Per una rappresentazione aniconica del paesaggio urbano. Piero Dorazio: Rilievi, Cartografie e l’orizzonte visivo de La Fantasia dell’arte nella vita moderna (1951-1955)

The Cartographies are modulated surfaces of wooden (and sometimes bronze or aluminium) panels painted in white, crossed by lines and circular elements, either engraved or embossed. These surfaces are perceptually subject to the effects of natural or artificial lighting, which enhance their structure with a rhythmic contrast of lights and shadows. This essay analyses the several directions along which Dorazio’s research developed. The Cartographies are interpreted not only in relationship with the works of the masters of Abstractionism (from Kandinsky to Vantongerloo), but also within the broad and composite visual context outlined by Dorazio in La Fantasia dell’Arte nella vita moderna.