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Scandal at the Academy (detail)

Carlo Maltese2009

Guatemala - Biennale Arte 2015

Guatemala - Biennale Arte 2015
Venice, Italy

With Scandal at the Academy Gallery of Florence, the artist wishes to express his criticism for that kind of subculture, notional and surface, which often hits the average traveler on a trip to Florence, and as in other cities, in front of extraordinary masterpieces of the past. In this case a small statue of David by Michelangelo, transposed so irreverent, different even from souvenirs for sale in the square, exhibits his features to a group of tourists that They are laid bare to have a more explicit and sexual contact with the young hero, highlighting as the physical aspect is for them the most interesting attraction compared to Michelangelo's masterpiece. The scene, adorned with arches and columns, reminiscent the architecture of the Florentine Quattrocento, as well as the painted floor chessboard, help to give a sense of elegance to the panel that recalls an ancient altarpiece. The seven dolls interpret different attitudes ranging from embarrassment the wonder, the discomfort of the scandal, to the more open curiosity about exhibitionism of David reinterpreted. There is, in this sort of "symbolic humanization" of people take part in the panel, an explicit denunciation of the mass tourism, turning to Italy and beyond, merely appreciate the outer beauty of forms, without investigating their history and often limiting the knowledge of a masterpiece only gave aesthetic.

Details

  • Title: Scandal at the Academy (detail)
  • Creator: Carlo Maltese
  • Date Created: 2009
  • Physical Dimensions: 156x100x22 cm
  • Type: Assembly
  • Medium: Plastics, wood, paint

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