On the occasion of the centenary of its founding, the University of Trieste is opening the exhibition "I miei pùpoli: Gaetano Kanizsa scientist and artist", a tribute to the scholar and to the artistic and documentary heritage of the university and the area. From 1953 to 1983 Gaetano Kanizsa was, in fact, a lecturer at the University of Trieste where he founded the Institute of Psychology.
The permanent exhibition, curated by faculty members Paolo Bernardis, Carlo Fantoni and Walter Gerbino of the university's Department of Life Sciences, is open to the public on the second floor of Building A in Piazzale Europa 1, Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m..
The exhibition anticipates the rich calendar of events organized for the centenary of the University of Trieste , which will come into full swing in the fall.
There are more than thirty works on display, including scientific and artistic, in original versions or through reproductions, to discover the world of pùpoli, the unique visual entities to which Kanizsa devoted much of his artistic life.
Through strokes of a brush soaked in black ink and without any predetermined structuring, Kanizsa traced a few first marks on the canvas: only later, looked at from a distance, with a "new eye," would he enrich them with others. Thus was formed the pùpolo (in Triestine dialect "disegnino," "little drawing," "doodle"). Through these visual suggestions Kanizsa explored the rules of human perception, questioning the complex relationship between artist and observer. Painting, which began first and foremost as a game, was able to influence the entire scholarly activity of the scholar, who made more than 250 paintings between the 1960s and 1993.
Eight, on the other hand the thematic stations within the exhibition, each set up with one or more scientific works deliberately juxtaposed with the corresponding artistic transposition to testify to the connection existing between the scientist and the painter: the idea of order, so dear to Kanizsa.
Among the most famous works on display is the original version of "Kanizsa's Triangle", an illusory object, an example of a figure that owes its existence to the productive capabilities of the visual system.
Following in the footsteps of the scientist and artist, the University of Trieste is inviting the younger generation to play and experiment, not to give in to "it has always been done or seen like this," as University of Trieste Rector Roberto Di Lenarda: “points out: "What better occasion than the Centenary to invite young people to be curious and courageous, aware of their roots and leaning toward the future, in a context in which interdisciplinarity is increasingly the key to evolve: Kanizsa is an emblematic example. With this exhibition we want to remember him not only because he is a central exponent of our city's culture but also because he teaches us to break conventional patterns, to think creatively, to go beyond what appears at first glance.".”