Alberto Greco

Alberto Greco committed suicide on October 14, 1965, a few months after his 35th birthday. Greco planned his death in the early months of 1965, deciding that his suicide would be his last piece as a means of social commentary and an art performance. Grecos cause of death was an overdose of barbiturates. Barbiturates are a type of antidepressant prescribed for sleeping disorders. This type of drug is meant to repress the activity of the central nervous system reducing anxiety, but impairing memory and judgment at the same time. The purpose of this was to illustrate to the world that he was one of the best informalist artists in the world. Greco emphasized the importance of big gestures and overdramatized performances; in his mind, that was the only way to convey his ideas. This is why he decided to make the performance of his death a big one. Before committing suicide, Greco called his family to let them know this was happening and invited them to watch; his family declined the offer. While dying, Greco wrote down all of the feelings he was experiencing while on barbiturates. Before losing feeling in his body he wrote the word "Fin" on his left hand; fin meaning "end".

Greco also had the opportunity to present some of his artwork before the President of Italy in 1963. He here performed a political piece that included rats and was titled "Christ 63". This, however, did not go the right way because Greco ended up being kicked out of Italy because he released rats in front of the President.

Vito Dito means "living finger." This was a series Greco created in 1962 to emphasize the idea of living in the now. For this project, Greco would walk around a town and sign objects, people, or animals. Greco once wrote a manifesto on a scroll and strung it around the town, calling it "Gran Manifiesto- Rollo Arte Vito Dito". He would also draw circles on the ground and sign his name outside the circle. It is believed that Greco once drew a circle around a man and would not let him out of it. He left the art in its place because he believed "once that object is found, it lives in its place, it does not transform it or carry it off to an art gallery."

One of Greco's first exhibits that showed live art was in Paris in 1962. This exhibition belonged to Pablo Curatella Manes and Germein Derbecq and showcased other artists as well as Greco. His piece was called "30 Mice From Neo-Figuration". This artwork included 30 mice inside a glass box, in which the insides were painted black. Greco's piece was taken out of the exhibition because the mice began to reek. After being kicked out, Greco took the mice to a hotel and fed them bread; he later debated showing the eaten pieces of bread as his artwork. Not too long afterward, Greco was kicked out of the hotel because of the smell of the mice.

Greco also immersed himself in different forms of art and created poetry as well as jewellery. He published his first poetry book in 1950.

Alberto Greco (born Buenos Aires, Argentina, January 15, 1931 – died Barcelona, Spain, October 12, 1965) was an Argentine artist who was instrumental in the development of conceptual art in Argentina, Brazil, and Spain. His best known artwork is a series called Vivo Dito in which Greco draws attention to objects and people as living art pieces within everyday life.

Alberto Greco was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1931. He was part of a family of five; his older brother, Jorge Julio, was eight years his senior, and his brother Edgardo was younger than him by four years. His mother was Ana Victoria Disolina Ferraris and his father was Francisco José. Greco never married and neither did he leave traces of a significant other in his life despite having friends. This gave him the freedom to do what he wanted without the burden of a partner, allowing him to travel freely. Alberto Greco was a student of Tomás Maldonado and attended many workshops put on by Cecilia Marcouch. Greco also attended the School of Fine Arts but dropped out. Throughout his time as an artist, he also worked and lived with many different artists. Greco not only influenced others but was also influenced by other artists.