Anna Franceschini animates obsolete dressmen machines at Triennale Milano

Anna Franceschini's installation 'All Those Stuffed Shirts' at Triennale Milano transforms seven vintage dressmen pressing machines into animated, anthropomorphic performers. Curated by Damiano Gullì, the work originated twelve years ago when Franceschini filmed these machines in a factory outside Milan. The installation combines kinetic sculpture with a rhythmic sound composition created with Matteo Nasini, inspired by Prokofiev's 'Peter and the Wolf'. The machines are connected via software to a physical and virtual keyboard, producing solo and choral voices as they move up and down, hissing steam. Franceschini describes the work as hybrid, between choreography, ballet, and a John Cage-like concert, reprogrammable with different scores. She chose these particular machines for their anthropomorphic quality, noting they are obsolete 1970s technology soon to be replaced by AI. The artist sees them as 'Indians in reservations, women and children to protect in wartime'. The installation continues her exploration of materiality and animation, evolving from her earlier films and documentaries on production processes, amusement parks, and toy testing. Franceschini, who studied cinema, considers this a form of experimental cinema outside its canonical device. She also references her interest in inflatables, like Sky Dancers, which went from Olympic mascots to banned roadside distractions.