''Corpo d'aria'' ("Body of Air"; plural ''Corpi d'aria'') is an

artist's multiple Artist's multiple is a series of identical art objects produced or commissioned by artist according to his or her idea, usually a signed limited edition made specifically for selling. Multiples have been called the most accessible and reasonab ...

by the Italian artist

Piero Manzoni Piero Manzoni di Chiosca e Poggiolo (July 13, 1933 – February 6, 1963) was an Italian artist best known for his ironic approach to avant-garde art. Often compared to the work of Yves Klein, his own work anticipated, and directly influenced ...

. Manufactured between October 1959 and March 1960, the pieces are a box, a tripod base, a deflated balloon and a mouthpiece. 45 copies were made and sold at 30,000 lire each. Originally, any buyer could ask Manzoni to inflate the balloon himself, but would be charged an extra

Deutschmark The Deutsche Mark (; "German mark"), abbreviated "DM" or "D-Mark" (), was the official currency of West Germany from 1948 until 1990 and later of unified Germany from 1990 until the adoption of the euro in 2002. In English, it was typically ca ...

for every litre of air expanded. When fully expanded, the balloons measured 80 cm in diameter.

Public presentation

The ''Corpi d'aria'' were first exhibited at the Galleria Azimut, run by Manzoni and his friend, the Italian artist Enrico Castellani, from May 3 to May 9, 1960. Manzoni organised an elaborate photo shoot and a short film to publicise the event. He was to write later in the year that the bodies had sold well. By making a purely transient work, that would deflate before the buyer's eyes, Manzoni was parodying the traditional sculptural emphasis on permanence and mocking the traditional emphasis on the artist's creative force. He was also using modern materials to suggest an aggressively modern aesthetic whilst creating a poetic metaphor for the transience of life itself.

Related works

''Fiato d’artista''

The most famous related work is the ''Fiato d’artista'' (''Artist’s Breath''), involving red, blue or white balloons inflated by Manzoni himself, closed with string and lead, with the name "Piero Manzoni" punched into it, then attached to a wooden base with a plaque on it using

gesso A restored gesso panel representing St. Martin of Tours, from St. Michael and All Angels Church, Lyndhurst, Hampshire Gesso (; 'chalk', from the , from ), also known as "glue gesso" or "Italian gesso", is a white paint mixture used to coat rigi ...

. The pieces were made in 1960, and 11 examples are known to have survived, although all are now in an extreme state of decomposure. When exhibited now, the works inevitably assume the aura of a modern

memento mori (Latin for "remember (that you have) to die")

, featuring a rotting plastic membrane stuck to a polished wooden base, with a brass plaque commemorating the original act.

Placentarium

The largest variation on the theme was a giant double-skinned Placentarium, filled with compressed air to keep the balloon inflated. Manzoni designed especially for the projection of

Otto Piene Otto Piene (, 18 April 1928 – 17 July 2014) was a German-American artist specializing in kinetic art, kinetic and technology-based art, often working collaboratively. He lived and worked in Düsseldorf, Germany; Cambridge, Massachusetts; and G ...

's ''Light Ballets'', but also referred to the building housing a giant maze, made up of 60 cells controlled by "an electric brain". Equipped with 73 alcoves for viewers, the Placentarium was intended to be silver on the outside and white internally. Designs and a photograph of a small architectural model survive. Manzoni simultaneously planned a series of public sculptures, of balloons 2.5 m diameter, to be installed in parks. These were to be fitted with air compressor to slowly pulsate ‘with a slow unsynchronized rhythm of breathing.’ He never took this idea further than a small experimental version. The final experiment was for a sphere held suspended by a jet of air. Again, this never advanced beyond a small experimental

maquette A ''maquette'' is a scale model or rough draft of an unfinished sculpture or work of architecture. The term is a loanword from French. An equivalent term is ''bozzetto'', a diminutive of the Italian word for a sketch. Sculpture A maquette ...

, but emphasises Manzoni's conception of balloons representing freedom and weightlessness.

Influences

Manzoni is known to have been heavily influenced by

Yves Klein Yves Klein (; 28 April 1928 – 6 June 1962) was a French artist and an important figure in post-war European art. He was a leading member of the French artistic movement of Nouveau réalisme founded in 1960 by art critic Pierre Restany. Klein wa ...

, who had released 1001 blue balloons on the opening night of his "Proposition: Monochrome" exhibition at

Iris Clert Iris Clert (; Iris Athanasiadi; 1917 – 1986) was a Greek-born art gallery owner and curator. She owned the Iris Clert Gallery in Paris from 1955 to 1971. During its tenure, her gallery became an avant-garde hotspot in the international art scene ...

’s gallery, 1957.

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (;''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''"Warhol" born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director and producer. A leading figure in the pop art movement, Warhol ...

would later use balloons in a similar way, but filled with helium rather than suspended in a stream of compressed air. Indeed, his first balloon, made in 1965, corresponded to an unfulfilled project described by Manzoni in a letter as ‘a cluster of pneumatic cylinders, elongated in shape, like steel, which would vibrate in the blowing of the wind.’

Damien Hirst Damien Steven Hirst (; né Brennan; born 7 June 1965) is an English artist and art collector. He was one of the Young British Artists (YBAs) who dominated the art scene in the UK during the 1990s. He is reportedly the United Kingdom's richest ...

has used ping pong balls suspended in compressed air, but within the context of floating above a bed of sharp knives or a skeleton. His most lasting influence, however, was on

Arte Povera Arte Povera (; literally "poor art") was an art movement that took place between the end of the 1960s and the beginning of the 1970s in major cities throughout Italy and above all in Turin. Other cities where the movement was also important are ...

, a group of Italian artists, including

Luciano Fabro Luciano Fabro (November 20, 1936 – June 22, 2007) was an Italian sculptor, conceptual artist and writer associated with the Arte Povera movement. Life Fabro was born in Turin, and he moved to Udine, in the Friuli region after his father's d ...

and Alighiero e Boetti, who brought everyday materials into their work in a movement analogous to contemporary radical politics. (see

Protests of 1968 The protests of 1968 comprised a worldwide escalation of social conflicts, which were predominantly characterized by the rise of left-wing politics, Anti-war movement, anti-war sentiment, Civil and political rights, civil rights urgency, youth C ...

).MoMA.org , The Collection , Arte Povera
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References

*''Piero Manzoni Catalog Generale'', vol 1, Celant *''Piero Manzoni Catalogue Raisoné'', Battino & Palazzoli *''Manzoni'', Celant, Electa 2007 *''Piero Manzoni'', Suzanne Cotter, Serpentine Gallery, 1998

Notes

External links

The Piero Manzoni Archive
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120303201921/http://www.pieromanzoni.org/EN/index_en.htm , date=2012-03-03
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1960 sculptures Artists' books Conceptual art Italian art works