In questa mostra a Milano lo spettatore può modificare gli spazi. Il grande artista-architetto Gianni Pettena ci spiega perché
Gianni Pettena, a pioneer of the Italian Radical Architecture movement, has unveiled his immersive installation "Paper/Northern Lights" at the BiM urban regeneration project in Milan's Bicocca district. Originally conceived in 1971 as a pedagogical exercise at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, the work consists of 49 kilometers of white paper strips hanging from the ceiling. Visitors are invited to physically interact with the installation by cutting through the paper, effectively reshaping the architectural environment and challenging traditional notions of fixed space and authorship.
This exhibition is significant as it marks the first time this historic work has been presented in Milan, bridging the gap between 1970s radical theory and contemporary participatory art. By placing the installation within a business and university district, curator Davide Giannella highlights Pettena’s career-long mission to dissolve rigid architectural forms in favor of fluid, human-centric experiences. The project also features a collaborative lighting intervention by the creative collective Specific, emphasizing the dialogue between light, shadow, and the evolving physical void created by the public.