Paula Metallo

Aspettando Il Prossimo (Waiting For The Next One)

Sun 25 Sep 2011 12:00:00 AM EDT

This work addresses earthquakes, specifically in Italy. It is stereotypical that in the face of natural and human tragedies Italians tend to dramatize. But is passively waiting, and not preparing for earthquakes, particularly Italian? I refer to Italian neo realist films, in order to better understand the relationship Italians have with human tragedy, and choose frames that seemingly catch famous Italians in the exact moment that something awful is about to happen. I place these images alongside more abstract images of geological and seismic information, literally putting them face to face with a tectonic reality.
Along with, paintings on canvas the research includes a series of small plates representing the most disastrous earthquakes in the history of Italy. Each plate is decorated in the typical tradition of that region along with information about that particular earthquake (date, epicenter, magnitude and number of victims). It is meant to give an immediate visual representation to the viewer of the breadth of Italian seismic activity. In another way the series is meant to persuade Italians to relate to the reality under their feet by greeting their regional sensibilities. Each plate has a diameter of 7cm. and is hand drawn on a plastic material called Shrinky Dink that shrinks and hardens in the oven.
The work will be shown in Gibellina. ( province of Trapani, the nw corner of Sicily) with the fondazione orestiadi, on October 8, 2011 and curated by Achille Bonito Oliva.
The town of Gibellina was destroyed by an earthquake in 1968 and later was turned into a work of art by the artist Alberto Burri.

Impact Art

Tue 25 Jan 2011 01:12:44 PM EST

Rieskrater-Museum in Nördlingen, Germany 2010.
A Crater Museum located in a town that was built on a meteorite crater.
The art work was in some way connected to the concept of holes in the earth.
The exhibition concentrated on integrating the artwork into the science exhibitions in the museums in unusual ways.

(un) Measuring The World

Fri 21 Aug 2009 11:36:27 AM EDT

Because the Natural History Museum is a home for many disciplines, it makes it a good base for art/science cross-pollination, and presents the art work in a scientific context, providing a symbol of such an interdisciplinary approach. A major influence for this exhibit was Alexander von Humboldt, with his research and discoveries in all fields (from mineralogy to volcanology to biology and glaciology), and especially his approach to unifying all aspects of the physical world. The title of the exhibit, (Un)measuring the World, pays homage to Humboldt as well as to Daniel Kehlmann's book on Humboldt, and at the same time provides a comparison of the concepts measuring and unmeasuring, as in comparing science and art. Dona Jalufka and Paula Metallo, (Un)Measuring the World, Museum fur Naturkunde, Berlin, 29.8 - 30.10, 2009

No Place Like Home

Mon 27 Oct 2008 07:05:51 AM EDT

Show with Wizard of Oz theme at the G. Mestica Theater, Apiro, in le Marche Italy. The show was commissioned by the community in collaboration with the 34th annual international folk dance festival and dedicated to all the mixed marriages in the small town brought on by this unique yearly exchange of cultures. The show intends to make visual what it feels like to live far away from Home.Summer 2008