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Futuro Antico. Interview with Maurizio Cattelan
17 ott 2023
Marco Bassan
"The future? Ask the Simpsons." Maurizio Cattelan speaks candidly in the "Futuro Antico" column, which poses questions about tomorrow to major figures in culture and creativity.
What are your inspirational references in art?
Homer had his muses, we have everything else.
Extra virgin olive oil drizzled on bruschetta.
Eight-denier stockings embracing a woman’s ankles.
Tourists II (Duane Hanson) and real tourists at the Trevi Fountain.
The twins from the Overlook Hotel.
Yubaba’s hands in Miyazaki’s Spirited Away.
Bourdin, Araki, Newton, and family photos.
Tallon’s stairs, Oelke’s Pedus.
Sangallo tablecloths, green velvet, Christmas boxers.
Art Deco posters, Playboy covers, letters, and stamps.
Celery stalks in a Bloody Mary, three olives in a Martini.
“You were not born to live like brutes, but to follow virtue and knowledge” (Dante).
Coffee table books, cookbooks, literary classics, and Topolino.
Cole and Sinatra. Car radio, CDs, and vinyl.
All theater, even musicals.
Liberty-style lampshades and checkered floors.
The School of Athens (Raphael).
Tan lines, spaghetti, and Comur sardine tins.
Rubens' Medusa, Caravaggio, and Versace.
Hong Kong skyscrapers, Manhattan lights, and the lawn at home.
Studio 54. La Dolce Vita, slow living, and life.
A banana, some scotch tape, and much more.
Which project represents you the most? Can you tell us about its origin?
Achilles would never have told the press about his heel. To spare myself the same embarrassment, I’m fortunate to be able to mention the latest TOILETPAPER exhibition at the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Center in Mumbai. This exhibition captures, with irony and spirit, over a decade of projects that I feel particularly connected to.
As for their origin? Ineffable, hidden among latent inspirations, constantly evolving, and coming to fruition through a fortunate alignment of stars.
What importance does the Genius Loci have in your work?
The Genius Loci is like breaking the ice at a first date between the viewer and the artwork. Its presence is never guaranteed, but when it's there, the conversation between the two will go on late into the night.
How important is the past for imagining and building the future?
Physics teaches us: "Nothing is created, nothing is destroyed, everything transforms." So, we are inevitably also what we once were. For this reason, I focus more on what I am right now.
What advice would you give to a young person who wants to follow your path?
Study, determination, passion, ingenuity, willingness to act, tenacity, curiosity, and a bit of luck are all universal guidelines. Unfortunately, Google Maps still doesn’t work for the paths of life; we must recalculate our route in our own way.
In an era defined as post-truth, does the concept of the sacred still hold importance and strength?
Socrates would gleefully ask you what truth is. Every era seems to be one in which what is true is not what is true but what is said. One must listen judiciously to avoid believing that the Earth is flat at the first viral tweet. In this context, the concept of the sacred—as the inner strength of one’s faith, beliefs, or principles—acts as a filter that, along with common sense, sifts out external noise.
How do you envision the future? Can you give us three ideas that you think will guide the coming years?
The future is something only the Simpsons can predict; mine are just simple hopes.