Intro

Having gone back to Japan and remembering the scorching sunlight in Italy, I am washing the mill that I used for my performance there. The white ceramic grooves are tinted purple with grapes, and there are yellow, green, and blue here and there. Lemons, arugula, and flowers from around the region? I gently brush away with lukewarm water traces of the organic matter that I oxidized there. Wiping the mill that turned white again, I remember the casual conversations that we had at the last dinner in Prochida. I asked them, “What did you do during the pandemic when you had a lot of time at home?” And Elena answered, “I made ragù (meat sauce) for the first time.” What a typical Italian! As for me, I came to drink coffee more often, so I installed a motor on a hand mill so that it rotated very slowly for flavor. I never dreamt that this device that I brought with me would be useful in my performance in Italy.

Travel < AIR < Habitat


It has been a while since I crossed the ocean to participate in an artist-in- residence (AIR) program, and Italy was the 10th country for me. As I suspected from my past experiences, this would be a busy residency with four stops in one month. I was headed for rural areas under the theme of “Energy in Rural (EIR)” and was determined to look for a framework for playing with organic materials in mind. The rest would be taken care of locally, I thought, and left for the airport. The flight took a major detour to the Arctic side of the route, probably due to the situation in Ukraine, to the Rome Fiumicino Airport. I traveled two hours east by land via Pescara in Abruzzo overlooking the Adriatic Sea and arrived at Pollinaria where I stayed, which gave me the impression of a research institute of agriculture and contemporary art. My itinerary said that then I would move down south to visit the Folklore Museum MEdA in Aquilonia at the eastern end of Campania, and the Liminaria Festival in San Martino Valle Caudina, southwest of Campania. Then I would go to Procida, a remote island in the Gulf of Naples, where the Italian Capital of Culture was held. I always feel that AIR is more than a trip and less than a permanent residence. A fresh daily life in parallel with the production process generates a unique sense of proximity. Someone among my new friends (amici/amiche) that I made locally started to call me Ciro (short of Soichiro) and it became my nickname right away. I heard that it was a very manly name that reminded them of Naples, so it must have sounded like a local artist from Japan. You never know what will happen. I read an introductory 2 Italian language textbook and decided not to carry my laptop so that I could greedily absorb any opportunity that came my way.

Green, Purple, Yellow and Blue





Deep green olives, dark purple grapes, dazzling yellow wheat fields, and the presence of vegetables called “ours,” that is the richness and happiness of this land! I felt that way in Polinaria where I first stayed. Surrounded by mountains of a national park in Abruzzo, I had a spectacular view of both Mt. Gran Sasso and Mt. Majella, the magnificent mountains adored as father and mother. A lovely house surrounded by the aforementioned four farms was the base for my residency. The farmers got up early and started to work at 5:30 a.m., so I did not try to get over jet lag. Gaetano Carboni, who presided over the residency, looked at the changing blue color of the sky as well as the thickness and flow of the clouds and told me what was coming next. The menu of the work for that day was determined by the blueness of the sky. He said, “No, not yet. No…no. You’ll start in 30 minutes!” After a few days of waiting, they were running the giant harvesters on the wheat fields in front of us, predicting a few hours without rain. August is a wheat harvest season. People were corking the wine and sticking labels side by side. I was given a little bit of an honor of labeling the DOC (Italian wine classification system). The olives were green and not matured, so I visited the museum that was renovated from his grandfather’s old factory. The name Amorotti crowned in the wine’s name was from a family who moved there in 1521 and Gaetano was their descendant. I could feel that the rich scenery was there for several centuries. In between the work, I was invited to a lunch with about 20 people at the Almidoro and Manuela couple in Pollinaria. We toasted Amorotti wine to Abruzzo's typical chitarra (pasta) and arrosticini (spit- roasted lamb). The after-dinner drink was bitter genziana made with gentian root and white wine. Delicious Abruzzo-style! Everyone was saying “è buona!” (not “è buono”). When the farm work was slow, I took my time to look for inspiration for my new work. With Pollinaria olive oil, wine, freshly harvested wheat and vegetables, I enjoyed cooking under the deep blue sky while looking at the earth that nurtured them.

L’aria del giorno / Air of Today

A new friend of mine, Alessandro, who lived nearby, told me that he would be doing his first honey collection in a few days. He gave me some beeswax as a souvenir, so I thought of a way to literally embody Energy in 3 Rural. I heated the beeswax in a water-bath, put a wick made of cotton wrapped with wire, and a candle was easily made. I worked in the field every day, picked and kept organic materials that I liked. I dried them, ground them in the mill and sprinkled the powder onto an earthenware that I heated with the candle I made. A rising smell reminded me of the situation when I picked it up and found it interesting that the image of the crop was in the scent. I tried several things in succession and the smells were blended and became blurred, but it was interesting that undescribable scent was actually generated. As we wear masks often due to the pandemic, I suspected that a smell was deeply and unconsciously related to our daily perceptions, so I made it a production theme in recent years. One question I remember asking Gaetano and his partner Hera in Pollinaria was “Can you tell me one scent that symbolizes this place?” In summary, it was difficult for them to pick one smell. They smelled a harmonious whole in each season. There was the air of the day, and a ceaseless change in the smell must be one of the perceptions of breathing in the air there. Through such subtle experiments and dialogues in daily life, I made my new performance “L’aria del giorno” to generate air here and now. I quoted the phrase that I saw often in a restaurant menu. These seemed to be a good combination and I made it popular to put “del giorno” in this project ever since. In its world premiere, I used a candle I made from beeswax and the mill powered by a solar panel, and generated smell of wildflowers, vegetables along with eight kinds of wheat, olive branches, and grapes (Montepulciano) out to the air in the sunlight-softened evening. Later that day, I participated in a symposium with local researchers, cultural producers, Gaetano, Leandro Pisano among the co-curators of this project and Shikata Yukiko who joined us that day. I talked about observing the sky as an episode of my stay and expressed my gratitude to wrap up my first residency production.

Aquilonia or Carunar





I departed early the next morning. At an Italian bar (coffee shop) that we dropped in right away, Leandro told me that cappuccino should not be too hot and I learned that there were so many kinds of sweet cornetto of Danish pastry. On the way, we passed through some of the poorest areas in Italy, and I noticed people in inappropriate dresses and an increase in the number of wind turbines. As it became mountainous, we drove over the hill and Aquilonia suddenly appeared with obvious main streets. It is located a little far from the earthquake-stricken old town called Carunar. I stayed at MEdA, the museum of ethnology that was opened by bottom-up efforts to preserve its history and culture. I was luckily the second artist who participated in the AIR program that was implemented by architect Enzo Tenore, the director of the city’s new cultural experiment. He was also a fan of the great Italian band AREA and was a genius who brought 4 the brilliant lighting idea to my installation “Study of Air.” Vito (Vincenzo Tenore), the museum's director, gave me the keys to the museum and arranged for me to have free access to his fully-equipped lab as a working space. Every day I played the radio to familiarize my ears as I brushed up my performance. Actually there was one thing I could not do in Pollinaria which I had prepared beforehand. I intended to speak in Italian at the beginning of the performance and had a text prepared, but skipped it in order to concentrate on my performance of scent for the first time. So, to be prepared to speak in Italian, I improved the set and did a rehearsal at the lab. As I wanted to continue to look for organics, Vito di Prenda who called me “Ciro!” cheerfully every time I met him, Carmine Solazzo, and Carmela who lived in Bisaccia, the neighboring town, showed me around in Monteverde, Bisaccia, and Lake San Pietro. Their friends and the mayor joined us picking up organics along the way while having fun. I did not understand grammar and the details of their conversations in Italian, but for some reason, I felt as if I could grasp something beyond words. I liked the sound of Latin, and I could guess some of the meanings, so I kept my ears open to get ready for the performance. The anniversary date of the great earthquake was the last day of my residency. I successfully performed “L’aria del giorno” for the second time in Italian and finished the round talk with Enzo, Leandro, and Yukiko. The talk was interpreted by Patrizia Ramundo, who was also involved in the founding of this museum, but I was flattered to leave my Italian as it was, which I managed while using DeepL. My new work seemed to be fleshed out step by step, which was a kind of format at residency production that I experienced for the first time.

Harmony, not compatibility or combination




The next day, we drove to San Martino VC, where Leandro lived. Francesco who joined my trip to Monteverde gave me a ride and I saw the Taurasi vineyard from the highway. We arrived at a nice Italian-style house surrounded by grapes and fig trees. As we talked a lot about wine, he introduced me to a winery called Santiuorio the next day. The owner, Erminio Covino, let me taste the wine as soon as we met. Its taste was overwhelming and I immediately made a request saying, “I want to work with you tomorrow!” Surprised and smiling, he asked me what time I could come, and I immediately answered “5:30!” as I had not overcome the jet lag. He agreed to get together at 7:30. That night I had dinner with other artists participating in the festival and went to bed early. The next morning, he brought me first to a café and we had cappuccino and crispy sfogliatella, a Neapolitan specialty. Then he gave me a red cap and scissors. Then we were headed out to the field to do the trimming. We observed the growth of the wine trees and trimmed the branches that had grown too long, twisting them around the wires appropriately. Under the scorching sunlight, we continued to have dialogue with the branches. After 5 a few breaks, remembering yesterday's wine, I asked him what “Abbinamento” was. “Our wines are strong,” he said, but it was only because they were accompanied by “our” vegetables and meats. As our conversation went on, I seemed to have understood the difference between abbinamento and paring or mariage. Mariage is chemistry, and pairing of free combination is very modern. Different from the two, abbinamento has two strong tastes compete with each other. It might be the ultimate equilibrium to taste the crop of the region in an integrated manner. After a morning in the vineyards and an afternoon digging potatoes, we were treated with Santiuorio for lunch and dinner with everything from vegetables to prosciutto made at home. It was a precious day for us to experience what abbinamento was firsthand.

Usually “L’aria del giorno” ends as I seal the generated air in a nylon bag. I was thinking of putting some label inside, something local and from that day. I had an idea of cutting the date from the local newspaper and putting it in, and I could get a copy at San Martino VC. I was stocked up for organics as I had gone on a hike in a workshop on soil and picked up a lot of organics from the mountain. It was perfectly refreshing in the scorching summer heat to walk to the waterfall and upstream toward the source of the river. The programs at Liminaria and Interferenze respectively focused on auditory culture, which was decentralized in a broad sense, and they were productive from symposium to performance. New and old friends were connected. Francesco Bergamo was the first to point out the similarities between mine and the work of Felix Hess, who handled air currents with subtleties. Fabio Perletta and I had many friends in common. I enjoyed a sound walk with Elena Biserna, whose project was “Walking from scores.” I also had the pleasure of meeting Alexandro Ludovico, whom I had not seen since Transmediale in 2006.

Lemons and to the island of wild arugula




The next morning, we got on Leandro’s car with Elena and Shikata-san to go via Naples to the island of Procida, this year's Italian cultural capital. From the port of Naples, it was a 30-minute high-speed ferry ride. We arrived at the scenic islet, with the bright blue sea and colorful pastel buildings. The day’s schedule was tight. I left my luggage at my apartment and was headed immediately for the venue, which was located on a hill with a great view. I set up my performance kit while taking the radiant setting sun. I did not have time for a walk this time, so I planned to use organic products from all the places I had been, and when I talked about the famous lemons and organic products to the people peeking in and the staff, they suddenly pointed out to the side. I tried wild arugula, and it tasted hot and spicey, then mildly sweet like sesame followed by grassy smell. I immediately decided to use it, and then lemons arrived by courtesy of a friend. I was all set with these two. After talking about the project with 6 our two curators and Agostino Riitano, director of Procida2022, I performed “L’aria del giorno / Today’s Air.” I might have gotten used to the introduction in Italian. And for the fourth time, I was able to seal the air nicely for the first time. Air is an uncountable noun, but it must have been the plural form “arie” (air). In the early evening the next day, the installation of “Study of Air” would be on exhibit. The high ceiling of the old church was beautiful and I found a rooftop with a good view, so I installed a sensor. Then I suddenly got a shock peculiar to media art. When I grabbed the oddly operating power supply, my hand got stuck with 230V and it went good-bye. Despite the fact that I was on a remote island, my work was saved by technophile Salvatore (Salvatore Cosentino) who remained calm. My work moved back and forth floating on the memento mori-patterned tiles, and it was indeed a mysterious scene.

After talking about my work with those who had gathered, I left the venue with a sense of accomplishment. I went to the port to drop off Leandro, Elena, and Yukiko as I was staying one more night. We still had some time left, so we went to a pizzeria. We continued to talk casually like relatives. I asked, “What did you do during the pandemic when you had more time at home?” The answer was “I made ragù (meat sauce) for the first time.” My residency production was finished in a flash although it seemed long at first. I conducted exhibitions and performances four times in a row, enjoying it each time and they were the most delicious and friendly residency production I had ever experienced. There was no major problem, and although I had a little worry at the beginning, all seemed to have gone well.

Energy in Rural

Because I was staying in Italy, I went to see Morandi in Bologna, Biennale in Venice, and Arte Povera in Turin. I also made fond memories in Modena and Barolo on the way. I wanted to return soon to Abruzzo and Campania that seemed like my hometowns in Italy, and I would want to find a chance to visit the Alps, Sardinia, Puglia, Sicily, and Florence. As my Italian friends did for me this time, I might want to have a production base in Japan where I could conduct a micro-residency. The idea of “Energy in Rural” is not relativizing the contemporary framework. It enables a person to have a basic connection with the earth where one lives. Every morning, flavor that spread in my mouth from one spoonful reminded of the earth and how it felt like to step on it. I would love to try again the old Italian custom of eating our eloquent olive oil.