With usura contra naturam

In With usura contra naturam, Pier Paolo Calzolari uses tobacco leaves as sculptural material, drawing upon their tactile and olfactory properties as well as their organic form. The artist has always been interested in poetry. He treats his materials as a poet treats his words; through the assemblage of ordinary, familiar elements, his materials resonate with new sensibilities.
The neon comprises two verses from Ezra Pound’s famous Canto XLV (1936) of The Cantos: “with usura” and “contra naturam.” Despite his support of fascism, Pound was widely acknowledged in the late 1960s as a vanguard, engaged poet. Calzolari’s work, like Pound’s Canto, features multiple styles, quotations, and references. By addressing usury as a practice against nature and integrating natural materials into the work, Calzolari created a sculpture that also functions as a poetic statement against capitalism.