If, while complaning to somebody about modern life you conclude your chat with the words "we're all in the same boat", you would receive sympathetic nods of agreement. This well-known expression is indeed used in all sorts of languages and cultures to define the human condition, we're all indeed subjected to the fortunes and misfortunes of life, no matter who we are and where we come from. Yet, for some people, we're definitely not on the same boat, as showed by the war around the arty Barcolana poster featuring Marina Abramović.
The Barcolana is a famous international regatta taking place in October in Trieste, and the war surrounding it started in July when the poster commissioned to artist Marina Abramović was finally unveiled.
In the poster Marina Abramović, dressed in a minimalist black shirt with matching trousers can be seen flying a flag and looking at the horizon. On the flag there's a simple message "We're all on the same boat".
The poster, a project co-ordinated by illycaffè creative director Carlo Bach and produced by the Barcolana Art Director Matteo Bartoli (Basiq), also features a graphic design that calls to mind the geometries of nautical flags, evoking the practice of ship dressing ("Gran Pavese") and triangles reminiscent of sails.
Hate or love Abramović, the poster, commissioned to the artist by the Società Velica di Barcola e Grignano (Barcola and Grignano Sailing Club) to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Barcolana with the support of illycaffè (a famous coffee brand well-known for its interest in the art world) doesn't look too bad nor it can be deemed offensive in any way.
The organisers explained indeed in a press release that the theme is very simple: even when we're on board of different boats in a competition, we're still sailing on the same planet that should be preserved and protected day after day. To do it properly we should leave aside any kind of individualisms and behave as if we were part of one and only team taking part in a regatta. The Chairman of the Società Velica di Barcola e Grignano, Mitja Gialuz stated he was fascinated by this message as it perfectly represented the idea of 2,000 boats sharing the same experience all together in a unique competition. You can't really disagree with him and with the ideas behind the poster that seem to be extremely easy to grasp as there's nothing conceptual behind the image, but the message points at team spirit, protecting the environment and spreading a positive vibe.
Yet the poster ended up causing a scandal: when it was first unveiled in July, the deputy mayor of Trieste, Paolo Polidori, from the (racist, fascist, xenophobic and homophobic) League party, stated that the poster was being used to make a political comment about migrants and NGO boats in the Mediterreanean and was therefore an attack against the Minister for Interior Affairs Matteo Salvini (also from The League).
Highlighting how the poster was "horrifying" in this political climate during which Salvini is busy "cleansing the Mediterranean" (his words and a clear reference to ethnic cleansing...), Polidori launched a counter slogan "Ciccio is not for boat", showing his limited knowledge of the English language and extreme narrow-mindness. The sentence is indeed the literal translation of a Trieste proverb "Ciccio no xe per barca" referred to the "Cici", the inhabitants of an area of former Yugoslavia located near Fiume, who usually went to Trieste to sell coal; they were not skilled sailors, so the proverb referred to the fact that these people "were not cut out for the sea" (literally "not made for the boat").
The deputy mayor then announced he was going to take his revenge by rechecking the agreements between the City Hall of Trieste and the Barcolana and eventually suspending funds and permits for the event.
Art critic Daniele Radini Tedeschi also hit hard against Abramović: trying to find conceptual meanings behind the poster, Tedeschi interpreted the nautical flags as references to the geometries of Russian Constructivism and the colours of Suprematism. Red was obviously a reference to Communism (mind you, he didn't notice the black shirt that could be a reference to fascists...) and to the links between Abramović's parents and Yugoslav leader Tito. Tedeschi went even further explaining that, Danica and Vojin Abramović were considered as heroes and received a medal from Tito, who invaded Trieste in 1944, deporting and killing over 10,000 Italians during the foibe massacres.
Now, leaving aside all the nasty comments and over-conceptual readings of the poster, all debates may have been sorted out by checking a few things: the theme of the Barcolana advertising campaign was announched in June last year; the image was produced between January and February, while the Italian elections took place in March. The new Italian government was sworn in in at the very end of May after a deadlock of several months.
Salvini started closing ports and blocking the arrival of migrants in June, which shows there are no connections between the advertising campaign and the government. Yet, even if there had been a connection with Salvini's aggressive policies and a critical message for the government, artists should be free to say whatever they want without the fear of being criticised; they can rebel against a system and they should do so, making a comment through their works. But this doesn't suddenly seem to be possible at the moment for artists in Italy.
A few months ago Gaetano Pesce's bleeding cruficied Italy - originally finished in 1978 when Italy was suffering during the Lead Years and then displayed at the Venice Art Biennale in 2011 (when it may have been easily read as an attack to Berlusconi's Italy) was also criticised by another representative of The League party when it was showcased in an exhibition dedicated to the designer, as, according to him, it offended the religious sensibilities of people. For the artist and designer who created it and for art lovers the work represents instead a country suffering for many reasons and it is not meant to be as a piece that offends anybody.
Marina Abramović has suddenly become a subversive and politically engaged artist, while Polidori showed all the absurdity of today's narrow-minded local politicians. He didn't even realise the possibility of cashing in on a big name such as Abramović's, eventually stating the image will be banned from the walls of Trieste, but also from the flyers, the invitations and the brochures of the event (but the Barcolana organisers still claim they want to use it for its national and international advertising campaigns).
Repressing a poster because it annoys you can be read in a very simple way, this is an act of fascism and censorship; in this case you could even read it as an attack against a woman artist since, after working with Michelangelo Pistoletto, Gillo Dorfles and photographer Maurizio Galimberti for previous editions of the Barcolana, illycaffé opted for Abramović. Shame that Polidori didn't see the universal message and the common destiny behind boats and the sea, easy metaphors that can be grasped by everybody but definitely not by fascists. Maybe the poster should be accompanied by an asterisk stating "Honi soit qui mal y pense". As for me, well, I don't think the poster is as political as they're claiming, it looks indeed like the 1966 Supershell A campaign by Elio Petri, but then I'm not a fascist and I don't support The League party, I'm just an ordinary person who likes art.
PS Trieste's deputy mayor doesn't want the Barcolana poster to be seen in and outside Trieste, so retweet it as much as you can.
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