John Giorno: a labour of LOVE

“John Giorno: a labour of LOVE” is the first exhibition in Italy dedicated to the wide-ranging and far-reaching archive of the American artist John Giorno (1936-2019). A poet of profound impact and a performer with a commanding stage presence, Giorno has journeyed through sixty years of cultural history — from the Beat Generation to AIDS activism, via Warhol’s Factory and Experiments in Art and Technology — leaving his indisputable mark while elevating spoken word to an art form.

Curated by Nicola Ricciardi and hosted in “Cuore”, the archives and research center of Triennale Milano, the exhibition focuses on Giorno’s numerous collaborations and friendships with some of the most significant figures in art, literature, and music of the 20th century. These include Robert Rauschenberg, Andy Warhol, William S. Burroughs, Allan Kaprow, Jasper Johns, John Cage, Keith Haring, Allen Ginsberg, Patti Smith, just to name a few. The emphasis on friendship and cooperation among artists makes “John Giorno: a labour of LOVE” a direct extension of the theme chosen for the 29th edition of miart—the international modern and contemporary art fair organized by Fiera Milano, which — inspired by the title of a Rauschenberg exhibition, “Among Friends” — aims to explore forms of dialogue, support, and virtuous alliances within the art world.

The exhibition features a selection of approximately 100 documents, made accessible by Giorno Poetry Systems (GPS), a non-profit organization founded by the artist in 1965 to  support artists, poets, and musicians,  and that now also oversees the artist’s estate and his vast archives. These documents highlight Giorno’s approach to poetry as a tool for personal exploration and transformation, as well as his commitment to art as a medium of authentic and visceral communication. The selection includes first editions of his poetry books, LPs released on the record label GPS Records, as well as unpublished documents related to the relationship between Giorno, Rauschenberg, and other collaborators.  Included in the display are a variety of posters, private correspondence, contracts, archival video footage, and original flyers related to  public poetry events, GPS’s AIDS Treatment Project, and other happenings in the 1960s and 1970s.

“John Giorno: a labour of LOVE” also includes Dial-A-Poem, Giorno’s iconic interactive artwork where he recorded the voices of poets, artists, and musicians and made them available via telephone. Originally produced in 1968, Dial-A-Poem evolved and expanded to include hundreds of recordings that visitors can hear by picking up the phone.

Lastly, an installation of John Giorno’s paintings, presented on the Grand Staircase of the Triennale, further underscores how the artist liberated poetry from the page, transporting it into the realm of visual art. In a monumental installation, a selection of Giorno’s colorful “Perfect Flowers” paintings are hung on top of a mural of some of the artist’s best-known poetic phrases.

The exhibition design is curated by EX. design studio (Andrea Cassi, Michele Versaci), which has created a display intended to engage both art enthusiasts and casual visitors, with the aim of making “a labour of LOVE” an ever-active, welcoming, and free platform to discover and explore Giorno’s enduring relevance in contemporary discourse.

Link to exhibition page: https://triennale.org/en/events/john-giorno-a-labour-of-love