Above and below:Villa Ponti in Arona (No): "The art of beauty" - Bert Stern, "Marilyn" and "The Baby Nude", 1962 , printed on photographic paper 32,4 x 48 cm
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ON DISPLAY IN ARONA (NO) STARTING THE 1ST OF JUNE UNTIL THE 28TH OF NOVEMBER 2010 IN VILLA PONTI’S ROOMS, “MARILYN MONROE- THE ART OF BEAUTY: PAINTINGS, PICTURES, SCULPTURES, MEMORABILIA AND OBJECTS BELONGED TO THE DIVA, CRITICAL TESTIMONIES, EDITED BY CARLO OCCHIPINTI, WITH THE ARTISTIC COLLABORATION OF MASSIMO FERRAROTTI.
Is with true pleasure that today I came back to Villa Ponti after that time, in 2007, when I went there to see the beautiful exhibition "MADE IN WARHOL". It was entirely dedicated to Andy, and to his extraordinary but short life, in which he was participating and protagonist of the most macroscopic events of contemporary art, and I was there also to see the amazing pictures of him that his friend Maria Mulas had took, few days before his death.
Villa Ponti in Arona (No): “ The art of beauty” – the room dedicated to Andy Warhol. The really famous portraits entitled “To Marylin”, all serigraphies on paper made in 1967, are displayed.
Villa Ponti in Arona (No): "The art of beauty" – garden at the entrance of the exhibition
I’m still keeping the beautiful book, with the same title of the exhibition, which reviews the adventure so well-represented in it, and those pictures, in particular, which I felt so close to me, since Maria had been so kind, one day, to dedicate a whole day to me in Biella, taking pictures of one of my works, and getting images as personal and beautiful as the ones that appeared in that catalogue of Villa Ponti.
Villa Ponti in Arona (No): “The art of beauty” – Poster used at the entrance of the exhibition with a portrait of Marylin lying down on a bed, by Bert Stern, printed on photographic paper of 1962, belonging to the series: The last sittingI came back to Villa Ponti, like I was saying, with such a great pleasure, also to see the Villa again, more than the exhibition about Marylin, whose title didn’t really attract me, since I thought it would be a mere collation of already-seen things, without head nor tail.
Risk that, instead, I couldn’t run with the Villa, given the quality of its architecture, especially in the part added at the beginning of the last Century, of Art Deco taste, really pure and catchy. My interest was catched by the recent repair, with new and brighter colours, now better contrasting with the really light dye given to the details’ prominences, like ribs, tympana, frames, with the beautiful turret realized to have a view of the lake from its summit, and with the vestibule of the new entrance, realized by Arch. Tedesco and his Bar, with gilt niches and shutters painted in naturalistic motifs in pure Art Deco, with bright colours.
Villa Ponti in Arona (No): "The art of beauty" – Room dedicated to Ugo Nespolo
The exhibition about Marilyn followed this pleasant visit, with many dedications, drawn from all the anecdotes and from her life’s story, and quotes of friends, mates, work associates. Poems by Alda Merini appear near paintings and pictures, as well as many “relics”, like tissues still stained with lipstick, shoes, gloves, clothes, handbags and other accessories that have marked important dates of her life, or have accompanied her in famous scenes of her movies.
Villa Ponti in Arona (No): "The art of beauty" - Bert Stern, "Crocefix" 1962 , of the series "The last sitting", printed on photographic paper 48,5 x 33 cm
In the whole exhibition, the 9 chromatic variants of his face that Andy Warhol retracted in 1967 in offset on paper 50 x 49,5 cm and 91,5 x 91,5 cm. and, on support, 76 x 50,5 cm still stand out.
Villa Ponti ad Arona (No): "L'arte della bellezza" - Bert Stern, "Marilyn" 1962 , printed on photographic paper 100 x 100 cm
It’s amazing how these works, born for their reproducibility, can keep intact their freshness like they were eternally remade from the beginning for the present. And then it’s also amazing how they always appear at the top of modernity, novelty, although they have already been seen and seen again, reproduced everywhere as symbols of the new taste, unrepeatable for effectiveness of idea and sign, for durability of sense and psychological catch.
Villa Ponti in Arona (No): "The art of beauty" - Domenico Neri, "Hello Marilyn", Hollywood, October 1962
Unfortunately, every other attempt to follow her footsteps or be a credit to the idea of a symbolic portrait doesn’t succeed: masters of art like Mimmo Rotella and Ugo Nespolo, despite the effort, can hardly overcome the repetition of the stereotype, one of them with the decollage and the other with the puzzle, one of them tearing here and there famous blowups and the other segmenting the iconographic face.
Not to talk about the almost disastrous, deadly reverberation of iconic fragments in random and scholastic technical author proofs and the numerous works that the curator would like to put to the test as a demonstration that the myth keeps living, in names like Franca Carrà, Tiziano Colombo, Maurizio Fini, Enrico Fraschetti, Giorgio Piccaia, Eli Di Maggio, Giuliano Grittini, Franco Pulacini, and Domenico Neri. At the entrance court to the exhibition is a sculpture created by the latter, “Hello Marilyn”, permanently located in front of the Cinema Exhibition in Hollywood, which portrays the Diva in her “classic” pose, without minimally managing to catch her spirit.
Villa Ponti in Arona (No): "The art of beauty" – Corner of the entrance court in Villa Ponti, towards the roadLastly, in the exhibition, the pictures belonging to the section “The last sitting” stand out for their particular intensity and beauty, but also for the “treatment” that the author has made retouching them. They were taken in the Bel Air Hotel of Los Angeles in June 1962, little before the end of the myth.
These last few portraits were worth the visit to the exhibition in Arona.
The author is Bert Stern. He has immortalized Marilyn in some of her best portraits, represented while she laughs, while she shows herself naked with her big scar on the right part of the abdomen, for the first time without veils on that scar, but always ready to give her best part to public, keeping her terrible problems for herself.
Villa Ponti in Arona (No): "The art of beauty" – Bar in the entrance room in Villa Ponti, addition from the ‘20s, realized by Arch. Tedesco under Ponti commission
Enrico Mercatali
(translation from italian by Penelope Mirotti)
(translation from italian by Penelope Mirotti)
Arona, August 2010(Le foto della villa, interne ed esterne, sono di Enrico Mercatali. Le foto della Mostra, se non diversamente specificato, sono di Enrico Mercatali)
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