This exhibition, with in parts totally different “libri” on display, as we had shown some years earlier on occasion of the exhibition “Libri” in 2009 at the Koroška Galerija Likovnih Umetnosti and the show in Ljubljana in 2010.
The artist books shown here, again all unique exemplars, dated mostly between 1960 and 1980, made just that much to be read, as conventional books are, were found by visitors of the main regional library “Koroška osrednja knjižnica dr. Franc Sušnik” by their usual visit. It was an exhibition in no classical exhibition space, arte utile suddenly was there, in front of you, while looking for the next novel to read. It refreshingly irritated the visitors, it stimulated to some comments here, some talks there, it made the visit at the library a different experience, it provoked some positive dialog.
The library, especially their director Irena Oder, we worked with on other occasions during the last years, was as usual very open-minded, an enthusiast to experiment and diversify the offer to her clients by adding critical perspectives individuated and manifested in his “Libri” by Pino Poggi.
Jernej Kožar, the curator of the Museum of Social Aesthetics at the Koroška Galerija Likovnih Umetnosti, the man in charge of Pino Poggi’s Arte Utile at the Koroška Galerija Likovnih Umetnosti and Rado Carlo Poggi took care about the selection of work and the harmonic implementation of these two worlds into one synergistic Arte Utile.
As the show was already our third contribution to the European Capital of Culture MARIBOR 2012 (nota bene, without getting any funds of their programs budget), it must still be seen as an additional try to emphasize the necessity of institutions like raum AU in a prosper cultural environment.
The need to systematically finance independent cultural offers remained unacknowledged there, where someone should pay attention. We did not know it that time, who knows if something would have changed. Fact is that legitimating and justifying our work should for more years to come, remain one of our main endeavors, although our most diversified productions set new standards every single time, regarding the general conditions of work, the pro-active cooperation between institutions of the region and the involvement of regional institutions and individuals in an European context.
Thanks Dobran Lažnik and Mateja Kožar for the photographs.
More information on Pino Poggi at www.arte-utile.net
Another very enjoyable example of regional cooperation, many thanks to all involved!!
