20 FIRENZE

ARCHEOLOGICAL MUSEUM OF FLORENCE

Archeological Museum of Florence, view of the interior

Based on the collections of the Medici family, the Archeological Museum of Florence was founded in 1870 and preserves one of the most important collection of Etruscan art in the world.
In 1880 it was placed in its present location, the "Palazzo della Crocetta", built in 1620 for the grand duchess Maria Luisa of Austria probably by architect Giulio Parigi.
It includes various sections: the topographic Museum of Etruria, the Etruscan-greek-roman Antiquarium with etruscan bronzes like the famous "Chimera" or the "Haranguer", original greek statues like the "idolino" (small idol) found in Pesaro in 1530, the collection of vases and pottery (comprising the well-known "François" vase), the numismatic cabinet, the jewels collection, the prehistorical section and mural paintings from the Orvieto necropolis. It contains also the Egyptian museum, one of the most important in Italy after that of Turin. The Museum includes a rich collection of marble sculptures which lists the only two greek "Kouros" existing in Italy, known as the "Apollon" and the "little Apollon Milani", bought together with a large number of roman copies of greek originals by Polyclitus, Skopas and Praxiteles.

EMMA INNOCENTI

Emma Innocenti was born in Florence. She graduated at the London College of Printing and she exhibited her works in several group exhibitions (2002: Fotocellule, Spazio&Ricerca gallery, Turin; The final Show, London College of Printing). Selected for Quotidiana '02 Padua and for Savignano Portfolio in piazza. She lives and works between Florence and London.
emmainnocenti@yahoo.it

Personal Archive,
black canvas and leatherette suitcase (cm 21x30) containing 1424 photographs; archaeological filing, reproduction of images with captions; digital print cm 90x160.

Archivio personale
(Chartularium Imaginum Pictarum)

Description: Nucleus of 1424 images (c.d. "photographs") reproduced on small size paper sheets. No ordering.

Position: The composition and positioning (spot 1567 of the archaeological site of Florence) seem to point at the finding of the c.d. Deposito Bagagli in the train station Santa Maria Novella.

Dating: Dating is made difficult by lacks of homogeneity in the aggregation. The reference time span covers, in fact, at least 5 decades, from the 6th decade of the 20th century to the 1st decade of the 21st century.

Interpretation: Almost all images depict women (a and b) aged 20-25. (a), with a mole near her mouth, seems to be the main author of the photographs. The framing, imprecise and close, suggest they are automatic releases.

There is no sufficient evidence, however, to establish exactly the identity of a and b, what fragments of their life experience have reached us, when and why was the archive assembled.

ASTRONOMICAL RING

Astronomical ring, 19th century, brass, diameter: 290 mm

This instrument allows to determine the time of the day observing the position of the sun and to carry on other astronomical determinations. Though of relatively recent making, its building conception is far more ancient. The first astronomic rings of the same kind, in fact, were designed at the beginning of the 16th century.

IRENE IUNCO & FRANCESCO PETRONI

Irene Iunco, born in Florence in 1978, attends the I.S.I.A. Industrial & Communication Design in Florence. She lives and works in Florence, where she collaborates with several art projects.
ireneiunco@inwind.it

Francesco Petroni, born in Lucca in 1979, attends the I.S.I.A Industrial & Communication Design in Florence. He currently lives and works in Milan

Level33,
installation composed by three synchronized videos that make a loop. The work develops in the continuous attempt to complete the level of the game, an attempt each time failed and tried anew, 2002

FRANÇOIS VASE

Ergotimos e Kleitias, François vase

Named after the archaeologist Alessandro François, this big krater painted in black-figure technique was found near Dolciano, Chiusi. Property of the grand duke, it is a true masterpiece of ceramics, a piece made unique by its shape (inspired by metal models), dimensions and expositive effort. It was moulded around 570 b.C. by the potter Ergotimos and the painter Kleitias, who signed their work twice. It shows an extremely rich decorative apparatus spread in superimposed zones, representing the procession for the weeding of Peleus and Thetis, the ambush of Achilles to Troilus, the mythological Caledonian boar hunting, the return of Theseus's ship to Crete and the battle of Pygmies and Cranes.

GIUSEPPE RESTANO

Giuseppe Restano, born in Grottaglie (TA) in 1970, lives and works in Florence. Main solo exhibitions: 2002 Giuseppe Restano, Placentia Arte Contemporanea, Piacenza, 2000 Fouryouths - Franco Marconi - Cupramarittima (AP), 1999 Pittura-pittura, STAprojects - Florence.
giusepperestano@libero.it

Mosquito coil,
oil on canvas, cm 112x200, 2000

FIRENZE

	MUSEO ARCHEOLOGICO Via della Colonna 38 tel. 055/23575 EMMA INNOCENTI IRENE IUNCO & FRANCESCO PETRONI GIUSEPPE RESTANO

critical text byMatteo Chini Though linked by an undeniable historical and cultural continuity, the ancient works in the prestigious Archaeological Museum of Florence and the contemporary works populating its streets are so extremely different that they might appear incongruent or even impossible to compare. They are separated not only by a chronological distance but also by an ontological and linguistic difference. Paradigms, forms, poetics and functions, in fact, vary through time and space and according to the different cultures and single artists that produce them. The dialogue is then bound, at least at the beginning, to be a clash, a conflict, a shock allowing both ancient and contemporary art to pronounce themselves as lacking any hypocrisy. Declaring their radical reciprocal extraneousness is the only way for them to establish a deep and genuine link. This is the point the three young artists from Florence have started from this year. Confronted with the non-spatial perception of time of the pre-modern cultures, Irene Iunco and Francesco Petroni react with a video-installation representing a little theatre of domestic alienation, a sort of video-game beating the repetitive time of routine. Emma Innocenti chooses to relate directly to the idea and practice that lie behind archaeological research itself. An open case contains hundreds of photos, whose "finding" reports the intimate story of two friends, a "personal archive" that allows the viewer to piece together a sort of palaeography of private life. Giuseppe Restano, then, works on the constant presence of myth, drawing a comparison between the stories painted on the François vase and a big picture showing a mosquito coil. In this way, the Greek heroes animating the five vase bands are echoed by a totemic green spiral, a true icon of standardized consumerism.