[SIMOND, Piero] CURTO, Guido (Ed.). Piero Simondo: Alle radici del Situazionismo. Torino: Edizioni Giampiero Biasutti, 2004. 111 p.; ill.; 22 x 28 cm.; ill. Cover with photograph of Simondo.

Catalog published on the occasion a retrospective of Simondo’s 50 year career, held at Galleria Giampiero Biasutti in Torino, Italy on May 20 – June 30, 2004. Contents include an interview of Simondo by Guido Curto; critical texts by Lorenzo Mamino (“Memorie dal Monregalese”), Alberto Farinella (“L’estetica di Simondo”), Sandro Ricaldone (“Pittura contro lo stile”), and Francesca Comisso (“Laboratorio per un pratica artistica”); a short biosketch; and a bibliograpy. The catalog also features 30 full-page, color reproductions of the artist’s works – starting with Maschera (1953) and ending with Chissa Chi (1999) – and numerous black & white photographs of Simondo and his friends (including Debord, Jorn, etc.) in Alba. This copy is exceptionally signed by Simondo, and dated 20.04.04

Piero Simondo was born in Cosio d’Arroscia on 25 August 1928 – in the same village where, 29 years later, the International Movement for an Imaginist Bauhaus (M.I.B.I.), the Lettrist International (L.I.), and the London Psychogeographical Association (L.P.A.) would merge to form the Situationist International (S.I.). In the Summer 1955, Simondo exhibited his works in Albisola. There, he met Ager Jorn, with whom he founded the Laboratorio di esperienze immaginiste (Laboratory of imaginist experiences) within the M.I.B.I. The next year, he edited Eristica –the review of the M.I.B.I – and organized the first World Congress of Free Artists. Baj, Contant, Jorn, Pinot-Gallizio, Wolman, and Elena Verrone (who would become Simondo’s wife in 1958) were in attendance. In July 1957, he hosted members of the M.I.B.I, L.I., and L.P.A. at his house in Cosio and was a founding member of the S.I. By the following year, however, he was excluded from the organization. As a way to extend the activities of the Laboratorio Sperimentale, Simondo went on to launch the International Center for Artistic Research (CIRA) in 1962. 10 years later, in 1972, he joined the University of Turin where he held the chair of Methodology and Didactics of the Audovisual Medium. Simondo passed away on 6 November, 2020

We locate 6 OCLC copies of this catalog.