{"id":9197,"date":"2015-05-19T18:07:48","date_gmt":"2015-05-19T16:07:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/?p=9197"},"modified":"2015-05-19T18:07:48","modified_gmt":"2015-05-19T16:07:48","slug":"is-it-art","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/is-it-art\/","title":{"rendered":"Is it Art?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Does anyone really know what art is any more?
\nArtists have always pushed the boundaries, posed difficult questions and challenged our preconception. Perhaps it was always inevitable therefore that the line that divides what we considered to be art from \u2018everything else\u2019 would eventually blur and fade. One particular genre that has caused much pondering on the topic of \u2018is it art?\u2019 is that of graffiti. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"Gladiator<\/a>

Gladiator graffiti, Pompei<\/em><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

The word graffiti<\/strong>, as you might guess, has its origins in the Italian word graffiato<\/strong> (scratched). The technical term graffiti was originally used to refer to the inscriptions, and drawings found on the walls of ancient sepulchres or ruins,\u00a0 but more recently the term has come to define graphics illicitly applied to a surface, and is closely linked to the word vandalism. <\/span><\/p>\n

But what is Geoff doing pondering on such philosophical matters early on a Monday morning? Well, a news article about a recent graffiti related incident got me thinking \u2026 yes, it’s bad habit of mine that I’m trying to give up! The incident described in the article took place during the massive clean up operation necessitated by the mindless destruction inflicted on Milano by members of the Black Bloc during the NO EXPO protests<\/a><\/span><\/strong>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Black<\/a>

Black Bloc graffiti, Milano<\/em><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

An abbreviated version of the article from Il Corriere della Sera:<\/u><\/span><\/p>\n

In piazza Santissima Trinit\u00e0, non lontano dal Parco Sempione, sabato mattina le squadre di \u00abBella Milano\u00bb, impegnate nella pulizia della citt\u00e0, hanno cancellato parte del murale di Pao, alias <\/span>Paolo Bordino<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/strong>, nell\u2019area giochi. I primi a protestare sono stati gli abitanti del quartiere: \u201cAi nostri figli quelle immagini piacciono, per loro sono un segno distintivo, familiare, chi vi ha dato il permesso?\u201d.
\nL\u2019intervento di ieri (sabato 16 aprile) dei volontari di <\/span>Retake Milano (Associazione Nazionale Antigraffiti per il Decoro Urbano)<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/strong>, \u00e8 stato quanto meno avventato, certo il murale era scolorito, con qualche pasticcio sopra, ma \u00e8 evidente che per molti era ancora preferibile al noiosissimo rosa pallido che hanno scelto.
\nNon era meglio prima parlare con i residenti? E magari contattare chi quel muro aveva dipinto, se pur senza permesso ufficiale, con il consenso dei fruitori di quello spazio?<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

In the artist’s words: <\/u><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNel 2001 dipinsi assieme a Linda il muro di via Cesariano. Uno dei miei primi muri, realizzato con il consenso dei frequentatori della piazza, genitori, abitanti, negozianti. Ottenere il permesso da parte del Comune era operazione impossibile, quindi decidemmo di fare quello che ritenevamo giusto, andando oltre agli ostacoli burocratici. A volte, seguire la propria coscienza \u00e8 la cosa giusta da fare, a volte il bello dell\u2019arte \u00e8 proprio questo.
\nRaccogliemmo i soldi per i colori, coinvolgemmo i bambini, facendoci aiutare da loro per colorare, chiudemmo l\u2019esperienza con una bella festa di inaugurazione. Un vigile pass\u00f2 di l\u00ec e in quanto dotato di buon senso, ci disse di continuare, che lui non aveva visto niente… Da allora, il muro ha caratterizzato un parchetto altrimenti anonimo regalandogli un\u2019anima. Seppure non si tratta del muro pi\u00f9 bello che io abbia realizzato rimane uno dei pi\u00f9 sentiti, proprio per la sua funzione sociale\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

The following video captures part of the argument that took place between local residents and the\u00a0 volunteers of Retake Milano.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"antigraffitipao_640_ori_crop_MASTER__0x0-001\"<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

My thoughts on the matter:<\/u><\/span><\/p>\n

I began this article by asking myself: \u201cDoes anyone really know what art is any more?\u201d I guess that question was prompted by the actions of the volunteers who indiscriminately obliterated any form of graffiti they happened upon, and seemed unable to distinguish between pure vandalism and street art.
\nMost of us, of course, have our own ideas about what constitutes art. My personal answer to the question ‘what is art’ would be: art is simply a vague generic category that we put certain things into. Those things are not fixed but change according to contemporary interpretations of ourselves and our environment. It’s an endless debate in which I engaged many times as an art student and teacher, but there really is no way of escaping the fact that: ‘Non \u00e8 bello ci\u00f2 che \u00e8 bello ma \u00e8 bello ci\u00f2 che piace’<\/em>, or as we say in English, ‘Beauty is in the eye of the beholder’.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Is<\/a>

Is it art, or simply vandalism? Graffiti on an Italian train.<\/em><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

However, philosophical discussion about the nature of art aside, what strikes me most about this whole affair is that behind this story lies something fundamentally familiar and distinctly Italian which I can summarise as follows:<\/span><\/p>\n