Artist

The big laugh (telephone call)

One day, going through Art Diary, to my surprise I noticed that the telephone number of Burri in Città di Castello had been listed.
Instinctively I picked up the phone and dialled the number expecting to hear the voice of a secretary or even worse a recorded message..
I was very surprised and intimidated when an aged male voice, and a little husky, answered.
I presented myself and asked if it was possible to set an appointment with the Maestro...
- It is me - ...the voice replied.
- ...
- ... I am a student of the Fine Arts Academy of Bologna, I am preparing a thesis on the restoration of contemporary works of art...
- (a big long laugh)... and what do you want from me?
- I would like to know what you think about it...
- (a big laugh)... restoration is restoration, what do you want me to think? You either restore or you don’t restore... And then my work never breaks; and if it does break then it is restored (a big laugh). I don’t understand why one assumes there are problems when actually they don’t exist.
- But the problem of contemporary art restoration does exist and it is serious...
- (a laugh)... but what problem?! Don’t make me laugh! Why should we assume there is problem now that maybe we will have in one hundred years?
- Works of twenty years ago already have restoration problems...
- It is not true! My paintings never break.
- But there are contemporary works of art in a process of deterioration that are born to die, in this case how do I act?
- Don’t restore! (a big laugh)
- ...There are problems that cannot be resolved easily, at times they are even philosophical...
- (a laugh) Don’t make me laugh! What does philosophy have to do with restoration?!
- If I understood correctly, according to you the problem doesn’t exist.
- But of course it doesn’t exist!
- And if I wanted to enter into more details about this conversation with you, but not over the phone?
- I don’t even want to think about it! I have nothing to say! (a big laugh)

from: “ The big laugh of Alberto Burri and the shy student”
(La gran risata di Alberto Burri e la timida studentessa)
Title n. 24, 1997