Alberto Burri
Alberto Burri Sacco (sack) 1952
Alberto Burri was an Italian Multimedia Artist.
His preference for raw materials saw Burri combine the domains of painting and relief sculpture.
“My works are not paintings but cuts of reality.” - Burri
He maintained that his art was about experimentation and processes rather than personal experience.
Although it is also fact that he endured gruelling experiences as a medical officer in the Italian army.
“Painting with combustion” involved coloured materials. A process by which he created torched wood veneers, welded steel reliefs and compositions of melted and charred plastic.
He became known for his Sacchi (bags or burlaps) , Combustion (burnt plastic on canvas) and Cretti.
Grande Cretto (1984-2015) - This was Burris Monumental land art project in Sicily which took 30 years in the making.
It was placed directly over the ruins of Gibellina.
It was composed of large semi-rectangular blocks of white concrete a little over 5ft high.
The blocks were broken by deep fissures that create walkable paths roughly corresponding to the ancient towns pattern of streets.
Alberto Burri Grande bianco (Large White), 1971. Acrylic and PVA on Celotex, 126 x 201.7 cm
The Cretti are made with a traditional artist’s pigment, zinc white, which forms a brittle paint film prone to cracking if not mixed with proper amounts of binder.
In some respects the Cretti are self-making artworks that “perform” their compositions as they dry.
I really liked how Burri used his knowledge of the mediums he used to create these outcomes. His work, especially Cretti, has some elements of destruction but also creation born out of chemicals not reacting how they should.
These cracked surfaces relate back to my project and the fracturing effects of trauma on an individuals memory and world view.
