Magazzino Italian Art invites you to participate in a public project engaging the communities of Cold Spring, the Hudson Valley, and all museum visitors.
On Saturday, April 11, during a symposium dedicated to the artist Piero Manzoni, the museum will activate Manzoni's Base magica (Magical Base), which is currently on view in the exhibition Piero Manzoni: Total Space. Created in 1961, Manzoni’s Magical Base is a wooden pedestal conceived as a “machine” capable of transforming anyone who stands upon it into a living work of art. Members of the public will be invited to stand on the pedestal and become, for a few moments, works of art.
During the early 1960s, Manzoni developed a series of actions involving the public that challenged and expanded the boundaries of what art can be, including Sculture viventi (Living Sculptures). In these performances, he signed the bodies of participants posing as sculptures. He also issued Certificati d’autenticità (Certificates of Authenticity), documents through which he declared that an individual—or even a part of an individual—had been designated a work of art, mixing a rigorous conceptual framework with a sharp sense of irony.
At Magazzino, visitors are invited to take part in a contemporary activation of this gesture. The Base magica, currently on view in the isotropic room of the Robert Olnick Pavilion, will serve once again as a site of transformation, where participants temporarily assume the status of living artworks.
During this special activation, each participant will:
Stand on the Base magica for one minute
Be documented as a living artwork
Receive a photograph and record of participation
The collaborative activation will also be featured in an upcoming Magazzino publication