I promessi sposi / Storia della colonna infame by Alessandro Manzoni

The name of the essay refers to a column standing in place of the demolished house of Giangiacomo Mora. Exposing criminal prosecutions during the old political system, Manzoni describes a famous trial of 1630 in Milan. I Promessi Sposi (The Betrothed) was first published in 1827, but Manzoni was able to publish his accusatory essay only with the second, re-worked edition of the novel in 1840. La Colonna Infame by Soulé and Toparovsky is inspired by the essay Storia della Colonna Infame (Story of the Column of Infamy) by the renowned Italian writer Alessandro Manzoni, written as an appendix to his novel, The Betrothed, considered the best novel of the century in Italian. Together they narrate a story full of allegories and symbolism, poignant references and counterpoints. Painted abstracted forms and color fields add to the emotional and intellectual intensity of the work, while the sculptural parts disclose the gradual development of thought process. The treatment of images in dual interpretation and the introduction of objects multiplied in numbers, repeating and shown as reflections, create a rhythm of color, texture, and form within each section of the installation and throughout the whole exhibition. The combination of sensual and narrative contexts along with a spectacular, site-specific layout of space in four museum galleries, sets the stage for a dynamic theatrical event, “a uniform spectacle”. La Colonna Infame presents an installation of sculptures, metal structures, found objects, and wood panels with mounted oil on canvas paintings. In ten years of working together between two cities, Ariel Soulé and Simon Topaovsky have created a number of thematic exhibitions, which offer the artists’ interpretation of ideas and events from world history that have influenced human perception and brought about social change.

La Colonna Infame introduces the Russian audience to the artists’ poetic, visual and philosophical examination of dramatic events that took place in Italy during the Plague in the 17th century. It has been designated an official part of a year-long cultural exchange program between Russia and Italy.

Petersburg, Russia is an art installation by an Italian artist from Milan, Ariel Soulé, and an American sculptor from Los Angeles, Simon Toparovsky. A thematic exhibition, “The Column of Infamy”, presented in Erarta Museum of Contemporary Art, St.

I promessi sposi / Storia della colonna infame by Alessandro Manzoni