DIAS DO DESASSOSSEGO, FOR FERNANDO PESSOA AND JOSE’ SARAMAGO
A mural celebrating Fernando Pessoa’s and Josè Saramago’s poetry for the festival DIAS DO DESASSOSSEGO.
Location: Rua Patrocinio 110, Lisbon
NEW WAYS OF PRESENTING POETRY, SINCE '98
At the end of the nineties I moved my first steps, bringing poetry in the streets and in public places to meet eyes to be read. Reinventing the communication of poetry, find new ways of presenting poetry.
DIALOGARTI 2016, BOLOGNA
A performance and an street poetry installation of “poetry scrolls” for the festival Dialogarti, directed by Alessandro Dall’Olio and Gruppo 77 (Bologna).
A TRIBUTE TO WISLAWA SZYMBORSKA’S POETRY
Sorry, this entry is only available in Italian.
A JOURNEY THROUGH PAINTING AND POETRY, since 2013
October 2013, Nowhere
During summer 2013 Opiemme started “A journey through painting and poetry“. A project inspired by the first steps in his artistic quest: bringing poetry closer to people. With a series of public poetic paintings, concieved in a site specific way, with attention to local poets, Opiemme created a poetic route (of street poetry) that simbolically crosses Italy from North to South.
11 stages: Torino, Bologna, Rieti, Pizzo Calabro, Faggiano (Taranto), Ariano Irpino, Menfi, Genova, Tirano (Sondrio), Roma, Gaeta/Terracina.
18 murals: from 30 to 180 square meters, a 7 km “River of words” painted on the pavements of Turin, 3 bus stop, and a site-specific for a performance.
Poems and texts by: E. A Poe, Giovanni Pascoli, S. Francesco D’Assisi, Louise Armstrong, Franco Arminio, Giacomo Leopardi, System of a Down, local poets from Menfi (Sicily), Riccardo Bacchelli, and others.
More than 5000 Km by train and bus
This project was covered ZIGULINE webzine, and supported by:
Elastico Studio and Antonio Storelli (Bologna), 3)5 Artecontemporanea (Rieti), Bi-BOx Art Space (Biella), Studio D’Ars (Milano).
Articles:
The Huffington Post (Usa)
Brooklyn Street Art (Usa)
Street Art + Design (Uk)
Strange Line (Greece-Usa)
Artribune (IT)
SAM Museum (It) (Eng)
Mentelocale (it)
Inside Art (It)
ZIGULINE (all stages) (It)
ARIANO IRPINO FOLK FESTIVAL – Franco Arminio
Agosto 2013, Ariano Irpino
Nel quartiere generale di Ziguline Magazine per la XIV edizione dell’Ariano Folk Festival.
Quattro giorni su una parete di oltre 150mq, con le parole del poeta locale Franco Arminio.
Penso che sia uno dei miei lavori migliori nell’estate 2013, con questa cascata di colori.
La poesia di Arminio dice: “Noi stiamo qui Stiamo in mezzo a questo vento un vento che soffia pure se resta fermo”
Lì ho incontrato Victor Rice e rifletto ancora sulle sue parole: “To be a real artist you have to be a real person”.
Un grazie per le foto a: Floriano Cappelluzzo, Mario Covotta
Su The Huffington Post
Su ZIGULINE (all stages) (It)
TO PASCOLI – PIZZO CALABRO MURA MURA FEST
A journey through painting and poetry
July 2013, Pizzo Calabro
MURA MURA FEST
Works:
“This sea is full of voices, this sky is full of visions…”
On words by Giovanni Pascoli
“Butterfly”
Inspired to Arrigo Boito’s “Dualism”
“I am light and darkness; angelic
Butterfly or filthy vermin
I am a fallen cherub
Damned to roam on earth,
Or a rising demon,
Exhausting his wings,
To a far away sky”
“…and sinking in this sea is sweet to me”
The Infinite, Giacomo Leopardi
“Legality Tree”
On Artribune
On The Huffington Post
ZIGULINE (all stages) (It)
A PASCOLI E BACCHELLI – BOLOGNA, 2013
A journey through painting and poetry
July 2013, Bologna
“Show me your dog is and I’ll tell you who you are”, Riccardo Bacchelli (Bologna, 19 April 1891 – Monza, 8 October 1985).
After painting a tribute to Giovanni Pascoli, Opiemme is back in Bologna.
Photos: Cristina Principale
Courtesy Elastico Studio Gallery
On The Huffington Post
On ZIGULINE (all stages) (It)
TO GIOVANNI PASCOLI’s “X AUGUST” POEM, IN BOLOGNA
A journey through painting and poetry
June 2013, Bologna
A new mural in Bologna, dedicated to Italian poet Giovanni Pascoli (San Mauro di Romagna 1855- Bologna, 1912).
August 10th
Translation Dia Tsung
Saint Lawrence, I know why so many
shooting stars in the tranquil air
blaze and tumble: it is because of the great weeping
in the glittering vault of heaven.
A swallow was retuning to the roof:
they killed her – she fell among thorns.
She held in her beak an insect,
the dinner for her little ones.
[…]
On Street Art Attack (more infos)
On Streets Are Sayng Things (more infos)
A RIVER OF WORDS – REVITILIZING BARCA AND BERTOLLA – TORINO
A journey through painting and poetry
June 2013, Turin
A part of the “Revitilizing Barca and Bertolla” project involved the local merchants, who were invited to chose an artistic happening that would enliven their neighbourhood. The project is now entering its final stage, and the merchants chose the artistic event that combines poetry with street art in the form of an installation by Opiemme. The author classifies the installation, called “A river of words from Barca to Bertolla”, as a “poetic painting”. The installation on one hand will create added value for the neighbourhood, and on the other it will bring its inhabitants closer to art and poetry. All this thanks to Opiemme, an artist and street poet, who will decorate the pavements with a river of words, connecting in this way the two areas with writings on the theme of water — the element that has marked the history of both neighbourhoods, in the past inhabited by washerwomen and boaters. The event was inaugurated in the first week of July and it aims at decorating 7 km of pavements along Strada San Mauro and Strada Settimo.
This initiative was designed to address the need of giving to both of these streets their own character, to establish a connection between Barca and Bertolla and, last but not least, to make use of two busy roads to create a visible artistic event. The project is carried out with the support of the District 6 of the city of Turin, and realized thanks “Bagni Pubblici di Via Agliè”.
barcaebertolla.com
Bagni Pubblici di Via Agliè
On Artribune
On The Huffington Post
ZIGULINE (all stages) (It)
a tribute to E. A. POE’s poem “the raven”, Bunker, Torino, 2013
The project “A travel through painting and poetry” started in Turin, thanks to Bunker.
“The Raven” is one of the first calligram, black shaped with an handmade text, by Opiemme dedicated to E. A. Poe.
The Huffington Post thanks to Brooklyn Street Art
CUSANO TALK FESTIVAL
August 2011, Cusano Mutri (Benevento)
Once upon a time in the wonderful deep, hot South of Italy, for Talk Festival.
A video by Tekla Studio from Torino.
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FUXIA BUS STOP
November 2007, Turin
“During the exhibitions night even bus stops change colour” (La Repubblica 12.11.2007)
Texts and poems by famous writers who lived and passed through Turin, formed a fluorescent bus stop.
An installation made for “Nuovi Arrivi” group show at “Accademia di Belle Arti”, during Artissima Art Fair.
Lasted 1 month.
POETRY SCROLLS
Since 2003, Nowhere
My experience started around 1998, writing poems. Suddenly I tried to mix words with visual arts. Renewing its comunicative forms was my first aim, even though I wasn’t aware of this at the time. Basically I tried to bring poetry closer to people so that they could read it randomly while walking down the street, or discover a poem in a place where it wasn’t supposed to be.
Sticker and poster art were two solutions I used until 2003 when I came up with a new idea: hanging little pieces of rolled-up paper, that people could take. It works really well in grabbing people’s attention. So much so, that I made 30000 Poetry Scrolls (Rotolini di poesia) for the White Night 2007 in Rome, and for many other festivals. I think I have made more than 200.000 Poetry Scrolls in total, especially for festivals. I have also done poetic installations and performances with other artists especially for Book and Literature Festivals.
The streets were about to change the way I worked.
