The research aims at mapping the occasions of the transatlantic exchange between Italy and North-America in the post-war years by examining the actors, programs, and tools involved and by focusing on the moments in which traveling exhibitions, primarily architectural and design ones, played an instrumental role in the cultural transfer between the two contexts. The purpose of the research is to understand and convey the complexity of these transatlantic relations, and how they evolved throughout the years. Trying to represent the intricacy that characterizes this comprehensive framework does not mean drawing up a descriptive, analytical work in relation to the events presented. It rather means attempting at sewing together all the occasions and moments in which the transfer took place, highlighting the different potential extents, available resources, and strategic outputs. Furthermore,by considering both sides of the exchange, the study questions what the bi-directionality of the transatlantic transfer implied and meant for each side, problematizing it through the lens of observation of exhibitions, analysing the different interests at stake, their nature, the strategies adopted and the figures involved on each side of the dialogue. The research argues the impossibility of reading the exchange as a linear, one-directional process, a perspective in line with that adopted by Paolo Scrivano - co-supervisor of the work, who questions the current interpretations of transatlantic relations in architecture and reconsiders the means and consequences of the circulation of cultural and formal models between the two sides of the Atlantic, observing their interpretations and misinterpretations within the Italian context. The specific insight on the American side of the exchange, particularly on the unexplored platform of The Museum of Modern Art’s (MoMA) Circulating Exhibitions and International Program constitutes an original contribution to different classes of investigations. Indeed, the work can be positioned at the crossroad of a plurality of diverse fields of study and interweaves the recent literature that, adopting different angles and perspectives, addressing the discourse on a variety of different topics. Among them, there are studies on the transnational history and transatlantic relations between Europe, Italy and North America, as the researches of Greg Castillo or David Ellwood; or also studies on the Americanization of architecture and urbanism, such as the works of Jean-Louis Cohen, Scrivano, Murray Fraser and Joe Kerr. For what concerns the architectural discipline, the work of Scrivano has been extremely helpful particularly for overviewing the Italian side of the transfer, as he focuses on the transatlantic exchange and maps out the occasions and events linked to the American presence in Italian architectural culture in the post-war years. The research associates itself also to the recent scholarship linking exhibitions, architecture culture and soft power, dealing with the relationship between design culture and Cold War, such as the ground-breaking works of Jack Masey and Lloyd Morgan Conway, David Crowley and Jane Pavitt. Studies working on the relationship between media and architecture, and the role of exhibitions in the representation and codification of models and figures, namely Terence Riley’s work on the International Style exhibition, are also exploited as methodological models for the presentation of a specific case study, The Modern Movement in Italy: Architecture and Design, a monographic exhibition on Italian architecture organized under the auspices of the International Program at MoMA in 1954.
La ricerca mira a mappare le occasioni dello scambio transatlantico tra Italia e Nord America negli anni del dopoguerra esaminando gli attori, i programmi e gli strumenti coinvolti e concentrandosi sui momenti in cui le mostre itineranti, soprattutto architettoniche e di design, hanno svolto un ruolo strumentale nel trasferimento culturale tra i due contesti. Lo scopo della ricerca è comprendere e trasmettere la complessità di queste relazioni transatlantiche e come si sono evolute nel corso degli anni. Cercare di rappresentare la complessità che caratterizza questo quadro globale non significa elaborare un lavoro descrittivo e analitico in relazione agli eventi presentati. Significa piuttosto tentare di ricucire insieme tutte le occasioni e i momenti in cui è avvenuto lo scambio, evidenziando le diverse caratteristiche, le risorse disponibili e gli output strategici di ogni iniziativa. Inoltre, considerando entrambi i lati dello scambio, lo studio mette in discussione ciò che la bidirezionalità del trasferimento transatlantico implicava per ciascuna parte, problematizzandola attraverso la lente di osservazione delle mostre, analizzando i diversi interessi in gioco, la loro natura, la strategie adottate e le figure coinvolte su ciascun lato del dialogo. La ricerca sostiene l'impossibilità di leggere lo scambio come un processo lineare, unidirezionale, una prospettiva in linea con quella adottata da Paolo Scrivano - co-supervisore del lavoro, che mette in discussione le attuali interpretazioni delle relazioni transatlantiche in architettura e riconsidera i mezzi e conseguenze della circolazione di modelli culturali e formali tra le due sponde dell'Atlantico, osservando le loro interpretazioni e le loro incomprensioni all'interno del contesto italiano. L'intuizione specifica sul lato americano dello scambio, in particolare sulla piattaforma inesplorata delle mostre circolanti e del programma internazionale del Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) costituisce un contributo originale a diverse classi di investigazione. In effetti, il lavoro può essere posizionato al crocevia di una pluralità di diversi campi di studio, e intreccia la letteratura recente che, adottando diversi punti di vista e prospettive, affronta il discorso partendo da una varietà di argomenti diversi. Tra questi, ci sono studi sulla storia transnazionale e le relazioni transatlantiche tra Europa, Italia e Nord America, come le ricerche di Greg Castillo o David Ellwood; o anche studi sull'americanizzazione dell'architettura e dell'urbanismo, come le opere di Jean-Louis Cohen, Scrivano, Murray Fraser e Joe Kerr. Per quanto riguarda la disciplina architettonica, l'opera di Scrivano è stata di grande aiuto soprattutto per la visione d'insieme della parte italiana del trasferimento, poiché si concentra sullo scambio transatlantico e delinea le occasioni e gli eventi legati alla presenza americana nella cultura architettonica italiana nel anni del dopoguerra. La ricerca si associa anche ai recenti filoni di ricerca che collegano mostre, cultura architettonica e soft power, affrontando il rapporto tra la il design e la guerra fredda, come le opere di Jack Masey e Lloyd Morgan Conway, David Crowley e Jane Pavitt. Gli studi sul rapporto tra media e architettura e il ruolo delle mostre nella rappresentazione e nella codificazione di modelli e figure, vale a dire il lavoro di Terence Riley sulla mostra sull’International Style, sono sfruttati come modelli metodologici per la presentazione di un caso studio specifico, “The modern movement in Italy: Architecture and Design”, una mostra monografica sull'architettura italiana organizzata sotto gli auspici del programma internazionale al MoMA nel 1954.
Mapping Italo-American trajectories : travelling exhibitions, architecture culture and MoMA's international program. 1945-1961
CASALI, VALERIA
2017/2018
Abstract
The research aims at mapping the occasions of the transatlantic exchange between Italy and North-America in the post-war years by examining the actors, programs, and tools involved and by focusing on the moments in which traveling exhibitions, primarily architectural and design ones, played an instrumental role in the cultural transfer between the two contexts. The purpose of the research is to understand and convey the complexity of these transatlantic relations, and how they evolved throughout the years. Trying to represent the intricacy that characterizes this comprehensive framework does not mean drawing up a descriptive, analytical work in relation to the events presented. It rather means attempting at sewing together all the occasions and moments in which the transfer took place, highlighting the different potential extents, available resources, and strategic outputs. Furthermore,by considering both sides of the exchange, the study questions what the bi-directionality of the transatlantic transfer implied and meant for each side, problematizing it through the lens of observation of exhibitions, analysing the different interests at stake, their nature, the strategies adopted and the figures involved on each side of the dialogue. The research argues the impossibility of reading the exchange as a linear, one-directional process, a perspective in line with that adopted by Paolo Scrivano - co-supervisor of the work, who questions the current interpretations of transatlantic relations in architecture and reconsiders the means and consequences of the circulation of cultural and formal models between the two sides of the Atlantic, observing their interpretations and misinterpretations within the Italian context. The specific insight on the American side of the exchange, particularly on the unexplored platform of The Museum of Modern Art’s (MoMA) Circulating Exhibitions and International Program constitutes an original contribution to different classes of investigations. Indeed, the work can be positioned at the crossroad of a plurality of diverse fields of study and interweaves the recent literature that, adopting different angles and perspectives, addressing the discourse on a variety of different topics. Among them, there are studies on the transnational history and transatlantic relations between Europe, Italy and North America, as the researches of Greg Castillo or David Ellwood; or also studies on the Americanization of architecture and urbanism, such as the works of Jean-Louis Cohen, Scrivano, Murray Fraser and Joe Kerr. For what concerns the architectural discipline, the work of Scrivano has been extremely helpful particularly for overviewing the Italian side of the transfer, as he focuses on the transatlantic exchange and maps out the occasions and events linked to the American presence in Italian architectural culture in the post-war years. The research associates itself also to the recent scholarship linking exhibitions, architecture culture and soft power, dealing with the relationship between design culture and Cold War, such as the ground-breaking works of Jack Masey and Lloyd Morgan Conway, David Crowley and Jane Pavitt. Studies working on the relationship between media and architecture, and the role of exhibitions in the representation and codification of models and figures, namely Terence Riley’s work on the International Style exhibition, are also exploited as methodological models for the presentation of a specific case study, The Modern Movement in Italy: Architecture and Design, a monographic exhibition on Italian architecture organized under the auspices of the International Program at MoMA in 1954.| File | Dimensione | Formato | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Casali_Valeria_tesi_deposito.pdf
non accessibile
Descrizione: Testo della tesi
Dimensione
53.3 MB
Formato
Adobe PDF
|
53.3 MB | Adobe PDF | Visualizza/Apri |
I documenti in POLITesi sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
https://hdl.handle.net/10589/147728