The Tivoli festival derives from an Italian tradition of itinerant artists called madonnari that traveled from town to town, in rhythm with holy day celebrations, creating images in public squares and in front of the local church using bits of broken roof tiles, charcoal and white chalk in the 1600s.
Tivoli’s festival mimics this ancient form just as Tivoli’s name derives from the town of Tivoli in Italy. Tivoli’s own festival emerged out of an annual artist celebration, which morphed into the Street Painting Festival in 2001. The festival’s founder, Linda Murphy, advertised the Tivoli festival by becoming an itinerant artist herself, traveling to other festivals and presenting her own art on the pavement.
Neither the Street Painting art form nor Tivoli’s version of the festival have remained unchanged over time. In Italy, the madonnari gradually disappeared after World War II, but in the early 1970’s, the International Street Painting Competition, resurrected the ancient art in Italy by generating a new generation of street painters, who with the use of chalk and pastels, created copies of old masterpieces just for the day or until the next rain. At about the same time, the art form escaped Italy and went transatlantic to Boston where Sidewalk Sam began to paint within a decade. In the 1980s, a newer form of the art, called anamorphic or 3D, emerged. Kurt Wenner’s and Manfred Stader’s astonishing 3D images – which were enhanced by their skill in one point perspective drawing, skilled brushing of the pastels, and carefully developed handmade pastels – emerged..
Tivoli’s Festival is Tivoli at its best. Street art is diverse and ephemeral. The day is mellow and memorable. Old and young mingle. All apply chalk to pavement and enjoy autumn. Come join them.
Facebook Comments