Geopolitics is a role-playing game, but how to take a position when opinions and figures are exchanged, confusing until it is impossible to distinguish between the parties? The new exhibition by Massimo Kaufmann, about to open in the rooms of the Museo del Novecento in Milan, seems to be inspired by this reflection. Open since May 31, the magazine is entitled The rules of the game and is an interactive and performative project, halfway between fun and reflection on the great issues of our time. THE MASSIMO KAUFMANN EXHIBITION IN MILAN The protagonists of the event (on the calendar of the Milanese institution until August 31) are the chessboards of four artists. Made of wood and with regulatory measurements, the works, however, subvert the rules of the famous board game, starting with its first characteristic: that of the juxtaposition of black and white. Although the pieces correspond to those commonly used for this type of activity (pawn, rook, knight, bishop, queen and king), Kaufmann’s chessboards are characterized by ninety-six different colors: a solution that makes it difficult to perform of the party creating confusion in the movements, altering the very perception of the race and of the rules that underlie the confrontation. ART AND POLITICS ACCORDING TO MASSIMO KAUFMANN The four chessboards (one of them smaller and intended for children) are a metaphor for war and its conception in contemporary society: the personalities involved vary in place and color, the protagonists replace each other with each other in a chaos of changing ideologies, leaving the “game” with no real solution. And it is no coincidence that the works on display were conceived by the artist in 2020, a period in which our world was irreparably compromised by the tragedy of the pandemic and the Russian-Ukrainian conflict was becoming more and more concrete. The exhibition, which has the collaboration of critics and curators of the stature of Marco Senaldi, Francesco Cataluccio and Lorenzo Madaro, will be accompanied throughout its duration by various appointments and “games” in which the public will also be able to participate. In fact, the four chess boards will be available to visitors who, by reservation, will be able to “challenge” each other on Tuesdays (from 12:30 to 2:30 pm) and on Thursdays before the scheduled talks. Even the artist will be open to challenges, transforming the exhibition project into a performance.
[Immagine in apertura: Massimo
Kaufmann, Le regole del gioco, 2020-21. Photo Fulvio
Lacitignola]
