NEWS: POSTCARDS FROM MILAN #1
ARTWORK: MILAN IS POOR (2022)
Our latest project is now out in the wild. Truth be told, it has been roaming the internets for a while.
Starting in February 2022, we began taking screenshots of the weather app of the Apple iPhone, which includes daily air quality values based on the European Union Quality Index (EAQI) provided by BreezoMeter. Day after day, night after night, come rain or shine, the data show that the air quality in Milan mostly ranges from “Poor” to “Very Poor”. Chromatically, this is rendered with shades of crimson red and maroon. The irony is that Milan, one of the wealthiest cities in Europe is, in reality, poor — often extremely poor — when it comes to the most important indicator of all: the state of the environment. Truth be told, Milan is not only poor, but poisonous. On a daily basis, we posted a couple of screenshots on the Twitter account @matteobittanti; the performance is ongoing. In July 2022, we printed out a selection of screenshots from the series as postcards and we mailed them to the powers that be: The President of the Italian Republic; the Mayor of Milan; Lombardy Region’s President; the Director of the Triennale Museum**** among others.
These “postcards from Milan” are a reminder that this city (this region) is consistently in the red zone.
ARTWORK: SILICON VALLEY (2022)
SILICON VALLEY
Needlepoint canvas and wool, 11 inches x 24 inches (34.5 cm x 60 cm), 2022
On June 5 2019, a large commuter bus for Apple employees caught fire along Interstate 280 on the Peninsula Wednesday morning, sparking a two-acre wildfire. The double-decker bus was traveling southbound on I-280 near Portola Valley. Steve Jurvetson took a now iconic photograph of the incident and documented the bus’ destruction. We turned that photograph into a framed needlepoint artwork. Needlepoint is a form of counted thread embroidery in which yarn is stitched through a stiff open weave canvas. Incidentally, needlepoint is the oldest form of canvas work.
NEWS: A NEW AMERICAN DREAM (2021-2022)
NEWS: KEEPIN' THE DREAM ALIVE
The latest photographs of our ongoing project A NEW AMERICAN DREAM — our longest project by far — have been published online.