NARRATOR:  

These two conceptually linked 1985 pieces by Tom Marioni are comprised of artful arrangements of nationally-identifiable objects. To the left is “The Germans.” To the right, is “The Italians.” The symbolic objects are open to interpretation.  

TOM MARIONI:  

My sculpture, since I became a conceptual artist, in the late sixties, has always included found objects which I use as symbolic objects to create new associations by placing found objects together. Everything in The Italians is gold, or you know, warm. And The Italians is also illuminated with yellow lights. The Germans is illuminated with normal white light. They go together as a kind of left and right, gold and silver, male-female, so on.  

The three things that are important to me and a lot of artists in my generation are content, elegance and subtlety. I grew up in an Italian family. My parents are Italian immigrants and very cultured. I moved to California and became influenced by the Asian culture in San Francisco. I have a mix of those two influences in my work.