"It 's a beautiful thing: the whistle is made of 4 simple elements: air, earth, water, fire. But when we blow air in with this banal gesture you give life to clay, because you play! It 's almost like playing the divine act by which God breathed into matter and created man. "
Our conversation takes place in the workshop run by a young potter Caltagirone. Antonio is only 32 years, but can be considered as a full heir to the ancient tradition that this city brings its expertise in the production of ceramics and whistles. Father Francis, potter himself, learned the ancient craft shop judice, and Anthony himself has learned to make whistles from Salvatore Leone .
[1] "That is a picture of Dad at 10 years in the laboratory of the family Iudici -
he says pointing to a picture of the 40s that keeps framed in his office . The Iudici are potters for generations. Already existed in 800 Judice shop - with the "J" long, then over time it became "I" anagrafe. "
" At Caltagirone, as in all of Italy's neorealism, children had to work, had to learn a trade . Dad chose ceramics because he liked to draw. Then he went to school, institution of art, and in the afternoon - and in summer the whole day - attended the workshop and the factory Iudici Vella. "
Toto Leone and other masters Antonio
Speaking of his early days in the world of ceramic sound, Anthony does not forget to pay homage to a series artisans and friends who have the passion for the whistles. People who have enriched both human and technical point of view, and allowed him to become a potter refined it is today.
"I've started my whistles to them later. Dad bought the whistles Salvat
hours Leone, a simple bricklayer, now seventy years old, realized that these are called in Sicily
pasture, and sold them around. I was 16, 17, and was fascinated by these objects so popular, weird, that gave me a sense of culture that I have always loved, our culture. I stole one at a time with Dad or whistles that put him on the shelf. It is noticed when those are now my 200! "
" I once asked Migliore, which housed a potter Leone, let me see, because I wanted to understand how does this whistle. Salvatore Leone And with great humility, with great simplicity, he said, but it takes? Nothing, Take two sticks, a bit 'of clay. And of a sudden he showed me the technique.
The most important thing is that I told him to persevere in doing the whistle on your way. Each of us has its own tradition. Instead happen to see a little 'whistles wherever they trade all the same. This is the business! "
" But I wanted to do the very popular whistle Sicilian, that of Leo, this farmer did not even speak properly in Italian, but he had discovered the secret of how the air could pass through the clay, producing a sound. "
And in fact the first whistles made by Antonio about 10 years ago and he still keeps in his study closely resemble those of Leo.
"I kept the lesson of Leo and his way of making whistles. And then her message - the whistle have them your way! - I remain faithful to this day. "
" I have to thank my Father, because it gave me the shop in his hand and told me never, but what the fuck are you doing? (sorry if I use that word). Someone else avrebbe potuto dire: sono minchiate, stai sprecando argilla! Invece lui – che fa parte dei vecchi artigiani - ha sempre compreso le mie scelte. Ed io ho sempre chiesto consiglio a lui.”
“Ma più di tutti, però, devo ringraziare Totò Cardello,
[2] perché io avevo già imparato il fischietto, ma l’avevo un po’ accantonato. Con Cardello ci siamo trovati una notte all’aeroporto di Bologna ed abbiamo passato insieme 12 ore ad aspettare l’aereo. In 12 ore si raccontano tante cose, e lui mi ha raccontato di questo mondo dei fischietti. E mi ha invitato a partecipare alle varie mostre.”
Proporzioni e “sproporzioni” nell’arte popolare
Antonio ci spiega come il suo particolare stile nasca in realtà dalla fusione di varie suggestioni: l’amore viscerale per la cultura popolare, l’interesse per stili e scuole diverse, la sperimentazione continua nel campo della tecnica ceramica. E ci spiega anche come l’imprecisione e la mancanza di proporzioni che sono proprie dell’arte popolare, a volte, possano conferire particolare espressività ad un soggetto.
“Non cerco necessariamente la belle
zza in un fischietto, perché non voglio che si perda quel messaggio di fischietto popolare, di popolarità.
La tradizione Siciliana è grandissima. E’ così vasta che penso non mi basterà la vita intera per analizzala. E quindi spesso io trasporto nei fischietti quello che imparo sulla cultura popolare.
Analizzando i fischietti popolari ho capito quanta parte conservino della cultura contadina. Li modellavano artigiani che non conoscevano le proporzioni e non sapevano realizzare una figura utilizzando le proporzioni corrette, ma comunque riuscivano a realizzare lavori molto espressivi.
Io non posso fare come loro. Ovvero: potrei anche farla una riproduzione di questi fischietti tradizionali, come scelta commerciale. Ma metterei un vestito che non mi appartiene, e sarebbe anche ingiusto nei confronti di queste persone che avevano quel tipo di cultura. Io ne ho un’altra.
Quindi il My whistle comes from a processing,
Dragonball . I put together the popular culture of the artisan, anthropology. I take a cocktail of all this, mixtures, and out of these whistles. If I create a work of art caught I do respect the due proportions. But the whistle I want to give a different sense, popular. By understanding the technique I know, I know the proportions, but that the disproportionate voluntarily. The secrets of the trade I've stolen from the old craftsmen then apply this new old message. "
" I think the whistle as if a compressor behind him suddenly swollen like a balloon. Suddenly takes the proportions che non sono legate alla figura normale.
Lavoro un po’ miscelando in questi fischietti tutta una serie di aspetti: la tradizione del pupo siciliano, ma anche la colorazione delle barche nostre siciliane. Un’altra cosa che io amo molto è parlare con gli anziani, con gli anziani ultraottantenni, perché ancora mantengono – e possono trasmetterti - la cultura popolare. “
Soggetti religiosi e profani Tra i fischietti di Antonio numerosi sono quelli a tema religioso. I cosiddetti santi con il fischio sono d’altronde una caratteristica di Caltagirone e della Sicilia, che Navanzino re-interpreta con grande rispetto, ma anche senza risparmiare la sua fantasia and his inspiration.
"It's not disrespect, but the saint to me is a normal person. James was a fisherman. Thus, a San Giacomo is easier to think like a fisherman Cefalù - short, black, Bassin - that a tall man with blue eyes. "
" In the chapels scattered throughout the regions of Italy, the farmer a bit 'better than the other drawing, painted figures of saints all out of proportion. But why? Why represented itself. The peasant was instill copy and paste of himself on the figures of these saints. It' s like if you could dress himself with the dress of the saint. We think a moment to Van Gogh, we think of as the farmers are represented expressionism.
For example, these farmers were trying to imagine the guardian angels with wings. But the farmer in the country which had wings before our eyes? Only those of the chicken! And then perhaps to draw a face he tried to imagine his face - he was the face of a peasant who works the land - with a blonde wig. And then the angel he had designed the wings of chickens, a sack of flour on him, and straw for hair.
Thus was born a piece to which they are particularly fond of and will never sell. It 'a kind of angel-pollastrone. "The creativity of
Antonio expresses very well in the subjects and themes taken from mythology or fairy tales.
"I read many fairy tales. The fantasy comes from there: I steal from the fairy tales.
Another thing I like to represent are the figures of mythology: the myth of Ulysses, for example. But also literary figures such as Pinocchio and Don Quixote to me are now entered into the collective and can be considered a myth, that can be represented in thousands of ways. I really enjoyed
represent Adam, Eve and the serpent, making fun of the Sicilian thing. I have represented as a man and a woman clumsy, normal, laid bare. And around a tree, there is this snake that humanized the language comes in the womb Eva, the drooling is back. And from the tree leaves the hand of God making the horns to Adam. "
" Another important thing: I do not ever reveal to anyone, not even my wife, but to do the faces I copy the people I know. Today I'm talking to you and maybe one day one of you will be put in there, but I will not say never. "
The crib Franciscan
Antonio is particularly attached to a work. There has been working for three years and prefers not to venture predictions than when I manage to finish it. This is somewhat of a monumental work: a large crib as he enhanced by new statues whistling. To accommodate the people built a structure made with boards and pipes of iron, which occupies an entire room of his laboratory. 
"I wanted to dedicate to Saint Francis of Assisi this crib that will build over the years. I do not know when it will end, perhaps in 2100, because I want to live long.
I wanted to represent these monks going manner, with a big face big one. So ugly, ugly brothers. But celestial brothers, however, that now belong to the world of angels. And these brothers - now flown in the sky, with wings of chicken - are actions and attitudes as a hippy from Punkabbestia. I was inspired by these groups that I've seen hippies in San Gimignano. I struck: they were all together, mothers, fathers, sons. With this sense of community, of collective joy. They had an attitude of great freedom, but also respect for the tourists. So I liked that their message of joy and peace.
This crib so I put all these monks around Jesus dancing, laughing and joking. They have a great freedom, but still pursuing the sanctification of Jesus
I do not like the blasphemy. Joke, but with proper respect. I guarantee that my whistle I made them see the Franciscans and had fun so much. "
" For me the birth of Jesus, Christmas is the most beautiful fairy tale world. And this apart from being believers or not. I believe in the birth of Christ, but Christmas is probably the "story of stories." Brings a great positive attitude, hope is reborn. It also contains an important message, a philosophical message that is the message of the myth of eternal return. The eternal return, then, means that if I see myself the craft of ceramics in the manger, I see myself. So I am part of Christ's birth. Every year on December 25 we are all complicit in this fairy tale. "
A journey of continuous experimentation
Let's talk with Anthony of the techniques used to achieve their whistles. It becomes immediately clear that the kind of person always looking for new solutions, for which each result is a starting point to invent something different than a point of arrival.
"Sometimes I use the lathe to make the structures of the whistles. I make the cylinders and then builds upon the character. Lately I use the lathe is drying. So I throw clay on the floor, I make huge sheets of clay, use of expensive toilet rolls to give it structure. Then I put them in the sun of Sicily for a half hour, so it hardens a bit 'clay. And then we work on, as well, with much freedom.
first uses a different attitude when I made my whistles. If I wanted to do a hand I tried to get this one right, with all fingers perfectly, and so on. Now, however, no: I go on with their free expression, because I am convinced that if that piece of clay that bends came in a certain way, the fold has its own story.
I like the expression, then why give the whistles of the grooves: Must be just furrowed by time. Here, a groove of the time. "
" Usually, the whistle is colored in Sicily cold. I'm the one who always makes the whistle in majolica. Also because of Toto Cardello. Because I saw all those festivals that he organized, and I have analyzed all the work of several major artists such as Biavati, Poland.
[3] I also found that reality did not imagine, as the Russians whistles. And then I realized that using a technique developed, it acquires a different meaning. Including the use of majolica. "
" I realize the pieces with common clay, clay Italian. Now I bought an oven to make whistles stoneware and porcelain. Why 2 years ago I visited the shop of the stars of Biavati, I have seen his works made with this material and I was fascinated. But beware: I always use the stoneware keeping my tradition, my way of doing the whistle.
My intention is that, of arrivare a fare il fischietto con tutte le tecniche della terra, dell’argilla. Voglio metterci la maiolica, la porcellana, il gres, nel fischietto. In un unico fischietto”
“Vorrei fare dei fischietti giganti. Già ho in mente questi pupi siciliani, queste marionette giganti. O un Federico II su una poltrona enorme. Magari li farò a pezzi, perché il forno non consente di cuocerli tutti interi, però parlo di marionette che supereranno i 2 metri e mezzo, “
Che il rapporto di Antonio Navanzino con la ceramica sia di amore incondizionato lo conferma lui stesso raccontandoci di quando non riesce a staccarsi da un pezzo fino a quando non lo ha finito, o di quando lavora un’intera notte ad un fischietto.
“Abito sopra al mio laboratorio, e mi capita anche la notte di scendere a fare un fischietto. Oppure non vado a dormire finchè non lo completo. Purtroppo ho questo vizio, lo devo completare. Mia moglie mi sopporta. D’altronde già mi conosceva bene prima di sposarci. E prima che avessimo dei figli magari restava con me a farmi compagnia durante il lavoro.”
Fischietti "con la sorpresa" 
Among the large audience that in recent days has visited the exhibition there was the artist Marianne Ban - Hungarian - which has took the opportunity to visit the Biennale is an exhibition that our city. His wonder was that he decided to donate several of his works for the future museo Internazionale del Fischietto in terracotta da farsi a Matera a cura dell’Ass. Culturale Genius loci. Le opere donate in questa seconda edizione del concorso sono 144 che insieme alla collezione privata dell’Associazione Genius Loci ed ai fischietti donati nella prima edizione della Biennale tenutasi nel 2008, creano una nutrita raccolta di circa 500 fischietti italiani e stranieri. 
The counting was concerned that 1245 cards are available for anyone to access them at the headquarters of the Association, for 3 months. The People's Jury Prize consists of a grant of € 250.00. 
rrivederci edition of 2012! 
It 's a pleasure to listen to Antonio Navanzino which tells of his ceramics and his whistles. Often the artisans of terra cotta are men accustomed to talk above their hands, but less used words to tell themselves and their profession. It is not the case of Anthony, who manages to excite his party. Perhaps a skill they have learned working as a teacher at the Academy of Fine Arts, or writing as ceramicists on magazines. Or maybe it's simply the result of passion for his craft that he and the traditions of his land, Sicily. This passion shines through, for example when we speak of magic whistle: 
The public response was huge: hundreds of visitors only in the first weekend of opening of the Biennale. 
Instead it will be possible to all visitors to vote until May 30 for the prize of the jury. 
