Alighiero e Boetti

Since the beginning of his career, Alighiero Boetti (1940-1994) worked obsessively on various themes, such as multiplying, doubling and symmetrically arranging identical standard symbols. His use of ordinary materials like asbestos cement, cardboard, or paper bar napkins placed one on top of the other to make columns came to an end in 1969, when he began to re-draw the lines of squared paper.
Boetti often took on the role of director, merely setting up the processes while entrusting the realisation of his works to others.
A dialogue among several people (exemplified by the intelligent interview) is perhaps the best way to critically approach such a difficult work, also because it fully respects one of the standard practices invented by Boetti.
This book presents a conversation between three people. Giovan Battista Salerno, Rinaldo Rossi and Andrea Marescalchi, Boetti's friends and collaborators, talk about this unique artist, describing a zig-zag career between works and materials: collages, squared papers, maps, flags, stamped envelopes, silk-screen prints, watercolours and Indian ink drawings.