Confini e conflitti. Visioni del potere nel tappeto figurato orientale
from 27 March 2015 to 10 October 2015
Rovereto (TN)
The exhibition "Borders and Conflicts. Visions of Power in Oriental Figurative Carpets" is organised and produced by the Sergio Poggianella Foundation, the Rovereto Civic Museum Foundation and the Department of Humanities at the University of Trento; it is presented in collaboration with the Trentino Forum for Peace and Human Rights, the UN International Day of Peace and the Aldo Mondino Archive.
Conceived and curated by Sergio Poggianella, with scientific direction by Elena Dai Prà, the exhibition has been organised under the patronage of: the Autonomous Region of Trentino-Alto Adige, the Autonomous Province of Trento, the Municipality of Rovereto, AGeI (Association of Italian Geographers), AIC (Italian Cartographic Association), AIIG (Italian Association of Geography Teachers), CISGE (International Centre for Historical-Geographical Studies), the Italian Geographical Society, the Society for Geographical Studies, IPRASE (Institute for Educational Research and Experimentation), and the Civic Museum Society.
Drawing on a collection of two hundred examples of figurative oriental rugs (from the endowment collection of the Sergio Poggianella Foundation), the aim was to curate an exhibition capable of documenting the numerous variations of so-called ‘war rugs’, the Afghan war rugs, highlighting the issues and research perspectives surrounding them. Mostly knotted and, more rarely, woven or embroidered, these are produced for the most part in Afghanistan (but also in Pakistan, on whose north-western border new workshops run by Afghan refugees had been established, or in Iran, where there are still around three million Afghan refugees today), as well as in Central Asia and China. Their subjects include geographical representations of the world and the Afghan region, ranging from veritable world maps enriched with a catalogue of national flags, to political and thematic maps, landscapes, and portraits of public figures; with or without ‘arms’. These are artefacts that enjoyed great success, or rather significant commercial interest, in the period between the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan (1979–1989) and Operation Enduring Freedom (2001–2006), well beyond the borders of Afghanistan itself. Their origin, however, remains to be fully investigated, as this production constitutes a drastic break with the tradition of the oriental carpet; suffice it to say that as early as the 1920s, in nearby Khotan, the first signs of the modernist revolution were already creeping into the weave of the carpets, with speeding trains, steamships and aeroplanes appearing in urban landscapes.
Whilst it is true that war rugs contain a fascinating and rich repertoire of images, revealing in many cases extraordinary creative and artistic personalities, it is equally clear that these carpets and their makers have often been unwitting victims of interpretative clichés and historiographical gaps. It is also by no means insignificant that this repertoire of “visions of power” depicts, more or less intentionally, the balance of power between the world’s states, thus serving as a memento of the historical and geographical context of Afghanistan and the peoples who inhabit it or have inhabited it for over a century, torn apart by war, by many wars.
This is where the initiatives of “Borders and Conflicts. Visions of Power in Oriental Figurative Carpets” – thanks to the strategic collaboration with the Rovereto Civic Museum Foundation and the Department of Literature and Philosophy at the University of Trento, and supported by the Department of Education and Civic Heritage of Knowledge of the Municipality of Rovereto – form part of a complex and multifaceted project which, whilst on the one hand beginning with an exhibition and publication initiative entirely dedicated to war rugs, on the other hand, by distancing itself from the ephemeral nature that ultimately characterises every temporary exhibition, has sought to promote a virtuous cycle of knowledge, learning, and educational initiatives. War rugs, born in a ‘context of war’, can point the way towards strengthening and sustaining a ‘culture of peace’, encouraging reflection on the painful events that daily afflict the world and its peoples and which become central issues in territorial disputes.
On the centenary of the Great War, it seemed significant to us that these initiatives, although designed to tour other venues, should begin in Trentino and Rovereto: in the past, a land of patriotic and irredentist claims to Italian identity; in the present, a land of the “ideal of peace, respect for humanity, and the union of all the peoples of the world”. Here, in 1815, a border drawn a little too far south had not been enough to “feel” a sense of belonging to Tyrol and the Austrian Empire; here, a border could not be enough to convince people to fight against the Italians.
Trentino and Rovereto, in that Great War that changed the history of Europe, were a “front”, the line – the stroke of ink imprinted on a map – along which the armies of neighbouring countries clashed. Trentino and Rovereto, still today custodians of a dramatic memory of border disputes, host the initiatives of “Borders and Conflicts. Visions of Power in the Oriental Figurative Rug’ so that, beyond any aesthetic enjoyment and beyond any historical-artistic narrative, attention may be drawn to the function and pressures to which the borders of the world’s states are subjected.
We sought to emphasise this by placing, alongside the war rugs in the exhibition, contemporary artworks by Vittorio Corsini, Andrea de Carvahlo, Federico Lanaro, Aldo Mondino and Sarenco: artists from different generations and with different artistic languages who interpret the carpet by engaging with the themes of war and its condemnation, the balance of power between nations, and interfaith dialogue.
We also sought to emphasise this by organising and promoting – thanks to the collaboration and support of the numerous partners who joined the project – cross-generational opportunities for children, young people and adults to meet, so that they may observe and experiment, learn and discover, understand and gain knowledge. This is the path towards a ‘culture of peace’.
Rovereto (TN)
Palazzo Alberti Poja
curated by Serio Poggianella
Conceived and curated by Sergio Poggianella, with scientific direction by Elena Dai Prà, the exhibition has been organised under the patronage of: the Autonomous Region of Trentino-Alto Adige, the Autonomous Province of Trento, the Municipality of Rovereto, AGeI (Association of Italian Geographers), AIC (Italian Cartographic Association), AIIG (Italian Association of Geography Teachers), CISGE (International Centre for Historical-Geographical Studies), the Italian Geographical Society, the Society for Geographical Studies, IPRASE (Institute for Educational Research and Experimentation), and the Civic Museum Society.
Drawing on a collection of two hundred examples of figurative oriental rugs (from the endowment collection of the Sergio Poggianella Foundation), the aim was to curate an exhibition capable of documenting the numerous variations of so-called ‘war rugs’, the Afghan war rugs, highlighting the issues and research perspectives surrounding them. Mostly knotted and, more rarely, woven or embroidered, these are produced for the most part in Afghanistan (but also in Pakistan, on whose north-western border new workshops run by Afghan refugees had been established, or in Iran, where there are still around three million Afghan refugees today), as well as in Central Asia and China. Their subjects include geographical representations of the world and the Afghan region, ranging from veritable world maps enriched with a catalogue of national flags, to political and thematic maps, landscapes, and portraits of public figures; with or without ‘arms’. These are artefacts that enjoyed great success, or rather significant commercial interest, in the period between the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan (1979–1989) and Operation Enduring Freedom (2001–2006), well beyond the borders of Afghanistan itself. Their origin, however, remains to be fully investigated, as this production constitutes a drastic break with the tradition of the oriental carpet; suffice it to say that as early as the 1920s, in nearby Khotan, the first signs of the modernist revolution were already creeping into the weave of the carpets, with speeding trains, steamships and aeroplanes appearing in urban landscapes.
Whilst it is true that war rugs contain a fascinating and rich repertoire of images, revealing in many cases extraordinary creative and artistic personalities, it is equally clear that these carpets and their makers have often been unwitting victims of interpretative clichés and historiographical gaps. It is also by no means insignificant that this repertoire of “visions of power” depicts, more or less intentionally, the balance of power between the world’s states, thus serving as a memento of the historical and geographical context of Afghanistan and the peoples who inhabit it or have inhabited it for over a century, torn apart by war, by many wars.
This is where the initiatives of “Borders and Conflicts. Visions of Power in Oriental Figurative Carpets” – thanks to the strategic collaboration with the Rovereto Civic Museum Foundation and the Department of Literature and Philosophy at the University of Trento, and supported by the Department of Education and Civic Heritage of Knowledge of the Municipality of Rovereto – form part of a complex and multifaceted project which, whilst on the one hand beginning with an exhibition and publication initiative entirely dedicated to war rugs, on the other hand, by distancing itself from the ephemeral nature that ultimately characterises every temporary exhibition, has sought to promote a virtuous cycle of knowledge, learning, and educational initiatives. War rugs, born in a ‘context of war’, can point the way towards strengthening and sustaining a ‘culture of peace’, encouraging reflection on the painful events that daily afflict the world and its peoples and which become central issues in territorial disputes.
On the centenary of the Great War, it seemed significant to us that these initiatives, although designed to tour other venues, should begin in Trentino and Rovereto: in the past, a land of patriotic and irredentist claims to Italian identity; in the present, a land of the “ideal of peace, respect for humanity, and the union of all the peoples of the world”. Here, in 1815, a border drawn a little too far south had not been enough to “feel” a sense of belonging to Tyrol and the Austrian Empire; here, a border could not be enough to convince people to fight against the Italians.
Trentino and Rovereto, in that Great War that changed the history of Europe, were a “front”, the line – the stroke of ink imprinted on a map – along which the armies of neighbouring countries clashed. Trentino and Rovereto, still today custodians of a dramatic memory of border disputes, host the initiatives of “Borders and Conflicts. Visions of Power in the Oriental Figurative Rug’ so that, beyond any aesthetic enjoyment and beyond any historical-artistic narrative, attention may be drawn to the function and pressures to which the borders of the world’s states are subjected.
We sought to emphasise this by placing, alongside the war rugs in the exhibition, contemporary artworks by Vittorio Corsini, Andrea de Carvahlo, Federico Lanaro, Aldo Mondino and Sarenco: artists from different generations and with different artistic languages who interpret the carpet by engaging with the themes of war and its condemnation, the balance of power between nations, and interfaith dialogue.
We also sought to emphasise this by organising and promoting – thanks to the collaboration and support of the numerous partners who joined the project – cross-generational opportunities for children, young people and adults to meet, so that they may observe and experiment, learn and discover, understand and gain knowledge. This is the path towards a ‘culture of peace’.
Rovereto (TN)
Palazzo Alberti Poja
curated by Serio Poggianella
Mekka Mokka, 1988
50 kg di caffè in grani e disegno su carta da spolvero
220 × 140 cm
Confini e conflitti. Visioni del potere nel tappeto figurato orientale
Raccolto in preghiera (tappeto di granaglie), 1986
granaglie
400 × 200 cm
Opere correlate
Nessuna opera correlata trovata