1962 NEW MATERIALS AGAIN

In the Achromes of this period, the iterative visual cell was composed of real bread rolls, the Milanese michette, to be precise. In others he used pebbles or expanded polystyrene balls. White always overlaid everything, desensitizing and rendering everything a surface that was both very present and estranged. Still others were composed of packs of newsprint or wrapping paper sealed with cords, lead and sealing wax as if they were parcels, and presented in pairs.

On the 21st of November, Manzoni was present at the inaugural group show at the Galleria Cenobio-Visualità in Milan. On the 16th of December, the popular magazine Settimana Incom Illustrata published the extensive article/interview with a wealth of photos, “Costa duecento lire al litro il fiato del pittore che non usa pennelli” (The Breath of the Painter who does not use brushes costs two hundred a Liter) by Franco Serra.

In this period he also drafted the fundamental text “Alcune realizzazioni - alcuni esperimenti - alcuni progetti” (Some Creations - some Experiments - some Projects) in which he reviewed his artistic operations from 1957 to the present: it was to be published in January 1963 in Evoluzione delle lettere e delle arti, No. 1, Milan. It concluded thus: “In music, in 1961 I composed two Afonie: the Herning aphonia (orchestra and audience) and the Milan aphonia (heart and breath). Currently (’62) I am working on an electronically controlled ‘labyrinth’ that may perhaps be used for psychological tests and brain washing.”