Daniela Palazzoli

The film documents the ‘UFO: oggetti volanti’ happening, which took place in 1968 on Monte Olimpino. The event was organised by Bruno Munari and Daniela Palazzoli (then editor of the magazine BIT), who appear in the film. The theme of the event was flying art objects.

The film challenges the aura of the artwork, pushing it towards performance in urban space. During the exhibition Con-temp-l’azione (1967–68), at the three galleries Stein, Sperone and Il punto, two works by Michelangelo Pistoletto are taken out into the street. The film marks the beginning of a more militant and performative phase in Pistoletto’s career, opening up possible references to Situationism, Fluxus and nouveau réalisme. The film starts with Pistoletto shaving in front of one of his ‘mirrors’: the codes of everyday life and advertising burst into the scene. The large ball of newspapers roams Turin in a convertible automobile. The music of The Beatles accompanies the exploration of different filming and editing techniques. Intense, amused and brilliant, Buongiorno Michelangelo suggests a performative, cooperative and perhaps also playful aspect of the attitude of this short and intense period. —Tate Modern