Stefano
Marotta
The course aims to explore the possible relationships between ART and EROS, as exemplified by the mythical figures and narratives of Pygmalion (the Simulacrum), Narcissus (the Double) and Butades (the Shadow).
The aim will be to explore the very nature of Art, seeking to provide a definition that takes into account its primary and constitutive elements and considers their intrinsic link with erotic desire.
The lectures aim to familiarise students with some of the structural and constitutive invariants of Art, such as the SIMULACRUM, the DOUBLE and the SHADOW, through two different approaches:
a) Reading, commenting on and interpreting poetic, philosophical and non-fiction texts (see reading list).
b) Students’ free REINTERPRETATION of iconographic themes drawn from the historical memory of Art, in the belief that – as Corrado Cagli asserted – ‘for an artist, to draw is to know’: that is, through the practice of D’APRÈS.
The theoretical and practical components are inextricably intertwined and divided into three sections, each of which focuses on one of the course’s three themes.
During the lecture, students will be encouraged to become familiar with these three main thematic areas and, in doing so, will be required to keep a dedicated notebook in which to take notes.
During the examination, students will be assessed on the basis of the work they have produced throughout the academic year.
This refers to the visual works relating to the themes, images, ideas and imaginative concepts that emerged during the lectures, created using the student’s preferred techniques and materials.
To be eligible to sit the exams, students must submit at least as many projects as the number of lectures.
To this end, students are advised to equip themselves with the necessary materials – pencils, paints, brushes, sketchbooks, etc. – and a folder in which to keep their work.
So-called ‘digital’ techniques are not permitted in any form.
The course is aimed exclusively at highly motivated, attentive, receptive and productive students: in short, highly intelligent students.
Punctuality is absolutely essential.
Reading list
(The passages that will be read and discussed in lectures are taken from these texts.)
E. Maison, ‘Arte nata dall’arte’, Garzanti, 1963.
Ananda K. Cooraswamy, “The Great Thrill. Essays on Symbolism and Art”, Adelphi, 1987.
Jurgis Baltrusaitis, ‘Lo specchio. Revelations, Deceptions and Science Fiction”, Adelphi, 1981.
Jean-Pierre Vernant, “L’immagine e il suo doppio. Dall’era dell’idolo all’alba dell’arte”, Mimesis, 2010.
Sonia Macri’ (ed.), “Narciso. La passione dello sguardo’, Marsilio, 2020.
Otto Rank, “The Double. Uno studio psicoanalitico”, SE, 2001.
W. F. Hegel, “Arte e morte dell’arte. Percorso nelle ‘Lezioni di Estetica’”, Bruno Mondadori, 2000.
Leon Battista Alberti, “De Pictura”, Laterza, 1975.
Andrea Pinotti, “Estetica della pittura”, Il Mulino, 2007.
Victor I. Stoichita, “Breve storia dell’ombra”, Il Saggiatore, 2008.
Ernst H. Gombrich, “Ombre”, Einaudi, 1996.
Luigi Azzariti-Fumaroli, ‘Fenomenologia dell’ombra. Tre saggi’, Quodlibet, 2020.
Lucien Levy-Bruhl, “L’anima primitiva”, Boringhieri, 2013.
Maurizio Bettini, “Il ritratto dell’amante”, Einaudi, 1992.
Cristina Candito, ‘Il disegno e l’ombra’, Alinea Editrice, 2009.
Pierre Klossowski, ‘Simulacra’, Mimesis, 2002.
Antonin Artaud, ‘Il teatro e il suo doppio’, Einaudi, 1968.