In His Own Words – Mario Rivoli Art

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In His Own Words

Taken from his Artist Statement for an Exhibition of his work at Republic Plaza in Denver in 2014

My “Greatest Show On Earth” was mom waking me at pre- dawn to delight me with “The Elephants Are Coming!” Marching downtown to Madison Square Garden for the Circus was a line of elephants linked trunk and tail, with showgirls riding atop in full feather costumes, waving and blowing kisses…WOW!! Musclemen lifting weights on caged wagons with a glimpse of wild jungle cats. A pillow was placed on the the window sill for comfortable viewing.

My very early life living with mom on the East Side of Lower Harlem in New York City was very easy, involving a local murder or two, and forever an adventure. Recalling this sounds like Charles Dickens: the cobblestone pavers on Second Avenue, the old Italian women with their toy shovels and pails picking up manure from under the horse-drawn carts.

But the best adventure was the rare trip to visit the Godparents in the Bronx, Aunt Titzie and Uncle Louie. They lived across the street from the Bronx Zoo. Aunt Titzie and Uncle Louie called me Mahdioochie, the diminutive of Mario. They were a dear Italian couple, he with his high-waisted belt, she with her constant plea to EAT, EAT, EAT! On a small round table covered with a stained pink tablecloth stood a seltzer bottle, a bottle of homemade red wine, and a group of small jelly glasses – mine was the one with the circus theme design.

My very early life living with mom on the East Side of Lower Harlem in New York City was very easy, involving a local murder or two, and forever an adventure. Recalling this sounds like Charles Dickens: the cobblestone pavers on Second Avenue, the old Italian women with their toy shovels and pails picking up manure from under the horse-drawn carts.

I looked forward to a very diluted spritzer – light pink – to go wi th the cookies. We would stay for early dinner, after which Uncle Louie would pull up his pants higher than before and ask if I wanted to go for a walk around the Zoo, which I always anticipated with great excitement. He would ask “What should we find today?” He would say “what about a red clown and a blue elephant?” I would agree, and we were off. One of his sayings was “Always look down..looking up is for religious people, but looking down is how you always find things.” Sure enough, under a piece of trash was a red clown… further up the street was a blue elephant. Much to my amazement he was always as surprised as I was. It took me years to realize that he had planted the tiny treasures hours before, and cleverly guided me to the discoveries….WOW!

Aunt Titzie and Uncle Louie were the essence of love and caring for me, which truly shaped my aesthetics and influenced me so very early in my life. Many decades later I still to find that rusted bottle cap perfectly squashed by traffic. The simplest things give me so much joy! Making a disparate family is what you see on these walls…organized chaos, contained madness, whatever… it is my Art.

Because of my limited situation I have started to eye things like the tops of salt and pepper shakers (as stencils for circles and eyeballs…) the bottom of the sugar container, the laminated menu card (for straight edges) the opening of the pencil box for a perfect oval and hot chocolate residue as a stain to randomize the pure white paper (latest treat is dragging my fork in it )… the outcome is always a surprise and sparks an idea! Recently I asked the kitchen for a dinner plate to make an outline of a large circle, they asked if I wanted a salad plate as well ! Everything and anything for art! Tops of desks, nurses stations (surgical tape, a loose marker, med containers, cardboard).

Dedicated to Mrio Rivoli Art

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