ABSTRACT
The essay attempts a first historical-analytical reconstruction of the interactions between sound research and performance art in Italy, focusing particularly on the years 1977-'82, a period in which artists who took performance as a practice of undermining old practices and norms, such as challenge and deviation from the acquired codes, they turn to and experience the sound dimension. This sound crossing is more about the visual arts, theater and poetry than experimental cultured music. On the other hand, the "uncultured" musicians of the nascent punk and industrial scene perform themselves while the performers become musical. The latter assume the sound by testing the concert format while the musical bands assume the performance by unhinging the same format. In addition to the concert format (investigated by Christina Kubisch and Fabrizio Plessi, by the Il Carrozzone company, by the Centro Uh!) there are radio performances (by Angelo Pretolani, by the Taroni-Cividin group), sound installations-performances (by Ferruccio Ascari , by Roberto Rossini) and finally the audio productions (vinyls and audio cassettes) assisted by the birth of the tape-networks phenomenon in recent years. There are also many exhibition, now forgotten: Audioworks (Milan 1980), the fourth Settimana Internazionale della Performance (Bologna 1980), Inascoltabili / sound fragments and Up to date! (Genoa 1981), Lo Zoo Musicale (Milan 1981), Espansione suono. Energia '82 (Ferrara 1982), Sonorità prospettiche (Rimini 1982). Before investigating these scenes, the essay also tries to take stock of what was done in the early 1970s on this ridge between performance art and sound production, allowing us to bring out the main differences in the alternations between languages and practices.
BIOGRAFIA
Daniele Vergni, Dottorando in Spettacolo presso Sapienza Università di Roma, si occupa di Performance Art e Nuovo Teatro Musicale in Italia, di vocalità e sonorità della scena teatrale e performativa secondo novecentesca. È redattore della rivista «Sciami|Ricerche» diretta da Valentina Valentini. Ha collaborato con «Alfabeta2» e attualmente con «Artribune». Tra le sue pubblicazioni: Nuovo Teatro Musicale in Italia (1961-1970), Bulzoni, Roma 2019; Azione e comportamento in Italia (1967-1973). Questioni terminologiche e specificità linguistiche dell'azione come pratica nelle arti visive, «Biblioteca Teatrale», n. 137, Bulzoni, Roma luglio-dicembre 2022; Le azioni della musica gestuale in Italia: tra teatro e performance art (1963-1969), «Arabeschi», n. 19/2022.