OK, the Praz is Right! - Cinema Vezzoli - Artist Video Projects - MOCAtv

For Francesco Vezzoli, cinema and embroidery are interconnected. Early in his career, he realized that many stars of the golden age of cinema were embroiderers; needlework was an activity that allowed them privacy and relaxation between takes. Vezzoli himself frequently appears in his videos, embroidering on a canvas that becomes a metaphor for the grid of personal and art historical references he weaves into his work.

The first video made as part of the series entitled The Embroidered Trilogy, "OK - the Praz Is Right!" (1997) was filmed in the former residence of art critic Mario Praz, and stars Vezzoli and Iva Zanicchi, a cultural icon and former host of "Ok il prezzo è giusto," the Italian version of the popular game show. As she sings "La riva Bianca. La riva nera," one of her signature tunes, Vezzoli appears sitting on a divan, embroidered by Paz himself, creating a portrait of the scholar on a tambour frame.

OK, the Praz is Right! (An Embroidered Trilogy), 1997
Castello di Rivoli Museo d'Arte Contemporanea, Rivoli (Turin)
Courtesy of the artist