Dreaming--ala Romana

 

Sognare: to dream. Sogno: a dream

Everyone dreams. But it's also possible that cultures dream differently, or think differently about what it means to "dream." More concretely--and based only on a few weeks of walking Rome's streets and reading the newspapers--it seems to us that the word "dream," and variations on it, is used more frequently in Rome than it would be in an American city and, arguably, that it's used differently.

One Sunday morning this year, looking for an open newsstand in the neighborhood of San Lorenzo, we came upon this piece of shutter art. "Who is keeping us from dreaming," it asks, as if the act of dreaming was somehow being frustrated, by someone, or some entity, or some condition.

In nearby Piazza dei Sanniti, where Pier Paolo Pasolini ate his last meal, the words "Balla, Sogna, Lotta"--Dance, Dream, Struggle--beneath an artwork by Sten and Lex, suggest something similar: not only the need to dream, but the difficulty of doing so in a world--and a society--that challenges the dream.

In this case, the dream is particularly intense because the message is affixed to one of San Lorenzo's most contested structures, a building that is a symbol of community, creativity, and social commitment and, during covid, a place where one could find food. Once the home of a movie theater, it was occupied by progressives in 2011, to prevent it from becoming a casino. A decade later, the authorities kicked everyone out. In this case, to "dream" means to hold onto the idea of what the building once was--maybe even hold onto the building--while opposing the plans of developers. A photo of the buildings in Piazza dei Sanniti is at the end of this post. 

"Dance, dream, struggle. Even now, in the cold. Look at us. I love flowers"

This last-minute addition, by way of "The King," was found in Ostiense: "Follow the dream, wherever it may take you."

The newspapers present different varieties of dreaming. A travel article describes the beaches of the Marche region as "un mare da sogno"--a sea to dream about. The Roma soccer club, having tied a crucial match only to lose on an "own goal," earns the headline: "Paredes fa sognare la Roma, poi la beffa" (Paredes [who had two goals, both on penalty kicks] allows Rome to dream, then the mockery)--again, the dream as frustration. 

And the "sogno" of having 24-hour Metro service in Rome, as cities in the United States do:

Just days before that Sunday morning, some 1400 people signed up to take the exam to fill 439 positions driving a bus. Among the applicants were women and many young people with Bachelor's degrees. "Molti sognano," reads the newspaper account, "di fare l'autista di bus" (many dream of being a bus driver). Maybe ironic--and maybe not. 

This window advertisement by BNL Bank appears to use a Bassett Hound [could be a Dachshund] (and a pun involving the word Bassotta [a combination of two words meaning low: basso and sotto]) to announce "low" rates that will help you achieve your Roman dreams:

And this bit of graffiti, on the wall of a prominent San Lorenzo park, fronting on via Tiburtina: "Solo sognare ci terra' svegli." Our Roman friend M., a skilled translator, helped us with this one: "Only dreaming will keep us awake." "The apparent contradiction" (between dreaming and waking), he noted, "makes me think of the necessity and constant effort of keeping dreams alive. And I guess here the writer was thinking of the great dreams of humankind, such as love, peace, and equality." 

Thanks so much, M., for your translation and thoughtful elaboration. Perfect.

Bill 

Nuovo Cinema Palazzo is at left. The restaurant frequented by Pasolini is at right. 

Casa delle Armi: a little-known gem of the Foro Italico

One of the most striking and elegant buildings that make up the Fascist-era complex known as the Foro Italico (Italian Forum--once the Foro Mussolini), is also one of the least well known.  That's especially odd, given that the architect, Luigi Moretti, is a legend of Italian modernism.  The building's location accounts for at least some of the discrepancy.  The most common entrance to the Foro Italico is far to the north, opposite the Ponte Duca d'Aosta, while Moretti's building flanks a less-used entrance, at the far southern end of the complex, opposite the recently constructed Ponte della Musica.




We "discovered" the building last year, while living so close to the Ponte della Musica that we could see the Moretti building from our 6th-floor terrace. With hundreds of others who were headed for a tennis match, we turned into viale delle Olimpiadi--and there it was.

The larger concept.  The Casa delle Armi is at left. 

Just built, 1935.  The center section, now open only on the 2nd floor, may have originally been open on the ground floor, too.

As a fencing academy, 1930s.

Moretti designed the structure in 1934, and it was finished the following year, clad in white Carrara marble.  It was originally conceived as an experimental Casa Balilla, a Fascist youth organization.  When completed, it was assigned to the sport of fencing and took on the name Casa delle Armi (literally house of arms), then the Accademia della Scherma (academy of fencing). Abandoned after the fall of Fascism in 1943, it apparently was unoccupied until the early 1980s, when it was used as an anti-terrorism "bunker" in the Anni di Piombo, housing both a courtroom and a prison for convicted followers of the Red Brigades. Today, having shed most of its Fascist reputation, it is used by CONI, the Italian National Olympic Committee.  When we were there, CONI was advertising on the facade of the building that the city was competing for the 2024 Olympics; the current mayor, Virginia Raggi, cancelled that bid.






Seen from viale delle Olimpiadi, Moretti's sleek high-modernism is set against the backdrop of wild, wooded Monte Mario.  This side of the building appears to be in reasonably good repair, including
the mosaics at the near end of the long pool.  The mosaics evoke Fascism's interest in the body and the Mussolini regime's effort to link its ideology to the glorious Roman past (let's "make Italy great again"!).

At the far end, the original design featured a space open at the top--presumably to allow more visual access to Monte Mario--and that space remains open. The space directly below the opening has been

Sten and Lex design, c. 2010. 

given over to the well-known pair of Rome graffiti artists Sten and Lex, who have fashioned a black and white geometric pattern that detracts as little as possible from the building's overall look. From the street behind, the building shows considerable deterioration, especially a rounded section on its southern end.

Great potential, poor maintenance. 

Current location of the statue.

A 1930s-era statue, once situated on viale delle Olimpiadi, now resides forlornly at the corner of the back of the building--next to a recently constructed handicap ramp--where it has no obvious function.















Former location of the statue.

We haven't been inside, and today's interior, having been given over to a bureaucracy, may not resemble the one Moretti designed.  Period photos reveal Moretti's command of the modernist pallette, in all its grace and simplicity.  The stairway below is perhaps not the equivalent of the one he created for the Casa del GIL downriver, but it is lovely, nonetheless.



Another elegant Moretti staircase, right. 

Bill



Jessica Stewart: Street Art Stories ROMA

Jessica Stewart, the talented photographer behind www.romephotoblog.com, has just published a remarkable small book, Street Art Stories ROMA,  that she describes as "The first book about the Rome street art scene!"

The "street art scene" is, in essence, graffiti.  RST is a great fan of Rome's graffiti, with more than 30 posts that mention it, and many that feature it (see some links below).  It's difficult in Rome to appreciate the "good" graffiti - that approaching art - given the ubiquitous "tags" that, frankly, dirty up the city.

Sten and Lex, working in Garbatella in 2010

By focusing on 30 street artists, Stewart draws our attention to the artistry of the form, distinguishing the work of the artists, and describing some of the artists' changes over time.
She acknowledges Rome stalwarts, like Sten and Lex, who do commissioned pieces (even at MACRO) and whom we have lauded in our posts, and she introduces us to a few of the artists who are active currently in the Centro, like Hogre (below, left), works of whom we found this week in Monti.

Tags.  Not fine art. 

By allowing us to distinguish and appreciate these artists, Stewart brings shape and a sense of wonder to Rome's street art scene, making it possible to separate the genuinely artistic from the wall "tags" that do little more than mark up the city's buildings.  We should point out that Stewart's book targets stencil and paste-up art almost to the exclusion of spray painting and use of painted letters and text that we consider the more basic graffiti.

The text runs along breathlessly, as Stewart provides the chronology of her involvement in the street art scene. She's more of a chronicler than an analyzer of street art.  But some analysis there is, and she's attentive to the making of the street art and the reactions of some neighbors.

And, Stewart's may be the first book, but Maria Theresa Natale has a long-standing Web site (in Italian - www.lasciailsegno.it) on graffiti internationally.  Natale focuses more on the painted scripts, as one can see from her Rome photos:  http://www.lasciailsegno.it/index.php?it/164/roma.

There are several current exhibitions of street art in and near Rome, obviously acknowledging it has entered the legitimate artworld - perhaps to its detriment.

A portion of Alice Pasquini's "Cave of Tales" at the Casa
dell'Architettura

"Cave of Tales" is a powerful meditation on urban life from one of Stewart's more painterly artists, Alice Pasquini.  The show, through 30 August, is at Casa dell'Architettura in piazza M. Fanti (the ex-aquarium - a great building, btw).  See the bottom of the site's Home page for hours.  The exhibit is in the basement (floor -1) and one accesses it from the elevator inside the portiere's office just on the left as you enter the building.

The town of Gaeta, south of Rome, has its own street art festival:  http://www.memorieurbane.it/. This year's version included a week of just women street artists, among them Pasquini.

"Urban Contest Gallery 2012" has an exhibition open every day (noon - 7 p.m.) at via di Pietralata 159, at the ex-Lanificio complex.  The current exhibit by Biodpi is titled "I am Anna Magnani." It merits a visit if you can get yourself out there. Don't miss Pasquini's artful trailer in the courtyard of this ex-wool manufacturing facility.

ADDED (10 May) - C215 (Christian Guemy) at Wunderkammern Gallery in Portonaccio through 24 May.  Sabina de Gregori’s new book “C215” (Castelvecchi), with the participation of Jef Aerosol, Obey, Logan Hicks, Martha Cooper, Sten & Lex, and Wooster Collective, will be presented for the occasion.
For the opening Guémy painted walls around Rome, some in collaboration with NUfactory.
Address: via Gabrio Serbelloni 124, Roma.
Opening hours: wednesdays to saturdays from 5pm to 8pm.
Or by appointment at +39-3498112973

And then there's Greco's angry nurse (there are two, actually), on the wall of the Fascist-era post office on via Taranto. 

Stewart's 100+ page book has text in both Italian and English and over 100 photos, each identifying the artist (no mean feat itself).  Street Art Stories ROMA is available at the Feltrinelli bookstores (look for a special display), as well as amazon.it.  List price: Euro 14, Mondo Bizzarro Press.

Some prior RST  posts on Rome graffiti:

A primer on Rome graffiti (from 2009): http://romethesecondtime.blogspot.it/2009/10/graffiti-rome-primer.htmlhttp://romethesecondtime.blogspot.it/2009/10/graffiti-rome-primer.html

A post on the 2010 Garbatella street art exhibition, including outdoor installations:

http://romethesecondtime.blogspot.it/2010/05/street-art-at-middle-age.html

Graffiti at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in Los Angeles, and in Rome:  http://romethesecondtime.blogspot.it/2011/06/graffiti-good-bad-and-ugly-moca-and.html

Deciphering neo-fascist graffiti on Rome's walls:  http://romethesecondtime.blogspot.it/2011/12/deciphering-romes-walls-neo-fascist.html

And a few specific artists, locations, and types:
Howen:  http://romethesecondtime.blogspot.it/2011/08/graffiti-report-howen.html

Refuse trucks:  http://romethesecondtime.blogspot.it/2011/11/refuse-truck-as-art.html

Via Appia Antica:  http://romethesecondtime.blogspot.it/2009/11/rst-top-40-39-graffiti-via-appia-antica.html

For more, search "graffiti" on the blog.

Dianne

Street Art at Middle Age

It seems to us graffiti is now middle-aged. In other words, it’s comfortably in the mainstream of art and has been for some time. Coffee table books have been published about it, some of the artists fetch 6-figure prices for their works, and mainstream museums hold shows. One can question if this, then, is real graffiti (see note below), but in the meantime we’ll just enjoy it.

As we did this past week when the Rome community of Garbatella hosted an opening of the work of several well-known Roman and French graffiti artists, artists that were in essence commissioned to do works several stories high in several cases or several buildings long in another.

The works ranged from Sten & Lex’s stencil art of Rome soccer star Francesco Totti (the “star” deserves a footnote – see below) mixed with the Rome she-wolf symbol, to wallpaper-like (and we don’t mean that derogatorily) Mideastern designs of Fefe. Our friend Jessica Stewart of Rome Photo Blog (http://www.romephotoblog.com/) is as entranced with this work as we, and she’s a wonderfully gifted photographer. So we recommend you click onto her site for a closer look at this exhibit. Jessica, who was around for much of the mounting of these works, explained how some of them were done in a post to me (see second note below) - fascinating!

Garbatella is a perfect place to mount these works, we think, because it is a tight, leftist community that supports anti-authoritarian activities. The works will be up as long as the weather permits. Because of the rain, some of the paper already is peeling; so get there soon. The works are all on the walls of the block enclosed by via Caffaro, via Persico and via Adorno. Your best starting point is where via Caffaro and via Adorno meet. There you can also see JB Rock’s Mamma Roma, a portion of which is visible in the photo above.

And there is an ending party, with more graffiti art, in the Ostiense locale of the now defunct Rome wholesale markets, on June 15 at 6 p.m. (via dei Magazzini Generali). For those who follow the “Let’s ‘Chattare’” blogs here, you’ll appreciate this ending party is billed as a “Finissage” – which is taking the French word, vernissage, used frequently here in Rome to describe opening parties, and, well, bending a bit. I must admit I kind of like the new bastardized word.

Which brings us to our notes. Note #1: Is it graffiti if it’s in an authorized place, sponsored by, among others, the city and province, and kicked off like any other art opening (the opening was in the large restored 1930s Palladium; photo). See our blog that includes our talk with Maria Teresa Natale, Oct. 27, 2009 http://romethesecondtime.blogspot.com/2009/10/graffiti-rome-primer.html.

Note #2: from Jessica Stewart "Sten and Lex handpainted every panel that they put up. They told me that it took them a little over a month to do it all. JB Rock's was printed and then he painted over it once it was stuck on the wall (filling in the hair and shading). C215 and L'Atlas also had theirs printed. I think Sten and Lex are pretty unique in actually having the patience and perseverance to handpaint something so large. The paper they work on is so thin that you couldn't print on it. "

And, finally, we have to note that iconic soccer player Totti –passionate but also known as a good sport - intentionally kicked an Inter player very late in a frustrating– for Totti and Roma fans - Italian cup game last week. His unsportsmanlike act – “the big kick” – caused national hand-wringing, an outpouring of emotions and questioning of national values, hyped as only Italians can do it. So would Sten & Lex have used Totti in their piece if they had known about his unsportsmanlike conduct before they started drawing?

Dianne
You can try the website for this graffiti project - in English, but it didn’t work for me. www.out-door.it/en. And there's a video in Italian and French at http://www.muvideo.biz/play.php?vid=872