Crocodile Hangs in Church Italy

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

So my last two blog entries were about the streetpainting festival in northern Italy in il Piazzale del Santuario della Madonna delle Grazie (the large square in front of the Shrine of Our Lady of Grace) in the small town of Grazie di Curtatone.

After I finished my work, I took a look at others and also entered the church. I must say that I have never seen a church quite like this one. The sides of the church were lined with wooden columns and sculptures, but some depicted men being tortured and killed. Only, as one of my Italian friends explained, they apparently did not die. This church wanted to show the miracles that have happened, perhaps in this region.

That might even explain why there is a crocodile hanging from the ceiling near the back of the church (see the photo with the chandelier). Apparently a few years back, he was found in the nearby lake. His presence there must have been quite a shock and for at least the last two years, some madonnari have chosen to honor him in their streetpaintings.

Another side note on the wooden columns. Maybe it is just me, but I could have sworn that decorative patterns on these columns and side walls were made with light wooden body parts, namely hands and boobs. Those shapes are interesting and when repeated in lines, create a rather artistic effect. Still, did I really see nude castrated boobs in a church? Davvero?

If you like what you read, enjoy the photos, and would like to help support this blog(ger) / artist, click here . . .

Streetpainting Grazie Di Curtatone Italy

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

Grazie di Curtatone in northern Italy recently hosted its 38th Annual Streetpainting Festival. The art of the madonnnari (as streetpainters are called in Italia) began centuries ago as devotional drawings outside of the churches, most often depicting the Madonna, hence the name.

This festival is also a competition with a sacred theme. Any madonnaro/a may draw anything, but if the judges determine your work does not fit the theme, the artist is ineligible for prizes. It is important to win a medal here so that one may eventually earn the title of Maestro. This earns the artist more money. And it does not matter if one is a master artist in general, she must earn this title specifically in this city for it to mean anything.

The money is important because each year, they have been paying the artists less and less. And some artists have traveled a long way to be here and the food is expensive. There are free accommodations if you do not have a problem sleeping in a smelly tent on a wooden floor with bunches of other streetpainters. Artists use up a whole lot more pastel and chalk on this particularly hard street, and if you do not finish your work during the night, be prepared to draw in full sun in August.

Despite all of these obstacles, il Piazzale del Santuario della Madonna delle Grazie (the large square in front of the Shrine of Our Lady of Grace) gets filled with art of all kinds. Today, I am including only a few more images. Even the more political ones at the end were beautifully done and not even particularly controversial.

Because of the rain the night before, we all had from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. to draw, instead of the 24 hours straight that we have normally.