Texas Christian University Study Abroad Programat Serravalle di Vittorio Veneto, Italy - June 2006
Here follow the presentations of the project made by the TCU Students after their Study Abroad Program held in Serravalle di Vittorio Veneto, Italy, at Alma Ortolan Studio in June 2006.
Workshop Artists’ Statement
As the Renaissance was the rebirth of Classic Roman art and architecture, we too are at a time of rebirth, when new media are being embraced alongside those of ages past.
At the same time that art is advancing in its ingenuity and edginess, artists are also looking to bygone eras to resurrect the art forms that were eventually thought to be irrelevant and antiquated.
This quest for traditional artistic knowledge is both an effort to preserve these art forms and find inspiration from them.
This experience of coming from Texas Christian University to Serravalle di Vittorio Veneto to study fresco painting and photography has revealed a connection between the two.
Photography is one of a number of modern metamorphoses of fresco, as they both are ways of image making which enable people to transcend the mundane by visually documenting events, stories, portraits and landscapes.
Both media serve to capture a moment in time or an idea so that it may be passed on to future generations.
So, from the Renaissance to our present day world, we hope to offer a glimpse into this relationship via yet another modern media; the world wide web.
Fresco Artists’ Statement
In coming to Serravalle as art history and drawing students, we sought to further our understanding and appreciation of fresco painting.
By learning the techniques used by the fresco artisans of the Renaissance and seeing their original works of art, we were able to take our own small steps in the larger footsteps of the old masters.
Our experiences here and knowledge gained contributes to the preservation of these traditional skills of the Renaissance, helping to prevent them from being lost in the modernity of today's technological world.
When we set out on this journey to Italy to study the art of fresco, no one knew quite what to expect. What we were given was an amazing experience of being fully immersed into the community of Serravalle while living and studying there.
Working in the 15th Century Palazzo-Studio of Prof. Alma Ortolan, an artist and art conservator, we not only learned to create frescos of our own, but were greeted by them daily in the palazzo.
After our initial tour of Serravalle and seeing the frescos throughout the city, it was time to turn our hand to learning the process ourselves.
Before we could begin making frescos, there was one task which Alma felt was fundamental in our learning. She took us to the Grottos of Caglieron, where sandstone has been quarried for centuries, to collect sand for the fresco mortar.
The act of gathering your own sand puts you that much closer to the experience and helps to open your awareness more to the process. To feel the soft grittiness of the granules on your hands brings you to the foundation of what you are embarking on.
At the Grottos, we were also able to take in the full beauty of the waterfalls that were set among the series of caves.
Upon returning to the studio, we set about the task of drying the sand in the sun in advance of preparing the mortars for fresco.
Over the next three weeks we proceeded to learn how to make the three levels of mortars from roughest to finest: arriccio, intonaco and intonachino, and mix our pigments which are various types of colored natural earth.
We created images to be painted as fresco and translated them to drawings, “cartoons” and color sketches in order to establish the palette to be used.
These preliminary stages are the most intensive and crucial to the art of fresco: they are all part of the process of making fresco.
“Buon fresco” (meaning true fresco), is the technique of painting pigments mixed with water directly onto wet mortar.
When the last layer of mortar is applied to the surface to be painted there is a limited amount of time in which to paint the frescos.
…and the countdown begins!
We have now reached the time of the Golden Hour, when the skills of the artist are pitched against the passage of time and the drying of the mortar. As the pigments are applied to the wet mortar and it begins to dry, they become a part of the mortar and harden together producing one of the most durable painting techniques.
Photography Artists’ Statement
We came to Italy aiming to immerse ourselves in the culture and to experience the unfamiliar life that is Serravalle. We achieved these relationships through interaction with the many faces of Serravalle in their personal atmospheres - in their shops during the day or their pubs at night. Through our photographs, our hope is that our viewers could experience, appreciate and embrace the town that has so openly welcomed us.
The explorations have allowed us to convey a fresh perspective in our work. Throughout our three weeks in Serravalle, we have been fortunate to meet three renowned photographers: Carlo Del Puppo, Francesco Galifi and Massimo Spada.
Each have provided us with various viewpoints and advice to further our understanding of the possibilities for photography as a medium.
This opportunity has both inspired and encouraged our development as young artists. We have had the experience to interact with the community, explore a new environment which includes:- the Dolomite Mountains around Cortina d'Ampezzo
- the villages around Serravalle
- Revine
- Corbanese
- Arfanta
- Tarzo
- Treviso
- Conegliano
- Padua
- Venice
- the Villa Tiepolo/Passi a Carbonera