This publication is the result of an almost two years ongoing work, which brought us to this marvelous March 4, 2019, where some of the Pino Poggi‘s closest friends and colleagues are able to present to the artist (and the world) his 80th birthday present. An online documentation that will finally make his AU re-searchable and manifest the social and historical importance of his work and thinking.
The long-lasting endeavor began in early 2018; talks with many friends and colleagues for the essential funding, the overall concept and the practical planning did take its time. In spring 2018 we already traveled to the AU-landscape Contrada Priore and digitized over 10.000 documents, then in more than a month’s work we put things in a structure, to finally reach the artist birthday and to present everything on the anniversary exhibition Pino Poggi – Arte Utile, which did celebrate his 80th anniversary in the KGLU, Slovenj Gradec, Slovenija.
However, we were prepared. The essential core team for the publication being: Helmut Schneider, as art-historian and critic and long-time friend of the artist, he covered the obvious essential element, when structuring a life and work of such a complex artist as Pino Poggi, the role of mentor. Then, a person not to miss was Gerald Baumgartner, who contributed not only his technical knowledge but also essentially supported efforts of structuring the content properly and who obviously, given his capabilities, did take care of all programming and the overall graphical concept. Rado Carlo Poggi, as the artists’ son and motor of this homage to his old man, organized the entire adventure, and after digitizing it, he put the structure together in a quite intensive phase, of what today can be researched on arte-utile.net.
Thanks also to Urška Čerče, who managed to keep raum AU up alongside with our regional responsibilities during a partly intense and tiresome journey.
The publication itself, as the internet suggests is in a constant process of complementation although much more material had been digitized than published until this day. The language of the few essential texts could be translated in English, the major part of the textual material is still in the original language though, waiting to be implemented in a version of the publications with the proper translations.
This publication is an important milestone also for raum AU, who has taken over responsibilities of all matters concerning the AU estate of Pino Poggi and who is building an acknowledged profile of expertise in matters of social aesthetics.
