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Witnessing Modern Italian Urbanism, Architecture, and (Political) Artwork
Another phenomenon I hoped to seek out was that of the contemporary urban, as opposed to the overly preserved historical districts. For this, I hoped to see what the city could look like when it wasn’t some obsessive desire to conserve and commodify historical monuments and see how ‘normal’ Italians lived their life outside of the centre. For this reason, I found the MAXXI museum of Art and Architecture northwest of Rome’s main centre in the Flaminio quarter. The space was a breath of fresh air and told me more about the city, the current art scene, and what causes and injustices are at the forefront of people who intersect in this city.
Additionally, the entire area with which this museum inhabited was once more a space that felt so far away from the bustling landscape of Rome. I'm not sure if it counts as suburban or not, but the easy going feel, the sense of community at the church we passed, the green spaces, and the family demographic felt more familiar to me, and we all agreed that if we were to have a job in Rome, this would be an ideal area to stay in. Especially since the commute had been so smooth, simply taking a tram (which we weren't used to in Rome as we were in Florence) and then the quick A-line subway. Far more convenient than all the walking we had to do within Rome's centre.
Arriving at the MAXXI Museum of Art and Architecture
Arriving at the MAXXI Museum of Art and Architecture
This peculiar fountain situated right outside the museum actually shows a tree dotted with several African masks, and with water spouting out at the globe at the floor of the fountain, aiming at aprticular countries. The tree itself is rooted at the heart of the African continent, and I believe is meant to be a critical piece poitnign out how Africa and different communities have fed and contributed to many - assumingly colonial - nations.
The never-ending layout and high ceiling structure of this building can be credited to the brilliant and late architect Zaha Hadid. The building shows off "innovative and spectacular forms" that beautifully frame the several exhibitions here.
A large piece from the gallery of the famous Italian artist, Enzo Cucchi!
I was determined that by the end of this museum trip, I would purchase a book from their gift shop to commemorate this successful visit. I stumbled upon this book, a production of the museum itself, that celebrates and credits the work of many women architects, urban designers, and planners, and their role in affecting change to the landscape and what it means to make the city. This was probably my favorite self-gift!
The Architecture Gallery at the museum
The Architecture Gallery at the museum
This had been the ultimate highlight of our museum excursion - being able to see the names, legacies and artwork of so many architects who were all unknown to us was a real treat. I've said this before and I'll say it again: as tourists or outsiders, we tend to reduce a place to its biggest names or stereotypes, but especially with Italy, we tend to know so little about the 'greats' of a far gone era, so we were so grateful to see this gallery and revel in the eclectic, colorful, and unique range of artworks and learn of the processes and inspiration that enabled the work of all these architects! I personally felt so reinvigorated, especially since I had come on this trip hoping to gain some inspiration for architectural artwork, and this museum had certainly fulfilled that goal. Being able to see the rough sketches, techniques, and even the lives of these artists served to be of great value to my own artistic endeavors, and I look forward to all the times I'll be returning to these photos!
Rough Sketches (I'm a sucker for architectural drawings and all those straight lines)
New Tehcniques to jot down!
I noticed that throughout the different framed pieces we saw, one of the mediums often used was tracing paper, which helps ensure that you're making proportionate copies of a structure, but in this case it also helped as a layer that could be added and removed, and as soon as I returned home, I added it to my art shopping list - I look forward to experimenting with this technique and with some ideas of urban regeneration that I have for Beirut.
Importance of Presentation and Curation
The intentional and selective use of the color red, and angular perspective lines, and the contrasting shapes/colors are once more an interesting and inspiring way of drawing attention to the artist's work and helps create a theme that is constant throughout the above pamphlet, which I'm mesmerized by.
Similarly, the sketch-ups below and the modern use of shape, rhythm, and repetition is so drastically different from what we've studied in Renaissance and baroque architecture, and almost feels more legible to me.
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