can pick up a guide map and embark on a journey that intersects the juncture of tourism, art, and self-reflection while exploring the highest vineyards in Europe to admiring the views of the d'Arpy lake. One can choose to borrow the walking sticks to assist in their journey and then return them to their original place for the benefit of the next.
"It's public artwork but also a concept of relational giving. They are sculptures when they are stationary, set where they were installed. But then, it transforms into a medium that traces paths and thoughts. So there is this idea that you trace directions, things, on the path of your road, and you offer this to those who come after," Antonio says.
The sculptures of Ai camminatori di storie, as part of the una boccata d'arte project, are on view and available for use to assist in walking trips until 18th September at Morgex. The installations are accompanied by drawings of the project available for view at the city cultural center. una boccata d'arte is a project by Fondazione Elpis, in collaboration with Galleria Continua and with the participation of Threes Productions.
Name of Stamp: Valle d'Aosta
Year: 2008
We commemorate this edition of Cartolina with a stamp dedicated to Valle D’Aosta, the home region of the Alpine town Morgex. Bordering France and Switzerland, the region is a fascinating mix of influences that gives it a distinctive cultural identity.
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Until the next dispatch,
Elisa, Debrina and the rest of the Sali e Tabacchi Journal team.