#MAXXI foundation

[christinakroft]

MAXXI foundation, Roma

[mariacallous]

When Italian Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano resigned over a sex scandal on Sept. 6, Alessandro Giuli was appointed in his place. Giuli had very little experience in politics, but like Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, in his youth, he was a member of a neofascist party called the Italian Social Movement. Soon after her election, Meloni appointed him as the director of MAXXI, an important museum in Rome.

In a way, Giuli was part of Meloni’s vision years before she appointed him as a minister. She has long considered him one of the most suitable candidates to carry out a project that she cares about: building right-wing cultural hegemony.

Cultural hegemony is a concept developed by Italian communist philosopher Antonio Gramsci to explain why the worker’s revolution that Karl Marx predicted had not yet happened. He theorized that it was because the ruling class controlled social institutions—from schools to the media—and used them to spread its ideologies, shaping the population’s belief system and, thus, its actions. In other words, controlling culture meant controlling political and social outcomes.

Meloni is not a communist, but she is convinced that the Italian left has succeeded, since the end of World War II, in dominating cultural institutions, such as the arts and academia, creating a situation which she has described as “power hegemony” against the right. Now that she’s in power, she’s determined to reverse that imbalance.

Giuli couldn’t agree more—and he’s turning to Gramsci for a road map. In a book that he published in May, aptly titled “Gramsci è vivo” (Gramsci Lives), he outlined his vision: “Today, especially on the right, there’s the mother of all battles: shifting from a mentality of exclusion toward a mentality of System, which means perceiving oneself as a ruling class with a vision, a perspective of society.”

What he was trying to argue in the book is that the right, which until recently was excluded by polite society in general—and more specifically, in the realm of culture—must embrace Gramsci’s vision of cultural hegemony. In other words, to become a true ruling class, you cannot rely on political power alone; you need to establish a dominant narrative to maintain consensus through a system of shared values and take hold of cultural institutions, something that the left has traditionally been better at.

The Italian right’s fascination with Gramsci is not an isolated case: Other European right-wing groups have taken inspiration from the communist philosopher as well. Martin Sellner, an Austrian who is a prominent figure among the German-speaking far right, cited Gramsci in his book Regime Change from the Right: A Strategic Sketch. Among the right-wing admirers of Gramsci outside of Europe, there are former White House strategist Steve Bannon and Olavo de Carvalho, a Brazilian conservative ideologue who died in 2022.

But what sets Meloni apart is that she has both the vision and the power to make it happen.

The first right-wing thinker to appropriate the communist philosopher was the French philosopher Alain de Benoist, who did so in the mid-1970s. According to Francesco Germinario, a historian at the Luigi Micheletti Foundation who specializes in researching the far right, de Benoist decontextualized Gramsci and stripped him of his Marxism, focusing solely on the idea of cultural hegemony and the importance of winning battles on the cultural front to gain power.

This reinterpretation is particularly successful in postwar Italy, where the right—still licking its wounds—found itself marginalized and embraced a defensive, victim mentality: “Since the postwar period, the right has mainly tried to defend itself,” Germinario said.

Then, when Italy’s left underwent an identity crisis after the fall of the Soviet Union, the right found itself in the position to counterattack, but it hadn’t developed the intellectual ammunition. And so, “Lacking its own points of references, the right looked for cultural inspiration from the left,” Germinario added.

To be fair, the perception that the left ever exercised total cultural hegemony in Italy is mostly false. The Christian Democrats, the centrist but socially conservative Catholic party that ruled the country between 1948 and 1992, did hold a strong grip on some cultural institutions, especially schools and television. And the Communist Party maintained a strong influence on book publishing and cinema.

Yet at the same time, right-wing politician Silvio Berlusconi, who ruled as prime minister on and off between 1994 and 2011, notoriously enjoyed a quasi-monopoly over television. Even so, he did not exercise his power on other cultural realms, despite the fact that he owned two major book publishing houses (one of which, Einaudi, leans strongly to the left).

Berlusconi wasn’t interested in high-brow culture and never made a secret of it: “He had an utilitarian conception of culture—he understood ahead of his times the crisis of newspapers and of a world of intellectuals linked to newspapers,” said Giorgio Caravale, professor of modern history at Roma Tre University and the author of the book Senza Intellettuali (Without Intellectuals). “To Berlusconi, it was all about TV,” Caravale added. “He cared more about what showmen were saying in front of the camera than about hundreds of op-eds in newspapers.”

In Italy, television has a central role. After World War II, it contributed to the country’s literacy and spreading Italian (as opposed to regional dialects) as a shared language. Italy has an older population that mostly relies on TV as its main source of information and entertainment. Newspaper and book readership is low, compared to other highly developed nations.

Meloni’s right has a different approach. “When she came to power, she thought: We must do what Berlusconi has not done in 20 years: Invest in culture and take it back from the left,” Caravale said. When she became prime minister in 2022, she allocated most of the cultural positions to trusted people, many of whom had a past in the Italian Social Movement (MSI).

Giuli’s predecessor, Sangiuliano, also came from the MSI. In an interview with the New York Review of Books, he also expressed his intention to overturn what he perceived as a cultural hegemony of the left, saying, “The radical-chic spirit of certain Roman salons tried to transform culture in Italy into something that spoke only to a small circle.” Sangiuliano added that he hoped to give “the national cultural panorama a wider horizon.”

Sangiuliano made a point of weaponizing literature. He has tried to reinterpret Dante Alighieri as an icon of the Italian right and produced a much publicized exhibit in Rome dedicated to J. R. R. Tolkien, an author particularly beloved by the post-fascist right in Italy. (Between the 1970s and 1990s, the MSI hosted youth camps called “Campo Hobbit”). He also relished announcing the planned creation of new museums, such as a museum of the Italian language, a museum of the Italian culture, and a “museum of the foibe,” to remember the war crimes of Yugoslav partisans during World War II. None of the museums has actually been built.

Meloni has also appointed another former MSI member, Pietrangelo Buttafuoco, to be the president of the Biennale di Venezia—the influential institution that oversees Venice’s glamorous film festival as well as the city’s renowned architecture and art festivals. Buttafuoco is a famous journalist and novelist who is well known for his ultraconservative views.

Meloni’s government has been particularly active in shaping the culture of Italy’s state TV network, or RAI, to the point that in the past few years, it has been dubbed by critics as “Tele-Meloni.” The effort is more aggressive than in Berlusconi’s era and, despite her success, Meloni seems scared that someone might speak badly of her. As a result, the bad news is often censored and the good news celebrated—even if it’s only a pro-Meloni headline in a foreign newspaper.

RAI’s general director, Giampaolo Rossi, is also a former MSI activist, hailing from the same party chapter where Meloni started her political career as a teenager in the Roman neighborhood of Colle Oppio. Under Rossi’s leadership, RAI has produced and aired many historical miniseries, including one glorifying the occupation of the Croatian city of Rijeka by Italian nationalists and another about the last weeks of the fascist regime in 1943.

The moment where Meloni’s grip on RAI became most apparent can be pinpointed. In April, Antonio Scurati, a renowned progressive author best known for writing M,—the monumental, and highly critical, fictionalized biography of Mussolini that has inspired the Sky TV series of the same name—was scheduled to perform a monologue on the anniversary of the country’s liberation from fascism, on April 25. But it was canceled at the last minute—for “editorial reasons,” according to an internal communication from RAI that was leaked to the press—possibly because Scurati’s speech included criticism of Meloni, whom the author accused of belittling the historical significance of anti-fascist resistance.

Meloni’s efforts to establish cultural influence stem not only from ideology, but also out of necessity. As the head of government, Meloni finds herself in the unfortunate position of having to push policies that clash with the wishes of her voters in order to maintain good relations with Europe. In foreign policy, she had to side with Ukraine, despite her base being pro-Russian; on the economy, she had to cut spending on health care and local government funding, a highly unpopular move among her base.

This has put Meloni in a vulnerable position. Unlike Berlusconi, she does not own a media empire that would defend her image no matter what. In this situation, appointing loyalists in key media and cultural positions is necessary to ensure positive coverage.

The fact that Meloni has a clear vision on the need to establish cultural hegemony and is actively pursuing it doesn’t mean that she will succeed. Some critics argue that despite the eagerness, the right’s influence over culture is still thin: “Meloni and the Brothers of Italy [her political party] seem more interested in occupying positions of power than in creating a real cultural hegemony,” said Mario Ricciardi, a columnist for the left-wing newspaper Il Manifesto.

Meloni’s policies have been often described as right-wing at home and moderate in the international arena. Domestically, she has passed a law that cracks down on protest and strikes, but her foreign policy has been friendly toward the United States and the EU.

When it comes to ideology, she’s hard to pin down: While she has voiced some fascination with nostalgic, identitarian ideas—such as clear gender roles and the Christian roots of European culture—she can hardly be described as a Russian President Vladimir Putin or a Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

Ricciardi argued that Meloni has, for the moment, failed to build a coherent worldview: “She has a clear idea of who are the enemies—the left and the so-called radical chic; she is attached to the idea of a motherland; but besides this, it’s all too vague to even try to appeal to citizens.”

To push an ideology, Ricciardi said, you first need to build one: “Eventually, to have a consensus, you have to put down roots.”

[valkyries-things]

DAME GIOVANNA MELANDRI // POLITICIAN

“She is an Italian-American politician. She was an MP in the Italian Parliament for 18 years (1994–2012), holding the positions of Minister of Culture (1998–2001) and Minister of Youth and Sport (2006–2008). She was the president of MAXXI, the National Museum of the 21st Century Arts of Rome, until November 1st 2022. She is currently the chairwoman of the Human Foundation.”

[wolfliving]

Ruins and Shelters

*Is there any genuine difference, in the long run? Maybe in Italy, which has had more long-run than most places.

via e-flux.

Demanio Marittimo.KM-278 is the marathon dedicated to architecture, arts, design and to the Adriatic dimension curated by Cristiana Colli and Pippo Ciorra. As every year, the XIV Edition takes place on a public beach in Marzocca di Senigallia on Friday, July 19, no stop from 6pm to 6am.

RUINS&SHELTERS is the theme of this year. On the one hand, it focuses on the accelerated production of ruins produced by wars, conflicts and catastrophes. On the other hand, it reminds us the need to find different forms of shelter/protection for increasingly fragile communities and individuals. 

The setting for the event is the result of a students’ competition hosted by SAAD, School of Architecture University of Camerino. Winning team for the OLTRE project are Fatijon Ademaj, Michele Forti, Qendron Mema, Gloria Seri, Elisa Valori.

Demanio opens with a tribute to this year’s Master of Territory, Guido Guidi. His work will be discussed with Simona Antonacci,Carlo Birrozzi and Antonello Frongia. Paolo Volponi’s 100 Years anniversary will be celebrated by lectures held by Massimo Raffaeli, Aldo Bonomi and Giovanni Russo, curator of an exhibition organized at the Ducal Palace of Urbino. 

An interdisciplinary focus will be dedicated to Kosovo with the curator and critic Alex Fisher, the Mayor of Pristina, Perparim Rama, the curators of Hangar e Autostrada Biennale Leutrim Fishekqiu and Vatra Abrashi, the artists Sislej Xhafa, Artan Hajrullahu, Blerta Hashani. 

Another experience in the field of cultural heritagewill be discussed by Andrea Viliani, Director of the Museum of Civilizations in Rome and curator of the international program Pompeii Commitment, and Davide Quadrio, Director of MAO (Museum of Oriental Art) in Turin.

RUINS&SHELTERS is also a concept that brings us to the fragile centrality of the Living Being, ethical and self-reflective when it comes to humans, “natural” for non-human beings. Sociologist and writer Marco Dotti will discuss the subject with architectural historian Francesco Benelli and composer David Monacchi.

2024 commemorates 150 years since the birth of Guglielmo Marconi. It was from the Colle dei Cappuccini in Ancona that on August 7, 1904 he initiated the legendary “radio” connection with Poldhu in Cornwall, 1750 kilometers away. Marconi’s legacy between will be the focus of the reflections of technological philosopher Cosimo Accoto with Andrea Borgnino and the artist Giovanni Gaggia.

The New York-based firm Lot-Ek will lecture about their work and offer a preview of the film dedicated to them by the director Tom Piper. Artists, designers, filmmakers will be oon stage. Gustav Düsing will talk about his award-winning project for the University of Braunschweig, introduced by Anna Sala of MVDR Foundation. Pietro Martino Federico Pizzi will present the Ceresè winery project, best building of the year, together with Grazzini, Tonazzini, Colombo, designers of the “Quintessenza” installation for the MAXXI. They will be introduced by Lorenza Baroncelli, director of MAXXI Architettura. 

Many installations, artworks, and public design experiments will be exhibited. A Villa Medici fellow artist, Alix Boillot, will present her work Grace. HPO, the Ferrara collective of young architects, will present the TTT installation. The London based collective Lemonot will present Talamo, a project created by the Marche company Noctis and produced by BASE for the last Milan Design Week, introduced by  Linda Di Pietro, director of BASE, and Lorenzo Petri. 

The frontiers of design will be explored by We are the Others (2024, 55 min), a film by Maria Cristina Didero and Francesca Molteni dedicated to the 40 years of activity of the Brazilian brothers Fernando and Humberto Campana. After the viewing, the authors will meet with Marva Griffin. Three shorter films, produced by the LINA fellows Ewa Effron, Laura Hurley, George Guedani in the frame of the MAXXI Architecture Film Lab will be introduced by the authors. 

The event is promoted by MAPPE magazine, Gagliardini Editore, Associazione Demanio Marittimo.Km-278 with the collaboration of MAXXI, the Municipality of Senigallia, the Marche Region and with the support of a wide network of businesses, institutions and associations.

[agrpress-blog]

Il MAXXI celebra la Giornata Mondiale dell'Acqua col docufilm Nobilis Golden Moon: il 22 marzo, gratis Il 22 marzo il mondo celebra la Giornat... #docufilm #GiornataMondialedellAcqua #maxxi #NobilisGoldenMoon https://agrpress.it/il-maxxi-celebra-la-giornata-mondiale-dellacqua-col-docufilm-nobilis-golden-moon-il-22-marzo-gratis/?feed_id=4052&_unique_id=65fc724bd9c73

[whileiamdying]

Following Yoko Ono’s Anarchic Instructions

A major retrospective at Tate Modern instructs visitors to draw their own shadows, shake hands through a canvas and imagine paintings in their heads.

Yoko Ono with her piece, “Half-A-Room” at Lisson Gallery in London in 1967. A new retrospective of Ono’s work at Tate Modern takes viewer through her body of work chronologically, including her performances, installations, films, text, sounds and sculptures. Credit… Clay Perry

By Emily LaBarge

The critic Emily LaBarge saw the show in London.

Published Feb. 15, 2024Updated Feb. 22, 2024

In December 1971, a man at the exit of the Museum of Modern Art had a question for departing visitors: “What did you think of the Yoko Ono exhibition?”

Some were confused (“What exhibition?”), others irritated (“I couldn’t find it!”) or delighted (“Well I just thought it was amazing”). To a man who had trouble locating the show, the interviewer conceded, “It’s here, it’s just mostly in people’s minds.”

The man nodded. “Yes,” he said, “I thought that might be the case.”

These were some of the reactions to Ono’s “Museum of Modern (F)art,” a self-appointed MoMA debut, staged without the museum’s permission. She published a catalog, placed ads in The Village Voice and inserted a sign at the museum entrance stating that hundreds of perfume-soaked flies had been released inside. It was up to visitors to find them, the notice said, perhaps by following the errant wafts of fragrance drifting past the Pollocks, Picassos or Van Goghs.

More than 50 years later, the Tokyo-born artist known for her marriage to John Lennon as much as her avant-garde (and often very funny) art has a much-anticipated retrospective at Tate Modern in London, running through Sept. 1. The show, “Yoko Ono: Music of the Mind,” contains more than 200 works spanning seven decades. Like “Museum of Modern (F)art,” which is part of the retrospective, most of those works are in people’s minds.

The exhibition takes us through Ono’s work and life chronologically. The first space immediately establishes the sense of spare elegance that dominates the artist’s oeuvre, which unfolds across performance, installation, film, text, sound and sculpture.

“Add Colour (Refugee Boat)" at the MAXXI Foundation in 2016. Credit… Musacchio, Ianniello & Pasqualini

Employees at the Tate Modern drawing a new version of the piece on Tuesday. Credit... Daniel Leal/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Like many of the works in the show, “Lighting Piece” is presented in multiple iterations. It is one of her earliest “instruction pieces”: a small typewritten card, dated “autumn 1955,” and affixed to the wall. It reads, “Light a match and watch till it goes out.”

Nearby, three photographs show Ono doing just that, while sitting at a grand piano onstage, in 1962. Projected on another wall is a 1966 filmed version of the same instruction. We see the flickering flame, shot with a high-speed camera and then played back at a standard speed, waning at an impossibly slow rate. It exists across time and space and you, too, are invited to watch it die today, tomorrow, whenever.

Born in 1933, Ono grew up in wartime and postwar Japan. It might be easy to link the austerity of her work to a childhood marked by scarcity, homelessness and mass destruction. “Those experiences of the early days cast a long shadow in my life,” the artist has said, recalling how she and her brother, displaced and hungry in the Japanese countryside, would look up at the sky and imagine menus filled with delicious meals that they could not eat.

Perhaps this epicurean fantasy was one Ono’s first instruction pieces, but from early on, her work was also shaped by a sophisticated educational background: She was the first female philosophy student at Gakushuin University in Tokyo, then studied poetry and musical composition at Sarah Lawrence after she moved to New York in 1953.

“Grapefruit, Page 11” from “SECRET PIECE” (1964). Credit... via Yoko Ono

Ono quickly fell in with the city’s most admired experimental musicians and performance artists of the time, including John Cage, La Monte Young and George Maciunas — the father of the Fluxus movement, which emphasized how art could be made by anyone and happen anywhere.

In the retrospective, the decade after her arrival in New York is largely represented by documentation of performances in loft spaces and galleries, and later onstage, also in Tokyo, where she returned from 1962-64.

Two “Instruction Paintings” are examples of interactive works from 1961, in which the title tells us what to do. “Painting to Be Stepped On,” for example, is just what it sounds like — a geometric cutout of canvas stuck to the floor — and shows Ono’s embrace of the idea that art is live rather than static and relies on audience participation. This is encouraged throughout the exhibition, which invites visitors to follow various instructions: draw your shadow, shake hands through a hole in a canvas, imagine a painting in your head.

In no work is this more striking and unsettling than in “Cut Piece” (1964), one of the most powerful performance pieces of the 20th century. In a 1965 version, filmed at Carnegie Hall by the Maysles brothers, Ono kneels onstage in her best suit and invites audience members to cut away pieces of her clothes.

While some are modest in their takings, the same man approaches twice — once cutting a hole in her shirt so that her breast pokes through, and later gleefully removing the top half of her slip and cutting the straps of her brassiere beneath. Ono sits motionless and passive — though a few vague eye rolls provide relief — while the audience takes what it wants from her without protest.

Ono performing “Cut Piece” at Carnegie Hall in New York in 1965. Credit... Minoru Niizuma

The following year, Ono traveled to London and the rest, as they say, is history. Performances gave way to sculptural installations of white chess sets, rooms of objects cut in two, apples on transparent plinths and mirrored boxes that reflect the smile of whomever opens them.

“Film No. 4 (‘BOTTOMS’)” (1966-67) is a veritable who’s who of London’s alternative art scene via their naked derrières in motion. The simple film seems silly, but is also mesmerizing and anarchic: “an aimless petition signed by people with their anuses,” according to Ono. (It was banned by the British Board of Film Censors.)

Ono met Lennon at one of her openings. It was the beginning of an artistic collaboration frequently dismissed as pop celebrity high jinks or derided in sexist and racist terms. (No, Ono was not an interloper who destroyed the Beatles, etc.)

Later work sits uneasily between high and low registers, conceptual installation and mainstream media intervention. (In 1982, she placed an ad in The New York Times calling for peace.) The evocative koan-like poetry of her earlier scores — “watch the sun until it becomes square,” “give moving announcement each time you die” — becomes simplistic statements: “Take a piece of the sky. Know that we are all part of each other,” “IMAGINE PEACE,” “PEACE is POWER.”

At the end of the exhibition you are invited to write a wish on a white card and affix it to a potted olive tree. Is wishing enough? Can we imagine peace? At first I was cynically uneasy about the lack of “art” in later text works. But Ono’s instructions are not as straightforward as they seem, and they require some faith in other people. What did I think of the Yoko Ono exhibition? What did you think?

“Apple” (1966) Credit… Daniel Leal/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

[sexypinkon]

Lavar Munroe's latest foray

View works.

Sviriko: Spirit Medium, 2023

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Lavar Munroe is a Bahamian interdisciplinary artist working primarily in mixed media painting, cardboard sculpture, and drawings. His work examines themes present in folklore, fables and historic films ­– drawing comparison between his upbringing in the Bahamas and travels to various countries in Africa. Addressing multiple narratives that span personal, historical and mythological references, Munroe’s work presents conflicts between a desire to escape and the longing for home while challenging us to journey beyond the familiar. 

Described as a hybrid medium between painting and relief sculpture, Munroe’s work often incorporates sentimental objects collected and gifted from his family and objects found during his travels. His work focuses on themes such as journey, utopia, magic, love and the celebration of escape through fantastical and dreamlike imagery. Munroe (b.1982, Nassau, Bahamas) earned his BFA from Savannah College of Art and Design (2007) and MFA Studio Art at Washington University, St. Louis (2013). He also attended Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture (2013) and was awarded a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (2016), Benny Andrews Fellow from the MacDowell Colony (2016), and The Carolina Postdoctoral Program for Faculty Diversity-University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill NC (2014). 

Recent solo exhibitions include Jack Bell Gallery, London, England (2022, 2021, 2014); Walters Museum of Art, Baltimore, MD (2021); NOMAD, Brussels, Belgium (2017); Meadows Museum of Art, Shreveport, LA (2018); SCAD Museum of Art and Gutstein Gallery, Savannah, GA (2016); and The Central Bank, Nassau, Bahamas (2010). Notable group shows include The National Art Gallery of the Bahamas (2022); Centre Pompidou Metz, FR (2022); Ichihara Lakeside Museum (2020); Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art, Virginia Beach, VA (2020); Perez Art Museum Miami, FL (2019); Jack Bell Gallery, London, UK (2017); and Nasher Museum of Art, Durham, NC (2015). He has also been featured in the Art Basel Miami Beach (2022); Kampala Biennale (2020); Off Biennale Cairo (2018); 12th Dakar Biennale, Senegal, West Africa (2016); and 56th Venice Art Biennale (2015). His work is in the collections of The Baltimore Museum of Art,  Fondation de France; Fondation Gandur pour l’Art, Genève, Switzerland; The Studio Museum of Harlem, New York, NY; The Central Bank of the Bahamas, Nassau, BA; The National Art Gallery of the Bahamas, Nassau, BA; and the MAXXI Museum, Rome, IT. 

He is the recipient of honors and awards including the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellow, Robert De Niro Award (2023), the Sondheim Artscape Prize Finalist (2021), Distinguished Alums Award from Sam Fox School of Art and Design from Washington University of St. Louis (2018), Postdoctoral Award for Research Excellence from the University of North Carolina (2015), Sam Fox Dean’s Initiative Fund (2013), Joan Mitchell Foundation Painters and Sculptors Grant (2013), Joan Mitchell Foundation Scholarship (2012), The Kraus Family Foundation Award (2011), and The National Endowment for the Arts Grant (2011).

Munroe lives and works between Baltimore, MD, and the Bahamas.

[fashionluxuryinfo]

PRESENTS “MEDITERRANEAN SUNSET” Rome, July 10th 2023 – MAXXI MUSEUM A’biddikkia (Panarea), Kartikeya (India), Laith Maalouf (Jordan), Missaki Couture (Lebanon), Morocco Fashion House by Hayat (Morocco), Villaamoon (Kuwait) & Fleur d’Oranger footwears (Italy).      

The tenth edition of International Couture, produced with the support of the Med-Or foundation, took    place on Monday July 10th at the MAXXI National Museum of XXI Century Arts. The protagonists of the show entitled “Mediterranean Sunset”, came from Lebanon, Jordan, Morocco, Kuwait, India and Italy. https://www.fashionluxury.info/en/

[32310305]

13.04. READINGS WEEK 12.

PAOLO CIRIO’S ESSAY “EVIDENTIARY REALISM” AND FULLER, WEIZMAN’S INTRODUCTION FROM “INVESTIGATIVE AESTHETICS” CONVEY COMPELLING VIEWS ON THE RULE OF CONTEMPORARY ART IN THE XXI CENTURY.

THE CLAIM PROPOSED IN THE SOURCES IS THAT TO BE PROPER MILITANT ARTISTS TODAY, THERE SHOULD BE A FOCUS ON THE INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION OF REALITY.

THE CASE OF FORENSIC ARCHITECTURE EXEMPLIFIES THIS: A GROUP OF RESEARCHERS FROM DIFFERENT BACKGROUNDS COLLABORATES ON THE ANALYSIS OF VARIOUS FOOTAGE FROM VARIOUS WAR SCENARIOS TO DECONSTRUCT THEM AND PRESENT THEM FACTUALLY VIA 3D RECONSTRUCTIONS.

FORENSIC ARCHITECTURE CONTAINS ALL THE COMPONENTS WHICH RENDER CONTEMPORARY ART APPEALING: THE COLLABORATION OF PEOPLE FROM DIFFERENT STUDIES, THE USE OF DIFFERENT VISUAL MEANS AND THE APPLICATION OF CONTEMPORARY TECHNOLOGY FOR CONCRETE CIRCUMSTANCES.

WHAT IS APPARENT FROM THE READINGS OF CIRIO AND WEIZMAN IS THAT ART NEEDS TO SPEAK ABOUT THE TIME IN WHICH IT IS CREATED AND CONSUMED.

THIS ALLEGATION MAY SOUND NATURAL TO YOUNG REVOLUTIONARY SPIRITS. HOWEVER, WHEN WE COME INTO CONTACT WITH THE MAINSTREAM ART SCENE OF A CITY LIKE ROME, OPEN-AIR MUSEUM AND HOMELAND OF THE 60S ITALIAN AVANT-GARDE, WE REALIZE ART IS PERCEIVED AS SOMETHING ELSE.

WHEN ANALYZING THE ROMANIAN CURRENT ART EXHIBITIONS SCENE FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF AN EX-STUDENT OF A COLLECTION BUILDING AND MUSEUM STUDIES COURSE, ONE CANNOT HELP TO REMEMBER INSTRUCTOR SARAH LINFORD’S WORDS ON THE “BLOCKBUSTERS” EXHIBITIONS, MEANING TEMPORARY EXPENSIVE SHOWS THAT NONETHELESS CAPTURE THE ATTENTION OF A VAST PUBLIC.

EXHIBITIONS LIKE THE €15 CHIOSTRO DEL BRAMANTE’S “MICHELANGELO PISTOLETTO: INFINITY”, THE €13 MAXXI’S “BOB DYLAN RETROSPECTRUM”, OR THE €10 MOST CENTRALLY LOCATED PALAZZO CIPOLLA’S “RAOUL DUFY: THE PAINTER OF JOY” ACT, EITHER FOR THE ARTWORKS SHOWN OR FOR THEIR CURATION, MORE AS 19TH-CENTURY PEEPSHOWS THAN AS THE SAME-CENTURY EARLY PHOTOGRAPHS.

PROOF OF CHIOSTRO DEL BRAMANTE'S ENTRY FEE. OTHER FEES FOR THE ABOVE CITED EXHIBITIONS CAN BE FOUND HERE -SECTION "VISITA IL MAXXI AND HERE

IN AMY F.OGATA “VIEWING SOUVENIRS, PEEPSHOWS AND THE INTERNATIONAL EXPOSITIONS”, OGATA DESCRIBES 19TH-CENTURY PEEPSHOW SOUVENIRS FROM THE FIRSTS WORLD’S FAIRS AS EXAMPLES OF WHAT WALTER BENJAMIN DESCRIBED AS THE “PHANTASMAGORIA” RELATED TO THE EARLY STAGES OF MASS CONSUMPTION.

BY SHOWING EXHIBITIONS THAT PASSIVELY ENCHANT THE VIEWER INTO A “PHANTASMAGORIA” WORLD MADE OF RECOGNIZABLE ARTISTS, IDENTIFIABLE ART MOVEMENTS AND INTERACTIVE INSTAGRAMMABLE CORNERS, THE ROMANIAN ART SCENE RENDERS ART A MASS CONSUMPTION PRODUCT.

NONETHELESS, WE ARE LED TO COMPREHEND SUCH DECISIONS IF WE COMPARE THE ANNUAL BUDGET OF THE ITALIAN MINISTRY OF BENI CULTURALI (1.6 BILLION EUROS, 2019) WITH THE ONE OF THE FRENCH MINISTRY OF CULTURE (3.8 BILLION EUROS, 2021).

FRANCE IS, NONETHELESS, THE SAME COUNTRY WITH REGIONAL FUNDS FOR CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS.

HOW MUCH VALUE CARRIES A STATE-FUNDED ARTIST IN COMPARISON TO AN INDEPENDENT ONE?

AMONG THE FUNDING ORGANIZATIONS FOR FORENSIC ARCHITECTURE, ONE FINDS:

THE EUROPEAN RESEARCH COUNCIL;

OPEN SOCIETY FOUNDATIONS ($18 BILLIONS) 

OAK FOUNDATION (£481 MILLIONS);

SIGRID RAUSING TRUST (£429 MILLIONS);

TO BE FOUNDED BY PROMINENT ORGANIZATIONS OBVIOUSLY DOES NOT REDUCE THE VALUE OF AN INSTITUTION.

HOWEVER, IT POSES A DOUBT OVER THE CONCRETE CHANCE OF INDEPENDENT ARTISTS TO REALIZE A PROJECT LIKE FORENSIC ARCHITECTURE.

THERE COMES THE QUESTION POSED BY FULLER AND WEIZMAN TOO, WHETHER IS THIS ART OR INVESTIGATION.

TO THIS STANCE, ONE MAY FIND HESITATIONS IN THE OUTCOMES OF PAOLO CIRIO’S PROFESSED EVIDENTIARY REALISM.

CIRIO AND WEIZMAN RELY ON DIGITAL TOOLS TO CONSTRUCT A FACTUAL DEMONSTRATION OF REALITY, WHICH OPPOSES THE XXI CENTURY NOVICE REGIMES’ MANIPULATION OF THE TRUTH MADE POSSIBLE BY ACCESS TO TECHNOLOGICAL DEVICES.

THE DOUBT LIES IN WHETHER, BY IMPOSING A PRACTICAL TRUTH ON ITS PRODUCTS, AS PAOLO CIRIO’S INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPHS FROM BRECHT’S WRITING THE TRUTH DEMANDS, EVIDENTIARY REALISM IS ACTING AGAINST ART’S DEMAND OF POSING DOUBTS IN THE VIEWERS.

IF WE NEED TO RELY ON TECHNOLOGY TO DEMONSTRATE A FACT, ARE NOT WE CLAIMING THAT HUMAN COGNITIVE CAPACITIES CAN BE EXCHANGED WITH AI?

IN RESPONSE TO PAOLO CIRIO’S CLAIMS, ONE COULD POINT OUT THE CASE OF PIERPAOLO PASOLINI’S LAST MOVIE SALÒ.

PASOLINI' SALÒ POSTER

BY SHOWING THE “PHANTASMAGORICAL” ATTITUDES OF A GROUP OF FASCISTS TOWARDS EVERY FORM OF VIOLENCE, PASOLINI COMMUNICATES EXACTLY THE OPPOSITE OF WHAT HE IS SHOWING.

ULTIMATELY, A COUNTER-RESPONSE TO PAOLO CIRIO AND WEIZMAN’S DEMAND OF CONTEMPORARY ART TURNING TO REALISM COULD BE THAT ART CAN BE ABOUT THE REAL, WITHOUT BEING REAL.

IN THESE TERMS, A LAST REFLECTION BY TOMASO MONTANARI ON WHAT IS ART TODAY PROPOSES AN ANSWER BY USING THE EXAMPLE OF GIOVANNI DE GARA’S INTERVENTION ON THE BASILICA OF SAN MINIATO, IN FLORENCE.

ART HISTORIAN TOMASO MONTANARI LESSON

IN 2018, THE ARTIST TREATED THE ROMANICHAL BASILICA’S FAÇADE WITH GOLD THERMAL BLANKETS, COMMONLY USED WHEN RESCUING MIGRANTS.

GIOVANNI DE GARA - ELDORATO - JUNE 2018 - BASILICA OF SAN MINIATO - FLORENCE

BY COMMENTING ON THE THEME OF HOSPITALITY PERSONIFIED IN THE DOOR ELEMENT, AND MAKING A STATEMENT ON THE ROLE OF CHRISTIAN’S MANTRA OF “LOVE THY NEIGHBOR AS THYSELF”, THIS INSTALLATION PROVES HOW ART CAN TALK ABOUT THE REAL WITHOUT BEING RELATED TO DATA AND TECHNOLOGY.

[noisynutcrusade]

A microclimatic island (and more) will transform MAXXI into a sustainable oasis

The “sustainable MAXXI” project is much more than a set of interventions to mitigate the environmental impact of the National Museum of XXI Century Arts in Romebecause, in experimenting with new solutions to achieve the carbon neutralitythe architects, the technicians, the administrators of the Foundation are giving life to a real laboratory of innovation. She was Giovanna Melandriduring his…

[chelzone]

Todayborday's Working Plans (01/15/23)

design Jennifer Maxxie, the plushy bunny mom of my character Jean. she'll be chilling with my other mom character, Darcy Baudrillard

NO video recording today, i wanna take today off in terms of that. next video recording will resume on the night of Jan 17th

continue work on my second EP, Under Stardust. currently got 6 tracks made and that adds up to 12:28 of material. aiming for at least 20 mins of material total before i consider this EP done

continue work on my fourth game, Hallowed Discharge. last night i got all three player stat systems figured out fully. maybe tonight i'll start work on the map / levels, set up the foundation of their sizes and shapes and what connects to what

[uncloseted]

what a levels did the skins characters take?

Generation 1

In gen 1, all the characters take an A-level in psychology, which we know because they're in Angie's psychology class. Sid, Jal, Maxxie, Anwar, and Chris take history with Tom. Jal and Michelle take Spanish, and Michelle also takes French. Anwar, Maxxie, and Sid take Drama. Chris and some combination of Sid, Michelle, Anwar, and Jal also take Biology in their first year, since Chris uses it as an excuse for why Tony can't come over.

We actually don't get a great idea of what subjects Tony took other than Psychology. Based on his reading habits, I would guess some combination of these subjects: Philosophy, Ancient History, Classic Civilization or Classical Studies, Economics, Government and Politics, and Law. He got A, A, A, B and goes to Cardiff University.

Sid took Psychology, History, and Drama, and in the first episode it's also mentioned that he has Sociology as a class, which it seems like he may have dropped after the first year. He got B, C, C and goes to New York to find Cassie.

Maxxie took Psychology, History, and Drama, and then dropped one after the first year. He got B, E and moves to London to be a dancer.

Jal took Psychology, Spanish, and Music. She got A, A, C, with the C being in Spanish.

Michelle took Psychology, French, and Spanish. She got B, A, A and goes to York. Presumably her B is in Psychology, as Michelle is said to have a "head for languages".

Anwar took Psychology, History, and Drama. He also has a book called "A Level Business Studies" in Jal's series 2 episode, so he dropped one of his classes after the first year. He got E, E, U.

Cassie takes Psychology and Philosophy at minimum, and possibly also Drama. We never find out Cassie’s grades, although I think she got an A on her philosophy A-level.

Chris got expelled before he could take his A-Levels, but before that happened he was at least taking Biology, Psychology and History, and possibly also Drama (as he says "Drama teachers man. 'Pretend to be a tree,' 'But I'm not a tree.' 'Well pretend.' Fucking perverts, the lot of'em.")

Generation 2

In gen 2, everyone takes English Literature with Josie.

JJ took English Literature, and presumably also Math and Physics. He got A, A, B.

Naomi takes English Literature and Politics. Maybe her third A-level is in law? She got A, A, A.

Emily took English Literature and presumably also History, since she could take Katie's history exam for her in series 3. I'm not sure what her other class might be. Maybe photography, since that's what she ends up doing in Fire? She got B, B, C.

Pandora got a C in philosophy, as well as taking English Literature, some sort of Dance or Performing Arts class, and French (which we see on her A level results). And she also took History, which we know from her Unseen Skins episode and subsequent going to Harvard to study history. She got an A, A*, A*, which I guess are for English Literature, French, and History. Ridiculous.

Katie took English Literature, History, and French (since Thomas helps her with her French in series 4). She got B, C, C.

Freddie definitely took English Literature. Maybe he also took history, since one of his assignment prompts in series 4 is, "the future is history repeating". I'm not sure what the third one would be. Maybe Maths, to be with JJ? Alternatively, I think it would be interesting if his other A-level was in Psychology, given his mother's experience with mental illness. He got A, C, C.

Thomas gleefully says “I got expelled!” when talking about grades (but somehow also got into Harvard). Maybe he took French, since it's a language he already speaks and would be easy for him.

Effy takes Maths, English Literature, and French. She got A, A, A grades, but they’re fake.

Cook doesn’t have grades because he was in jail, but before that he was taking English Literature and perhaps also Politics.

Generation 3

In generation 3, we don't actually hear anyone's grades, so we don't know how many classes any particular character is taking. I'm going to assume it's 3, which is pretty typical.

We know that Alo, Grace, Nick, Rich, Mini, Liv, and Franky all take English Literature. We know that Mini, Franky, and Alo take Geography. Franky, Mini, Liv, and Grace all take "Sports Foundation" as a class, but I can't tell whether that's a class for an A-level (such as Sports Science or Physical Education) or just a school requirement, so I'm going to assume it's a school requirement. Mini, Grace, Liv, and Franky are also involved in designing for the charity fashion show, which makes me think at least Mini is taking Fashion & Textiles, since she's in charge.

Rich gets into Bradbury College to study English Literature and Philosophy, so those were two of his exams. He also takes an exam in History.

We know Grace takes English Literature and Drama, and she seems to also take Dance, given that we see her practicing ballet. I can imagine she probably has a fourth course that's considered appropriately "brainy" for the daughter of Principal Blood. But of course, she doesn't actually sit her A-levels.

Mini takes English Literature and Geography. Maybe she has a third subject in something like Fashion & Textiles.

Franky takes English Literature. In series 6, her study materials indicate that she's also taking Physics and Art History, and she's also in Alo's Geography class. So she seems to be taking 4 A-Levels, which is unusual for a character who doesn't seem particularly academic. I would have guessed her classes would have been more along the lines of Art or Film, given her love of stop motion animation.

Liv is one of the only characters that actually mentions going to uni, but ironically we know the least about her studies. She's not in Alo's Geography class, she's not taking History with Rich, and she wasn't taking Drama with Grace. Like the other characters, she takes English Literature, and she mentions studying for it in series 6. So the other two are total guesses, but maybe Psychology and maybe an Art of some kind?

Nick takes English Literature, and I think we can also assume he took something like Sports Science, Physical Education, or Physical Science.

Matty re-enrolls at Roundview in episode 5 of series 5, but then he's gone from episode 1 to episode 8 of series 6, so we can safely assume he didn't take any exams. It seems from his paperwork that he was at one point taking Geography.

Per his paperwork in series 5, Alo takes four courses: English Literature, Math, and Geography for sure, and the other one I think is Science.

[architecture-ljmu]

City Lab

Seminar 1: Rethinking the City. 

Wednesday 9th December

3pm – 5pm

3pm – Introduction to The City Lab Seminars: John Byrne

3.10 – Alessandra Saviotti – The DPI Toolkit Explained

3.40 – Owen Griffiths – Landscapes of Resistance/Owen’s City Lab

4.10 – Jo Marsh - Ty Pawb, Wrexham’s Arts, Markets and Community Hub

Further Information:

In this first/opening City Lab Seminar we will be joined by three key thinkers and practitioners who are actively using the city as both a context and a tool for social change.

Each contributor will speak for 20 minutes, followed by a 10 minute opportunity for questions. There will also be time for further questions and discussions at the end of the presentations.

Ideas and themes that emerge from this first City Lab Seminar will be picked up again early next year (date to be announced) when all three panellists will join us for individual discussions/seminars as a first ‘open access’ point of the TPG shared module ‘Transdisciplinary Pracitce’.

Information on Speakers/Contributors:

Alessandra Saviotti (LJMU School of Art and Design / Asociación de Arte Útil)

Weblink: www.arte-util.org

Alessandra Saviotti Presentation: DPE Toolkit Explained - Alessandra will talk about the DPE's Toolkit section in particular on the idea of usership within the education context. Alessandra will address this question: is it possible for art to infiltrate the formal education environment in the form of a radical teaching approach that seeks to give a new shape to the existing configuration of the system, within the system itself?

Alessandra Saviotti Biography: Alessandra is a curator and educator who lives in Amsterdam. Alessandra is also a PhD candidate at the Liverpool John Moores University - School of Art and Design. Alessandra’s focus is on socially engaged art, collaborative practices and Arte Útil. Her work aims to realize projects where the public becomes a co-producer in the spirit of usership. Her reflection is taking into consideration collaborative processes according to the motto ‘cooperation is better than competition’. She is a co-founder of the art collective Aspra.mente (2006-2016), a group which focuses on the common definition of ‘work in progress’, seeking the contribution of operators in other fields than art for interdisciplinary projects that are free from time constraints. Alsessandra was part of the curatorial team of the 'Museum of Arte Útil' at the Van Abbemuseum (Eindhoven, NL) and since 2014 she has been collaborating with the Asociación de Arte Útil especially aiming at emancipating the usership around the Arte Útil Archive. She led online and offline seminars at the San Francisco Art Institute (2017), California College of the Arts (2017), SALT (2018), The Whitworth (2019), Chicago Architecture Biennial (2019), Accademia di Brera (2020), and she was the coordinator of the Escuela de Arte Útil at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco (US). She currently teaches at ArtEZ - International Master Artist Educator, Arnhem (NL) and she is a tutor at Accademia Unidee, Biella (IT). Since 2007 Alessandra has also been working in collaboration with several institutions such as SFMOMA (US), MAXXI, Rome (IT), Delfina Foundation, London (UK), Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art (UK), Visible Project (IT), Manifesta 7 (IT), UNIDEE – Cittadellarte (IT), SALT (TR), Estudio Bruguera (USA) e Studio Grilli (BE). She is a 2013-14 van Eyck Akademie fellow, a 2015 Mondriaan Foundation grantee and a 2014 Demo Movin'Up grantee and she has been awarded an international mobility grant from i-Portunus – Creative Europe in 2019.

Owen Griffiths (Artist & Curator: Founder / Director Ways of Working- a locally engaged social enterprise). Owen is based in Wales.

Weblink: www.aboutreconnection.com

Owen Griffiths Presentation: Owen’s City Lab:

Owen will talk about his work as a series of landscapes of resistance - an emerging archipelago of collaborative project in civic spaces across the city of Swansea. Owen is interested in long term work, overlapping edges, social economic model santi gentrification and empowerment. His research is based around, collaboration, food and systems of land use and alternative ownership seeded through collaboration and social justice. 

Owen Griffiths Biography:

Owen Griffiths is an artist, workshop leader and facilitator. Using participatory and collaborative processes, his socially engaged practice explores the possibilities of art to

create new frameworks, resources and systems. This takes many forms, but includes reclaiming and rethinking events, rituals and spaces of dialogue. Griffiths explores climate, landscape, urbanism, social justice, food systems and pedagogy, creating projects and events that prepare us for the gentle work of the future.

He is interested in working locally and in long term dialogue with communities and projects. These long-term dialogues make a case for slowing down time, rethinking the expectations around participation to model new collaborative methods which raise questions around equity, empowerment and sustainability. 

In 2020 Griffiths developed Ways of Working a new community participation platform and company in order to work in ways he feels are urgent; speaking to climate crisis, localism and radical collaborative projects. 

Jo Marsh (Creative Director at Ty Pawb), Wrexham’s Arts, Markets and Community Hub.

Weblink: https://hes32-ctp.trendmicro.com:443/wis/clicktime/v1/query?url=https%3a%2f%2fwww.typawb.wales&umid=26848098-e77f-414c-a12b-2449a4ca4efe&auth=768f192bba830b801fed4f40fb360f4d1374fa7c-d5eaefcbd2ec131e42ae96d121134efa26351191 and/or https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2018/sep/01/ty-pawb-review-art-gallery-everybodys-house-wrexham-market

Jo Marsh Biography:

After graduating in 2009 Jo worked as a freelance artist for a few years, this included lots of gallery education work in Wales, some in France and at the Design Museum in London. In 2011 Jo won the Leeds based Woolgather Art Prize, with my project ‘With Love From The Artist’ that had developed from my side hustle as an itinerant market trader https://hes32-ctp.trendmicro.com:443/wis/clicktime/v1/query?url=www.withlovefromtheartist.com&umid=26848098-e77f-414c-a12b-2449a4ca4efe&auth=768f192bba830b801fed4f40fb360f4d1374fa7c-514d3850b6845bcd75526d65f4321d8d79885aa5.

In 2013-14 Jo was funded by Arts Council Wales to build and tour a travelling gallery called WanderBox, offering residencies to artists in a wide variety of settings and locations https://hes32-ctp.trendmicro.com:443/wis/clicktime/v1/query?url=https%3a%2f%2fwww.axisweb.org%2fp%2fjomarsh%2fworkset%2f213293%2dwanderbox%2f&umid=26848098-e77f-414c-a12b-2449a4ca4efe&auth=768f192bba830b801fed4f40fb360f4d1374fa7c-5710c37b68c29a33d55e90625a283baa14a13fb9

In late 2014 Jo became the Learning and Engagement Officer for Oriel Wrecsam, leading the off-site engagement programme for three years as plans for a new arts and markets development unfolded. This off-site programme included working with young people to build a full sized Shepherd’s Hut, and working with local people to establish a makers group that met regularly and adventured round the county.

In 2017 Jo was appointed Creative Director at Ty Pawb (formerly Oriel Wrecsam and the People’s Market, Wrexham). Since then Jo have been leading a programme of exhibitions and projects that grow out of local connections, and respond to local urgencies. So far this has included building a temporary adventure playground in one of the galleries (complete with 16 tonnes of sand!), working with members from our resident mental health charity to design and manufacture lamps for sale, and establishing a nascent rooftop garden on our multistory carpark.

[architectuul]

More Future Architecture Rooms

from Prague to Rome, from Prishtina to Barcelona and Tirana via Future Architecture Platform. 

From Prague VI PER Gallery explore social issues and their relationship with architecture and art to highlight the potential that architecture and art have within society and to generate topics that represent new connections. 

Bekim & Noli introduce the Kosovo Architecture Foundation & Festival and  the festival entitled Alter Nation. The festival aims to promote critical thinking, empower the role of young professionals, raise awareness among the general public, and enhance the dialogue and cooperation between local and international architecture, planning and the design community. It is also responsible for promoting and conserving the architecture and urban heritage of Kosovo.

MAXXI embodies a distinct awareness of the importance of promoting the current creative expressions of a nation such as Italy, a nation characterized by centuries of important contributions in the arts and architecture. 

Future Architecture Platform and Young Architects Program are both dynamic, international and constantly developing. Through exhibitions, installations, workshops and summer schools, MAXXI offers young designers and thinkers the opportunity to explore different aspects of the architectural discourse as well as new ways and tools of artistic expression. 

dpr-barcelona, an architectural research practice founded by Ethel Baraona Pohl and César Reyes Nájera and Anne-Sophie de Vargas, is dealing with three main lines: publishing, criticism and curating. Their work explores how architecture as discipline reacts in the intersection with politics, technology, economy and social issues. Their publications, both digital and printed, transcend the boundaries of conventional publications, approaching to those which are probably the titles of architecture in the future. 

dpr-barcelona proposes The Room of Yet Unpublished Books, an exploration of whiteness in academic and cultural institutions. A space of self-reflection about the responsibility we all publishers have in challenging or perpetuating such ideologies. 

Tirana Architecture / Design Weeks (TAW/TDW) is an interdisciplinary activity organized from POLIS University and works to promote the exchange of knowledge between professionals at both the national and international level in order to increase the public’s interest in architecture, art, and design as disciplines that are closely connected to the contemporary development of cities. 

Saimir Kristo - Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Architecture and Design at POLIS University presents the overall activities and philosophy behind POLIS University and Co-PLAN - its research institute with high experience in habitat development and informal settlements, in particular, the periphery of Tirana. 

[hiddenarchitecture]

Perspective view of the sub-tribune of the Competition of the  municipal stadium of Novara - Pier Luigi and Antonio Nervi. 1974-76

Drawing part of the Archive of the MAXXI Foundation

[pug-bitch]

That’s not why I’m going (27)

Let’s enjoy ourselves, dammit

Book: The Royal Romance

Pairing: Drake Walker x Amara Suarez

Rating: some foul language, some extremely suggestive. This is absolutely NOT appropriate for people under 18.

Word count: about 3,700 (let me know if the ‘keep reading’ cutoff isn’t working well!)

Notes: This picks up where we left off, as Hana, Maxwell, and Olivia arrive at the cabin, starting with Amara’s POV.

*****

Amara, Hana, and Maxwell jump up in the air, shrieking, for a good thirty seconds, until they realize that Liv is behind them, looking annoyed as hell. Without thinking, Amara wraps Olivia in a tight hug.

‘Liv! It’s so good to see you, girl!’

‘Ugh,’ Liv says, disgusted, ‘keep your hands off of me, Suarez, before some paparazzi thinks we’re having an affair.’

Amara lets her go, and looks her in the eye. ‘Are you ok? Like, for real?’

‘Yeah,’ Liv responds, rolling her eyes. ‘I was told this would be relaxing. Clearly it doesn’t mean for me.’

Drake pops his head through the door. ‘Of course you can relax, Nevrakis. Come on in guys. Amara made drinks, and there’s a shitton of food.’

Maxwell comes in first, and wraps Drake in a bear hug. Amara feels like her heart might explode. ‘Thanks for having us, Drake. We missed you guys.’

Hana hugs Drake too, and chimes in, ‘It’s true! What would we do without Dramara?’

Liv rolls her eyes and sighs. ‘Walker, where’s the drink you were talking about?’

*****

Liam glances at his phone, finally a text from Drake.

Hey, sorry I missed your calls, I’m tied up at the cabin and reception is terrible, catch up tomorrow? Hope all is good.

Dismissive, but it’s something. Liam sighs. Only five minutes until his next meeting. In the end, he’s glad Bastien talked him out of going to the cabin unannounced. Bastien was right, he wouldn’t have had enough time to make it back to his meetings, and he had one with the Ambassador of Greece.

He feels silly all of a sudden, being so needy towards his friend, after they had such a complicated few weeks. Sure, he’d been there for Drake after Jackson died, but who wouldn’t have? Plus, Drake had been there for him countless times before, and after that. So, really, he doesn’t know why he’s counting points right now. He types back.

No worries. I’ll see you in Portavira tomorrow.

Typing bubbles.

Why don’t you come by the cabin for lunch? I’m having the Beaumonts over, Hana, Liv, and Amara.

Liam catches himself sighing in relief. He wasn’t being completely iced out. Maybe Drake was really busy, maybe there was some maintenance problem at the cabin, maybe it was all in Liam’s head. He replies as fast as he can, before Drake changes his mind.

I would love to. Is noon ok? We have to be at Penelope’s estate at 3.

The bubbles come back.

Perfect. See you then. Don’t bring anything.

Heh, Drake knows him well. He was already thinking about which vintage bottle of wine to bring. Liv will be there, which he’s thrilled about. He’ll get to see how she’s doing, without having to do it one-on-one again. Less awkward.

A knock on the door. One of his butlers, George, peeks his head in.

‘Your Highness, Miss Ioanna Papadakis, Assistant to the Ambassador of Greece.’

Surprised, Liam promptly answers, ‘Let her in, thank you George.’

*****

Drake puts his phone away and joins the crowd outside on the patio. Everyone is already moderately tipsy, thanks to the strong margaritas prepared by Amara.

‘Guys,’ Drake announces, ‘Liam said yes to lunch here tomorrow.’

Maxwell nods, ‘Good, I’m glad you two touched base. He was distressed today.’

‘Thanks for telling me,’ Drake says, grabbing his glass again. ‘I can’t believe that Bertrand covered for us. I’m in shock.’

Hana swallows her sip of margarita. ‘It was glorious, Drake, you should have seen it. He lied for you, just like that! And thank goodness, because Max and I were at a loss for words, and Liam looked very suspicious.’

‘It doesn’t matter if you manage to cover it up or not,’ Liv says, breaking her silence. ‘when it comes out, and it will come out, Liam will be furious.’

Drake doesn’t know what to say to this. She’s probably right, but he doesn’t need this right now, and neither does Amara. He looks at her, she’s nodding and frowning, staring intently at her glass. Finally, she speaks.

‘You’re probably right, Liv, but what do you suggest, then? That we stop living our lives? That we break up? That we just jump out the window?’

Drake didn’t expect Amara to react so viscerally. Upon hearing her say ‘break up’, his heart shattered. No, he certainly doesn’t want that. He glances at Liv, who went even paler than usual.

‘I’m sorry, Suarez,’ Liv finally says. ‘I didn’t mean to upset you. I know, things are shit, but it doesn’t mean that we stop ourselves from living our lives in the meantime. Let’s enjoy ourselves, dammit.’ She raises her glass and says ‘It obviously pains me to say this, but cheers to all of you guys, who are...pretty decent people. I guess.’

Amara finally breaks into a smile and clinks her glass to Liv’s. ‘Very heartfelt, Nevrakis. I’m almost tearing up.’

‘Shut up,’ Olivia replies. ‘Before we all get super drunk and Beaumont inevitably forces us to play Never Have I Ever or some shit--’

‘Ohh, good idea,’ Maxwell whispers.

Liv glares at him. ‘I was saying, before we get shitfaced, there’s something I want to say. I’m ok. Don’t worry about me. I’m dealing with all of this, and I don’t need to talk about it.’

Amara smiles and nods, until she finally talks. ‘You know we’re here for you, if you need, though. But before we change the topic, can I ask you an inappropriate question?’

Liv sighs. ‘Yes.’

‘How is Ilya coping? I mean, his dick was under everyone’s plate.’

Drake almost chokes on his margarita. Olivia chuckles, and responds, ‘You know what’s funny? I hadn’t even wondered about that until Rashad asked me. To me, Ilya was never anything more than, well, his dick. Never occurred to me that there might be a man attached to the genitals.’

Amara raises her glass and her eyebrow. ‘I’ll drink to that.’

*****

‘Wait, so you mean there’s someone out there blackmailing everyone?’

He doesn’t know how they got here, drinking whiskey in the middle of the afternoon and talking about his life. He simply had offered her a drink, and next thing he knew, he was pouring more than whiskey. There was no stopping the flow of words, and Ioanna was not even attempting to make it stop.

‘Well, I wouldn’t really say blackmailing,’ Liam responds, ‘because so far, no one has asked for anything in return. Just revealing private things about two of the contestants, and hopefully it stops right here.’

Ioanna whistles, and says, ‘Forgive me, Your Highness--’

‘Liam. Please call me Liam. Our official meeting is over.’

She nods. ‘Sure. Liam. I don’t mean to be indiscreet, but do you know who that might come from? Maybe one of the contestants who is trying to keep your favors?’

‘Could be. Honestly for right now there’s not much I can do, I put my bodyguard and the security team on the case, they’re looking for clues.’

‘Wow,’ Ioanna says, shaking her head.

It felt good to talk to someone, even a complete stranger. He had met Ioanna before, he recognizes her, but they’d never talked. He’d always talked to the Ambassador, but today he had the stomach flu, so Ioanna filled in.

‘Thank you for listening,’ he says, smiling brightly. ‘I didn’t mean to bore you with my life story.’

She dismisses him with a hand gesture. ‘Please. Your life story is everything but boring.’

He chuckles. ‘Thanks. I don’t know if it makes me feel better. Oh, and thank you for filling in today. I’m not saying I don’t enjoy the Ambassador’s company, but it was lovely to get to spend some time with you.’

She laughs lightheartedly. ‘I’ll be sure not to tell him that, and just so you know, I enjoyed our meeting too. Thanks for having me.’

They say their goodbyes, and Liam lets his next meeting in.

‘Bertrand! Hello again.’

Bertrand looks stressed. He is dressed way too formally, even though Liam told him this morning that it was going to be more of a friendly chat regarding Barthélémy Beaumont’s legacy. Bertrand is wearing a black tuxedo, and underneath, instead of his usual sweater vest, he has a bright blue cumberbund, embroidered with satin in the shape of little squids. Liam wonders for a second whether he lost his top hat and his monocle.

‘Hello, Your Highness,’ Bertrand responds formally, curtsying. ‘Thank you for having me.’

‘Thanks for coming, come have a seat, and maybe let’s have a little drink, huh? We’re just gonna have a friendly chat, so you can relax.’

Bertrand nods and sits down, visibly a tad relieved. ‘Yes, well,’ he says, still nervous, ‘I would like to seek your council on the best way to announce that my father loved a man, without harming his memory. My brother and I talked about it, we researched Father’s long-time partner, and as it turns out, he passed away last year. Maybe we could do something in their name, like a donation to an LGBTQ foundation?’

Liam smiles broadly. ‘Wow, Bertrand, that is extremely thoughtful. I don’t think any of this would ever harm your father’s memory. Maybe you and Max could draft a statement, I can take a look at it when it’s convenient, and we can put all that in place together. We’ll call an official announcement.’

Bertrand’s smile relaxes slightly. ‘That would be great. After you left this morning, Maxxie and I drafted something already. Here’s a paper copy, and I will send it to you via email as well.’

‘Wow, you guys are efficient,’ Liam says as he pours the scotch.

‘Ha! Well, we want it done as soon as possible. I’m itching to fire that… that weasel Albert, who’s been blackmailing all of us for years. I want to do that once we have made the announcement, though. We don’t want Albert twisting the truth or taking over the announcement.’

Liam nods, ‘Of course. Let’s get this show on the road, then.’

*****

‘Never have I ever slept with a woman!’ Liv slurs, pleased with herself.

‘No fair!’ Maxwell squeals. ‘I never win either way in this type of thing.’

Hana reluctantly has another sip, although she definitely is tipsier than ever and does not need any more alcohol. After he finishes drinking, Drake says, ‘Don’t take the bait, Max, it was a ploy to make us all drink except Amara. These two are going for a face-off.’

Amara laughs, and takes her turn. ‘Never have I ever… owned a squid suit!’

‘Amara!’ Maxwell yelps. ‘You betrayed me, you little bastard.’ He drinks another big gulp, and pursues, ‘I never thought my beautiful squid suit would be the death of me.’

‘Alright Max, your turn,’ Amara says, laughing.

‘Hmmm,’ Max hums, in an exaggerated thinking pose. ‘Never have I ever had sex on these very lawn chairs.’

‘Come on, Max,’ Hana giggles, ‘that’s too specific, and who would do that outsi--Oh…’

She interrupts herself as she notices both Drake and Amara taking a huge gulp from their drinks, all the while trying to contain their laughter.

‘Sorry hun,’ Amara says, after finishing her sip. ‘I promise we cleaned them, though.’

Hana laughs, blushing, ‘Oh, good to know. I mean, get it girl, or, like Bertrand would say, Yass Kween.’

Liv lets out a throaty laugh. ‘What? Bertrand said what?’

Max snorts, ‘Yeah, I made him watch Queer Eye and now there’s no stopping him! He’s going full Jonathan Van Ness on us!’

‘Wow,’ Liv continues, ‘he’s gotten woke ever since he found out that your dad liked dick.’

‘Olivia!’ Amara cries out.

Max smiles sadly. ‘It’s ok, Amara, we might as well laugh about it, right? I knew when I told Liv, that there would be no stopping the jokes, so here we are.’ He takes another sip. ‘Bertrand is coping well, actually. I’m proud of him.’

Liv nods, visibly flushed. ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to sound this crass. I know it must have been weird to deal with. And for what it’s worth, I didn’t tell anyone, and I won’t. I’m only talking about it because everyone here knows.’

Max shrugs. ‘I know, Olivia, it’s fine. I appreciate that you feel comfortable enough to laugh about it, I prefer it this way. As for Bertrand, he’s always been a bit stuck up, but he’s only been this bad since Dad died and he was left in charge. Before, he had a very sweet side, which I’m starting to see again, little by little. It’s nice to have my brother back.’

Amara’s eyes flutter down, just like every time someone says something like that. She feels Drake’s hand on her knee, discreetly comforting her.

It’s all different now. Someone is there for her.

Several someones. She looks around and feels her heart filling with love, and curses herself right away for being too sappy. Her new, close friends around some drinks, teasing each other and dropping truth bombs. That’s exactly what she needed.

Maybe that’s why she came, after all. That, and the handsome, brooding man from the bar. And to think it was the end of her shift, too. She’d have to thank Daniel for bailing on her that night. Bless his Grindr hookup, really.

Feeling a tear escape from her eye, she takes a deep breath and gets up. ‘Let me refresh your drinks, guys. I’m the bartender after all!’

She disappears into the kitchen with the tray of glasses, and preps some more margaritas. She’ll make them frozen this time. They need a serious buzz.

‘Hey, you ok?’

She turns around and sees Drake approaching her, and soon enough, his arms are around her waist. ‘I’m fine.’

‘You don’t look fine,’ he says before kissing her neck.

‘Gee, thanks!’

‘Heh, I meant you look wistful. Was it Max’s brother comment?’

She shakes her head. ‘Oddly, no. I mean, it triggered me a little. Fuck, I would give just about anything for Sergio to be here with all of us.’ Her voice breaks. ‘I miss him even more when something good happens to me, you know. But I don’t want to be the weirdo with the dead brother, I don’t want Max to have to tiptoe around his relationship with Bertrand when I’m here.’

He kisses her neck again. Damn, that’s efficient. ‘You’re not a weirdo. You’re an awesome badass bitch, and you’re hot as hell.’

She giggles. ‘And you’re a hot, drunk mess.’

‘I’m fine, just giggly because of the tequila. I’ll probably have to be supervised while grilling. You changed the subject though. What made you tear up?’ She stays silent and he continues, ‘I saw it, Amara. I know you more than you think.’

She sighs. He really does. ‘I feel stupid saying it. I’m just happy to have met all of you, and, well, remember when I made you watch Jane the Virgin?’

He rolls his eyes in an exaggerated manner to signify that he hated it, but she knows that he secretly loved it. ‘Yes Ma’am.’

‘You know when her heart glows when it’s full? Well, I felt the same out there, just now. I’m happy to be here with you, and I don’t want it to stop.’

He sniffs her hair, probably wanting to be sneaky, but she hears the sniffing loud and clear. He says, ‘I get it. I feel the same. I’m happy we’re all here, and I hate to say it, but it feels like a last hurrah. Like something bad’s gonna happen.’

‘Exactly. I don’t know if it’s gonna be in Portavira tomorrow, or this weekend at the Decision ball, but I’m not feeling good about the near future.’

He flips her around, and takes both of her hands in his. ‘Do you feel good about the future-future?’

She chuckles, ‘What?’

He shrugs, and brushes his thumb across her hand. ‘I don’t know. Maybe this week is just a bad storm that we have to get through. Maybe we could see it like that. Maybe if we hold on really really tight, during that shitstorm, maybe then, we’ll be ok?’

She throws her arms around his neck and places a long kiss on his lips. ‘I love that. Let’s hold on really tight.’

*****

Liv gets up to go to the bathroom, and realizes to her surprise that her legs can barely carry her. She didn’t have all that much to drink, did she? Well, Suarez’s cocktails are deceptive. They taste good, but they’re all kinds of strong.

Not like last night’s vodka. It tasted like pure alcohol, and it got her just as drunk as she thought it would. The only surprise in all of that, was Rashad.

Why is she even thinking about Rashad right now? She doesn’t have time for this bullshit. She has to watch her back. What if he’s in on it? What if he’s one of the people who exposed her?

Meh, she thinks. She would be really, really surprised. Not because he couldn’t, but because he really wouldn’t have a proper motive. He doesn’t give two shits about court, as long as he can conduct business.

‘Ew, gross,’ she says as she stumbles upon Suarez and Walker making out in the kitchen. ‘The cook and the bartender sucking face, that’s hygienic.’

Suarez laughs, ‘Well you’re a delight.’

Liv shrugs. ‘Do you think I hurt Beaumont’s feelings?’

Walker chimes in, ‘I don’t think so. You didn’t mean anything offensive by it, and it’s Max, not Bertrand. He wasn’t shocked.’

Olivia snorts, ‘True, he’s also very much into dick.’

‘Don’t push your luck, Nevrakis,’ Suarez replies.

‘Alright, I’ll stop. Where’s the bathroom?’

‘There’s one right there, near the stairs on the right.’

‘Thanks.’

On the short walk to the bathroom, she notices a family portrait of the Walkers as kids, and the parents as well. She almost forgot what Jackson Walker looked like. She’d always esteemed him. Honorable guy, willing to lay down his life to save the King’s. Tragic for his family. She thinks of her own, for a split second, just like she does several times a day. She realizes she can’t really remember what her own parents looked like, not without the aid of a photo. She remembers smells, voices, smiles. Not entire faces.

As she washes her hands, she looks at her face. Her makeup is a fucking mess, she’d need to fix it. Or maybe it’s not necessary, it’s just them. No one to impress here.

In one swift motion, she removes her lipstick. It stains the side of her mouth. Dammit, she thinks, in all movies, women are able to remove their makeup seamlessly, why not her? She wets her face until it disappears. She removes the tiny dagger that holds her hair up, until it curls down her shoulders. A while since she let her hair down, literally.

She stares at herself for what feels like a brief moment, but it must have been longer than that, because when she gets out of the bathroom, Suarez is outside, a worried look on her face.

‘Everything ok?’ she asks.

Olivia wants to be annoyed. She wants to tell her to mind her own fucking business. But she can’t. She’s actually touched that she cares. ‘I’m fine. You need the bathroom?’

Suarez shakes her head. ‘No. You look pretty with your hair down.’

Liv stifles a smile. ‘Thanks. And you’re glowing. You two must have fucked like rabbits.’

She laughs, ‘Well, you’re not wrong. But it was a little more elegant than that, I like to think.’

Liv smirks, and walks back to the kitchen alongside Amara. She looks at her pouring the frozen margs into the salt-rimmed glasses.

‘Suarez, you sure we can handle so much booze? I have to admit I’m a little...shitfaced.’

‘Ha! Me too. But Drake is firing up the barbecue, it won’t take long for the burgers and hot dogs to be cooked. He’s setting the table outside, there’s potato salad, coleslaw…’

‘You got yourself a nice little house boyfriend, huh?’

Suarez smiles in a sweet way, completely ignoring what was meant to be a dig. ‘You have no idea how much I’ve been enjoying this. It feels real. Shopping with him, cooking together, being outside in nature--’

‘Fucking outside in nature.’

‘Yeah, that too. But, the normalcy, you know. It did something to me. Made me realize some stuff.’ She stops herself and shrugs, chopping a lime to put some slices on the glasses.

‘Suarez?’ Liv asks hesitantly.

‘Yeah?’

She takes a deep breath. Damn you, margarita. ‘You know when you said that I might have been too focused on Liam to see anything else?’

‘Yeah, I remember saying something super insightful along those lines. Go on.’

Liv chuckles. ‘Well, I… Don’t make a big deal about it, and don’t run your big mouth. But um, last night, I think I had a moment. With someone else.’

Suarez looks up from her cutting board, her eyes widening. Liv worries that she might cut herself until she puts the knife away. ‘What? You met someone in just one night? As Bertrand would say, apparently, Yass Kween!’

‘Calm down, bitch. It’s not like that. Nothing happened, it was just a nice moment, but when you said being here made you realize some stuff, I thought of last night. It did the same for me.’

Suarez nods, and breaks into a broad smile. ‘I’m happy for you, Liv.’

She shrugs. ‘Well, it’s probably nothing, but it made me feel good.’ She pauses. ‘Valued.’

‘That’s great. You deserve this much, and more. Do we know this gentleman?’

Liv sighs. She has no idea why she’s telling her all that stuff. ‘It’s Domvallier. Rashad.’

Suarez’s jaw drops. ‘What? Liv, he’s hot!’

‘Shh, come on. I said don’t run your big mouth. Nothing happened, he showed up in my room with vodka and pastries, he wanted to cheer me up. He didn’t expect anything from me, he just...wanted to be there. It was nice.’ She steals a glass and drinks from it. ‘We watched Killing Eve.’

Suarez raises her eyebrows several times and shimmies her shoulders. ‘Oooooh, Killing Eve! Did all the murders make you horny?’

Liv rolls her eyes. ‘Shut up.’

*****

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