[Art&Design]

CATTELAN AND BALLARIO TRANSFORM GRIEF INTO DAWN PERFORMANCE IN MILAN'S DUOMO SQUARE

Maurizio Cattelan and Nicolas Ballario's "La fine allegra" flash mob in Milan's Piazza Duomo used dark humor to transform grief into collective reflection.

Photo of an art performance called "The Cheerful End" organized by artist Maurizio Cattelan and critic Nicolas Ballario in Milan. Held at dawn in Piazza Duomo, participants displayed humorous and philosophical signs about death. The event closed Milan Art Week and was supported by the Museo del Novecento. The performance used irony to encourage public reflection on mortality, with refreshments moved indoors at authorities' request. The article describes how the two creators acted as "accomplices in absurdity" to transform a somber subject into a thought-provoking shared experience.
Fabrizio Spucches/Studio Cucù
Photo of an art performance called "The Cheerful End" organized by artist Maurizio Cattelan and critic Nicolas Ballario in Milan. Held at dawn in Piazza Duomo, participants displayed humorous and philosophical signs about death. The event closed Milan Art Week and was supported by the Museo del Novecento. The performance used irony to encourage public reflection on mortality, with refreshments moved indoors at authorities' request. The article describes how the two creators acted as "accomplices in absurdity" to transform a somber subject into a thought-provoking shared experience.
Fabrizio Spucches/Studio Cucù
Photo of an art performance called "The Cheerful End" organized by artist Maurizio Cattelan and critic Nicolas Ballario in Milan. Held at dawn in Piazza Duomo, participants displayed humorous and philosophical signs about death. The event closed Milan Art Week and was supported by the Museo del Novecento. The performance used irony to encourage public reflection on mortality, with refreshments moved indoors at authorities' request. The article describes how the two creators acted as "accomplices in absurdity" to transform a somber subject into a thought-provoking shared experience.
Fabrizio Spucches/Studio Cucù
Photo of an art performance called "The Cheerful End" organized by artist Maurizio Cattelan and critic Nicolas Ballario in Milan. Held at dawn in Piazza Duomo, participants displayed humorous and philosophical signs about death. The event closed Milan Art Week and was supported by the Museo del Novecento. The performance used irony to encourage public reflection on mortality, with refreshments moved indoors at authorities' request. The article describes how the two creators acted as "accomplices in absurdity" to transform a somber subject into a thought-provoking shared experience.
Fabrizio Spucches/Studio Cucù
Photo of an art performance called "The Cheerful End" organized by artist Maurizio Cattelan and critic Nicolas Ballario in Milan. Held at dawn in Piazza Duomo, participants displayed humorous and philosophical signs about death. The event closed Milan Art Week and was supported by the Museo del Novecento. The performance used irony to encourage public reflection on mortality, with refreshments moved indoors at authorities' request. The article describes how the two creators acted as "accomplices in absurdity" to transform a somber subject into a thought-provoking shared experience.
Fabrizio Spucches/Studio Cucù
Photo of an art performance called "The Cheerful End" organized by artist Maurizio Cattelan and critic Nicolas Ballario in Milan. Held at dawn in Piazza Duomo, participants displayed humorous and philosophical signs about death. The event closed Milan Art Week and was supported by the Museo del Novecento. The performance used irony to encourage public reflection on mortality, with refreshments moved indoors at authorities' request. The article describes how the two creators acted as "accomplices in absurdity" to transform a somber subject into a thought-provoking shared experience.
Fabrizio Spucches/Studio Cucù
Photo of an art performance called "The Cheerful End" organized by artist Maurizio Cattelan and critic Nicolas Ballario in Milan. Held at dawn in Piazza Duomo, participants displayed humorous and philosophical signs about death. The event closed Milan Art Week and was supported by the Museo del Novecento. The performance used irony to encourage public reflection on mortality, with refreshments moved indoors at authorities' request. The article describes how the two creators acted as "accomplices in absurdity" to transform a somber subject into a thought-provoking shared experience.
Fabrizio Spucches/Studio Cucù
Photo of an art performance called "The Cheerful End" organized by artist Maurizio Cattelan and critic Nicolas Ballario in Milan. Held at dawn in Piazza Duomo, participants displayed humorous and philosophical signs about death. The event closed Milan Art Week and was supported by the Museo del Novecento. The performance used irony to encourage public reflection on mortality, with refreshments moved indoors at authorities' request. The article describes how the two creators acted as "accomplices in absurdity" to transform a somber subject into a thought-provoking shared experience.
Fabrizio Spucches/Studio Cucù
Photo of an art performance called "The Cheerful End" organized by artist Maurizio Cattelan and critic Nicolas Ballario in Milan. Held at dawn in Piazza Duomo, participants displayed humorous and philosophical signs about death. The event closed Milan Art Week and was supported by the Museo del Novecento. The performance used irony to encourage public reflection on mortality, with refreshments moved indoors at authorities' request. The article describes how the two creators acted as "accomplices in absurdity" to transform a somber subject into a thought-provoking shared experience.
Fabrizio Spucches/Studio Cucù
Photo of an art performance called "The Cheerful End" organized by artist Maurizio Cattelan and critic Nicolas Ballario in Milan. Held at dawn in Piazza Duomo, participants displayed humorous and philosophical signs about death. The event closed Milan Art Week and was supported by the Museo del Novecento. The performance used irony to encourage public reflection on mortality, with refreshments moved indoors at authorities' request. The article describes how the two creators acted as "accomplices in absurdity" to transform a somber subject into a thought-provoking shared experience.
Fabrizio Spucches/Studio Cucù

A pre-dawn gathering in Milan's Piazza Duomo on the closing day of Milan Art Week brought together art enthusiasts holding signs with provocative slogans about mortality. The flash mob, titled "La fine allegra" (The Cheerful End), was orchestrated by renowned artist Maurizio Cattelan and art critic Nicolas Ballario.

Participants displayed messages ranging from philosophical to darkly humorous: "It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine", "If you're there, knock once", "Memento Mori", "C'est la vie", "I will not survive", and "Three meters underground". The event transformed the somber subject of death into an opportunity for collective reflection.

Gianfranco Maraniello, director of the Museo del Novecento, emphasized that the initiative marked not the beginning but the conclusion of Milan Art Week. The original plan to serve pastries and coffee in the square was modified at the request of local authorities, with refreshments moved inside the museum instead.

"This morning there weren't many workers around", joked Ballario, highlighting the event's ironic nature as the scene resembled an old-fashioned union demonstration, albeit without the usual workforce presence at that early hour.

Sponsored by Living del Corriere and the Museo del Novecento, "La fine allegra" demonstrated how humor can provide a means to explore profound questions, particularly during times of global tragedy. The performance embodied Milan's distinctive spirit: a fusion of artistic expression and practical efficiency.

The dawn gathering, positioned between artistic happening and metropolitan routine, transformed contemplation of death into a shared experience. Cattelan, known for his provocative approach, succeeded in turning an existential subject into an occasion for surprise and laughter.

Ballario gave structure and voice to the project. Together with Cattelan, the pair operated as "accomplices in absurdity", ready to involve anyone in their unconventional intervention where curiosity served as the only admission ticket.

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Andrea Darren

Andrea Darren

Born in Manchester, from a young age, she was passionate about art and design. She studied at the University of the Arts in London, where she developed her skills in these fields. Today, Andrea works as an editor for a renowned publishing house, combining her love for art and design with her editorial expertise.