Date of Award

2018

Document Type

Thesis - Restricted Access (SIA Only)

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Contemporary Art

First Advisor

Melanie Marino

Abstract

Giuseppe Panza di Biumo was the first private collector in Italy who assembleda great number of works created by contemporary American artists during the 1950s through the 1990s. His valuable position in the art world has beenimmediately recognized by the many national and international personalities in the field, not just because of the nature of its collection, but furthermore because of the role of critic and curator playedbyPanza. His personal interpretation ofthe works he selected, is reflectedalso in specific display methods he choseto offer the best conditions to transmit,to the public, the same readingofthe piecescollected. This thesis aims to analyze some of the dynamics that drove Giuseppe Panza and his wife Giovanna in the choices of the pieces oftheir collection, to later focus on the decisions that Giuseppe Panza took in terms of displayingthe works. This aspect is a crucial elementthat found a response in the international artistic debate about new museum space, and underlines a specific cultural approach to the reading of the contemporary works of art by the Italianaudience.Some examples of Italian museums that Panza considered for the donation of the collection, show how the need in connecting the contemporary American artworks to the historical features of the buildings considered, responded to a specific educational intent that Panza wanted to achieverelatedtohis own interpretation of the artworks collected.

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