Entering the Work 1971

Giovanni Anselmo created "Entering the Work", of unknown date, with photography. Anselmo was associated with the Arte Povera movement, in Italy in the 1960s, whose artists challenged traditional art materials and values. In this photograph, the artist walks away from us, toward the horizon. The image evokes a sense of solitary pilgrimage. It might be Anselmo himself, enacting a symbolic journey into the unknown. The Arte Povera artists frequently used their own bodies in their work, to suggest the human encounter with elemental forces. The landscape dominates the figure, raising questions about identity, and our place in the natural order. The work invites you to reflect on themes of exploration, self-discovery, and the tensions between humanity and the vastness of the world.