THE BIG GIFT TO DIEGO VOCI’S MOTHER

In 1955 the Matriarch of the Voci family was treated to her long awaited religious wish to visit Saint Peters Basilica in Rome.

Messina Arcangela (b. 1880), was granted her wish by 2 of her 3 sons. On her left is her middle son Giuseppe age 42, a musician in the Rome Orchestra; to the right of Messina is her youngest son, our internationally collected artist Antonio Diego Voci age 35, dressed smartly (most likely in clothes of his own making trained at tailoring school in Reggio); To the right of Diego, Maria Teresa Voci, she is the mother to Mario age 13, standing in front of her. To the far right is Tonino age 16, older brother to Mario. Tonino was later killed in an auto accident 2002. Diego was his idol.

Mario, now in his seventies who supplied this family photo said of his “nanna”(Grandmother), “The coolest lady I’ve ever known. Cooler than a refrigerated cucumber“.

Vincenzo, Diego’s oldest brother, at the time of this photo, was the missing brother, a professional designer at Pincus Manufacturing in Philadelphia, his home since he was 15 years old.

Messina’s husband Giuseppe Antonio had passed away. He wanted Diego and his brothers to be tailors and sent them all to tailoring school in Reggio (birthplace of Versace). His advice to Diego who said he wanted to be an artist, “Toto [Diego], the God of Art does not give bread“.

Courtesy of the Diego Voci Project www.diegovociproject.com

 AC DV History #197 2/27/2015

THE BIG GIFT TO DIEGO VOCI’S MOTHER

In 1955 the Matriarch of the Voci family was treated to her long awaited religious wish to visit Saint Peters Basilica in Rome.

Messina Arcangela (b. 1880), was granted her 75^TH birthday wish by 2 of her 3 sons.  On her left is her middle son Giuseppe age 42, a musician in the Rome Orchestra; and his daughter Lina age 11, to the right of Messina is her youngest son, our internationally collected artist Antonio Diego Voci age 35, dressed smartly (most likely in clothes of his own making trained at tailoring school in Reggio); To the right of Diego, Maria Teresa Voci, she is the mother to Mario age 13, standing in front of her.  To the far right is Tonino age 16, older brother to Mario.  Tonino was later killed in an auto accident 2002.  Diego was his idol.

Mario, now in his seventies who supplied this family photo said of his “Nanny” (Grandmother), “The coolest lady I’ve ever known.  Cooler than a refrigerated cucumber”. 

Vincenzo, Diego’s oldest brother, at the time of this photo, was the missing brother, a professional designer at Pincus Manufacturing in Philadelphia, his home since he was 15 years old.

Messina’s husband Giuseppe Antonio had passed away.  He wanted Diego and his brothers to be tailors and sent them all to tailoring school in Reggio (birthplace of Versace).  His advice to Diego who said he wanted to be an artist, “Toto [Diego], the God of Art does not give bread”.

Strengthen the Legacy of Diego Voci – Your Photos & Stories about Diego are Needed!

…The second book is in beginning phases of “collecting” material about internationally collected artist Antonio Diego Voci.

The first book is “The Beauty of Diego” view http://www.blurb.com/books/5419805-the-beauty-of-diego.  Flip the pages to see 140 images of works by Diego.

This second book will be an extended biography on our master artist, Diego Voci.  We need everyone’s assistance in helping us gather the material to make this a successful publication.  The project team wants to know of every person that has ever met Diego even for a day; those that had a handshake with Diego, an espresso with Diego, a glass of wine with Diego, and a great conversation about life and philosophy with Diego.

All Photographs of Diego are welcomed; photographs of Diego in his early years all the way until his passing.  All photographs with ancestral family before Diego and after.  Was Diego a competitive cyclist, let us see.    Any photographs of Diego as a designer, a tailor, making a special home-cooked meal for those he stayed with while traveling around.  The Diego Voci Project Team wants to see and hear all about it.

We need all of your stories about Diego written in “first-person”.  What did he say?  What did he do?  Every little thing counts to make up the full mosaic of Diego’s life.  You’ll make the book come alive.

Diego’s widow, Helga Voci supplied us with an image (see below) taken back in #1968 in #Paris along the Seine River with her parents, and Tonino Voci brother of Mario Voci in the U.K. They are two of the children to Guiseppe and Maria Teresa Voci, one of #Diego’s older brothers (Vincenzo is the eldest). See more Diego & Helga’s history: http://www.artifactcollectors.com/diego-history-4330818.html#1

Helga also let us know via email this weekend (Saturday 11 Jan 2015),

“that Tonino came many times to visit us, he loved Diego, Diego was his great master, he wanted to do whatever Diego did, he also painted a little, but, of course, he did not have his uncle`s gift. Also after Diego`s dead he came many times to Germany to visit me, but unfortunately a few years ago he died in a car accident in Rome. I think he knew much more about Diego than Mario, as he was closer to Diego. I will try
 to find more material on Diego, some pictures, letters, whatever for the new book.”

Please send us your images and material to diegovociproject@gmail.com. 

AC DV History #193 1/24/2015

#CREATION WAS DIEGO’S LIFE

 

When not painting, an abundance of creation filled Diego’s life.  Whether it be cooking, #designing and #tailoring #clothes or charming people, it all supplemented Diego’s painting & drawing, capturing the miracles in human faces and other great works of art.

Helga goes back in time to reminisce when she wore this elegant “green” dress.  Diego had designed and sewn himself.  In Helga’s words,

“I have 1 photo of this green evening dress, it was one evening when Diego and me went to the Theater and Lakshmi took a picture of us, because she thought we looked so nice”.  (click on link for more information on Lakshmi, the nanny; http://www.artifactcollectors.com/diego-history-4330818/Page6.html#171)

DIEGO VOCI “The TAILOR”: While at his first USA exhibit in 1973 at the Broadmoor in Boulder, he designed and sewed a beautiful full length gold brocade dress as a gift for the Brown Family daughters Marsha and Lynda. $20,000 Reward being offered for “Yellow Nude“: See Marsha sitting below the “Yellow Nude”: http://www.artifactcollectors.com/diego-history-4330818/Page3.html#76  Lynda is seen here in the gold brocade dress:  http://www.pinterest.com/diegovoci/diego-tailor-designer-cook-and-more/ 

*Both Google and Bing have selected artworks by Diego to display for their viewer. Search “Diego Voci”, then “click” on Images.

AC DV History #168 3/26/2014