ART
NEW GENRE PUBLIC ART
FOUNTAIN FOR PEACE -- A COLLABORATION WITH MATTHEW CHASE-DANIEL, JILL D'AGNENICA & CYNTHIA MINET
cast concrete & mosaic 12' x 12' x 5 collaboration: Matthew Chase-Daniel, Jill D'Agnenica, and Cynthia Minet Gubbio, Italy, 2000
installation rendering
local artist painting tiles in Bagioli ceramic studio, Gubbio
painting majolica ceramic vases in Bagioli ceramic studio, Gubbio
As part of the exhibition Spazi di Pace in Gubbio, Italy in June, 2000, artists Matthew Chase-Daniel, Jill D'Agnenica and Cynthia Minet were invited to create the inaugural sculpture for a new regional project, the Sentiero Francescano della Pace. This "Franciscan Path of Peace" retraces the route that Saint Francis took when he left his home in Assisi and traveled to Gubbio to take his vows as a monk. Along the route are several historical churches which are open to visitors. The cities of Gubbio and Assisi are inviting several artists from around the world to create sculptural works dedicated to world peace along this itinerary.
Together with Jill's students at the Archer School in Los Angeles and Cynthia's students at Antelope Valley College, the artists created ceramic tiles interpreting the theme of "world peace". In Gubbio, the artists used these tiles together with many pieces of majolica ceramic donated by artisans working in Gubbio and neighboring towns to create decorative mosaic on the surface of a sculptural form which was designed by the artists and built on site by local concrete fabricators.
The sculptural fountain will be installed adjacent to the "La Vittoriana" church in Gubbio, one of the churches on the Franciscan Path of Peace.
The church origins come from a legend. According to it, the church was constructed in this place in the eighth century A.D. to remind people of an important victory made by Eugubini against Saraceni. Precise documents talk about the church from the first half of the eleventh century. It is sure that it is the first French settlement in Gubbio, which was given to them by the bishop Villano, due also to the Benedictine's generosity who were also the owners.
The biographer writes "the one who was once upon a time his friend", gave the hospitality to Saint Francis and he also provided him with cloths of his store. From 1230 to 1240 a splendid roman-gothic construction was began to be built with Saint Francis' white square stones in the basement of the store. The church has two entrances in the principal front and in the left side. Inside there are three basilica naves and the original construction is still visible beyond the eighteenth century transformations.