b. 1978, Los Angeles, California, US. Lives and works in Portsmouth & Hampton, New Hampshire, US
John Fanning is an artist living and working currently in New Hampshire, USA, though his outlook is focused on the global community & our interactions with each other. His work encompasses installation, digital technology, performance, sound, video, sculpture/objects and conceptual ideas. Fanning exclusively works with re-used and recycled materials, information & ideas. Travel is an important aspect of his work as well.
Embracing a DIY ethic from an early age Fanning has been a self-publishing ‘zine editor, university radio & live party DJ (touring three times fresh out of high school in Europe & Japan) and conceptual/experimental fashion designer concurrent to his main focus areas of visual art & experimental performance. For 2 years (2007-2009) John Fanning was co-owner (+ co-founder) of ellO gallery&shop in Portsmouth, NH, USA. The gallery established many firsts in the area including the first gallery to highlight installation, video & conceptual work as well as integrating artists from beyond the local area.
Currently Fanning focuses on integrating & blending aspects of modified objects, installation, video & performance to create alternative environments that either take over a specific space or occupy an interventional “space within a space”.
Artist’s Statement:
The bulk of my work deals with the question of how to deal with the amount of “stuff” we have invented, sold, used or never used & how we as a society treat the kinds of things we are unsure what to do with. From physical pieces made with fabric, paper or whatever has been rescued from the garbage to constructing installations out of castoff objects and materials, composing sound pieces, making short films & presenting these ideas within a performative context I am constantly re-using and recycling. I actually dislike using new or custom-made materials for work that I do and practice the artistic philosophy of availablism I try to get the most out of what I have around me or what I can find for free somewhere else and then re-integrate these items into a new context. My work focuses heavily on globalization but in the way that I live in a voyeuristically globalized manner, observing the world from a distance while slightly distancing myself from my own existence.
I am also a gay male though most of my work doesn't really deal with a "gay agenda" or "gaysploitation". I feel it is important to identify myself as a gay artist and I do feel my sexuality plays a part in my work though perhaps not in a very obvious way.
I'm most obsessed with how we as humans generally use and abuse but usually don't re-use (or try to maximise the use of) what we're consuming (which can also bleed over into ideas as well as physical objects). I also like to observe the world in a slightly childlike yet pessimistic way, We are currently consuming far more than we are re-using and the main goal I hope to achieve is that people can be inspired by this idea to try to view any object or absurd idea as re-usable or justifiable in some way.
Feb 2009 - Den Haag, Holland @ Baracca (with Glenn DiLando as TrillHaus)
April 2006 - La Spezia, Italy @ Galleria Baus (+ 2 performances + mini-residency)
April 2006 - Skopje, Macedonia @ Ludnica (+2 performances)
Duo Exhibitions
Mar 2009 - Dordrecht, Holland @ Galerie als openbare ruimte (with Glenn DiLando as Trillhaus + Ibrahim R. Ineke)
Group Exhibitions
Feb/Mar 2010 – Nottingham, UK @ Actual Wall, “I Can See Your House From Here”
Jan 2010 – Derby, UK @ Déda, “Memory & Migration (revisited)”
Oct/Nov 2009 – Nottingham, UK @ Old Knows Factory, “Memory & Migration”
April- May 2009 - Graz, Austria @ Forum Stadtpark, "Tat Eve" (+ 2 performances in Graz & Linz, Austria + residency)
March 2009 - Glasgow, Scotland @ Modern World curated by
Now Now Projects, "Make It, Break It"
April/May 2008 - Portsmouth, NH, US @ ellO gallery&shop
Jan/Feb 2008 - Portsmouth, NH, US @ ellO gallery&shop
Sept/Oct 2007 - Portsmouth, NH, US @ ellO gallery&shop
April/May 2007 - Sofia, Bulgaria @ Pistolet Gallery, "Eskimo Cozmetics"
October 2005 - San Francisco, CA, USA @ Rock Paper Scissors Collective
March 2005 - Chicago, IL, USA @ Tangerine Arts Collective
April 2004 - Portsmouth, NH @ private studio group show
Selected Performances (full list + details in performance)
2009:
Graz, Austria @ Forum Stadtpark
Linz, Austria @ KAPU
2007:
Graz, Austria @ Interpenetration Festival
Ljbuljana, Slovenija @ DRMK festival
Castelfranco Veneto, Italy @ 8mm Festival
Bolgona, Italy @ XM24
2006:
Sofia, Bulgaria @ Dauhaus
Skopje, Macedonia @ Ludnica (2 performances)
Athens, Greece @ Small Music Theatre
La Spezia, Italy @ Galeria Baus (2 performances)
Ravenna, Italy @ Spartaco
Abbiategrasso, Italy @ Il Folletto
Hannover, Germany @ Silke-Arp-Bricht
Rotterdam, Holland @ WORM
Portsmouth, NH, USA @ Chutney Flatz
2005:
Portsmouth, NH, USA @Chutney Flatz
Portland, ME, USA @ Strange Maine
Portsmouth, NH, USA @ Tong/Muddy
Porto, Portugal @ Passos Manuel
Porto, Portugal @ Maus Habitos
Ljubljana, Slovenija @ Club Gromka
Graz, Austria @ Sonntags Abstrakt/ppc
Tarcento, Italy@ Hybrida
Milan, Italy @ La Cueva No-Art Gallery
Bologna, Italy @ xm24
Malmö, Sweden @ Inkonst
Århus, Denmark @ Det Jyske Kunstakademi
Göteborg, Sweden @ iDeal festival
Enschede, Holland @ Planetart
Nieuwleusen, Holland @ de Hondenkoekjesfabriek
Antwerp, Belgium @ Freaks End Future
Tienen, Belgium @ Diskoster
Brussels, Belgium @ L'Espace Marx
Rotterdam, Holland @ De Player
Amsterdam, Holland @ OCCII
2004:
Portsmouth, NH, USA @ Tong/Muddy
Athens, Greece @ Small Music Theatre
Berlin, Germany @ Maria/Club Transmediale Frestival
Skopje, Macedonia @ gallery Tocka
2003:
Bratislava, Slovakia @ Studio 12
Barcelona, Spain @ Sala Magic
Barcelona, Spain @ Distrito Diagonal
L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Spain @ CSO La Lokeria
Budapest, Hungary @ A38-Ultrahang Festival
Barcelona, Spain @ Les Naus
Brooklyn, NY, USA @ SmackMellon
Barcelona, Spain @ Cable Records
Barcelona, Spain @ RAS Gallery
Massaccesi is a pseudonym of myself (John Fanning), but also has a larger representational meaning to my entire body of work. Many years ago I decided to adopt a pseudonym for myself, primarily to add an identity to myself that was not my own but stolen from someone who was a maestro of the pseudonym. A conceptual joke that has caused little controversy, but many spelling errors. I feel it's kind of a sub-pseudonym, as I no longer plan to hide my true name + the pseudonym. It's a strange grey area.
Aristide Massaccesi is the real name of infamous Italian gore/porn/trash film director Joe D’amato. He only used his real name once for directing (his first film 'Death Smiles on a Murderer/La Morte ha Sorriso All'Assasino). Afterwards he constantly dreamt up pseudonyms in place of his real name, the most famous being "Joe D'Amato". He would often times do various jobs on his films and replace his real name with pseudonyms (male & female) or had specific pseudonyms for specific types of films (i.e. "Kevin Mancuso" was his usual name for directing scholcky sci-fi stuff). The number of pseudonyms he used numbers around 50 or so, even more if you count variations on the spellings of the names.
As an artist who was born & raised America, where English is the dominating language, I feel it is important to have a non-English based pseudonym (though I use it less nowadays). I have had a fascination with foreign languages and world-issues since I was a child. I have a lot of philosophies on language and other aspects of the Massaccesi name that both integrate and go beyond the original man. I find one major element of the name is related to the fact that while Massaccesi seemed to want to continue doing trashy horror/sci-fi style movies he was generally sucked into the pornography vacuum in order to make money. It's highly unfortunate, really, as the quest for personal wealth and the general climate of movie making leans towards the idea of generating money & returns on investments. Pornography generally makes more money than the initial investment, so it’s an economic choice to go in that direction. Massaccesi’s struggle for wealth is best summed up by his name change, as “Joe D’Amato” was chosen to have a more “American-Italian” feeling to it, which was perceived to have wider “international” (read: easier to figure out than the heavily Italian “Massaccesi”) public appeal.
The original Massaccesi died in January of 1999. I'm sad I never got to meet him. I am curious to know if he would appreciate my conceptual musings on his identity.