Francesco Vezzoli Curates TV 70 Exhibition at Fondazione Prada

Francesco Vezzoli, born in Brescia in 1971 and living in Milan, has curated a nostalgic exhibition titled "TV 70. Vezzoli guarda la Rai" at Fondazione Prada in Milan. The show pays homage to Italian television of the 1970s, which Vezzoli absorbed as a child and credits for shaping his artistic career. He argues that Rai in the 1970s was cultured, open, and capable of educating the public, fostering a non-totalitarian mass culture that was diverse and emancipatory, especially for women. The exhibition evokes shared cultural memory of a post-war Italy unified by a single channel that contained multitudes. In an interview with Nicola Davide Angerame, Vezzoli discusses themes of art, love, death, desire, seduction, and the influence of figures like Pasolini, Cicciolina, and Miuccia Prada. He reflects on the nature of celebrity, vanity, and the role of television as a cultural force. The interview, structured as free association, covers topics from feminism to politics, and includes references to his own works such as "F by F Happily Ever After 2" and "F by F. The Mirror 1." Vezzoli emphasizes that his exhibition is not niche but presents Rai's ability to create culture for the masses. A shortened version of the article appeared in Artribune Magazine #38.