Today we had a group critique, looking at the booklet projects that students have created, further exploring the theme of connecting past to present, with our students and instructors together with our newly-arrived artist-in-residence Susan Barbour!
Today we had the wonderful opportunity to visit different artistic spaces in the Lupa Contrada, the neighborhood of the She-wolf here in the historic center of Siena.
We visited the Museo D’Inverno, a contemporary art space hosted by the contrada, to view their current exhibition, ENCICLOPEDIA DELLE MERAVIGLIE: Alessandra Spranzi . We were able to meet with artist Francesco Carone, one of the founders of the Museo D’Inverno, to speak about the evolution of the space as well as his own artistic background. For more info: https://www.museodinverno.com/
We also were able to visit the medieval fountain Fonte Nuova, the historic contrada chapel, the museum showcasing the costumes and banners of the contrada, as well as the workshop space where the hand-made banners are painstakingly created by a group of artisans from the neighborhood!
For more pictures and information about the Contrada della Lupa: http://www.contradadellalupa.it/Foto_Page.aspx
This afternoon architect Annunziata de Comite led a presentation on the Siena-based project “Contemporary Landscapes of Escape” and related research into personal responses to space through unconventional approaches. We also were able to see some of the original notebooks collected in the context of the project.
For more info: http://www.arscape.it/portfolio/paesaggi-contemporanei-della-fuga-2/
This afternoon, exploring the theme of “Places of Escape” we walked from the Siena Art Institute to the city gate of Porta San Marco, and then ended up in the “secret garden” of the Fonte delle Monache, a lush hillside with olive and fruit trees, and the ancient fountains created in the 13th-14th century for the Augustinian nuns who were cloistered in their convent, connected to the fountains by an underground tunnel!
For more info: http://www.enjoysiena.it/en/attrattore/Fonte-delle-Monache/
Exploring Siena‘s Biblioteca Briganti with our study-abroad students, part of the museum complex of Santa Maria della Scala, and seeing the Views of Rome (including the Campo Marzio map) by Piranesi, true masterpieces!!
For more information: https://www.santamariadellascala.com/en/services/#fototeca
Our study abroad students met artisan Piergiorgio Bertolozzi Caredio at his studio Sator Print, located across the street from the Pantera contrada fountain here in the historic center of Siena. He specializes in making and restoring hand-crafted books, prints, manuscripts, etc. as well as beautiful examples of calligraphy, drawing upon traditions especially from Jewish heritage, linking the past with modern times.
For more information, visit http://www.satorprint.com/EN/
Visiting the City Archives of Siena to see highlights of their collection, including ancient books and scrolls. The space itself makes palpable the volume and weight of the city’s history and the burden of trying to conserve it. The archive staff was able to share with us a glimpse of the distinctive marks created by the individual scribes to certify their work, and discussing the various materials used to create these historic pieces.
For more info: http://www.archiviodistato.siena.it/museo/
Looking at students’ proposals for the Tempo Zulu Intro Unit project, creating site-specific interventions within the city streets of Siena.
For our post about the introduction of this project unit, visit:
You can follow the activities of our students in the Spring 2019 semester Art and Society course through the blog listings of “Spring 2019” category, and through their profile pages listed here:
We had the very special experience to meet master stone-carver Maestro Frati and to see his studio space in front of Siena’s synagogue, just around the corner from Piazza del Campo. Maestro Frati is truly a living part of the city’s history, and a master artisan. He works with a wide range of marble stones, and it was fascinating to see the marble slabs stacked up in his studio, as well as examples of his work which demonstrate the skill he has developed over many decades. Maestro Frati also carved the stones which are part of the Tempo Zulu site-specific contemporary interventions within Siena’s city streets, and he is the master-carver to make any conservation/restoration work in the inlaid stones of Siena’s cathedral, which we visited on Monday. Maestro Frati also makes his own artisanal designs, of which he has some examples in his studio, such as a glowing lamp created with stone slabs. At the end of our visit, we visited the Osteria Le Logge, where one of Maestro Frati’s works is on display in the window.
This morning artist Bernardo Giorgi took our students on a walk to discover some of the stones of the Tempo Zulu project. For more info on these site-specific interventions in the streets of Siena, visit https://www.visittuscany.com/en/ideas/tempo-zulu-hidden-art-in-the-streets-of-siena/
