Gaetano Salvemini Colloquium in Italian History and Culture
10th edition
Monday, November 18 | 5:00 PM
Projections and Reflections:
Exhibiting Italian Art in the US from Fascism to the Cold War
Raffaele Bedarida
(University of Rome La Sapienza)
Exhibiting contemporary Italian art in the United States between 1935 and 1955 served multiple, often ambiguous roles. While the
primary goals for Italian organizers included penetrating a growing art market and advancing cultural diplomacy with an
increasingly influential partner, a less visible impulse was the quest for legitimacy in the symbolic heart of modernity. Between
Fascism and the Cold War — years in which the United States emerged as the dominant economic, political, and cultural power
— these exhibitions became a reflective exercise through which Italians periodically redefined their concept of modernity. In this
process, they internalized an American gaze that was partly real but largely imagined.
PROGRAM
Session Chair
Lino Pertile (Harvard University)
Opening Remarks
Arnaldo Minuti (Consul General of Italy in Boston)
“Exile and Creativity: An Introduction”
Renato Camurri (University of Verona)
Main Speaker
Raffaele Bedarida (University of Rome La Sapienza)
Respondent
Franco Mormando (Boston College)
Consulate General of Italy in Boston
City View Lounge | 31st floor
600 Atlantic Ave, Boston, MA 02210
