Luciano Fabro is a leading figure in Arte Povera ("poor art"), a movement that emerged in Italy in the mid-1960s. These artists broke with tradition by focusing on process over product and by making their work from nontraditional materials such as found objects, plants, and other organic substances. In this work Fabro focuses on the myth of Sisyphus, a Corinthian king who was banished to the underworld and condemned by Zeus to forever roll an enormous boulder up a steep hill, only to have it plummet downward each time it reaches the top. Fabro's Sisyphus contains a self-portrait of the artist incised into a cylindrical volume of marble that is rolled over a bed of flour to create a "drawing." As in the legend, this action must be repeated in order for the sculpture to be made, linking Sisyphus' never-ending task to the ongoing work of an artist in his studio. By using marble and flour as his materials, Fabro speaks to both the high-art tradition of Italian sculpture and to Arte Povera's fascination with nontraditional art materials.

This multiple, a relic of Joseph Beuys' action Felt TV (1966), is composed of three props (the boxing gloves, felt pad, and sausage) and a film of the performance. In the 11-minute film, Beuys explored metaphors of communication and energy through the medium of television. As the TV broadcast a talk show, Beuys blocked the image with a felt pad, then punched himself in the face while wearing the gloves, as if the information from the television were assaulting him and meeting with resistance. He carved the sausage into a swordlike shape and moved it over the felt like a stethoscope, then dabbed it on the walls of the room. He ended by pushing the television against the wall, hanging a large felt pad on the wall, and leaving the room. Beuys explained this cryptic work in terms of opposites. An actor sits opposite the television. Its screen is doubled with a felt "anti-image" that obstructs information. Finally, a second felt pad stands in for artists. In the end, the television is abandoned: a transmitter without a receiver. "The observer himself is very much as important as what comes out of the box," Beuys stated. This acquisition continues the Walker's aim of acquiring works in depth by artists to whom the museum has a long-term commitment. Felt TV joins a collection of more than 400 multiples by Beuys that the Walker acquired in 1992.

Mario Merz is a senior artist of the postwar Italian movement known as Arte Povera. The phrase arte povera literally means "poor art" and was coined in 1967 to describe the work being created by a loose-knit group of artists residing primarily in Milan, Rome, and Turin. These artists were determined to question the boundaries between traditional artistic practices (painting and sculpture) through the use of nontraditional materials (i.e., lead, glass, vegetation, newspaper, fabric) in an effort to align their work more closely to the worlds of science and nature. In 1972, Mario Merz had his first American museum exhibition at the Walker Art Center. Twenty-five years later, in July 1997, his untitled commission was installed on the roof of the Conservatory. Constructed of clear glass and infused with pure red neon gas, the work reads citta irreale (unreal city), which is a recurring phrase in T.S. Eliot's poem The Waste Land. Merz uses citta irreale as a metaphor for the world of art as a "city of ideas." The neon is intended to function like a beacon inviting those rushing to and fro in the real city (outside the limits of the Garden) to pause for a moment and perhaps enter the unreal city where reflection, contemplation, and renewal of the spirit are the goals.

Giulio Paolini has long been associated with Arte Povera ("poor art"), a movement that emerged in Italy in the mid-1960s. These artists broke with tradition by focusing on process over product and by making their work from nontraditional materials such as found objects, plants, and other organic substances. In his sculpture, Giulio Paolini explores the structure and function of art itself, as well as the principles of looking and seeing. Mimesiis a pair of plaster casts made from 18th-century copies of Roman statues that were themselves adapted from Greek originals. The sculpture--whose title is a plural form of the word "mimesis" or "imitation"--presents a debased version of the ancient mythology that is still so present in contemporary Italy, and comments on the well-established tradition of artistic appropriation. By making the elements of the sculpture "look at" each other, Paolini prompts us to question our own habits of seeing and our visual relationship to the art object.

"I, the world, things, life--we are points of energy, and it is not as necessary to crystallize these points as it is to keep them open and alive."--Giovanni Anselmo Giovanni Anselmo was one of the founders of Arte Povera ("poor art"), a movement that emerged in Italy in the mid-1960s. These artists sought to make art in which the object was inseparable from the creative process, and which employed nontraditional materials such as found objects, plants, and other organic substances. In Direzione, a compass is embedded in a granite wedge, evoking the properties of gravity and magnetism, both of which help orient us in the physical world. When exhibited, the triangular stone points north, a direction derived from the natural laws of the universe. Thus the work seems to continue beyond the bounds of the visible.

Jeans with holes cut in the front and back of the knees were used in Joseph Beuys' performance Good Morning, Mr. Orwell, which was broadcast live from Paris on December 31, 1983. During the action Beuys stated that everyone should wear a pair "to fight against materialism and repression." He was certainly referring to George Orwell's bleak vision of the future in his novel 1984, but the jeans may also allude to anthroposophist Rudolf Steiner's (1861-1925) designation of the knees as the area of the skeleton associated with the ability to see into the future. In this multiple, Beuys liberates our "eyes" by showing where to cut the holes in our pants. This acquisition continues the Walker's aim of acquiring works in depth by artists to whom the museum has a long-term commitment. The Orwell Leg--Trousers for the 21st Century joins a collection of more than 400 multiples by Beuys that the Walker acquired in 1992.

Living in Our Time Activity Title: Challenge and Change in the Art World Theme: Challenge and Change in the Art World Age: Grades 9–Adult Overview: This tour presents an overview of four major art movements of the past 60 years. This activity could be used in the Walker Art Center galleries, Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, or in the classroom with a selection of images from Art Collector. The artworks included in the activity are suggestions only and instructors may choose different artworks to accompany the discussion questions. Procedure: Setting the Scene Our society is in a state of constant flux, and artists and art movements react to and reflect that change. Art movements reflect society by responding to events, ideas, new technology, new materials, and trends. Today’s tour will examine four art movements of the last 60 years--Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art, Minimalism, and Fluxus--and explore how they developed in response to what was happening in the world. Begin Looking Before discussing each movement in depth, take the group to several examples of works of art from that movement. Have the group to compare and contrast the works, and ask them questions to encourage close examination. Suggested questions for each movement are listed below. Abstract Expressionism Looking at work that could be called Abstract Expressionist, ask:  What was happening in society around the time that these works were made? How do you think artists might have dealt with the horrors of World War II in their artwork? What kind of emotions or feelings do you get from each of these works? Many artists at this time were interested in the element of chance and also personal expression.  Where can you find traces of those ideas in this work? During World War II, many European artists lived in New York City, where they met, befriended, and influenced a group of young American artists who would gain international fame as Abstract Expressionists. This would lead to a transfer of the center of the art world from Europe to New York. As a reaction to realism, and to World War II and its atrocities, these artists zeroed in on their innermost feelings, often using free association, automatic writing, dreams, and the element of chance. Their work was, for the most part, nonrepresentational and deeply personal, and provided a way for them to deal with their angst over the horror of war and a changing world. Show and discuss examples of Abstract Expressionism with the group. As Abstract Expressionism became a familiar form of artistic expression, two new art movements emerged as a reaction against it: Pop Art and minimalism. Pop Art Have participants examine some examples of Pop Art. Compare some of these artworks to some that we just looked at. How are they different? What kinds of things changed in American society from the 1940s to the 1960s? How does this work reflect that? Reacting to the emotionalism of Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art honored and glorified postwar consumerism. Instead of focusing on feelings, Pop Art highlighted the popular elements of our rapidly growing consumer culture. Pop Art was unemotional, straightforward, and easy to interpret. It was based on elements of advertising, television, food, fashion, celebrities, and world leaders. Let’s look at some Pop artists and compare their subject matter, style, and technique. Minimalism Now let’s explore the other art movement that developed as a reaction to Abstract Expressionism: Minimalism. What does this work share with the Pop Art that we viewed? How is it different? How do you think this work reflects the 1960s in the United States? Spearheaded by the writings of Donald Judd, Minimalism pared down art to its basic form. It was about shape, line, color, and material. Even more basic, Minimalism was about the value of an idea. With the postwar development of new industrial companies, the actual construction of the art pieces was frequently done by fabricators. They specialized in the artist’s chosen material and helped construct the work according to the artist’s plans and diagrams. Fluxus Another art movement with a different focus was Fluxus. How is this work unlike art you’re used to seeing? What kind of statement do you think these artists were trying to make? Reacting against art as an elitist commodity, and against museums as separating art from life, Fluxus tried to merge art and everyday life. Fluxus was strong on performances and written material, and on art that was inexpensive and not precious. Fluxus was art that made people think, smile, and connect. Conclusion Today we’ve discussed some artists and art movements that have made an important impact on modern art. On a future visit to the Walker Art Center, which of the movements would you like to spend more time exploring? Which work that you saw today would you tell a friend about? What work would you like to take back to school? All of these movements reflect their time, but they’re still relevant for many artists today. Which movement still seems the most relevant to you today? How do you think today’s artists might be influenced by movements such as Abstract Expressionism and Pop Art? Props: Tell the group that other artists and movements have challenged and changed the art world. Some examples: •    Marcel Duchamp attacked established values, raised questions about the definition of art, and greatly influenced generations of artists. •    Joseph Beuys was an artist, performance artist, teacher, and philosopher. •    Vienna Actionists, such as Otto Muehl and Hermann Nitsch, challenged the art establishment through shocking, sexually oriented performances. •    Gutai, a reactionary art movement in Japan, was strong on performance and included artists Kazuo Shiraga and Atsuko Tanaka. •    Arte Povera, an art movement in Italy, reacted against precious materials and included artists Piero Manzoni, Lucio Fontana, Giovanni Anselmo, Alighiero Boetti, Luciano Fabro, Mario Merz, Marisa Merz, and Giulio Paolini.