7 days in Rome ....... where to start - for some reason I
had never been so an extensive tour of the top tourist locations were on the
list - with the exception of the Coliseum and St Peters in the Vatican (pay to
go in the lift) I would not recommend them - mainly due to the mass of tourists and no thank you I do not want to buy a selfi-stick - or maybe I should get one.....
A few of the truly extraordinary experiences off the so
called beaten track include....The mummified monks at Santa Maria della
Concezione, the dazzling crypt under Santa Cecilia in Trastevere, the view at
night of and from Giuseppe Garibaldi's mausoleum, the walk from and tasting
deep fried artichoke for the first time. Also managed to see some exceptional
contemporary art in the most extravagant settings - both the buildings and the
amount of staff on hand in what were often deserted spaces. The Macro has two
sites - both fascinating - one in a deserted meat market which had disturbing (in
a good way) work by Michael Fliri http://www.michaelfliri.com/
The other is in a converted Perone factory - it had an eclectic show about
time, highlighting work that was familiar but by Italian artists - it was also
showing work by william kentridge of his Rome project - but the highlight was
the bizarre toilets - fantastic https://vimeo.com/18862925
The Maxi has to be experienced - a truly challehging version
of where and how art should be displayed but it often it just got in the way.
Zaha Hadid's building has the greatest spaces and I know I will find myself
talking about it for some time but I'm unsure if it works as a display space
for art or maybe the tension it creates is the point - It had thoughtful work
which focused on current issues in Turkey - the use of textiles was extensive -
special mention to work of Gülşah Kılıç http://tersyontersyon.blogspot.co.uk/
a mock radical coat and the films of Burak Delier https://burakdelier.wordpress.com/.
especially songs of the possessed and Crisis and Control. There was also a show
by Jimmie Durham which was fantastically jolly hung within a room with challenging
windows and floor and also a show from a firm of radical designers from the 70s
called SuperStudio - some far out (in a
good way) ideas https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superstudio
- it also has a great buffet lunch on Saturday. spent 20 minutes trying
to find the Gavin Brown experience space and then we did and it was closed! -
see last photo and the excellent signage - back to work
