How many different kinds of white can you find in these pictures? In which artworks on this level did Burri use found materials that were already (or once) white? Can you find other places where he added white?

Level 6Grande bianco (Large White), 1974

Level 2Bianco (White), 1952Grande bianco (Large White), 1956

Level 3Grande sacco BS (Large Sack BS), 1956

Burri said he was inspired by his visits to the parched landscape of Death Valley in California (top right). He may also have been thinking of the surface cracks on Renaissance paintings in churches near his hometown in Umbria, Italy (bottom right).

At the beginning of the exhibition we asked:What is a painting?

In what ways has your answer to the question changed now that you have seen this exhibition?

What does Grande bianco make you think of?

Burri started making art when he was confined in a prisoner-of-war camp in Texas during World War II. Art supplies were provided by the YMCA or could be ordered by mail, but Burri also used old sacks instead of new material. What clues can you find that might tell you what the burlap in this work was originally used for?

Imagine that you are in your kitchen and have to make a work of art using only the materials around you. What would you use? What would you make? Plan your creation here:

I painted every day. It was a way of not having to think about the war and everything around me.2

If you could give names to all the different types and shades of white in these artworks, what would you call them?

activity: name that color

activity: necessary art

from the artist

reflection

Look closely at these two artworks.

The Sackler Center for Arts Education is a gift of the Mortimer D. Sackler Family. Endowment funding is provided by The Engelberg Foundation, the William Randolph Hearst Foundation, The Elaine Terner Cooper Foundation, and the Esther Simon Charitable Trust.

Educational activities and/or public programs are made possible in part by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, The Edmond de Rothschild Foundation, The Seth Sprague Educational and Charitable Foundation, and The Hilla von Rebay Foundation.

Funding is also provided by Deutsche Bank; the Edith and Frances Mulhall Achilles Memorial Fund; the Sidney E. Frank Foundation; The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation; Guggenheim Partners, LLC; the Windgate Charitable Foundation; the Robert & Toni Bader Charitable Foundation; the Rose M. Badgeley Residuary Charitable Trust; and The Barker Welfare Foundation.

Additional support from the Gap Foundation; the Jane A. Lehman and Alan G. Lehman Foundation; the Martha Gaines and Russell Wehrle Memorial Foundation; the Milton & Sally Avery Arts Foundation, Inc.; the Henry E. Niles Foundation, Inc.; and the Metzger-Price Fund, Inc. is gratefully acknowledged.

The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation thanks the members of the Education Committee for their support.

FALL 2015 FAMILY PROGRAMS

Guggenheim Family and Kids Club Members enjoy these programs for FREE.For more information, visit the Membership Desk, Store, or guggenheim.org/join, or call 212 423 3535.

Family Tour and Studio WorkshopSundays, Oct 18, Dec 6, 10:30 am–12:30 pmFollowing an interactive gallery tour, family members create artwork in our studio. Tours are organized around a single theme and highlight artworks on view from our permanent collection and special exhibitions. For families with children ages 5 and up $30 per family (includes admission, workshop materials, and tour for two adults and up to four children), $20 members, FREE for Kids Club Members, Family Members, and Cool Culture families

Oct 18: Painting without Paint Take inspiration from artist Alberto Burri and create “paintings” without paint.

Dec 6: Compose Yourself Explore the work in Alberto Burri: The Trauma of Painting and Photo-Poetics: An Anthology and create your own artistic compositions in our studio.

Second Sunday Family Tours Sundays, Oct 11, Nov 8, Dec 13, Jan 10, 10:30 am–12 pmJoin us on the second Sunday of every month for family-friendly tours that include conversation and creative hands-on gallery activities. Tours are organized around a single theme and highlight artworks on view from our permanent collection and special exhibitions. For families with children ages 5 and up$20 per family (includes admission and tour for two adults and up to four children), $15 members, FREE for Kids Club Members, Family Members, and Cool Culture families

Oct 11: Unknown TexturesExplore works by artists who use unique materials to create art.

Nov 8: Recipe for ArtSee how artists examine their everyday lives in different ways.

Dec 13: A Dash of This, a Splash of That . . .Learn about artists who like to create works of art by combining a variety of elements.

Jan 10: All Around the WorldView works of art inspired by different places around the world.

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ENotes1. Alberto Burri, in Stefano Zorzi, Parola di Burri (Turin: Umberto Allemandi, 1995), p. 86.; 2. Burri, in Zorzi, Parola di Burri, p. 14.

All artworks by Alberto Burri © Fondazione Palazzo Albizzini Collezione Burri, Città di Castello/2015 Artist Rights Society (ARS), New York/SIAE, RomeCover: Nero bianco e sacco (Black White and Sack), ca. 1954 (detail). Oil, fabric, burlap, pumice, and PVA on canvas, 125 x 107 cm, Courtesy Galleria Tega, Milan. Photo: Paolo Vandrasch and Romina BettegaInside: Bianco (White), 1952. Oil, enamel, metallic paint, fabric, PVA, tar, paper, thread, and gold leaf on black fabric, 56.5 x 84.8 cm. The Art Institute of Chicago, Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Harry O. Maryan, 1955. Photo: © The Art Institute of Chicago; Grande bianco (Large White), 1956. Oil, fabric, thread, and PVA on canvas, 151 x 251 cm. Fondazione Palazzo Albizzini Collezione Burri, Città di Castello, Italy; Grande sacco BS (Large Sack BS), 1956. Burlap, fabric, thread, acrylic, and PVA on canvas, 150 x 250 cm. Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Dusseldorf. Photo: © Walter Klein, Dusseldorf; Grande bianco (Large White), 1974. Acrylic and PVA on Celotex, 126 x 211 cm. Fondazione Palazzo Albizzini Collezione Burri, Città di Castello, Italy; Minsa Craig in Death Valley, California, ca. 1960s. Photo: Alberto Burri, courtesy Fondazione Palazzo Albizzini Collezione Burri, Città di Castello, Italy; Piero della Francesca, Polittico della Misericordia (Polyptych of the Misericordia), ca. 1445–67 (detail). Oil, tempera, and gold leaf on panel, 168 x 91 cm. Museo civico, Sansepolcro, Italy. Photo: Enzo Mattei, courtesy Museo civico, Sansepolcro, Italy

Wood, iron, burlap—for me these are the most direct and easiest materials, because they do not require the use of colors or brushes. —Alberto Burri 1

The artist Alberto Burri called his works “paintings,” but he rarely used paint and brushes in a traditional way. Use this guide to explore the exhibition and expand your ideas about what a painting can be.

WHAT IS A PAINTING?

Alberto Burri: The Trauma of Painting is made possible by

Support is also provided by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.

The Leadership Committee for the exhibition, chaired by Pilar Crespi Robert and Stephen Robert, Trustee, is gratefully acknowledged for its generosity, with special thanks to Leonard and Judy Lauder and Maurice Kanbar as well as to Luxembourg & Dayan, Richard Roth Foundation, Alice and Thomas Tisch, Isabella Del Frate Rayburn, Larry Gagosian, Sigifredo di Canossa, Dominique Lévy, Daniela Memmo d’Amelio, Mitchell-Innes & Nash, Pellegrini Legacy Trust, ROBILANT+VOENA, Alberto and Stefania Sabbadini, Sperone Westwater, Samir Traboulsi, Alberto and Gioietta Vitale, Baroness Mariuccia Zerilli-Marimo, and those who wish to remain anonymous.

Additional funding is generously provided by Allegrini Winery, Mapei Group, E. L. Wiegand Foundation, Mondriaan Fund, the Italian Cultural Institute of New York, La FondazioneNY, and the New York State Council on the Arts.

The Guggenheim Museum acknowledges the collaboration of the Fondazione Palazzo Albizzini Collezione Burri, Città di Castello, Italy.