Ketty La Rocca
Encyclopedia
Ketty La Rocca was one of the most important artists in the European art of the 1960s–1970s. She was a leading exponent of body art
and poesia visiva movements.
She made her debut in the early 1960s as a poet, and a poet she remained until her death, even if in a broader sense. Beside the experience with concrete poetry
, she produced, in line with the visual poetry
of Gruppo 70, to which she belonged, her collages, a set of images and words taken from newspapers and magazines and recombined in critical forms.
Starting from the late 1960s and early 1970s, her research was concentrate on deep reflection on the universe of communication
and, in so doing, she was a true pioneer in using most advanced techniques of her time, such as videotapes, installation and performance. In this period Ketty La Rocca made several sculptures in black plastic (PVC), reproducing single letters of the alphabet
and punctuation mark (mainly comma), and various objects in metal and mirror.
Then, in her works, Ketty La Rocca developed the idea of a body-language, or of a body turned into language. She used men’s and women’s hands making elementary gestures. The fundamental steps in this direction were the publication of artist’s book "In principio erat" in 1971 (defined as one of the fundamental experiences of body art in Italy by Lea Vergine) and the video “Appendice per una supplica”, shown for the first time at the 1972 Biennale di Venezia.
The evolution of her work was the use of words written in a rapid cursive hand on the images of hand (see for example "Le mie parole e tu?", 1971). This was the common trait of two main series produced by Ketty La Rocca in the last years of her life: the "riduzioni" and the "craniologie". In the former works, she developed her signature body of work, and passage after passage, with a gradual transfiguration, the images dissolve — through the act of writing — to the point where they become pure abstraction. In the "craniologie" she used the word "you", written on the reproductions of x-ray
s of her skull, where the image of a hand of or a finger was superimposed on the cranial cavity
. Ketty La Rocca constructed her own unique aesthetic language working with materials as different as the letters of the alphabet, hand gestures, x-rays of her own head, and the practice of automatic writing
.
Over the last decades Ketty La Rocca works’ has gained widespread international acclaim. Several retrospectives have been organized in Italy
, Europe
and the United States
, in public and private spaces, such as:
In 2007, some of her most important pieces have been shown at MOCA Los Angeles during the exhibition WACK! Art and the Feminist Revolution. Recently one work has been acquired by Uffizi to be exhibited in the new wing (will be opened in 2011) of the Corridoio Vasariano
.
Body art
Body art is art made on, with, or consisting of, the human body. The most common forms of body art are tattoos and body piercings, but other types include scarification, branding, scalpelling, shaping , full body tattoo and body painting.More extreme body art can involve things such as mutilation...
and poesia visiva movements.
She made her debut in the early 1960s as a poet, and a poet she remained until her death, even if in a broader sense. Beside the experience with concrete poetry
Concrete poetry
Concrete poetry or shape poetry is poetry in which the typographical arrangement of words is as important in conveying the intended effect as the conventional elements of the poem, such as meaning of words, rhythm, rhyme and so on....
, she produced, in line with the visual poetry
Visual poetry
Visual poetry is poetry or art in which the visual arrangement of text, images and symbols is important in conveying the intended effect of the work. It is sometimes referred to as concrete poetry, a term that predates visual poetry, and at one time was synonymous with it.Visual poetry was heavily...
of Gruppo 70, to which she belonged, her collages, a set of images and words taken from newspapers and magazines and recombined in critical forms.
Starting from the late 1960s and early 1970s, her research was concentrate on deep reflection on the universe of communication
Communication
Communication is the activity of conveying meaningful information. Communication requires a sender, a message, and an intended recipient, although the receiver need not be present or aware of the sender's intent to communicate at the time of communication; thus communication can occur across vast...
and, in so doing, she was a true pioneer in using most advanced techniques of her time, such as videotapes, installation and performance. In this period Ketty La Rocca made several sculptures in black plastic (PVC), reproducing single letters of the alphabet
Alphabet
An alphabet is a standard set of letters—basic written symbols or graphemes—each of which represents a phoneme in a spoken language, either as it exists now or as it was in the past. There are other systems, such as logographies, in which each character represents a word, morpheme, or semantic...
and punctuation mark (mainly comma), and various objects in metal and mirror.
Then, in her works, Ketty La Rocca developed the idea of a body-language, or of a body turned into language. She used men’s and women’s hands making elementary gestures. The fundamental steps in this direction were the publication of artist’s book "In principio erat" in 1971 (defined as one of the fundamental experiences of body art in Italy by Lea Vergine) and the video “Appendice per una supplica”, shown for the first time at the 1972 Biennale di Venezia.
The evolution of her work was the use of words written in a rapid cursive hand on the images of hand (see for example "Le mie parole e tu?", 1971). This was the common trait of two main series produced by Ketty La Rocca in the last years of her life: the "riduzioni" and the "craniologie". In the former works, she developed her signature body of work, and passage after passage, with a gradual transfiguration, the images dissolve — through the act of writing — to the point where they become pure abstraction. In the "craniologie" she used the word "you", written on the reproductions of x-ray
X-ray
X-radiation is a form of electromagnetic radiation. X-rays have a wavelength in the range of 0.01 to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 petahertz to 30 exahertz and energies in the range 120 eV to 120 keV. They are shorter in wavelength than UV rays and longer than gamma...
s of her skull, where the image of a hand of or a finger was superimposed on the cranial cavity
Cranial cavity
The cranial cavity, or intracranial space, is the space formed inside the skull. The brain occupies the cranial cavity, which is lined by the meninges and which contains cerebrospinal fluid to cushion blows....
. Ketty La Rocca constructed her own unique aesthetic language working with materials as different as the letters of the alphabet, hand gestures, x-rays of her own head, and the practice of automatic writing
Automatic writing
Automatic writing or psychography is writing which the writer states to be produced from a subconscious and/or spiritual source without conscious awareness of the content.-History:...
.
Over the last decades Ketty La Rocca works’ has gained widespread international acclaim. Several retrospectives have been organized in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, in public and private spaces, such as:
- Centre d’Art Contemporain GenèveCentre d’Art Contemporain GenèveThe Centre d’Art Contemporain Genève is a contemporary art exhibition centre in Geneva, Switzerland, established in 1974.CAC was the first contemporary art institution in Suisse Romande...
(1992). - Kunstlerhaus Stuttgart (1995).
- Kunsthalle Wien (1995).
- College Marcel Duchamp, Chateauroux (1996).
- Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio, La Spezia (1999).
- Palazzo delle Esposizioni, Rome (2001).
- Museo di arte con.temporanea e del novecento, Monsummano Terme (2001).
- Palazzo Fabroni, Pistoia (2002).
- Istituto Italiano di Cultura, Los Angeles (2002).
- Galleria Emi Fontana, Milano (2005).
- MART Rovereto (2007).
- Palazzo Grassi, Venezia (2008).
In 2007, some of her most important pieces have been shown at MOCA Los Angeles during the exhibition WACK! Art and the Feminist Revolution. Recently one work has been acquired by Uffizi to be exhibited in the new wing (will be opened in 2011) of the Corridoio Vasariano
Vasari Corridor
The Vasari Corridor is an elevated enclosed passageway in Florence, central Italy, which connects the Palazzo Vecchio with the Palazzo Pitti. Beginning on the south side of the Palazzo Vecchio, it then joins the Uffizi Gallery and leaves on its south side, crossing the Lungarno dei Archibusieri...
.
Ketty La Rocca's main publications
- 1966 Il mito ci sommerge, Ed. Sampietro, Bologna.
- 1971 In principio erat, Ed. Centro Di, Firenze.
- 1972 Appendice per una supplica, Ed. Museum Am Ostwall, Dortmund.
- 1975 Ketty La Rocca, Monografia, Ed. Museum Am Ostwall, Dortmund.
- 1989 Ketty La Rocca, Catalogo retrospettiva, Ed. Carini, Firenze.
Main publications on Ketty La Rocca
- 1998 Ketty La Rocca, CD-Rom
- 1999 Ketty La Rocca, Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio La Spezia.
- 2001 Omaggio a Ketty La Rocca, Pacini Editore, Pisa.
- 2003 Ketty La Rocca, Galerie im Taxispalais, Innsbruck.
- 2005 Ketty La Rocca: I suoi scritti, a cura di Lucilla Saccà, Martano Editore, Torino, 2005.
- 2007 AA. VV., Wack! Art and the Feminist Revolution, exh. cat., The Museum of Contemporary Art, L.A. and The MITT PRESS, Cambridge, 2007, pp. 114–15 e p. 289.
- 2008 AA.VV., Italics. Arte italiana fra tradizione e rivoluzione 1968–2008, exh. cat., Mondadori Electa, Milano, 2008, p. 101.
- 2008 Del Becaro, Elena, Intermedialità al femminile: l’opera di Ketty La Rocca, Mondadori Electa, Milano, 2008.
- 2009 Rebelle. Art & Feminism 1969–2009, (exh. Cat), MMKA, Arnhem, NL, pg. 220–221.
- 2010 Donna: Avanguardia Femminista negli anni ’70 dalla Sammlung Verbund di Vienna, (exh. Cat), Galleria nazionale d’arte moderna, Roma, pg. 46–55, Electa.