In the glossary of technical terms of architecture, surface finishing refers to the part added to a building after its completion according to the original design.
“A posteriori surgery spoils the aesthetics and consequently disfigures the surrounding space.”
The superfetation is added to the existing at a later moment, without any need, to become a useless, superfluous or pleonastic intervention. Far from the Baroque superfetations that burst into the austere naves of the Romanesque basilicas, the cam of Cavenago is related to the architectural rigour that characterizes the mezzanine of the Manzoni theatre built in the 1950s.
The cam, which mechanically equips the rotating axes to transform the uniform rotational motion into an alternate straight motion, here wraps one of the pillars, the vertical axis of the architectural space: the work is active and parasitic on the structural system. At man height, the volume with its eccentric shape and rounded shape interferes with the surrounding spatial equilibrium and with its movements modifies the perception of the architectural system.
With each movement it transmits the motion to redefine the freedom of inconstancy. The design and simplification of forms, the relationship and interaction with the context in which it is inserted, remain fundamental elements of the artist's research.
The extreme consequence of the process of mutation of static elements into movable elements is the cam surfacing made for the Teatro Manzoni in Monza.
An installation that transforms one of the supporting pillars into the axis of rotation for a cam – the element that transforms the circular motion into a straight line – perfectly functioning.
It is put into action by a simple push, which makes the observer as well as performer also spectator of an act of different duration each time.