Forgotten Sculptors is a project by Emilio Fantin, Luigi Negro, Giancarlo Norese and Cesare Pietroiusti, produced by SculptureCenter (New York) in the context of PERFORMA07, the second biennial of new visual art performance.

Part of the project consists in a series of short email stories. A performance by the four artists with the participation of Joan Jonas and Steve Piccolo was held at Sculpture Center on November 3rd, 2007. As a final step to the project, the artists invited everyone to join them in a collective performance on Sunday, November 18th. 

The project description

Part one. The stories

Four short stories about some "forgotten sculptors" were sent via email to a selected list of artists, curators, museums and friends:

1. The Nanocafausu (October 11th, 2007)

2. Dorothea (October 18th, 2007)

3. Modigliani’s Heads (October 25th, 2007)

4. A Blind Sculptor (November 1st, 2007)

Part two. The State of Things

Between October 30th and November 3rd, before the performance was open to the public, all the discarded objects and waste found at SculptureCenter (including the office and the hidden parts of the basement) were inventoried, collected and shaped to fit a sort of sculpture put on the floor of the SculptureCenter. A complete list of all the found objects was compiled.

Part three. The performance

On November 3rd from 3pm to 6pm, all the objects were moved to their original place, making the "sculpture" disappear.

At the same time, artist Joan Jonas was making big drawings that were eventually crumpled, and a video conference with Steve Piccolo from the Fondazione Meo in Rome (the former studio of Salvatore Meo, a "forgotten sculptor") was established.

Part four. Blindfolded

On November 18th, everyone, all over the world, was invited to take part in the action "Bendati/Blindfolded" from wherever they happen to be, at the same time. Participants were asked to remain blindfolded for one hour. After the performance impressions were posted on the blog forgottensculptors.blogspot.com, a space where analogies, coincidences, and individual thoughts may appear.

The project was realized with the support of the Italian Cultural Institute, New York, and the Fondazione Meo, Rome. Thanks to the Nanotechnology Research Group, Lecce.

SculptureCenter. Founded by artists in 1928, SculptureCenter is a not-for-profit arts institution dedicated to experimental and innovative developments in contemporary sculpture. SculptureCenter commissions new work and presents exhibits by emerging and established, national and international artists.

PERFORMA07 (November 1-20, 2007) is the second biennial of new visual art performance presented by PERFORMA, a non-profit multidisciplinary arts organization dedicated to exploring the critical role of live performance in the history of twentieth century art and to encouraging new directions in performance for the twenty-first century. www.performa-arts.org