Burri e Pistoia

was and would settle for what we had. I couldn’t accept this and in the
end, after various vicissitudes, I delivered the work as it was supposed
to be.
It was quite an undertaking! I didn’t find myself in difficulty, rather it
became a challenge between us, a stimulus to do more and better.
CS: What is the most precious gift you received from this relationship?
AA: When you meet “great” people in life you too become great in a
way, not because of the fame, which is an important although secondary
aspect, but through your professional development: Burri taught
me rigor, especially in choices with regard to work. When I’m offered
a job that is—how to put it?—commercial, I think “would Burri have
accepted this?” and turn it down. Another artist from whom I learned
this aspect, fundamental in a career if you want to consider it dignified,
was Marino, who thought the same way. They agreed to hold exhibitions
only if they felt the space was suitable and prestigious: staging
ten exhibitions a year was not essential, better just one but done well.
They preferred to give their works to enthusiastic collectors than sell
them for substantial sums.
CS: Did you feel there was a difference in depth between Burri and Marino
and other artists you’ve worked with?
AA: Yes, I can’t deny that both were a cut above the others.
Apart from that, I’ve worked with more or less all of them, and with
the majority I established friendly relations, although not comparable
with my relationship with Burri. Only with Ceroli did something similar
happen. Many of the contacts came because I was Burri’s photographer.
One of them was with Kounellis [Jannis, editor’s note], a great
admirer of Burri who, not long after his death, said to me: “We miss
him a lot! For us he was a beacon.”
CS: I know that you’ve just come back from Gibellina, where you went to doc-
Alberto Burri, Città
di Castello, 1978
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