William Kentridge's "Triumphs and Laments": A Spell-Binding, Ephemeral Work on Rome's Tevere River

One of the two processions along the Tevere in front of Kentridge's wall drawings, with enormous projections of iconic Rome figures of history - and of triumph and lamentation - against those drawings.  The "puppeteers" were colorfully dressed and highlighted as well, giving a sense of the making of the performance (see close-up below).

A must stop on anyone's visit to Rome from now (April 2016) until about 4 years from now must be William Kentridge's artwork on the right bank (Trastevere side) of the Tevere between Ponte Sisto and Ponte Mazzini.  What can we say besides just don't miss it?  Head down to the river level at one of the stairways and walk the 500 meters slowly, drinking in the great work South African artist Kentridge created on these massive river bank walls.

If there is a repeat of the performance that opened the artwork on Rome's 2,769th birthday, April 21, 2016, don't miss that either.  The music and "projections" were spell-binding.

The theme of "triumphs" and "laments" is presented by Kentridge in his main mode:  the drawing of people and animals in black and white.  We were fortunate to see a few of Kentridge's videos, in this same style, in the path-breaking 2015 video exhibition at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery (Buffalo). Here in Rome, the marrying of Kentridge's style with the subject matter of 2700 year-old Rome and the blackened 57-foot high walls of the Tevere (Tiber River) are quite frankly a thing of beauty.

Rome's lupa or she-wolf... here, instead of the infant twins Romulus
and Remus, Kentridge presents amphorae, or water jugs.

Kentridge draws on themes familiar to Romans - from the lupa (she-wolf) who suckled Rome's founders, Remus and Romulus - to the deaths of Rome martyrs such as Giordano Bruno (the "heretic" monk, burned at the stake by the Church in 1600), Aldo Moro (moderate politician murdered in 1978 by radical leftists) and Pier Paolo Pasolini (filmmaker and artist killed mysteriously in 1975 in the Rome seaside town of Ostia). He also uses iconic Italian objects like the Vespa, the moka coffee pot, the Necchi sewing machine, and the bicycle (from DeSica's neorealist film, The Bicycle Thief).  He also brings the successes and tragedies to the present, with references to the migrants landing on the Italian island of Lampedusa.  Persecution and migration is a strong theme in this set of drawings.

Kentridge's interpretation of La Dolce Vita.
Marcello Mastroanni and Anita Ekberg
are in a bathtub, under a shower, in place of the
Trevi Fountain.  Kentridge also makes heavy use
of carts and wheels (as here), perhaps signifying
travel through time.

 A 10-Euro booklet provides a guide to the 1/3-mile wall of art, as well as explains the techniques for making these enormous figures.  If that isn't available, hopefully some of this explanation will be online. Even without it, the work is tremendously powerful.

The iconic Vespa is at the center of this procession.

As we watched one of the opening performances on the left bank, looking across at Kentridge's drawings, we were captivated by the music of triumph and lamentation and the enormous puppetry or projections. The large shadows moving across the great walls, with the colorfully dressed puppet masters (if we can call them that) also visible, was mesmerizing.

Giordano Bruno, represented by Kentridge
through his statue in Campo de' Fiori

The music for these opening performances, composed by Philip Miller, used a variety of music types, from liturgical songs of the late Renaissance to West African slave songs, to ancient Southern Italian songs.  Frankly, the 4 of us (we and 2 of our good Roman friends) could not truly "understand" the music, and I'm not sure we were supposed to, but we did pick out the religious music, the African music, and the Italian folk music - we knew there was a confluence of musical types.  The sounds of triumph and lamentation were superimposed on each other.  It's an experience one was immersed in, rather than must or should have comprehended in its entirety at the time.

Hopefully the music too will be available in some form in the future.  Meanwhile, we will leave you with a link to our video of 30 seconds of the April 22 performance.

The making of the wall art, if we can use such simple words to describe it, is fascinating as well. We were in Rome in 2005 when Kristin Jones first presented her "lupa" - actually several "lupe" on the walls of the Tevere in this spot. She created them by erasing the background to produce the white, leaving the dirty walls to provide the figures themselves.  This same technique was used by Kentridge, who was inspired by, coached by, and encouraged by Jones, who is billed as the Artistic Director of the project.  We also need to give a shout-out to "Tevereterno", the non-profit organization that presented this as well as Jones's work in 2005, and has been working hard and long to reclaim the Tevere, under the direction of architect Tom Rankin.

Because the work depends on the erasure of dirt from the walls, the walls will in time become dirty again, and the black figures will appear to fade into the darkening walls.  That's the reason we suggest you might have only about 4 years from now to see this magnificent, ephemeral, work.

Joggers using the Tevere's bike and walking path, with Kentridge's
art as a backdrop.

Will "Trimphs and Laments" be received as great art?  We have yet to hear from establishment art critics in that regard. We do know the crowd on April 22 was wildly enthusiastic, cheering, whistling, and clapping for the performers and the art.

Dianne

Some of the hundreds of observers of the April 22, 2016 performance, from the left bank of the Tevere.

RST Top 40. #27: La Farnesina - throwing gold in the river and other delights

"La Farnesina" - we even like the name... as in the "little, cutesy Farnese (family) palace...." And a pleasure palace it was for the Tuscan banker Agostino ("the Magnificent") Chigi who built it (1508-11) and the Cardinal Farnese who then bought it (1534), and for us now.

Standing relatively alone in its grounds, now restored, and housing wonderful frescoes by Raphael and his students, La Farnesina is a delightful place to experience Renaissance Rome. In the fresco of the Three Graces (below), the one with her back to us is attributed to Raphael. Chigi didn't have many years to enjoy his art; he died in 1520, 4 days after Raphael.

It's the locus of great stories too - like the wealthy owners who threw parties with gold and crystal tableware and then when finished with each course, ostentatiously threw them into the Tiber. But the rumor is that they had a net in the Tiber to get back their valuable glasses and forks and who knows what else.

This area of Trastevere holds other treasures as well, and is worthy of a few hours: the Palazzo Corsini across the way that holds part of the State's Renaissance art collection, complete in the grand palace where it was meant to be shown (off), and behind that, the lush Botanical Gardens that climb up the Gianicolo. All these have a relatively low admission charge.

La Farnesina and its sister sites are just a few steps from the crazy heart of Trastevere and just across the Tiber from the center of old Rome, yet they seem a world apart, and hence, make our RST Top 40.

The official website can be converted into English. See, e.g. this site on hours, etc. Generally 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. Monday thru Saturday (except when the Italian President is visiting, as he was one day we tried to enter).

Dianne

Summer in Rome: Beating the Heat

We're going to Rome in the summer; what should we do? That's a question we're often asked.

Being a northerner (born and raised in Seattle), the heat of Italian cities in July and August is, frankly, more than I can appreciate. "Follow the Romans, go to the coast or the mountains!" is usually my reply. As the Italians say, "tutti al mare" - everyone to the sea.

But there will be plenty of tourists and a few Romans left in the city next month. Some love the feel of August, hot as it is, with the non-tourist parts of the city emptied. Nanni Moretti (Italy's Woody Allen) captured this in his award-winning film, "Caro Diario" ("Dear Diary"). Watching him scooter along empty streets almost makes me want to do that too. See a clip from the Vespa YouTube site.

And, Rome is fabulously full of activities in the summer. So if you find yourself in or near Rome in July and August, and you don't want to join the crowds at the local beaches (tho' that's not too bad either - see our post on Fregene on May 28), get off the beaten tourist track and head for one of the wonderful events - bars on the Tiber (Tevere), plays in the parks, opera in the ruins of the Baths of Caracalla, jazz on the hilltops. It just doesn't get any better. Check out the website http://www.inromenow.com/ for their complete schedule and description of offerings under "Estate Roma" (Summer Rome). Note that anything not listed as being in English (plays, readings, films) very likely is not.

For the evening, here are two of our favorites:

First, stroll along the Tevere, sampling the food, drinks, and wares for sale, and of course don't miss the great people watching. At right is a photo of the scene early in the morning, long after the activities have ceased. You can reach this part of the Tevere by stairways from Trastevere (near Piazza Trilussa, near the Tiber Island [on both sides of the Tevere], near Viale Trastevere, etc.).
[Thanks to inromenow for the night photo; mine all disappeared into digital heaven.]

Second, go to jazz at Villa Celimontana. After an uphill walk of a couple blocks "in back" of the Coliseum, you'll find this hilltop park turned into a seasonal outdoor jazz venue is magical. We have heard great jazz here, from the big names to the unknowns. One night we found ourselves listening to very good Slovakian jazz, complete with a buffet provided by the Slovakian Embassy - all free. Another night we heard a stunning jazz duel between pianist Stefano Bollani and accordionist Antonello Salis. An upcoming event bound to be sold out is Bollani with one of the country's best trumpeters, Enrico Rava, on August 6. Villa Celimontana can be a bit difficult to figure out. There are a variety of bars and restaurants surrounding the stage and the limited seating area. Ideally you can go twice and figure out where you want to sit and how to make a reservation for the second time. Or, arrive early and get a seat in the chairs in front of the stage or on the steps leading to the restaurant areas. As in most things Italian, you can find a spot somewhere. It's impossible not to enjoy yourself here if you have any feeling for jazz and night music!

For the daytime, we recommend lying in your air conditioned hotel room and hitting the air conditioned museums--not exactly off the tourist track. But be sure to save your energy for the best part of summer in Rome - the evenings.

As the Italians say, buon estate - "good summer" - Dianne

Angels & Demons (yup, again)

okay okay... if you're in Rome, you... like us... are sick to death of the constant star-gazing, media mania surrounding the premiere here of the film version of Dan Brown's Angels & Demons. Even Lancia launched its new car with the A&D promo. But, hey, we have no shame... even tho' the A&D sites are all Rome the First Time, our itineraries overlap with so many of them, we featured them in one of our sidebars... p. 78, and for those of you without your copy handy, here's the page (below).


Photo here is of the roiling waters of the Tevere (Tiber) - from which A&D protagonist Langdon was plucked, and the Tiber Island hospital where he (and, perhaps somewhat less famously, Bill) was treated; the hospital is named, and under the auspices of, the Fatebenefratelli ("good works brothers"literally, but... Order of the Brothers of St. John of God).

btw, the best A& D guide we know is available only in its Italian translation, James B. Winter's La Roma degli Illuminati: guida ai luoghi di Angeli e demoni, published by Fanucci.
Dianne