In my works, the references have changed, but the essence has remained the same. I have always been convinced that form seduces, in one way or another. If you want to seduce the observer, a glossy and lacquered surface is always preferable to a matte one.

This is the greatest concession I can make to the seductive images that invade my imagination and that I continue to use abundantly in my work.

However, I must admit that the surface is arguably the least interesting aspect of my work. I use it solely to "seduce" the viewer, enticing them to go "beneath or beyond" the surface itself. I like to call this oxymoron "unpop," which stands for unpopular.

After all, as the following passage illustrates, the surface is important:

We only look at what is well presented, which means we only desire what others desire. The objects on the wooden and formica shelves have been purchased, arranged, assembled, and compared. They can be moved and arranged in a specific way, but once packed, they are again separated, remaining objects as you find them in a store. The subject of Steinbach's work is what happens at the moment of exchange. (Nicolas Bourriaud 2004,19 – paraphrase)

In my case, however, the surface is merely a lure to attract. It matters less than what it conceals.

Pop dominates but does not hide the unpopularity. I have found that by moving away from Pop, understood not so much in a historical-artistic sense but in the literal sense of popular, I can tell something genuinely my own.

I have told many stories, all hidden by seductive images, created with vibrant colors. I have used and use colors and enamels on metallic surfaces that recall cars fresh out of the factory. This approach brings the viewer closer. It works!

Yet, beneath and beyond this surface are everyday objects, like toothbrushes, buttons, and miniature replicas of ancient and contemporary statues, shattered, amid symbols of luxury and references to the provocations of contemporary art. There is also a metaphor of denied childhood through a plastic doll coated in paint, forced to drink polluted water.

This kaleidoscope should be read over a long period, slowing down the frantic flood of images that have nearly driven us all neurotically mad.

Even if the container is pop, the content is unpopular, as it evokes repulsion, fear, indignation, or reflection. I believe our era is unpopular (in the meaning I have chosen to give it). It mixes horrors and honors, beauty and destruction, depth and superficiality, dulling and numbing our senses, like a scrolling of more or less pleasant images.

It is convenient for us to take refuge in the most pleasant and captivating images, but they only recount one aspect of this multifaceted world we live in.

Moreover, broken glasses, watches, necklaces, and bracelets, like the lives of genocide victims, aren’t exactly popular or pleasant images. Only if you choose to go beyond dazzling colors do they tell the anonymous stories of many men, women, and children who, despite everything, have left their mark in history with those objects for future memory.

In all my work, I have traversed various genres, always in search of materials that could make the image interesting and the content reflective.

Arrigo Musti
Lecture: "Seduced and Affiliated. When the image is unpop-ular" - University of Palermo 2022