Olivo Barbieri. Images 1978-2014

La città perfetta

A new work for the MAXXI collection. La città perfetta by Olivo Barbieri: thousands of images in movement that describe from above 400 km of the Adriatic coast from Vasto to Ravenna, traversing the Abruzzo, Marche and Emilia Romagna regions.

This work, commissioned by MAXXI Architettura and created with the support of Eni, is on show at the museum from 11 November 2015 through to 10 January 2016, within the ambit of the anthological exhibition Olivo Barbieri. Immagini 1978-2014.

Olivo Barbieri says: “LA CITTA’ PERFETTA is a stinging film of 7,942 stills shot from above inserted between primary colour frames: red in the summer; red, green and blue (white) in autumn – and 22 short movies from the ground, which tells the tale of a particular area, without applying to a documentary or descriptive approach”.

Full of history, geography, economics, tourism, beauty and horror, the Adriatic City – considered to be perfect for its exemplary mid of quality of life and ecological waste – shows more clearly than elsewhere the complexities and contradictions of contemporary urbanism in which physical distances are not important and “beachside” roads and railways dominate, the advance of new industrial technologies conflict with the survival of the landscape, everyone wishes to live in a single family dwelling and it is impossible to understand whether the building we are looking at is an urban, rural or touristic home or perhaps a small productive nucleus. Or even all this together.  In order to recount an area so specific yet recurrent throughout the world, MAXXI asked Olivo Barbieri to climb aboard a helicopter once again and filter through his vision the images of beaches and monuments, motorways and industrial plants, the examples of excellence and the gaping wounds that characterise locations ranging from the crowded beaches of Rimini to Urbino’s Palazzo Ducale, from Vanvittelli’s Lazzaretto to the river valleys invaded by houses, villas, factories and warehouses, often designed by well-known names.

The Adriatic and the Mediterranean in general, through the contradictory flows of clandestine emigration – illegal and tragic – and the entertainment industry – extremely well-organized – is perceived as hyper-productive and at times aggressive. When reality is perceived as aggressive, then the images become so too. La città perfetta is a device that produces visual stimuli, memories of the places enter the imagination through the offended eye.  It creates unexpected trajectories and temporally and spatially redefines that which we had believed to be consolidated.

Curated by Pippo Ciorra with Francesca Fabiani and Cristiana Colli.
The work has been created with the support of Eni and thanks to the collaboration of the State Forestry Corps and the Associazione Demanio Marittimo KM – 278.
Special thanks to the Regional Division of the State Forestry Corps of the Marche region and the State Forestry Corps’ Aircraft Operations Centre.