ITALIA

I've spent a few hours the past few days in Italy, via my studio and not the kitchen.


Tuscan farm...watercolor...12x18


small village...watercolor...9x12


Tuscan sun...watercolor...9x12

Someday I may tire of painting this lovely countryside...or maybe not.

CULTURAL CONFLICT

My sainted mother’s tireless work in our kitchen has left an indelible mark on my life. The taste and smell of her cooking as well as 18 years of experiences at our kitchen table, alone, or with family and friends is woven into the fabric of my life, and with each passing year I am compelled to pay increasing homage to that history. I attempt to do this with my cooking, and quickly realized that no matter how hard I tried, I would never duplicate the meals she served. Instead I have set out to adopt her style, or process, which was to cook intuitively, using whatever ingredients were available at the time. I remember so clearly asking for a recipe for something I really liked, or how she cooked it, and her response…”I don’t know Billy, I just use a little of this and a little of that” leaving me quite frustrated. Only now, years later, when I am cooking every day do I appreciate what she was saying.

Like so many first and second generation Italian-Americans, my culinary culture is the result of a combination of American and Italian influences, the latter heavily determined by the region from which the immigrants came, the overwhelming majority coming from the impoverished southern Italy. For whatever reason, my mother served pasta in bowls or soup dishes, and we twirled the pasta on soupspoons. Imagine my distress when much later in life I learned that in Italy no one twirls their past on spoons! I managed to recover from this cultural tremor by telling myself that twirling was OK because that is what Italian-Americans did, only to discover just weeks ago that that was not the case. There are some who do not twirl their pasta on spoons! The foundation of my cultural heritage was cracking.

But it doesn’t end here. This week I read in an authentic Italian cookbook (the author lives in Milan and runs a culinary school) that one NEVER serves pasta in bowls or soup dishes; it should always be served on dinner plates. And there is more. The proper way to serve the pasta is to allow each person to serve him or herself from the main dish…a practice we do not observe. What is a soul to do?!
Everything I believed in, the source of so much cultural pride, was being torn apart. Oh…I can only imagine what something like this would do to a lesser man than me. But, being the tiger that I am (have I told you before that I’m a tiger?) I faced the crisis head on and …oops, the pasta water is boiling…gotta go.

The VIOLIN

I was one of 6 artist who were asked by the Paducah Symphony to paint a violin for a fund raising event for the symphony.

For my theme I chose Italia.

The original student grade violin with the strings and other violin stuff removed.


On the front, a Raffaele Ponte wanna be.


On the back, La Strada, Milan's famous opera house.



On the sides, a continuous landscape of the Tuscan countryside.


The finished violin with all its stuff back on.

ALEX

We were seat mates on the flight from Rome to Chicago, and as seat mates often do, we engaged in the usual exchange of civil pleasantries: are you here on business, where is home, what do you do, etc.? When I mentioned I was an artist his eyes brightened, and he proceeded to tell me all about his love of art, at which point my eyes brightened. I soon learned that he had a broad and deep understanding of art and had visited almost all of the major art museums in the world (his work requires him to travel frequently and extensively.) At this point we had all that was needed to establish a good 11 hour transatlantic relationship. But there was more. I explained my transition from medicine to art and he responded by telling me about his younger son who is almost finished his medical studies (wants to be a neurologist) but whose real passion is music and his fantasy is to write critical reviews of jazz music. The fact that we shared the same political and social views was simply the icing on the cake.

Somewhere over northern Europe or the Atlantic I showed Alex my portfolio and pics of my work on my laptop. He took his time looking at each piece of art, and dismissed my feeble murmurs about boring him assuring me he was thoroughly enjoying himself, and for the next several hours I sat and listened to his far ranging comments on my work....he told me which ones he liked, or really liked, and which ones did nothing for him...which pieces reminded him of another artist or another artists style and always taking the time to tell me that it was not meant as a criticism or to diminish my work...he described his reactions to a piece of work and what it was that evoked the response. He gave me a critical response to an extensive body of my work that was unlike anything I ever experienced. It was both informative and affirming, and quite simply an amazing experience.

Alex “knows art”. He is well grounded in many of the fundamentals of composition, color, etc., and has an extensive knowledge of art history, artists, and their work. He is someone who lives art, who emerges himself in a painting, probing to understand the work and his response to it. He is capable of talking intelligently and personally about a painting.

This is in sharp contrast to myself. I have little knowledge of art history, and give little thought to why I like of dislike a particular work of art. I am impatient with art, and when visiting a museum or gallery walk through it at far too brisk a pace. I am aware of my attitude and view it as a serious shortcoming. I find it difficult to talk about or to explain my own art and have given up trying to understand why I create the art that I do. I just do it, and that is all that really matters to me. I especially dislike the artist’s statements that many galleries and dealers ask for. I have made them, always feeling that they were insufficient and somewhat superficial.

Perhaps this is why Alex’s comments on my work, the good and the not so good, were so fascinating and delightful to hear. They were thoughtful and they were honest. I truly believe that he enjoyed looking at the work as much as I enjoyed showing it. The 11 hours wasn’t nearly as long as it would have been without this encounter.

I think I have found a friend.

ITALIA

For the past several months I have been working on a plan to spend the month of May in Italy where I hope to gather material and inspiration for a new body of work. My primary tools will be a sketch book, pens and pencils, a compact set of watercolors, and a camera. I am now working hard to master some of the fundamentals of the language (my high school Italian course is long gone.) via an online course. Below is a copy of my e-letter that I have sent to my mailing list.

I will let you know the results of the letter, as well as posting updates on the progress I make.

ITALIA

To friends of Gallery 5,

The "old country” beckons. Growing up in a community settled by Italian immigrants, my grandparents among them, Italy was always called “the old country”. I remember hearing that far more often than “Italy”. In the fall of 2008 I made my first trip to Italy, visiting the small village of my grandparents in the southern region of Puglia. I knew immediately that I would be returning, and after several months of plotting and planning have decided to spend the month of May in the old country. I have selected Bologna as my home base during the visit.

The purpose of this trip is to gather reference material – sketches and photos.- for a series of paintings to be completed in the studio upon my return home. To help finance this trip I am offering the following proposition: an opportunity to reserve a painting at a significantly reduced price (art futures?) or to purchase a current painting from the gallery, also at a reduced price.

12x48 $1200 Reserved price 25% off - $900
24x24 $1200 Reserved price 25% off - $900
24x30 $1500 Reserved price 30% off - $1000
36x36 $2500 Reserved price 40% off - $1500
30x40 $2500 Reserved price 40% off - $1500
48x48 $4500 Reserved price 50% off - $2250
48x60 $5000 Reserved price 50% off - $2500

All paintings will be on canvas or panels and wired for hanging.

In addition, I am offering twelve $150 gift certificates for a price of $100.

Here is how it will work. If three people reserve a 12x48 painting, I will have a minimum of 4 paintings available and selections will be made in the order in which I received the reservation. If someone does not find a painting that they like, I will paint another one, or offer a complete refund of their money. All money collected from this offer will be kept in escrow, and if for any reason I cannot make the trip, the money will be returned.

I plan to have all of the paintings ready for purchase and exhibition within 4-6 months of my return.
If you have any questions or special requests please contact me personally, by phone, or by e-mail.

Bill Renzulli

William Renzulli
wfrenzulli@mac.com
www.renzulliart.com
www.williamfrenzullimd.blogspot.com