BOOK REVIEW: PAOLOZZI AT LARGE IN EDINBURGH

Eduardo Paolozzi was a Scottish artist born in Leith from Italian parents. Christine De Luca and Carlo Pirozzi have recently edited a book about his artworks in Edinburgh and the impact he has had in shaping the worldwide artistic panorama. ‘Paolozzi At Large In Edinburgh- Artworks and Creative Responses’ includes original poems by the Scottish poet Christine De Luca inspired by Paolozzi’s artworks and translated in Italian. Each artwork is also accompanied by scholars’ commentaries as well as the eyewitness account of Vivian French, sister of Ray Watson, Paolozzi’s chief assistant.

What I particularly appreciate about ‘Paolozzi At Large in Edinburgh’ is the personal insight given by Vivian French and Christine De Luca. Thanks to their contribution, Paolozzi’s art becomes more accessible to a wider public which usually finds hard to engage with modern art. Vivian presents anecdotes of her life and of her brother about the innovative processes and artistic techniques adopted by Paolozzi, which made him a central figure in the modern history of art. Moreover, Vivian’s insights offer the chance to get to know better Eduardo’s personality- beyond his artistic vision- through his friendship and collaboration with Ray Watson. Generally, the informal tone used by Vivian enables the readers to access a significant part of Scottish and global history of art usually hardly enjoyed because of its specialist language.

Christine offers us a modern lens to observe Paolozzi’s artworks and reiterate his relevance both in the artistic as well as in the contemporary global panorama. For example, The Manuscript of Monte Cassino (1991) was originally created by Paolozzi as a monument to the Italo-Scottish population during World War II. This artwork explores the conflicting feelings of Paolozzi, like any other migrant, towards the abandoned homeland and the welcoming country. Such reflections spring from Paolozzi’s personal experience as he was interned during the war, like many other Italian men, since Italy and the United Kingdom were enemies. Moreover, the artwork- mentioned above- references the massacre happened in Monte Cassino (Italy, village close to Paolozzi family’s birthplace) carried out by Allies’ bombs. Thanks to Christine’s poem, this artwork and its themes become a contemporary reminder of modern-day issues such as immigration. In the sculpture, Christine highlights the lizard without the tail to celebrate the immigrants’ courageous and resilient nature, which brought them to Scotland leaving behind everything they had and everything they were. In her words, I found voiced my own history as migrant and I imagined many from the new generations feeling represented too. She reminded me of the relevance and the impact that art can have. In fact, her contemporary re-interpretation of Paolozzi’s artworks has the ability to make his art still relevant to modern audiences

In conclusion, ‘Paolozzi At Large In Edinburgh’ is not the typical history of art book. But a work which celebrates a man with humble origins, whose art is still pertinent and innovative. I recommend this reading as a window into the international soul of Edinburgh, as a tool to reflect on Paolozzi’s genius, his art and his themes.

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Sofia Cotrona

Writer at reviewsphere

Student of History of Art and Business at the University of Edinburgh. Born and grew in Turin (Italy), I received a secondary education focused on languages (Spanish and French) and then graduated from the United World College of the Adriatic (IB). My International Baccalaureate diploma focused mainly on Visual Arts and History of Art. I am passionate about the social impact that art can have on modern society and always excited to engage with new forms of art.