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Un po' di pepe

~ …… (oon∙poh∙dee∙PEH∙peh) Cristina writes about interesting stuff /Cristina scrive di cose interessanti

Un po' di pepe

Tag Archives: Contemporary art Napoli

Napoli Street Art

29 Saturday Feb 2020

Posted by Un po' di pepe in Art, Italia, Photography

≈ 20 Comments

Tags

Banksy, Blub, Contemporary art Napoli, Exit/Enter, Jorit, Napoli Centro Storico, Roxy in the box, Southern Italy

volto di Sophia Loren Napoli street artNapoli is gritty, wonderfully chaotic, passionate and anything but boring, making it a perfect place for self-expression.  Graffiti is not a new concept to the Napoletani.  Ancient graffiti can be found in Pompeii, including ‘I was here’ type messages and suggestive notes written on the walls of the brothel.  In the historic center of Napoli graffiti, posters and murals have been elevated to a fine art form.  I was in Napoli on a search for Blub street art and ended up finding so much more.

Volto di Sophia, a colourful Bollywood inspired portrait of iconic Napoletana Sophia Loren is on Vico dei Zuroli, just off of Via dei Tribunali.  The artist is Stikki Peaches, originally from Montreal.Madonna con la Pistola Banksy Napoli street art

Madonna con la Pistola is the only work in Italia by the elusive and mysterious English street artist Banksy.  It is in Piazza Gerolamini, off of Via dei Tribunali.  The Madonna in ecstasy with a gun in place of a halo is the artist’s exploration of the relationship between religion and organized crime.  It has now been covered by glass for protection from the elements.

Street portrait of San Gennaro by Jorit AgochSan Gennaro, a hyperrealistic 15m high portrait of Napoli’s patron saint is by Italian- Dutch artist Jorit Agoch (Jorit Ciro Cerullo).  It is on Via Forcella near the Duomo.  The model is the artist’s friend, a mechanic also named Gennaro.  This could be an homage to Caravaggio, who would take ordinary people off the street to be his models for paintings of extraordinary people. There are more ginormous Jorit murals in the Ponticelli Graffiti park near the airport and in the financial district.Pizza vs McDonalds

Exit/Enter is a street artist from Firenze who paints whimsical, expressive stick figures. There are a few Exit/Enter works around Napoli, including this one which I though was an angry pizza and a clown.  Then I realized the clown looked like a skinny Ronald McDonald.  Sure enough-it is titled ‘Pizza vs McDonald’s’! I do not remember the name of the street, but it was also just off of Via dei Tribunali.

San Pio Daniele TvBoy Street ArtBeloved Napoletano singer Pino Daniele passed away in 2015. Pino with his smile and guitar is sainted by artist TvBoy in San Pino Daniele found in Vico dei Panettieri.  Grazie to Sara from My Dear Italia for the photo.Mission Possible is the colourful mural by Napoletana artist Roxy in the box (Rosaria Bosso). She includes 2 important figures in the history of Napoli; San Gennaro and Caravaggio. They are casually hanging out reading the New York Times and 24 Ore.  It is in Piazza Cardinale Sisto Riario Sforza, near the Duomo, Pio Monte della Misericordia and Via dei Tribunali.

Napoli Street Art StencilThis stencil baby is on an electrical panel is near the lineup to get into the Cappella San Severo.  The signature on the bum says Joan Aquito.

Blub Verdi, NapoliGiuseppe Verdi and a Renaissance woman covered by a shop door are the only Blub work I found on the street after visiting the Blub Pompeii inspired exhibit at the Museo Archeologico Nazionale Napoli.  I was disappointed not to find Totò, another iconic Napoletano.  For more Blub love, read Blub a Napoli and L’arte sa Nuotare.Renaissance woman by Blub

I hope you enjoyed this street art tour of Napoli Centro Storico! More Napoli information can be found in Un Giorno a Napoli. Banksy Madonna con la Pistola Napoli Ciao, Cristina

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Blub a Napoli

28 Wednesday Aug 2019

Posted by Un po' di pepe in Art, Italia, Photography

≈ 23 Comments

Tags

Art history, Blub, Contemporary art Napoli, Fresco painting, L'arte sa nuotare, Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli, Napoli, Pompeii, Street art

Blub Il Volo di Dedalo e la caduta di Icaro fresco MANNA few weeks ago I took a daytrip to Napoli for sfogliatelle-but also to see the Blub exhibit at MANN (Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli).  If you do not know about the street artist from Firenze, make sure to read my Blub post L’Arte sa Nuotare.  Blub (Bloob) takes famous works of art and gives them a new look, immersing them underwater, complete with blue background, snorkel masks and bollicine-bubbles.  Prints are organically glued to the metallic doors of gas and electrical panels, which provide ready-made frames.

To prepare for the exhibit, Napoli’s Centro Storico was ‘Blubified’ with 40 works plastered on sportelli-the doors of gas and electrical panels. A few are specific to Napoli, for example Totò and Re Carlo III Borbone (King Charles III).Blub, Re Carlo III Borbone a Napoli

In the exhibit, which only includes 5 new works, the project ‘L’Arte sa Nuotare’ (Art knows how to swim) is extended to Pompeii.  4 paintings on metal are inspired by affreschi (frescoes) from the ruins of Pompeii.  There is also the portrait of Carlo III and some sculptures have been adorned with masks and fins, as well as the tomb in the photo below.Museo Archeologico Nazionale Napoli Blub

The nymph is a detail from the fresco ‘Il Volo di Dedalo e la caduta di Icaro’(the flight of Dedalus and the fall of Icarus) from Villa Imperiale, Pompeii.  It is an acrylic painting on a metal door and I love how the rust has been incorporated. Detail from Il Volo di Dedalo e la caduta di Icaro Blub pompeii

Terentius Neo e la moglie (Terentius Neo and his wife) is a fresco from 55-79 AD found in 1868 in the house of baker Terentius Neo, which was also the bakery. The middle class couple is well-dressed, and he holds a scroll with seal, his wife a stylus and wax tablet to demonstrate that they are literate and cultured.  His wife is portrayed as an equal, in fact she seems to be standing in front of her husband.Blub Terentius Neo e la moglie

Here is the original fresco in MANN:Terentius Neo e la moglie Pompeii

Donna con tavolette cerate e stilo (Woman with wax tablets and pen) is a tondo, a round painting found in 1760 in the Insula Occidentalis house in Pompeii.  It depicts a wealthy woman with gold earrings and a gold hair net. She is holding a stylus and 4 wax tablets, to demonstrate learning and culture.  This  fresco is known as Sappho, although it is not a portrait of the poetess, in fact the stylus and wax tablets were more likely used for accounting than poetry. Blub again incorporates the rust on the metal door to add ‘age’ to the work.'Sappho' by Blub Napoli

The original fresco in MANN:Sappho MANN

My favourite Blub here is Maschera Teatrale di Donna (Woman’s theater mask) inspired by a fresco in Casa del braciale d’oro (House of the golden bracelet) in Pompeii. The work is under glass, so my photo has glare issues.  The tag says that this Blub work is an acrylic on metal door and is in a private collection in Hingham, Massachusetts, so I think that means Blub made a sale!

Maschera Teatrale subacqua, from L’Arte sa Nuotare Facebook page

Blub quote Napoli MANN exhibit

‘….water is my element.  Life is born from water, it is the hidden side of matter.  When you are immersed, time stops and becomes weightless, while thoughts flow freely in a suspended dimension…for this I propose personalities that have transmitted an example of greatness that survives still today, as if underwater, without time.’  Blub

Seeing all the affreschi from Pompeii in MANN really inspired me to get out my bucket of plaster and pigments.  Fresco painting is not a very ‘modern’ art form, but I have dabbled in it a bit and really love it.  Below is my detail of La Cappella Sistina. My next fresco painting might be one of Giotto’s angels. I’ll be looking for rusty metal doors to paint on! Let me know if you have any.Cappella Sistina Cristina Pepe

Blub hunting in the Centro Storico was not very productive.  We found a peek-a boo Blub….a Renaissance woman mostly covered by the propped open door of a store! Blub NapoliGiuseppe Verdi looks very distinguished among the graffiti.  I was disappointed to not find a Totò, but did find a Banksy and lots of other interesting street art-which I will leave for another post!Blub Verdi, Napoli

The exhibit in MANN ends in a few days.  I hope you enjoyed this virtual Blub tour and that all of you can some day view real life ‘Blubi’! Ciao, Cristina

*Photo credit-Both photos of Terentius Neo e la moglie and Blub’s Sappho taken by my cugino and Napoli travel partner Mark ‘Peperotti‘ Pepe

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