Modernism
Because I visited most of Rome’s ancient tourist attractions in previous visits, this time I decided to concentrate on some more modern art forms. Of course, “modern” is a subjective term. In the context of Rome, a city in which two thousand year old viaducts loom over every supermarket and petrol station, “modern” can be pretty much anything that postdates the Renaissance. With that understanding, the existence of three hundred year old artworks in the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna’s collection makes much more sense.
The gallery has recently undergone a reconfiguration of its collection. Rather than being organised by era, as most art galleries order their spaces, the Galleria Nazionale has organised its collection thematically. One room might be expressions of violence, in which a modern sculpture of pit bulls attacking each other sits in front of a vast 19th century oil painting of the Zulu wars. Another room might emphasise the concept of volume, with a group of disparate car parts crushed into a varicoloured ball, next to a 2x1 metre block of earth suspended high on the wall. It was a bold and fascinating way to display modern art.
But as is often the case, the most fun to be had is coming up with more appropriate names for the artworks.
New Grindr Profile Pic Added, Auguste Rodin, 1875
20 Minutes Into His Story About His LAN Configuration, Vittorio Matteo Corcos, 1896
Your Mother and I Aren’t Angry So Much as Disappointed, Paolo Troubetzkoy, 1908
Dude, Check it Out, My First Selfie in Arles LOL, Vincent van Goh, 1889
Jove Getting Pissed at the Powerpoint Remote During His Big Presentation, Pietro Galli, 1838
And I Was, Like, You’re Being Such a Bitch, Denise, Pietro Galli, 1847
Fine, Jessica, Whatever, I’ll Give You My Netflix Password, Jeez, Nicola Carta, 1850
#WhiteWomenAreTheWorst, Giulio Sartorio, 1897
Benny satisfied himself by posing with a Modigliani…
… gaining power from some sort of orange plastic space cube…
… and happily exploring an alien planet…
… or maybe it was one of those complicated Italian designer sofas. It’s so hard to tell.
The Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna had not slaked our thirst for art; merely awoken it. And so we headed over to the Museo Nazionale Delle Arti Del XXI Secolo, better known as the Maxxi. It’s housed in bold new building designed by Zaha Hadid, incongruously located in a rundown neighbourhood in the north of the city.
The main exhibition was ‘The Street’, a huge and varied series of installations about the alienation wrought by urban spaces, resistance to State control, and the power differentials between those who rule the streets and those who live in them. Basically it was a massive paean to Social Justice Activism, which would have been really insufferable if the art hadn’t actually been very perceptive and thought-provoking. My favourite piece was a huge architect’s model of a cityscape, all rendered in stark white 3D-printed plastic, in which, if you looked closely, you could suddenly see disasters that the city planners hadn’t considered when dreaming up their plans, like a suicide jumping out of one of the skyscrapers, two tanker trucks colliding on the boulevard, and a herd of deer bolting across the parkway causing multiple vehicle pileups. I think it was about the folly of town planners believing that they can foresee and channel all human behavior and eventualities, and thus build perfect cities. But then a bunch of stupid deer come along and RUIN EVERYTHING!
The Maxxi also had some quieter galleries with the retro futuristic lighting that is Benny’s natural habitat.
The gallery has recently undergone a reconfiguration of its collection. Rather than being organised by era, as most art galleries order their spaces, the Galleria Nazionale has organised its collection thematically. One room might be expressions of violence, in which a modern sculpture of pit bulls attacking each other sits in front of a vast 19th century oil painting of the Zulu wars. Another room might emphasise the concept of volume, with a group of disparate car parts crushed into a varicoloured ball, next to a 2x1 metre block of earth suspended high on the wall. It was a bold and fascinating way to display modern art.
But as is often the case, the most fun to be had is coming up with more appropriate names for the artworks.
New Grindr Profile Pic Added, Auguste Rodin, 1875
20 Minutes Into His Story About His LAN Configuration, Vittorio Matteo Corcos, 1896
Your Mother and I Aren’t Angry So Much as Disappointed, Paolo Troubetzkoy, 1908
Dude, Check it Out, My First Selfie in Arles LOL, Vincent van Goh, 1889
Jove Getting Pissed at the Powerpoint Remote During His Big Presentation, Pietro Galli, 1838
And I Was, Like, You’re Being Such a Bitch, Denise, Pietro Galli, 1847
Fine, Jessica, Whatever, I’ll Give You My Netflix Password, Jeez, Nicola Carta, 1850
#WhiteWomenAreTheWorst, Giulio Sartorio, 1897
Benny satisfied himself by posing with a Modigliani…
… gaining power from some sort of orange plastic space cube…
… and happily exploring an alien planet…
… or maybe it was one of those complicated Italian designer sofas. It’s so hard to tell.
The Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna had not slaked our thirst for art; merely awoken it. And so we headed over to the Museo Nazionale Delle Arti Del XXI Secolo, better known as the Maxxi. It’s housed in bold new building designed by Zaha Hadid, incongruously located in a rundown neighbourhood in the north of the city.
The main exhibition was ‘The Street’, a huge and varied series of installations about the alienation wrought by urban spaces, resistance to State control, and the power differentials between those who rule the streets and those who live in them. Basically it was a massive paean to Social Justice Activism, which would have been really insufferable if the art hadn’t actually been very perceptive and thought-provoking. My favourite piece was a huge architect’s model of a cityscape, all rendered in stark white 3D-printed plastic, in which, if you looked closely, you could suddenly see disasters that the city planners hadn’t considered when dreaming up their plans, like a suicide jumping out of one of the skyscrapers, two tanker trucks colliding on the boulevard, and a herd of deer bolting across the parkway causing multiple vehicle pileups. I think it was about the folly of town planners believing that they can foresee and channel all human behavior and eventualities, and thus build perfect cities. But then a bunch of stupid deer come along and RUIN EVERYTHING!
The Maxxi also had some quieter galleries with the retro futuristic lighting that is Benny’s natural habitat.
posted by Blandwagon at 10:19 PM
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