During the early Sixties, research about perception and movement carried out by the artists belonging to the T and N groups intertwined with the studies conducted by intellectuals and artists such as Umberto Eco (Alessandria, 1932 – Milan, 2016), Bruno Munari (Milan 1907 -1998) and Giorgio Soavi (Broni, 1923 – Milan, 2008). As a result, they organized the exhibition “Arte programmata” (Programmed Art) in 1962, held at Olivetti’s store in Milan. The show gains its title from the definition adopted to indicate those static or dynamic artworks based on a programmable structure capable of continuous formal and chromatic variations of its figural sequences. In this context, Linee Luce was created by Getulio Alviani (Udine, 1939 – Milan, 2018). These aluminum surfaces are electrically milled, transforming according to the viewer’s position and the incidence of light, generating images that are never the same. Along the same lines, Alberto Biasi (Padova, 1937) designed Rilievi ottico-dinamici, overlays of lamellar structures in contrasting colors generating peculiar visual effects. Among the artworks that more markedly reflect on the topic of movement, we can also find Oggetto a composizione autocondotta (1959) by Enzo Mari (Novara, 1932 – Milan, 2020), made of variously shaped wooden components enclosed in a structure. By rotating the frame, the wooden objects can be arranged into a composition that recalls the processes of random aggregation of natural elements. Finally, the widespread investigation of perceptive illusions connected to color and movement are here represented, among others, by Tetracono (Bruno Munari, 1965) and Schemi luminosi variabili by Grazia Varisco (Milan, 1937).
Arte programmata