Who Are the Artists to Watch?November 1984

5l- ritlt.+

ABTnews/ lloll€nher lg84

BY SI]SAN I ITHSXN

IIS$Mll6[r'l/OOI IIGURES

I1jOIT ANIINNTMARS

AM MONIRI AII)(IITIIS

St. SEphen Aeins Ston.d.1981. .l .n naod, 70t/: b!lJr': bt l7 i Lh.s. R!liqkunnalea^ h.t b..n t r.nltdnl.ltnt.rt ln SLuncu t *)rk.

ITALO SIAI\lfiAIONFROI{TII\Ifi TIIE SPIRITS

' N A VOICE STILL STRO\CLY \CCE\TLD, ITlLO

I Scarqa.pel,(. urrh,leli!nr'irhe rr.Ined.lLreruil-rJI ruaro. . roms trJrer r,nk un rne Lnrerrq or CJii-

| ,i,-', -rp,. .n \dn Dre{o I m r ..r} rippl nrna rhen I come ro Lhrs .tudio. I love ro ser nere e1, v n-he momins. JI rive or i\ I lrle rolrne. Idon r ^ori:tnighr. I don t like the mystery of njghr. For me. cverythinshas ro be visual, lvirh lighl rnd wamrh. Brighl mominglight reverls r room nlled with cultural castofts, plaster sndceramic saints ol uncemin origin, tuded reublos, carvedwood itet, a humo.ous diagrammatic poster erphining howthe shape lnd srructure ol a lree.an b€ compdred ro theanatomy of :i human being lt is a small space lilled fromnoorto ceiling with American kitsch. secondhand memoriesol Scdnga s boyhood ttaly rnd \isual rcminders olrbe vividcultural litt oi \lexico rhrt goes on jusr a tew miles fromIhis spot.

A! 52. Scanga has rchieved in his own wo.k the mon-Lrmenlality and continuous ndarive he has always admiredin the afl olrhe past. Throushout !h€ nudio are recent worksof \culpture sinuous, stlrkly emotional painted wood

ligures, some l1 teer rall. rhat enac! rhe lasr tragic momenrsol the monastery of Monre Cassino, dest.oyed in Worldwar ll. Ljke rhe iconic ligures ol early relieious 0n. thes€cha.rctes condense .rnotion. .epresenting ! ndge in the-Jn JIr! e -- ler I n3n r.lu.rrJun! J pJnrcu.Jr momcnr rn UmeIn recent months sculptures i.om this series have been ex-hibited in museums ,lnd galleries in Chicago, Detrolr. Hous-ron. La Jolla. New York and washingron. D.C. They havebeen descdbed by crirics rs strong sculplural counrerpansto curent rvorks ol Neo-txpresslonis. painting in both styleand nanative structure: tbe plot, however, is nor so siftple.

The emergence of Iralo Scanga as a national ligure hasoccuned !r mid career atier decrdes oi wo.king 3nd reaching, alier 17 years in this country rnd continuous contactwith ltalv. Sclnga is no prin)itive but a man who has nu.-tured rnd protected rhe wilder. nore expressive side ol hischarrcter ove! manv decadei. rhroughou( a ca.ee. that hlsencompassed many opposing sryles. I m a worldly typeol ltllow. Scanga says. I travel. l .e!d. I reach ar rheuniversiry. t m not just a p.imitile person who liles in rhemiddle of nowhere I have no prejudice rbout induences ornimuli. I crn ser them Lom anywhere: pho(ography, Al-r !1n ,n pr'.rltr\c .r. C (ek .rulp,Lre. R<nJr..Jn,e p1 nting. Erpres\ionist !n. I love ir. '

Lelning back in bis chair. suneying rhe indoor rb.-st

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suggested by his work and the dense unde.growth ofobjectsin the nudio. Scanga relaxes and trlks rbour himself. ..AsGertrude Stein said aboutJoyce,'He smetls tike amuseum.'I love museums. l m like a sponge. I take rhings fromeverywhere. fie sun. the ocean, e4. I go to llaly to gerpregnant- I m not emb&r.]ssed. I love provincial museums.obscu.e places, ihe paintings and statuary I see there. I tikeword'of-mouth srories. I go io the people. lo rhe source. '

N N THLSE \ISITS To HIs \ATI\E COU\TRYI I Scanea also redrrco\er( \,\ o*n culrural roor. rn pro-U rrnrral ltalv. He wrs bom in Lago, CJIsbna, .n lbl2and spent most of his boyhood in wanime ltaly. Scanga slather. a railroad trackman, had emigrated to Amenca andwas ananging passage ior his iamily when the war brokeout. As a boy of four or frve Scanga spent his &ys in rhecompany of a local iumiture maker who took charse ofseveral small boys while theirparents worked. Scanga sweptwood shavings from the noor. ran enands and watched ascdl.ved omaments gave way over the years to nore pracricalobjecrs \uch as wooden shoes and baffels for long,termslo.age of food. Wanime was about survival. not cuhure.I was energy lor him. I tumed the larhe. I held rhings wh€nhe needed help. I remember rhe smells of rhe shop. I re-member him. And I .emember the other children helping.He had a beautiful rpacel you could see far away ro the

The influ€nce of Scanga s early experiences is reilectedin his present surroundings- My studio is something likehis shop. iull ol objecls and the strong m€mories havep€rsisted rhroulhout Scanga's lif€. Ican r rake a showerand wash this all away, it s deeper lhan my rkin. Bur I'mnot sentimenral cbout it, because it was .eally t.!gic." Nordid Scan-sa drveu on ir when he an"ived in the United Sraresat the age of 15. His suwival insiincts we.e nrcng as helexmed English and completed high school in Somerset.Pennsylvani!. When he was l8 h€ lvent ro Detroit andlvorked at G.n.ral yorols on rhe assembly line. He wrsdratied inro ihe lrmy rnd on his retu.n entered MichiganStale Unilebitv on rhe C L Bill ro nudy sculpture andprepare to. r career .s rnist rnd teache..

Terching iulred Sclnga. siving him nn ouder lo. hiserpxnsive perlonality rnd p.oviding rhe animared sodioenvironment he prele$. He beclme a selt described ac-.rdemic nonad (hroughour rhe late l9i0s rnd rhe 1960s.tcrching ar rhe Lni!ersi(y ol wisconsin. the Rhode lslandSchool ol DesiSn. Pennsvlvlnir State Univ.rsiry rnd rhe-l\ler

School oi An in Philadelphia. He carne ro the ljni-\"rir!J..rlilurrrJr (-n D.(gorn,a7l]rrrhrhe epu,Ironol a mrsier tcr.her. Adong his mrny to.mer studenrs a.eRee llodon. Bruce Nrumln, Steven Keisrer. Bill Beckley.Lee Jllle. Puuh Collery rnd Chuck Connolly. I haven ibum.d oul \er. I m \rill .njoying ii. says Scanga today.He poinrs sirh pride ro his sudents successes rnd rc,\n $lrl!e: 1i,fp n\ehJ.re.er\.J romtherrn-ecenrycrrs N his o$n crreer hrs grined momenrum.

Il Selnsa is. 3s be suggesrs. a lale bloomer, it nuy rhobc lhar orhc6 hrve linrlly come to understand him. ft $asnor rlrvlvs \o. e\pecirlly during rhe 1960s dd early 1970s.Scrngr rccills r pcnDd in rhe 6Os when (hings we.e much,nore dilli.ulr. You couldn r be a tieurarive rditr, )'ou hadlo be lb\trrct. lr \as like belonging io r union. Bul mv

work has aiways been an(hropomorphic, alrhough wirhouta sp€ciEc look based on a specifc slyle." Scanga lorgedstong triendships with Mininalisr sculpro.s, among rhemDan Flavin, but the anthfopomoQhic emphasis ofScang! swork was our of step with the time. I wanted to fit in.he recalls. 'l want€d to be pan of a movemenr. ro beaccepted-l love !hai. But I sray€d open. I didn r want toget bitter about ir."

Scanga s ftequen! t.ips !o ltall, during the 60s and 70shelped:o con6rm his desire for an anthropomorphic m lullof history and emotion. "When I went back lo Ilaly ar thrttime, most anisis were painring white paintings. And I saidto a friend, 'You have Leonardo da Vinci as your back-gmuod. plasrer starues everywhere-look at all this grearcullu.e you havel Why do you have to strive ior somethingcompletely blank? And my lriend said, lt's roo much, we

In his Fear" sen.s. S.ansa dddresy.l both notem a ddn ient al(ieties. fear of Buting o House. 1980. ail on rotul" h,"te ,-l b\ 32 b\ 2: tn.hes. s ua? o! .hp rot. ^pt \L

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Ih, b.,thi a ol t)p .1bbet .l\L,ne Cdstno in rt,tll rh. tli6pired S.d \t t r.r'.nt teties.I vtptules. RIAHr rheAninal's Surynse, l9&) oil an*oa.l. il7 bt :6 b! ij in.he\.CE\TER The view. 198J. atl.n \.nt- I17 bt ;:l b\ J6i .h,t FlR RTCHT ihe !bbe!.ltuJ otl0 \o..i. l!7br68,r,JQ ttr/rcr.

have to ger rwnv l.om ill rhrr. Scanga counrered em-phalicallv. Well. )ou cld !. You nright rs well use it. Youdon t have to complerelv ernbrace it. but use what r"ourvan!. Scansa Irkes rn inrerest in rhe rec€nt rn of ltaly,noling tha! lounger rnists such as Sandro Chi!, Enzo Cucchi. Frlncesco Clemenre rnd \limmo Paladino have broughtlhe Itrlidn rnisric herit.rge into rheir qo.k. o., rs Sclngrobsedes. rt lcrn they don r complerely neglre it. '

As dear as lrlly is rnd hrs been to him. Scroga hrs Iivedhis.dult lite in rhe Unired States, rhe pan eisht yea.s inCrlilomia. Thrs h!s be.n the most producrive and.ewrrdingp€nod oi his cntire career. rnd the move to Calitbrnia has.il ,n\'hrn.. p-. n pre I \'n o rork r tn :rerkLnrcr\ll\rnd lmbtion. Beture I.rme here I neve. hd, srudic,I work.d in u b3remenr. Ar lirst I thousht I might be dis-tructed by rhe herutv ol rhe *euther and lhe berch. But,no- I dnd rhlt hcre I crn sork ourdoors rnd it has tu.nedout ro be e\trenrelv crelti\e Jnd inspiring Here Ihale put.oors dosn tir rhe tirsi tinre. '

o c \\cA s L st ot, TR \Dn loN qL REI tCtOL S

\ im,eeD hJs often (unrL\eo h. JL,oience Jno 1r. .J,-U e,gJ(,. Peop,e drun r ,no$ I "J. r.JLntc io15peKon or r rcligious person. But I lvas neither one. I wasjust trving to use the imlges as ret_erences ro cenain rhinssI remember. Ia my childhood the church in rown was simpll,a pan oi my liie. During lhe 1970s Scanga handled hisimagery in a cool, conceprual manner. ..rher than in histypically wam, sometimes autobiog.aphical style. Hesoughr out popular prinrs ol .eligious subjects, which hethen panially obs.ured by his own pai.ring. and collectedcommon plaster sralues ol slints, placing rhem in glassboxes rilted and propped by plain recrangula. cubes. Deniedlheir traditional iconic slance, these plasrer saints becrmeweighll€ss, hovering ibms suspended in rime und space,disrant cultural memories ill at ease in the late torh,century'!ond. h Bleeditls Hee s {t916J a work consisring oltrvo painted-over re ligious prints and a large gllss cup rumedon ns side .rnd displayed on a plaster block-rhe mist bor-rowed the wom-our. highly associarive imagery ol rradi-Iioml devotionrl paintings. While many othe. rnisrs us€dpopulJr .nd r6d r'nnJl imdcery onl) ,o re',1,/c .r,{ pru,e

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irs hck of meaning, Scanga used ir ro coni.ont his rudiencewrh lhe spiritual sphere oi iife. The somewhrr cool pre-senrfiion of the vivid. bioody plintings rlongside rhe deepred glass cup serves nor to neutratize the imascrv but ror. . u' rno nrell - LrJtr/e r- o rnJ h( lmr.rJr :; ;e bJn_lr.e seen with rn untamililr inrensiry. The di\rancing otConceptull an seemed ro run counrer ro Scanga s ebulientnatu.e, but rhis pe.iod oi his wo.k refined his sense oi,rlturJl r-on' -nJ .irol<'r h n ro gJrn Jr\..p.rne JnJ roclJnlv hr\ pu.po\e. is Jn rnr5r

ln his Fear" series oi l..ge treesrondiog wood scutp-rures. crelted berween 1979 d.d 1982. Scansa calted uponlnorher \ide oi his naru.e-rhe ieari-ul. inaiio.al side. Aloverol he lblklore rnd myrhs ot yarious countries, Scangaevokes in (his \enes lhe ancient leffs ot darkness_ rhLrnderroin rnd eanhquakes. iuore modern anxi€ti.s rre ernbodiedN lvcll in the:ie works. .ach ot lvhich is nrrde uD ot !n'n.mncJ.:nt'ru, ruure --mr1! I icJ.prLnt rti.mJn rep.

.pr, h. '<)r 'o b( .ontro eo rnd. per1.p.<\rr.r..Ll lhr.< t\i.:i rr<.e1.e..unvey I t.rhe rer rsk_tru nrulJne.t....mrng Jrgety tromrhe.hJDe.'r'lne,ree.rnb rr'T .\n(n 't-() fe mrJ. scrn.,: r.. rr ppc,r rne

bark and tumed, polished and painled rhe suri-aces ot rhewood, but much of rhe ndtunl mate.iei s mvsterv rLndJniqJenec( reTJ.nr

The genesis ol rhese works cime in 1978. when Scansa:(ended I e!'ure oy Jfl l-iroflan ,no n.onr tnrioS.hw:n7. rno.ro$ed beJur.ruj pe[o!t)ph..rom _.r!e.n Sparn Among tne oetoJl)pnc {a. one rt , 'rrqre l.LIewith upraised arms, which Scbwarrz intery.ered rs r manaltempting to rriumph over his lears. The tecture. and rhltpanicular igure. inspi.ed Scanga to rum inward, ro irusth.':brliry o p<.1, Jn\<lf-cJn.ciou.r) He uropped

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^l nerrrJ.rty rh!( 1.d .o lorn.nrred he rn or rne -0\.including his own. lnd began exp.essing his emorions w[hgrcarerpassion. SpeakinS directly, e!en autobiographicajty.ScJngr .rerred nldem Jrd per un.l nJge\ rr resr sirh'rrle. .ucn I' F. nr "r'8r,,ae,t Hah,p td Fc,,r ,t 5",,,.\.

In Scanga s wo.ld art and life are insepurabte. Allhorlshl< .. oo rLrll ur humor Jnd .ron1 ro .<e nim'elt :. : nin!vith a simple message, his concems.rre b.oadly hum.rnisric.neler exclusively turmal. Sclnsa s work is tull oi rhechanges ol mood, conrradictions, lbsurdrries lnd open rs-tenions ol principle thar characterize his lite rs a whote.

NovE!3ER M 1,73

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In Ale.ding Heotts. 1976, \|atercotot a'd o.^*tic ar papet eihBla,t cuD and ptayet.blotk. S"anqa haalt"d j?v.rcrAt tani?a

Just ss his hauniing "Fear" renes reached its climax in1981, Scanga began a group ofstark, vigorously geomerricheads quite openly derived fron rhe Analytic Cubism oiPicasso and Braque of 1909-t0. 'I wanted to do rhinss ILnou-ehr I Louldn r do. rhe nuonat,.nrettecruat. controtied.Could I realiy conirol myself, rea y draw a straight tine?OfcouNe i coutd. MaDyoflhese large wooden heads weredone from life-some fie ponrans-and yet rhis senes hasa sober intensity quite untike rhe lyrical lineariiy of someof his eariier work.

Tl]e cubist heads also brought up the subjecr oi color,iorcing Scanga to conlront lheir brcad, llar planar surfacesand to find a painted equivalenr ior their sharply cur angles,nd rwists of space and mass. Evenruatly rh€ painred sur-lace\ not only rccompanred but moved In.ounlerpoint tothe planar movement of his wood sculptures. Restating inhis own terms the original problem of early Cubism, heexplored ihe interaciion of painred illusory space and real$ree dimensional mass. nnding occasional poi.ts of tusionthal inspire the view€r ro believe a ficrive visual construcreven in rhe hce of rangible reality.

when asled rl h€ rs u\ing Cubr.r form rn an .ronic wdy.nuch as posrmod€m architecrs deliberarely bonow andquoie lrom histoncal and edly modemisr buildings, Scangareplies, Well; I know all aboul !har. but no. Mv minddoe<n r qork rhdt wJy. I w.nred to Bo bdck ro rhe .ourceot modemr.m. Everybody.ome\ i'om picJs,o: Boccioni,I drlrn. DuchJmp. \evet.on. e!eryone. I wanred ro go br, kro dat Cub',r penod. qt ich I tov;. it i, ct*J], rre\h ,o me.

The other day in New York L saw picasso,s ,?,n ojrellerd Atqnon i^ he l\4useum ot Mod€m An. cnd once dgainir was so iresh. so new '

Jusi as abrupdy as it began, the cubisr series ended whenlhe problem had been posed. exptorcd Jnd exhau5led. 4least for Scanga. lr q35 rrme tor hrm ro open rp rgain

"ndwork lrom hrs emor'onai center. These (q,nes of mood dndfocus are rypical for him, dnd .omerrmeslonfusrng anoftustrating for ihose rround him_ Bur as one who knowshimself thorougHy, Scanga reflects. "t have a very shonspan of intensity. I ger bored. I want ro ge! to work and towork fasr. Thar'\ my \enribilir) and perhapr ry probtem.I jui can r force nyseli ro do rhe ulomare masrerprece.H€ also tends to see bis work in cycles or series, l€rring itunfold as naually as possible, conrinuing as long as on€work leads to the next without forcing the issue and as longas he is nDtivated by genuine desire.

Having sp€nt several yea$ on the rimeless prcbtems offormal \rftcrure in dbsrraclion. Scansa oegan ro )em torhrnory and narrauve once dgarn. to relt rr're) ot real numane\penence. One thar has been pan or hi5 memory ,rncechildhood rs the bombing of the Abbey ot yonre Cd,rnoby Allied lorces in 1944. Hundreds olcivih,rns were kr ed.including monks, women and children, desprle severalpoorl) rmed dnd un'ucces(fuj wamrng. ro ger rhem ro aoan-don lhe dbbey. rhe loir of a grear ronument ot wesremculture combined wirh such a lenible roil of innocenr livesmade it one of the most rragic acrs of Wortd War II, andthe recenl assenions that lhe maneuver was taciicallv un-necesrdr! make rhe bomDing .eem even morc gre'ou,.

The rall, slender iieures repre\enting lhe rncrdenr harelhe asronrshed. open-mourhed e\pre*rons ol

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scribed by wihesses ro th€ evenr. The Monte CNsino cycle.made up of more than 15 sculprur€s between t0 and l.t teethigh, sets up a rhyihmic rituai of declamation md displayThe works are oddly beauriful, wuh iEegular bends andtums to their bodies and brighrly painted skins that temp!one to linger over small passages of color and d.awing. Rawemoron is borh oirranceLt Jnd rnren\ined by he .(rttrutdramaric narraove. lr is a )olh*enrury Itatran rrrgedy * no\eplayers exp€rience many pnvate and individual nlon1enis of

One ldrge fisure hold( dp d model oi ne rurned dobevirsell. dn image remdrbl) rarrhtur in de,aitoe.orre rr( roushtextures and contours. A warp€d circ1e srands benearh rheabbey as an emblem of blunred reason. rhe betrayal ot aperfecr symmeIr). A brighri) pdrnted .phere r. ptrced dr (heedge oflhe p€destai, suggesting the presence ofan explosivedevice about to tum the entire scene ro dust. It was Scansa sleeling\ for nrs lwo nom€5. lraD dnd rhe L S..rrrrpromp_'.ohis exploration of rhe evenr Monte Cassino, which in-!olved borh ltdlianr "nd

qmen,dns. Bur hi.humanistic than historic. He sees rhe lmgic and rhe comic.the unfortunate and the joyful evenls in human lile as cy-

Scanga and htr wrre, Srephanre. cpenr l3\r .ummer .nrheir country home and studio in ltaiy, where Scangaflnish€d agroup ofnonumenial 6gur€s in concrete. In recenryears fte scale of his work has continued to increase, butever more significant has be€n the growrh of bis !ision, lheachievement of a body of work at onc€ myrhic. immedialeand true to hjs owo experiences- wnh a gri! on his laceand a depth of emotion in his voice. Scanga says. The

Ibest pan of my life is just begi.ning.