Interview with the old guard: Avant- Garde artist Aldo Tambellini

by Doug Holder

   I first met Aldo Tambelini about five years ago, when we were involved in a group that was putting out a poetry anthology: ‚ÄúCity of Poets: 18 Boston Voices.‚Äù Tambellini is a poet who has been a longtime political activist, an avant-garde film and video maker, a sculptor, and painter. Tambellini was born in Syracuse, N.Y. 1930, and was taken to Italy to live shortly after. His neighborhood in the Italian village he resided in was bombed during World War ll, and he lost 21 neighbors and friends.

    In 1946 he returned to Syracuse University to study art, and later got an M.A. in Sculpture from Notre Dame. After this, Tambellini moved to New York City, and founded an artistic group named: Group Center, an active counter-culture organization that hosted group exhibits, organized Vietnam War demonstrations, multi-media events, etc… He later founded ‚ÄúThe Gate Theatre,‚Äù in the East Village of NYC, the only daily public theatre to show alternative, independent films. In the 1960‚Äôs he was a pioneer of the alternative video movement, and later he went on to teach at the ‚ÄúM.I.T. Center for Advanced Visual Studies.‚Äù
     In 1998 he hosted a poetry venue in Cambridge, Mass. titled ‚ÄúThe People‚Äôs Poetry,‚Äù and he has accrued numerous poetry publication credits over the years. I spoke to him on my Somerville Community Access TV Show, ‚ÄúPoet to Poet: Writer to Writer.‚Äù

     Tambellini made it clear that the avant-garde of his salad days in the 50‚Äôs and 60‚Äôs was different from the avant-garde today. In fact, Tambellini dismisses the contemporary avant-garde, and told this writer if there was any worthwhile work he wasn‚Äôt aware of it. Tambellini, no fan of lyrical poetry, has a strong belief in art used as a political tool. Tambellini said that part of being a human being is to interact with society, to challenge the ‚Äúestablishment,‚Äù and to fight poverty and oppression. Tambellini, who experienced the horrors of World War ll firsthand, uses his art to address his ghosts. Recently he self-published a book of his poetry that consists of a number of his poems published on the Web site: Voices in Times of War.

      Tambellini, 75, is certainly not from the computer generation, but is profoundly aware of its significance. Tambellini stated: ‚ÄúIt is impossible not to work with the computer. It creates a space to communicate with a very large group of people.‚Äù And this, according to Tambellini, is what he is about. Communicating. In his early years in New York City he worked at St. Mark‚Äôs Church in the Bowery bringing as much artwork as possible to the public without dealing with a gallery or dealer. Computer science and science in general are important to Tambellini because he feels it reveals the nature of the world. This ‚Äúnature,‚Äù is what Tambellini explores in the mediums of painting, video, sculpture, and poetry.

      He described the themes of his paintings as ‚Äúcircular.‚Äù He reflected: "We are all tied up to the universe… we are in a circle, in that we are all connected.‚Äù
      Tambellini said his poetry is written with the intent to read to an audience. He feels his poetry is presented at its best when it is spoken, not lying inert on the page.
       He also talked about his years in the alternative video scene. He has always had a fascination with television. TV, unlike movies, during the pre-video, DVD days, was ubiquitous. With a movie you had to go to a specific theatre in order to view it. TV was in every home, and Tambellini was well aware of its power. When Tambellini was starting out there was no video work, other than the work being done at the major networks. So he was like a dog on a meat truck, when he discovered this nascent art form. He incorporated light , his own voice, test patterns, news clips, and children‚Äôs songs, in a sort of abstract video painting. These videos were devoid of narrative or dialogue.
        Tambellini said he always used Afro-American poetry and poets in his video work. He is close friends with esteemed Afro-American poets and writers Ishmael Reed and Askia Toure. He feels Afro-American poets reveal the underside of America, and the American Dream. Tambellini said these poets reveal the ‚Äúreality of America.‚Äù

         Tambellini continues to stay active, and participates in the ‚ÄúHowl Festival‚Äù in New York‚Äôs Lower East Side every year. Tambellini feels his work keeps him vital, and he wants to remain nothing less.