Here, There, and Everywhere: Marisa Merz's Living Sculpture

Abstract

This paper will examine an early installation work by Marisa Merz titled Living Sculpture (1966-1967). Of her early works, this series is one of her most powerful and dynamic. Living sculpture has lived many lives, its role and function as an artwork changing with every shift in spatial and temporal context. Living sculpture is a prime example of Merz's radical use of handicraft, which will be explored in relation to the legacy of fascist Italy, and the "feminine" applied arts. Merz's participation in the Arte Povera movement will be discussed. Merz was undoubtedly on the outskirts of this movement, partially by choice, and partially due to external patriarchal forces of marginalization. There are many aspects of Merz's practice that align with the Arte Povera movement, namely the regard for art and life as being continuous, the notion of art as operating outside the realm of capitalist production, and the interest in breaking the nature/culture divide which also has its roots in feminist theory. Many critiques of Merz's work focusses on her practice as being rooted in the private, domestic sphere. Though this aspect is indeed exemplified in Living Sculpture, it is necessary to understand this piece in contexts beyond the domestic sphere. Merz's work will be aligned with the history, countercultures, and characteristics of 1960's Northern Italy and Turin, as well as some of her Italian artist/designer contemporaries. The biotechnological aspects of Living Sculpture will be discussed, as will its potential for evoking apocalyptic and dystopian imagery. These characteristics will be revealed by examining its role in different contexts such as its debut in 1967 at the Piper Purri social club and disco, and its role in De Bernardi and Menzio's 1966-1967 horror film Il Mostro Verde. Marisa Merz was an artist ahead of her time and her work not only calls into questions the boundaries of the art and life, domestic practice and art practice, but also that of organism and machine.