ART ON FOUR WHEELS – INTERVIEW WITH THE XILOMOVEL COLLECTIVE

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Lately the work of TDF has been developing, consequently new projects and points of view are being born.I have never hidden the fact that contemporary art education is for me fundamental and the basis of any project we put in place. 
Being able to find, in Brazil, someone who was so in line with my, our work, seemed something quite impossible, instead we found just in a collective this common thread that we were missing.
Xilomovel is a collective formed by Luciana Bertarelli, Marcio Elias Santos and Simone Peixoto, three artists who have similar backgrounds, in fact they studied together at university, and having a passion in common for woodcuts, they decided to create a collective that would be dedicated to this very type of art.

 

What is Xylography?

Unlike mere painting, xylography is a technique that is not very well known or widespread; it is an engraving technique, in which matrices are created, almost always by engraving a wooden tablet according to the design one wants to achieve. The matrices are, afterwards, inked and used for the creation of serial drawings on a paper support.
This technique is classified, some times, as a typographic technique because it makes the printing process very inexpensive; in fact, it was often used for making popular texts.

 

Atelier on Four Wheels

What makes Luciana, Marcio and Simone's collective very special and different from everyone else is that, after careful consideration and to satisfy a need of theirs to have a space where they can create and share, they decided to make it on four wheels, so that it would also reach the public more easily. 
Getting out of the institutional space is a relevant point in almost all Latino artistic research. The need for the direct relationship with the public, not only those who are passionate about art, is a constant. This is extremely important because, art becomes, inexorably, a tool for integration and sharing.
Created in 2009, the Xilomovel has so far visited more than 60 cities. The car is equipped with all the necessary materials for the practical conduct of various woodcut activities. The activity takes place outdoors, in city squares and parks, there is no need to make reservations or pay a fee, in fact, the beauty of this project is that anyone can participate.
"When we arrive in a square, in a park, people look at us in curiosity, so we invite them to participate in the activity... some willingly accept and get right to work, others just watch and then start telling others their own ideas on how to work and eventually they are convinced and participate!"

The importance of participation in projects and calls for proposals: "free" art

The implementation of a project like Xilomovel is really challenging and involves a not inconsiderable economic resource. And, therefore, how is it possible for the activities to be completely free? For us in Italy, such a thing would be unthinkable, unless there is an institution or a patron who welcomes the idea and contributes financially to its implementation.
For Xilomovel it was similar. Luciana, Marcio, and Simone wrote the project and submitted it to national calls for proposals, winning several of them, managing, in this way, to shoulder the costs of implementing the activities. They also began a series of collaborations with organizations and spaces interested in hosting their work.
Here is where the importance of structuring a project in the best way becomes indispensable for its realization and for 'acceptance by the public as well.

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