Vincenzo Fiore Marrese

2. Shepherding Practices and the Fire Tradition

Locals told me the fire was part of a traditional practice.

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The practice has its roots in how shepherds used to care for pastures. They also revealed the natural and social problems behind this event, offering their perspective.

The art residency took place in Italy. In Italy, this practice is known as ‘debbio’, although not all scholars agree with the term’s usage [1].

Scholars believe it’s primarily the shepherds who burn vegetation at the right time to encourage new plant growth for better grazing [2].

One can frame this practice in the so-called ‘slash-and-burn’ practices, which scholars call “among the most ancient activities documented in human history” [3]. It is a debatable set of practices [4].

According to experts, this practice is legally complex in Italy [5]. Other experts say these fires lead to more harmful fires [6]. Some experts note that controlled burns, which were seen as evil in some countries in recent years, are now being used again in others [7].

I am studying this practice about local needs and traditions. I explore this practice through metaphors, insights, and deeper meanings.

3. Shared Conversations

I compared this practice to the creative process.

I thought about the global issues and the discussions they raise.

I didn’t want to use the local perspective merely as information. I aimed to fully integrate it into my creative process, letting it actively shape my work.

This approach helps balance all inputs involved in the creative process. It encourages a base of collaboration and respect.

Opening a dialogue with locals or experts is a two-way street.

In the dialogue, we all need to play our roles. We must honour each other’s social and professional limits. At the same time, I believe we can make things better for everyone.

I also gave a live talk about the work.

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I shared the story behind the creative process with people. I did so in a narrative and expressive way.

These dialogues and shared encounters changed my creative process and artwork.

4. Artist as Watcher and Contributor

I see myself taking on two roles as an artist.

First, I see myself as a watcher. I ask questions. I explore the world around me.

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Second, I see myself as a contributor. I engage in dialogues. I allow these exchanges to shape my creative process.

Summing up, I love making each piece a changing dialogue between my perspective and the influences I encounter.

5. Fire, Ecology and Disturbances

The effects of fire on the ecosystem have been the theme of various studies. These studies are part of fields such as fire ecology.

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Furthermore, they also look at related concepts. One of these concepts is the idea of disturbance.

5.1 Ecosystem

Dictionaries define an ‘ecosystem’ as a community of living things [8]. The word ‘ecosystem’ is also about the relationship between these living things and their environment [9].

5.2 Environment

The same sources define an ‘environment’ as everything surrounding a life form [10].

5.3 Fire Ecology

Some experts state that fire is part of many ecosystems [11]. They state that fire ecology studies the function of fire within these ecosystems [12]. They also add that fire ecology looks at how controlled fires can help to keep ecosystems healthy [13].

5.4 Disturbance

Dictionaries define a ‘disturbance’ as a change in an ecosystem [14]. This change results from a shift in environmental conditions [15]. This definition is broad. Scholars argue that a single definition of disturbance cannot meet the needs of all ecologists [16].

6. Exploring the Relationship Between Instability and Rules

The fire that burned the vast field and the artwork stands for a ‘disturbance.’

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According to experts, disturbances often carry negative associations outside the range of ecology [17].

However, they are not essentially good or bad for ecosystems [18].

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In its most basic definition, ‘ecological disturbance’ denotes a change imposed externally on a system [19].

This change deviates from the conditions that were previously dominant [20].

That’s a relevant concept. It aligns with my main creative research interest in the instability of the systems of rules. Therefore, I view the burned artwork as a relevant part of my art path.

7. Pioneering Creative Interruptions

I realized my approach to fire matched with an ecological perspective.

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Inspired by this concept of ‘disturbance,’ I improved the idea of ‘interruption.’

My experience and research inspired me to consider the idea of ‘interruption.’

This idea is about how different parts of the creative process work together.

One can call it the ecosystem of the creative process.

8. Temporary Stops

An interruption is a temporary stop in the creative process.

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This pause can improve the process. It does so by expanding the artwork’s meaning. It can also help connect the artwork more deeply with its social and natural context.

An ‘interruption’ does not lead to disruption or devastation.

A ‘disruption’ is a temporary halt. It affects the creative process.

A ‘devastation’ is a permanent halt. It terminates the creative process.

At the same time, an interruption cannot be a simple change. It should imply a pause or a break.

9. From Disturbance to Interruption: Shaping Creative Processes

My experiences and the concept of ‘disturbance’ inspired me.

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However, I differentiate the idea of ‘disturbance’ from ‘interruption.’

The idea of ‘disturbance’ is only a starting point.

To better define ‘interruption,’ I include associated ideas. These ideas include ‘disruption,’ ‘devastation,’ and ‘break.’ While the first two refer to possibly harmful outcomes, I don’t view ‘interruption’ in that way.

I see it as neither inherently positive nor negative. Experts have claimed that ‘disturbances’ can be viewed this way, as we observed [21].

10. Building a New Creative Ecosystem

In this context, ‘interruption’ becomes a chance.

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It is a new way for new branches to develop within the creative process.

The ‘interruption’ is what I encountered with the work almost burned in the field. I was creating the artwork through a creative process every morning. Then, unexpectedly, the fire interrupted me.

This event reorganized the creative process into a new ecosystem.

11. Navigating the Present with Creative Interruption

I accepted the change of the almost burned artwork.

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I’m looking at this event from an artistic point of view and reflecting on different perspectives, like ecology, to broaden the creative process and its result, the artwork.

That means I avoid simplification or romanticization concerning the destructive potential of fire.

I don’t support or condemn the practice of ‘debbio’ or ‘slash-and-burn’. As an artist, I engage with it to navigate the present.

Notes

1. Accademia dei Georgofili, Storia dell’agricoltura italiana: I. L’età antica: 2. Italia romana, ed. Gaetano Forni and Arnaldo Marcone (Firenze: Edizioni Polistampa, 2001-2002), 67. back to the text
2. Ibidem. back to the text
3. Marta Mariotti, Anna Maria Mercuri, and Bruno Foggia, “The ‘Mediterranean Forest’: A Perspective for Vegetation History Reconstruction,” Interdisciplinaria Archaeologica: Natural Sciences in Archaeology IX, no. 2 (2018): 207–21, 214. back to the text
4. Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia. “slash-and-burn agriculture.” Encyclopedia Britannica, May 22, 2024. https://www.britannica.com/topic/slash-and-burn-agriculture. back to the text
5. Rosalba Martino and Anselmo Montermini, “Quando si possono bruciare i residui colturali in campo,” L’Informatore Agrario 39, no. 2013 (2013): 37-42. back to the text
6. Regione Siciliana, Assessorato Regionale del Territorio e dell’Ambiente, Aggiornamento del Piano Regionale per la Programmazione delle Attività di Previsione, Prevenzione e Lotta Attiva contro gli Incendi Boschivi: Anno di Revisione 2017, dir. Fabrizio Viola, coord. Filippo Principato (Palermo: Comando Corpo Forestale della Regione Siciliana, 2017), 137 back to the text
7. Mauro Agnoletti, Storia del bosco: Il paesaggio forestale italiano (2018; 2nd ed. 2019; Storia e Società) (Milano: Edizioni, 2019), 16. back to the text
8. P.H. Collin, Dictionary of Environment & Ecology, 5th ed. (London: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 2004), 69; Cambridge Dictionary, s.v. “Ecosystem,” accessed October 8, 2024, https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/ecosystem. back to the text
9. Ibidem. back to the text
10. P.H. Collin, Dictionary of Environment & Ecology, 5th ed. (London: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 2004), 74. back to the text
11. Ecological Society of America, Fire Ecology (Washington, DC: Ecological Society of America, 2006), 1. back to the text
12. Ibidem. back to the text
13. Ibidem. back to the text
14. Ibidem. back to the text
15. P.H. Collin, Dictionary of Environment & Ecology, 5th ed. (London: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 2004), 62. back to the text
16. United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station, Disturbance Ecology and Forest Management: A Review of the Literature, General Technical Report INT-GTR-336 (May 1996), by Paul Rogers, 1. back to the text
17. Ibidem. back to the text
18. Erik A. Beever, Suzanne Prange, and Dominick A. DellaSala, eds., Disturbance Ecology and Biological Diversity: Scale, Context, and Nature (Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group, 2020), 3. back to the text
19. Ibidem. back to the text
20. Ibidem. back to the text
21. Ibidem. back to the text