Spazio Di Luce 2008

Giuseppe Penone made "Spazio Di Luce," or "Space of Light" in English, using bronze and gold. The artwork is a massive bronze tree trunk, elevated on branch-like legs, and with sections hollowed out and lined with gold. Penone is associated with the Arte Povera movement in Italy, beginning in the late 1960s. This was a radical, anti-establishment movement whose artists challenged the institutions of art by using 'poor' or common materials, and by taking art out of traditional gallery spaces. Penone’s work examines the relationship between humans and nature, and often incorporates organic materials. Italy, in the 60's and 70's, was a country undergoing rapid industrialization and social upheaval, and Arte Povera was a critical response to the transformation of society, questioning the values of consumerism and industrial progress. To better understand Arte Povera, one might explore the writings of Italian Marxist theorists from that time, or the exhibition catalogs from the movement’s early shows. Art is always embedded within specific cultural and historical circumstances.