The dramatic attack on the Twin Towers in New York on September 11, 2001—an event that disrupted global political balances—is commemorated at Johns Hopkins University with a special exhibition centered on the works of Bolognese artist Andrea Benetti and Lanfranco Di Rico.
Four artworks, created through the assemblage of various materials (plastic, wood, paper, metal, pastels), are displayed in the atrium of the student center.
“Obviously, this is a tribute to the victims,” explains Benetti. “But we made an effort to go further, also considering the pain of their friends and relatives, as well as the sorrow of so many people who, like me, are deeply affected by catastrophes like this one.”
These powerful emotions led Benetti to conduct extensive documentary research, which became the foundation of the artistic works: on one side, wall-mounted pieces that evoke the Twin Towers and bear the names of the missing; on the other, a video embedded within a sculptural installation created by Benetti, Di Rico, and Roversi.
“I am passionate about contemporary history, and on this topic alone, I have collected over 360 video documentaries and nearly 500 essays and books,” the painter continues. “In the days following the September 11 disaster, I bought newspapers from different countries and gathered television images that were broadcast worldwide. I carefully preserve these materials under lock and key because I am convinced that they will be essential in the future to understand one of the most apocalyptic events of the next 100 years.”
The accounts of the press have thus been translated into colors and signs, while the television footage has been edited into a video that plays in a continuous loop throughout the exhibition.
Andrea Benetti’s message is one of peace. Presenting the event at the Museo delle Genti in Pescara, he emphasized: “I believe that art must always offer a response to counter violence and hatred,” transcending geographical boundaries.
“I have never been to the United States, but the impact of a tragedy of this magnitude was immense, and to represent it, I temporarily set aside the pictorial research I had been pursuing for a long time.”
This research, which Benetti himself defines as Neo-Cave painting, stems from the desire to reset the evolutionary process of art, retrieving primordial painting—the signs found on cave walls—reinterpreted and recontextualized within the contemporary scene.
“I started painting fifteen years ago, but it was just for leisure. Then, the need to create art became essential, and today it is my sole profession. I have my supporters, even though I have never sought to enter the Bolognese gallery circuit. But who knows, perhaps after this exhibition, things will change.”