An Opening with 3,000 People
Over 3,000 people visited the contemporary art on display at Bocconi, chatting with the artists that created the pieces and the art dealers from lending galleries, and listening to the jazz melodies of Enrico Intra and Enrico Rava. Both art and jazz lovers filled the three campus buildings for the presentation of BAG, Bocconi Art Gallery, a project to promote the contemporary art displayed on the Bocconi campus.
With 69 pieces and 33 international artists, on loan from galleries, collectors and the in some cases the artists themselves, the university is closely linked to the world of contemporary art. The initiative is part of the university's path towards arts and culture and its goal of extending itself beyond economics in its relations with the city and ideas.
The main players in last evening's event weren't just the works of art, but also the some of the artists behind each piece. Strolling through the large spaces in the Via Roentgen building, in the lobby at Via Sarfatti and the hallways of SDA, or taking part in one of the eleven guided tours (led by the Assocation for Metropolitan Interests) which hosted over 500 people, the audience thus had the opportunity to hear Franco Mazzucchelli describe Intervento Ambientale, look at Uguale-Contrario next to Mauro Staccioli, or hear the wordings of the Cantico along with Giuseppe Spagnulo. Other artists at the event included Christiane Beer, Renata Boero, Sonia Costantini, Arthur Duff, Sergio Fermariello, Giorgio Griffa and Herbert Hamak.
What did the audience think about the evening? "I was particularly struck by how the works of art are paired with the spaces on campus," said a female student in the Via Roentgen foyer. "These large spaces and the color of the buildings mix well with the conceptual works." "It's an interesting initiative proposed by the university, which always stays fresh and is interested in issues beyond simply the study of economics. This is a true opening, which I didn't expect." "I was struck by the attendance of so many young people and students," adds Arthur Duff, as his picture is taken under his work, Fight-Flight.
At the end of the tours, the audience moved to the Aula Magna to listen to "American and Italian Jazz Graffiti," a concert performed by the Civica Jazz Band, with special guest Rava on the trumpet. The concert, organized to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Furcht Pianoforti, had an audience of 700 listening to jazz melodies including Jersey Bounce, Roma Nun Fa La Stupida Stasera (in Travajoli's reinterpretation) and Spider Blues, with Intra's piano and his theatrical presence and Rava's warm, dense notes.