BETWEEN TWO WORLDS
an exhibition of the School of Fine Arts Florence University Of The Arts April 24-May 7 2013, GANZO - THE CREATIVE LEARNING LAB
FOREWORDS
Between Two Worlds
Nuovomondo, the movie by Emanuele Crialese, is a journey inside of human suffering, a momentous step lived through the astonishment and bewilderment of those who leave their land to reach the “golden door”, the “door of paradise”, where emigrants were concentrated in the early 1900s. A timeless journey that mixes reality and dreams are used to illustrate a poetic fiction that delves into the psyche of the individual. In addition to its story, the film seems appropriate for the strength and beauty of the images: harsh and rocky landscapes of Sicily at the beginning of the century, the departure of the ship, the great ocean and the final scene of the milk river. The students of the School of Fine Arts of Florence University of the Arts worked inspired by this movie during this Spring Semester 2013: Between Two Worlds, the title of end of the year exhibition chosen in relation to the movie’s title in English, is an expression indicating a state of suspension between two realities, and therefore matching the duality of experiences that our students undergo over their semester abroad. The transformation of passage, their search and change is therefore still incomplete. They leave the known reality of their cultural legacy and identity in favor of a new, built from imaginary projections, and therefore unspoiled by the experience. When one lives the dream, hope takes its grandiose appearance. But reality and dream are constantly looking for a new balance. This exhibition mirrors these feelings which, inspired by the images by Emanuele Crialese, our students successfully turned into works of art.
Professors Antonella Mercati and Paride Moretti
Salem State University, Boston, Massachusetts
ERIN BURKE
The Trouble With Harvesting Dreams diptych, watercolor, gouaches, pen & ink, 70cm x 50cm each Watercolor and Tempera/Gouaches Techniques Professor: Alessandra Ragionieri I look at my pieces as a discussion of dreams. Dreams of the heart. Often, we discourage or deny ourselves our true dreams, leaving them where they are as untouchables. Or we harvest them and make something of them. But we are always fearful of what might happen; which will probably happen, if we set that dream free, out into reality to become a manifestation of our true intention. If we see a dream, if we have a dream in our hearts, is it ever truly unattainable? An ideal, a utopia is unsustainable; right? Is the human condition too situated in movement and change that a utopia is unattainable? Perhaps. But, then again, are not all dreams attainable? We can not know what we do not know. We have to try to accomplish the seemingly impossible; the utopia. If we try and fail, we can only try again. If we never try, we can never know. Each piece in this work creates a dialog which should inspire questions about success and dreams and ideas. Such as traveling abroad, starting a new life in a new place, doing what you love, or standing up for what you believe in. There is no one of us who can see through the “milky water” to predict what might happen if we try to make it in the new world of our dreams. All we have to follow as a guide, is our dreams.
Watercolor and tempera/gouaches techniques and Florence Sketchbook Professors: Alessandra Ragionieri and Antonella Mercati
JENNY CHIN
Queens’s College, NY
Ancora Imparo pen on tracing paper sewed with dictionary paper, 21 x 14.9 cm
Learning is an ageless and endless journey. Whether it’s about learning the new world of America for the Mancuso family in the film Nuovomondo or learning about art and life, it is still a journey that is one’s own. I followed my instincts (eventually) towards art and it has been a very insightful and fulfilling experience so far. Art has drawn me to the body and how the body looks from within. The way the muscles and bones look and move fascinates me. The skull is the perfect part for this project because it contains the brain, the most important organ of the body needed to learn. With an open mind I hope to keep learning. As Michelangelo Buonarroti has said, “Ancora imparo”. Still I learn...
SUNY, New Paltz
ALYSSA CARTWRIGHT
Voglia ink and white gouache on gray paper, multiple sizes Advanced Drawing Professor: Alessandra Ragionieri The “American Dream” to this day is one of the most desirable fantasies by people all over the world. Although it is simply just a concept, it drives many to succeed. This work interprets the meaning to yearn for such a life that allows for new beginnings, along with the outcome of such desires. The representation of immigrants in a tranquil environment serves as the hope for a better life.
Foundation Painting Professor Antonella Mercati The vine is meant to symbolize my journey during my study abroad experience. Starting at the left, the tomatoes are small and green, in the middle canvas they grow and mature, and by the third canvas, a ripened tomato is fully developed. It relates to the movie Nouvo Mondo because they went through a journey to a new place and learned and grew while they were there too.
BRITTANY ST. CYR
Colorado State University
Tomato oil painting 3 canvases, 20x25,25x25, and 20x25 cm
California State University , Fullerton
MAX LIZARRAGA III
Escape ink on paper, approximately 20 x 30 cm each Florence Sketchbook Professor Antonella Mercati These four inking’s center around the theme of escape and pulling oneself together to start anew, a theme prevalent in the movie Between Two Worlds where the protagonist tries to start a new life for himself and his family. It is also a personal theme relating to my own escape as I try to collect and improve myself. The coyote & mask represent my constant struggle to remove the mask and realize my full potential, represented by the moon, and to step out of the shadows of the past
Advanced Painting Professor Antonella Mercati Many young women feel trapped between two worlds; that of childhood and adulthood, purity and newfound sexuality. This piece depicts the tension between the innocence of youth and conflicted feelings of womanhood. By using myself as the model, I hope to express my own struggle to grow up and move on while appealing to the similar emotions of my peers. The painting references religious artwork from the past, drawing on imagery and symbolism traditionally referring to women’s purity and fertility while also referencing the religious figures of traditional altarpieces.
MELISSA HUANG
Rochester Institute of Technology
Untitled oil on canvas 120x80 cm
Christopher Newport University
KATE SCHEEL
Deliverance sewing on canvas Intermediate Painting Professor: Paride Moretti A ship is a symbol of a journey. A journey from the world that was and the world that will be. In the film, Nuovomondo, the ship was a vessel of deliverance from the old world to the new world for the immigrant coming from Italy to anew York City. This piece symbolizes the journey that is made when someone chooses to make a new life. It was sewn to accentuate the age of the concept, similar to how women embroidered cushions and canvases centuries ago. The canvas and concept are simple, yet conveys a deeper meaning for the viewer because it allows him to reflect on his own life and what he is being delivered from in his life.
In these pieces I was working with the idea of how a dream comes to form. In between the initial excitement of an idea, and the end of a journey we go through so many changes and feelings. From the start of my journey to Florence, I was hopeful and dreamy. The idea of studying art in Italy, the birthplace of modern art was juicy, much like how eating a perfectly ripe strawberry might taste on a summer day in the park. Pure perfection. In the next stage, comes the work, the confusion, the excitement. The many choices and experiences that we are thrown into are what make this stage so exciting. This is the part where we grow the most. In the next stage, we feel strangely at home in our new place. As we live and grow, we become one with the “European” in us and assimilate to the surrounding culture. At this point, as the journey comes to an end, we almost feel strange leaving, as if this is now our home. When we return home, we continue to dream of the place we were able to realize our dreams.
ERIN BURKE
Florence Sketchbook Professor: Antonella Mercati
Salem State University, Boston, Massachusetts
Dream Sequence mixed media, 3 x 23.75cm x17.75cm each
Marywood University, Freeport, Pennsylvania
KRISTEN WATT
Separation clay and oil paint Foundation Sculpture Professor: Paride Moretti Separation was sparked initially from the feelings I faced while studying in Florence this semester. Its easy to find oneself torn between the excitement of being in a new place full of adventure and beauty, while still longing for the comfort and familiarity of home.
Intermediate Painting Professor: Paride Moretti Behave Yourself was created in lieu of the Between Two Worlds project. The portrait is of Alice Paul, a political activist and suffragist during the 1920’s. After a long campaign, he voice and the voices of millions of women were finally heard, and the 19th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution was passed in the year 1920. Due to her hard work and suffering, women today are able to enjoy a completely different world of society, where equality is should be viewed as a right, not a privilege. The bold text is similar to a headline of a newspaper, and the male run society simply telling women to settle down and behave like good little girls, and return to their domestic roles. In the movie Nuovomondo, an old woman, who represents the old world tells a young lady who is acting amorally to “Behave Herself” and act like the other meek and mild women in the movie. The woman continues to stand out regardless of the negativity she was receiving. During the production of this piece, many people would ask me “Why would you put letters over something so beautiful?” And that, is exactly the point. Why do people attempt to cover up the beautiful and dynamic minds and voices of women, or of any one particular group of people?
LAUREN WISEMAN
Baker University
Behave Yourself oil on canvas 50x70 cm
Stony Brook University
PATRISHA ARNEDO
Impending Rupture etching/aquatint, 15 x 20 cm Beginning Printmaking Professor: Alessandra Ragionieri In this print I explore the experience of removing oneself from the comforts of a native environment and moving into an unknown and seemingly hostile new habitat. I use the the braid to signify the intimate and feminine aspects of leaving home, as well as the fear of breaking tradition. The emptiness around the subject is ambiguous, as one tends to feel out of place and disoriented in new situations, but it is a vacancy brimming with the opportunity to be filled.
Beginning Printmaking Professor: Alessandra Ragionieri The movie Between two Worlds is about a man and his family risking everything to start a new life in the United States. The print shows the visual metaphor of the protagonist’s struggle and climb to a seemingly impossible goal, New York looming overhead in the sky. The metal plate was etched with dry point, inked, and pressed onto paper.
MAX LIZARRAGA III
California State University , Fullerton
Travail dry point & Aquatint plate ink pressed, 15 x 20 cm
Boise State University
JESSICA WRIGHT
If only to be a scarlet ibis‌ pencil, watercolor drawing Florence Sketchbook Professor: Antonella Mercati Although this is my first time work If only to be a scarlet ibis‌ is a reflection on the film Nuovomondo by Emanuele Crialese. The print portrays the remains of what is left behind, and simultaneously the way one moves on or departs, not only by means of immigration; as seen in the film; moreover, it is the symbolism of the transitions of life in general to obtain a more desirable context. Independently, the ibis embodies an ideal form and harmony of fragility with that of strength and vibrancy. The fishing boats are the means by which to advance towards personal desires to find and grasp a subtle balance of the capriciousness or fluidity of life, with that of a sense of stability. As life is an endless set of transitions, it is itself a collection of boats.
Printmaking Beginning Professor: Alessandra Ragionieri This Print was inspired by the film The Golden Door. My interpretation of the outlandish expectations one has while travelling to a new culture or a new world.
ASHLEY PAWLAK
Endicott College
Expectation dry point etching & aquatint print, 20x15cm
University of Aòlbany
JULIA LAUREN FOX
Mother, Hope, and Posterity oil and gesso on canvas, 100x100cm, 126.5x46.5cm, 70X70cm Advanced painting Professor: Antonella Mercati In the mist of natural and cyclical reproduction there is a hope for a fruitful and bountiful life. This ideal lies in the center of this triptych between the producer and the produced. The young green limb of the strawberry plant takes the risk of independence and relocation, as all life must. Although not yet established in the ground, there is hope that this offspring will flourish and be abundant when it does take root. This piece speaks of the opportunity and potential of life, but by no means does this piece guarantee success.
Florence Sketchbook Professor Antonella Mercati
EVIN LEEK
University of North Carolina, Wilmington, NC
Compass Rose and continents mixed media on paper, 2 x 23 x 23 cm each
University of North Carolina at Charlotte, NC
A LYSSA KIBROUGH
Boogie Shoes fresco, 6 tiles 10x10cm Fresco Painting Professor: Paride Moretti In the movie, Nuovo Mondo, a major importance is placed upon shoes. No longer are they an every day item sitting in the closet waiting to be replaced by the newest fashion, but are a luxury that this family prizes as they make a journey to this new, unknown world. As i am now close to the end of my journey here in Italy, I am realizing that my world has now clashed, and that i have merged myself between my home culture and this wonderful Italian culture. For this reason i have decided to juxtapose this American pop style into an Italian renaissance medium.
I build to express the emotions of living within a new culture, much differ than the culture of my home. I related to the film, “The Golden Doors, Between Two Worlds”, and used images from the film and symbols of experiences from living in Florence, Italy to create a sculptural piece. The basic necessities of life include food, transportation, and health. These simple aspects of life inspired me to build this piece. The piece will be uniformly glazed white.
ALEXANDRA CERANSKE
Ceramics Beginning Professor: Laura De Santis
University of Scranton
Just Ask the Spaghetti Tree hand built ceramics, 27.5 cm tall, 21 cm wide
The Root of Longing Dreams hand built, approximately 40 cm x 35 cm Ceramics Beginning Professor: Laura De Santis
JENNIFER ZARATE
University of Scranton
It’s as if it were all but a dream, a dream that many longed for that entailed endless possibilities. A dream that I think a glimpse was made possible through hand building a sculpture. Inspired by the film The Golden Door, The Root of Longing Dreams is fixed on director Emanuele Crialese’s telling of an immigrant’s tale; an unusual outlook into the departure and transition of immigrants coming to America at the turn of the twentieth century. I rely on the idea of transition as the root of my intent. My arrangements shape the evolution - the growth - that immigrants imagined and hoped a new world would be. The series of trees increase in size as the apples do in abundance in the attempt to capture the dream that struggled to pan out but in time flourished into a life of opportunities; an opportunity of wealth and an absence of a lack there of. The figurines hidden in the roots of the trees are left faceless to represent the every man. Hopefully it can speak for itself and allow viewers to interpret it as they do to dream a dream of their own. This imbues the work that even on its own has developed and evolved from an idea to reality over time.
ACKOWLEMENTS
Acknowledgements Gabriella Ganugi – Palazzi President Giulio Vinci - Palazzi General Menager Cristiana Gallai - Dean of the Students Daphne Mazzanti - Chair of the School of Arts and Science Lucia Giardino - F_AIR – Florence Artist in Residence and FUA School of Fine Arts Coordinator
Professors Victoria DeBlassie - Intermediate Ceramics Laura De Santis - Ceramics Beginning Antonella Mercati - Painting, Drawing Eric Mistretta - Mixed Media Paride Moretti - Painting, Drawing, Fresco, Sculpture Alessandra Ragionieri - Painting, Drawing, Printmaking Niccolò Bargagli and Annapaola Presta - Printmaking and Ceramics Lab Assistants
Special thanks to Ganzo staff and all those who made the exhibition possible Nora Tacaks and the class of Special Events Management
and to
Katie Wilson and Lauren Elisabeth Wiseman, precious collaborators Annapaola Presta, the most assistant intuitive as well as beautiful assistant at F_AIR and the School of Fine Arts
GANZO RESTAURANT & ART GALLERY The Creative Learning Lab of Apicius International School of Hospitality and FUA Florence University of the Arts - Fondazione Palazzi - Florence Association for International Education Via de’ Macci 85r - Firenze - tel/fax: 055-241076 Open Monday to Saturday 12:00am - 12:00pm info@ganzoflorence.it - www.ganzoflorence.it