This weeks post will be dedicated to a project that my galleries class visited last week, but that has stuck with me ever since. The class I am taking makes it a point to visit the working contemporary spaces of Rome, whether that be a gallery, studio, or museum. We've been focusing on the city's lack of acceptance of contemporary art considering it's a city that is known for its impressive past. In discussing this issue, we observe the street art movement, something that is relatively new in terms of being considered art. Rome, being a city is one that is decorated with a decent amount of street art, however it does not have the flourishing urban art scene that others cities like Philly tend to have.
The space was called MAAM- Museo Dell'altro E Dell'altrove and is located on the very outskirts of the city. It was more or less a 30 minute drive from campus and when we stepped off the bus there was a slight feeling of unease. My professor rang the doorbell of what looked like a gate to an uninhabited space. When we walked inside we discovered that part of our assumption was correct; the space was dilapidated and (legally) unoccupied. What was unique about this venue was that it was an old salami factory, abandoned, bought again with the intention of bulldozing the remain and building a shopping mall, and then reclaimed by squatters who had nowhere else to go.
Children of all ages began to emerge as we stepped into the main courtyard which was essentially nothing bust dust, intrigued by the foreigners inside their home. We waved at them and continued to follow the curator of the show who brought us through the main building. As it turns out, this abandoned factory is the perfect place to create and display (mainly) graffiti works, some of which were quite pricey.
The entire building, all floors, walls, doors, and added surfaces were covered with some sort of creative alteration and the medley of subject matter, colors, shapes and dimension made for a visually compelling journey, to say the least.
Perhaps what touched me most about this building was the inherently interactive component. Then families that live there, unknown to much of the public, are constantly interacting with the pieces. It serves as not only a place for learning, but also as a place for creativity and imagination. Much of the work centered around the first piece that was done for the space, which was essentially a rocket made from items deemed as waste, with the vision to go to the moon. This idea inspired other works in the short 6 years of the spaces contemporary existence, and the concept lends itself to the children's feeling of being unwanted by society, and the moon as a means to escape. After seeing how these families live, and seeing how eager some of them were to talk to us, it was a truly heartbreaking experience, but wildly humbling in more ways than one.
Just to show you a few of my favorites, I've strayed from my normal 6 photos. Check out this weeks collection of pictures...
The space was called MAAM- Museo Dell'altro E Dell'altrove and is located on the very outskirts of the city. It was more or less a 30 minute drive from campus and when we stepped off the bus there was a slight feeling of unease. My professor rang the doorbell of what looked like a gate to an uninhabited space. When we walked inside we discovered that part of our assumption was correct; the space was dilapidated and (legally) unoccupied. What was unique about this venue was that it was an old salami factory, abandoned, bought again with the intention of bulldozing the remain and building a shopping mall, and then reclaimed by squatters who had nowhere else to go.
Children of all ages began to emerge as we stepped into the main courtyard which was essentially nothing bust dust, intrigued by the foreigners inside their home. We waved at them and continued to follow the curator of the show who brought us through the main building. As it turns out, this abandoned factory is the perfect place to create and display (mainly) graffiti works, some of which were quite pricey.
The entire building, all floors, walls, doors, and added surfaces were covered with some sort of creative alteration and the medley of subject matter, colors, shapes and dimension made for a visually compelling journey, to say the least.
Perhaps what touched me most about this building was the inherently interactive component. Then families that live there, unknown to much of the public, are constantly interacting with the pieces. It serves as not only a place for learning, but also as a place for creativity and imagination. Much of the work centered around the first piece that was done for the space, which was essentially a rocket made from items deemed as waste, with the vision to go to the moon. This idea inspired other works in the short 6 years of the spaces contemporary existence, and the concept lends itself to the children's feeling of being unwanted by society, and the moon as a means to escape. After seeing how these families live, and seeing how eager some of them were to talk to us, it was a truly heartbreaking experience, but wildly humbling in more ways than one.
Just to show you a few of my favorites, I've strayed from my normal 6 photos. Check out this weeks collection of pictures...