Melissa McGill

The Campi

A sculptural sound project

Exploring the conversation between the visible and the invisible that defines public space, The Campi invokes daily life in five campi, the open, irregularly shaped public squares that serve as the historic heart of every Venetian neighborhood.

The Campi consists of five distinct sculptural sound boxes and related works on paper, each box evoking the architectural footprint and aural experience of a particular campo. Taking the form of a black lacquered wooden box, reminiscent of a music box, each sound box is a precise translation of its campo in three dimensions and of its unique sounds.

Activating the interplay between sound and visual memory, public and private space, visceral and physical experience, each box murmurs softly until the lid is lifted to release a world of ambient sounds recorded in its campo: snippets of conversation between neighbors, calls from passing working boats and gondoliers, children playing, footsteps.

The Campi was exhibited in Venice in May, 2017, coinciding with the opening week of La Biennale di Venezia – 57th International Art Exhibition. The exhibition, curated by Chiara Spangaro and supported by from Magazzino Italian Art, was on view at three locations in Venice, notably including Casa Studio Scatturin, Ca’Tron and Giorgio Mastinu Fine Art. Casa Scatturin, designed by renowned architect Carlo Scarpa, was opened to the public exclusively to exhibit The Campi.

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About the Project

THE CAMPI, Venice, Italy, opened on May 8, 2017 coinciding with the opening week of La Biennale di Venezia – 57th International Art Exhibition. The Campi is a sculptural sound project that invokes the Venetian Campo: an open, irregularly shaped public square that is the historic heart of the neighborhood.

The architectural footprints of five different campi are translated precisely into three dimensions, taking the form of a series of elegant black lacquered wooden boxes, reminiscent of music boxes. When closed, each box murmurs softly until the viewer lifts the lid to release a world of everyday ambient sounds recorded in that particular campo, capturing the imagination as it conjures up the rich environments of these centers of Venetian living architecture. The sense of sound captures and transports one to a memory of a place in a different, but as meaningful way, as visual memory. By isolating the aural experience of place, the artwork captures the subtle the nuances of daily Venetian life – the snippets of conversation between neighbors, calls from passing working boats and gondoliers, children playing, footsteps in a walking city where sound is reflected on stone free from the din of traffic.

Sculptural sound boxes and a series of related works on paper were presented at Casa/Studio Scatturin, a privately owned masterpiece by the great Venetian architect Carlo Scarpa, opened to the public exclusively to exhibit The Campi, as well as Ca’ Tron and Giorgio Mastinu Fine Art.

“After living in Venice and returning frequently over the years, I have witnessed the city’s rapid transformation due to mass tourism. Unesco recently expressed “extreme concern” about Venice’s current conditions, which threaten its authenticity and integrity. The Campi experience is especially poignant, considering these rare and extraordinary public spaces are in real danger of disappearing.” stated Melissa McGill.
THE CAMPI, é iniziata il 9 Maggio 2017 a Venezia, in coincidenza con la settimana di inaugurazione della 57. Esposizione Internazionale d’Arte. La Biennale di Venezia. The Campi è un progetto di scultura sonora che tratta del campo veneziano: lo spazio pubblico della piazza a pianta irregolare che è il cuore storico, architettonico e sociale di ogni quartiere della città.
Le caratteristiche architettoniche di cinque diversi campi sono state tradotte con precisione in una serie di opere tridimensionali in legno laccato nero. Funzionando come scatole musicali, ogni Campo Box chiuso rumoreggia delicatamente finché lo spettatore non solleva il coperchio liberando la varietà dei suoni ambientali di quello specifico campo. Le registrazioni catturano l’immaginazione del visitatore, grazie alla rievocazione sonora della varietà dei contesti che gravitano intorno a questi centri di vita di quartiere. La percezione uditiva trasporta il pubblico nella memoria di uno spazio, in modo diverso dal funzionamento visuale, ma con effetti altrettanto evocativi. Isolando l’esperienza sonora del luogo, l’opera d’arte cattura le sottili sfumature della quotidianità – frammenti di conversazione tra vicini di casa, scambi verbali tra i lavoranti delle barche di passaggio e i gondolieri, bambini che giocano, passi di una città in cui il suono riecheggia sulla pietra perché libera dal rumore del traffico automobilistico.
Le sculture sonore insieme ad alcune opere su carta relative al progetto sono state presentate a: Casa/Studio Scatturin, una residenza privata tra i capolavori del grande architetto veneziano Carlo Scarpa aperta per l’occasione; Ca’ Tron, una delle sedi dell’Università IUAV di Venezia; Giorgio Mastinu Fine Art. L’esposizione alla galleria di Giorgio Mastinu sarà aperta fino a fine giugno.
“Dopo aver vissuto a Venezia ed esserci tornata spesso nel corso degli anni, ho visto una rapida trasformazione della città a causa del turismo di massa. L’UNESCO ha recentemente espresso ‘estrema preoccupazione’ per le attuali condizioni della città, che sono una minaccia per la sua autenticità e integrità. The Campi è particolarmente pregnante se consideriamo che questi rari e straordinari spazi pubblici sono oggi in grande pericolo”, ha dichiarato Melissa McGill.

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Sculptural sound boxs and a series of related works on paper were presented at Casa/Studio Scatturin, a privately owned masterpiece by the great Venetian architect Carlo Scarpa, opened to the public exclusively to exhibit The Campi, as well as Ca’ Tron and Giorgio Mastinu Fine Art. The exhibition at Giorgio Mastinu Fine Art continues through June.

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You can find out more about this locations by clicking on the map, or using the list below.
Le sculture sonore insieme ad alcune opere su carta relative al progetto sono state presentate a: Casa/Studio Scatturin, una residenza privata tra i capolavori del grande architetto veneziano Carlo Scarpa aperta per l’occasione; Ca’ Tron, una delle sedi dell’Università IUAV di Venezia; Giorgio Mastinu Fine Art. L’esposizione alla galleria di Giorgio Mastinu sarà aperta fino a fine giugno.

Se siete interessati ad aggiornamenti seguici su Instagram per gli aggiornamenti.

Images below show The Campi installation at Studio Scatturin, designed by Carlo Scarpa in the early 1960’s. (All installation photos: Luca Marella)

Le immagini qui di seguito mostrano l’allestimento di The Campi nello Studio Scatturin, realizzato da Carlo Scarpa nei primi anni sessanta.

Images below show Campo Box (Ghetto Nuovo) at Giorgio Mastinu Fine Art. On view through June, 2017. See map below for location.

Le immagini qui di seguito mostrano Campo Box (Ghetto Nuovo) installato presso Giorgio Mastinu Fine Art. Aperto fino a fine giugno. Controlla la mappa per raggiungere la galleria.

Images below show Campo Box (San Polo) at Ca’ Tron- Università Iuav di Venezia. Campo Box (San Polo) was installed here from May 8-14, 2017 on the piano nobile, filling this grand space with sounds of everyday Venetian life.

L’immagine mostra Campo Box (San Polo) a Ca’ Tron- Università Iuav di Venezia. Campo Box (San Polo) è stato allestito dall’8 al 14 maggio 2017 nel piano nobile e ha riempito lo spazio con i suoni della vita di tutti i giorni a Venezia.

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Giorgio Mastinu Fine Art

Mastinu Giorgio, Venice, Metropolitan City of Venice, Italy

Giorgio Mastinu Fine Art is the “smallest coolest gallery in town”. Campo Box (Ghetto Nuovo) is on view through June.

Casa Studio Scatturin

Calle Degli Avvocati 3709, San Marco - 30129 Venezia - Venice

The Casa/Studio Scatturin is a privately owned masterpiece by the great Venetian architect Carlo Scarpa. Studio Scatturin was opened to the public exclusively to exhibit The Campi from May 8-14, 2017. Photo: Luca Marella

Ca' Tron -Università Iuav di Venezia

Università Iuav di Venezia - Ca' Tron, Venice, Metropolitan City of Venice

Ca’ Tron, a palace facing the Grand Canal built at the end of the 15^th century during the gothic period, flourished under the procurator Andrea Tron, for who it remains named. In 1972 it was restored by the IUAV. Campo Box (San Polo) was installed here from May 8-14, 2017 on the piano nobile, filling this grand space with sounds of everyday Venetian life. Photo : Luca Marella

Mobile Campo Box Itinerary

Sant'Angelo, Venice, Metropolitan City of Venice, Italy

A mobile Campo Box went “on tour” via boat , to experience the Venetian sounds captured by the Campo Boxes, and liberate them in specific open-air sites of acoustic richness, as: canals, bridges and other sites connected through water. Photo: Adelaide Corbetta

Giorgio Mastinu Fine Art

Giorgio Mastinu Fine Art

Giorgio Mastinu Fine Art is the “smallest coolest gallery in town”. Campo Box (Ghetto Nuovo) is on view through June.

Casa Studio Scatturin

Casa Studio Scatturin

The Casa/Studio Scatturin is a privately owned masterpiece by the great Venetian architect Carlo Scarpa. Studio Scatturin was opened to the public exclusively to exhibit The Campi from May 8-14, 2017. Photo: Luca Marella

Ca' Tron -Università Iuav di Venezia

Ca' Tron -Università Iuav di Venezia

Ca’ Tron, a palace facing the Grand Canal built at the end of the 15^th century during the gothic period, flourished under the procurator Andrea Tron, for who it remains named. In 1972 it was restored by the IUAV. Campo Box (San Polo) was installed here from May 8-14, 2017 on the piano nobile, filling this grand space with sounds of everyday Venetian life. Photo : Luca Marella

Mobile Campo Box Itinerary

Mobile Campo Box Itinerary

A mobile Campo Box went “on tour” via boat , to experience the Venetian sounds captured by the Campo Boxes, and liberate them in specific open-air sites of acoustic richness, as: canals, bridges and other sites connected through water. Photo: Adelaide Corbetta

Campi Exhibition Location

Mobile Campi Box

Artist

Melissa McGill, based in Beacon, NY, is an interdisciplinary artist, primarily incorporating drawing, sculpture, and sound to explore the space between absence and presence, bringing to light the lost, hidden, overlooked and ephemeral. Her land art project, CONSTELLATION, is installed on an island in the Hudson River, 50 miles north of NYC, for the third and final year, lighting each night and transforming a castle ruin – connecting the past and the present. Boat trips from Beacon NY run every weekend from May 27 – October 8, 2017. She has been exhibiting her artwork internationally since 1991, including large scale public art projects in the landscape, such as Constellation and Palmas in New York, as well as solo exhibitions at White Cube, London; Power House, Memphis; Palazzo Capello, Venice; and CRG Gallery, New York. She is a graduate of The Rhode Island School of Design.
Curator

Chiara Spangaro, curator of The Campi, Venice, is an independent art historian based in Milan. Working in contemporary art, architecture, and design, she is curator of Fondazione Aldo Rossi, Milan. In collaboration with Germano Celant, she served as the curatorial associate for the Art and Architecture department of the Triennale di Milano, 2009-2012, as well as associate curator of exhibitions for as Arts & Foods, 2015, Christo and Jeanne-Claude: Water Projects, Brescia 2016, Giovanni Gastel, Milan 2016, and more.

Sponsor

The Campi is sponsored by Magazzino Italian Art, New York, donor for the 57th Esposizione Internazionale d’Arte. La Biennale di Venezia.

Special thanks to

Maria Bonmassar, Jacopo Bratovich,, Maria Cagnoli, Vittorio Calabrese, Sebastiano Cattaruzzo, Selika Cerofolini, Adelaide Corbetta, Ricardo Fuentes & Fabhaus, Paul Geluso, Paula & Justin King & Rexhill Furniture, Richard & Natasha Krupp, Pasquale Luparelli, Luca Marella, Giorgio Mastinu, Eleonora Mayerle, Angela Missoni, Lara Morrell, Paris Murray, Ambra Nepi, Nancy Olnick & Giorgio Spanu, Rob Penner & Beacon Fine Art Printing, Gabriella Perez, Lee Ann Pomplas, Matteo Primiterra, Henry Quinn, Lila Quinn, Mike Quinn, Giorgio Righetti, Gioele Romanelli & Hotel Flora, Melania Scatturin, Chiara Spangaro, Matteo Stocco, Maureen Sullivan, Silvio Testa, Angela Vettese