Homage to Italian Sculptor Arnaldo Pomodoro

Bill in front of the 'opening' piece, Le Battaglie ("The Battles" 1995), which Pomodoro says was inspired by Paolo Uccello's "La Battaglia di San Romano" ("The Battle of San Romano" - first half of 1400s) in Siena. (Hisham Matar's "A Month in Siena" has many incisive pages devoted to this painting.)

Italian sculptor Arnaldo Pomodoro died a little over 2 weeks ago, June 22, the day before his 99th birthday. His works are prominently featured in Rome, including his "smooth-skinned orb slashed to reveal a complex core"--to borrow from the New York Times obit here in front of the Farnesina (the Italian Department of State/Foreign Affairs). To mark his passing from his extraordinarily fruitful life - to the end - we are reprinting here our June 2023 review of an extensive and educational (for us) exhibit of his works in the Fendi-restored Palazzo della Civilta' Romano in EUR.

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A little late to the game, we "discovered" Arnaldo Pomodoro, thanks to a newspaper ad on the opening of a new exhibition of some of his large-scale works at Fendi's gallery at the restored Palazzo della Civilta' Romano in EUR. It's not that we hadn't seen his work before - we have long appreciated the globe/sphere in front of the Farnesina, the Italian "state department" in Rome. His "sphere within a sphere" are all over the world, we now know.

The exhibition at Fendi  - Il Grande Teatro delle Civilta' - "The Great Theater of Civilizations" - is remarkable for its installation of numerous enormous works - on the scale of Richard Serra's (though Pomodoro's are one-sided - one cannot walk in and around them).

The Palazzo (also known as the "Square Coliseum") is itself so imposing that at first we found Pomodoro's works installed outside of it simply too small and squatty.

Case in point, right.  Dianne tries to figure out what it is - against the backdrop of a much more imposing statue from the building's original design. Turns out it's Agamemnon, and the design was for a Greek theater production in 2014 in Siracusa and so, makes sense. It wasn't designed for this place.

Two aspects of the exhibit appealed to us. First, the delight of children grooving to the artwork, as at left.

Second, the excellent and informative flat material that gives shape to Pomodoro's lengthy career. He's about to turn 97 (the English language Wikipedia entry says his active years WERE 1954-2005 - whoops!). These are displayed in bright, large glass cases, slide-out drawers - both vertical and horizontal. We were intrigued by his work in the graphics medium.

And we learned about the placement of his works around the world. Newspaper articles and drawings showed that one of his obelisk-type sculptures had been installed on the Gianicolo, in a highly visible but unlikely spot - the traffic circle on the way up to the Bambino Gesu' Hospital that hosts the large entrances to the bus parking for the hordes visiting St. Peter's and the Vatican (you can also access the Caput Mundi shopping mall Bill wrote about recently from this underground parking venue). Below is the sketch - but it must have been there because there also were photos of it being installed. We missed it "in the flesh."

Left, Dianne checking out one of the drawers with sketches, newspaper articles, graphic works, and explanations. (If only my kitchen drawers worked this well!)

A hand-out at the exhibition shows the location of Pomodoro's works around Rome. We later were on a tour of Palazzo dello Sport (Nervi's ground-breaking building for the 1960 Olympics; Ali - as Cassius Clay - won his gold medal here), which features a Pomodoro obelisk in another once-traffic-circle (named Piazzale Pier Luigi Nervi), now abandoned and rather forlorn.

The photo at right shows the condition of the piazza and statue.

We've heard the complaint (and are tempted ourselves) to view Pomodoro as a "one-trick pony." If you unwrap the obelisk, it looks like the flat pieces. The shapes are similar throughout his work. 

The exhibition at Fendi ends with a newer piece (1996-97, below) that is a complement in white to the introductory Le Battaglie that leads off this post.

To us, it didn't seem to move the needle much in terms of his art. 

The title of the work is Movimento in pieno aria e nel profondo ("Movement in free space and in the depths" - or something like that!).

Close-up at right.

On the other hand, if one looks at his costumes, graphic work, public art - the way it is placed in the world, his vision seems greater.  

We close with some of these other pieces, including our having fun with them - which is a benefit of art as well.

If you can't get to Rome to see Il Grande Teatro delle Civilta' - "The Great Theater of Civilizations" before it closes October 1, the website is comprehensive. It includes all the works, plus a visual tour, plus a map of his works all over the world.

In Italian and English here: https://arnaldopomodoro.fendi.com/en/

Dianne

RST with one of the costumes, this one from 1986 for Didone (Dido), one of my favorite tragic heroines. .

There's a relationship between the faux "printer's wheel" outside (Rotativa di Babilonia - Babylon's wheel, 1991) and the graphics-type work inside (Tracce I-VII - Traces 1-7, 1998) (above and below).

A close-up of Il cubo ("The Cube," 1961-62), one of the first works in the show, and one one of us found intriguing - maybe because it had some "white space" in it.

Below is the most recent of Pomodoro's sculptures in the exhibition - Continuum, 2010 - one that seems to highlight made-up hieroglyphics. Pomodoro's large, rectangular pieces remind us of Richard Serra's, but the Italian sculptor's are very much 2-dimensional with bas relief, not the 3-dimensional, run-around-and-through-it of Serra.

The artist with his barbed take on Fendi's Peekaboo bag - on display during the exhibition: 

(Image credit: Carlos & Dario Tettamanzi)

Contemporary Artisanship in Rome: Trompe L'Oeil

Artisanship is alive and well in Rome. We've found it in odd places (a luthier, a watch-band store, a glove shop - though some of those did not survive Covid). And, most recently, in our landlady for our San Lorenzo Airbnb. 

Licia Rossi (aka the landlady) is a wonderful artist, and also, with her partner, a purveyor of trompe l'oeil. We visited her San Giovanni studio and watched her at work.

Licia Rossi in her San Giovanni studio.

Her painting, which is her passion, has been exhibited widely. The trompe l'oeil, which we had not seen so pervasively in contemporary interiors, was equally intriguing.

Right, a design for a bedroom wall - and the painting for the wall design to the left of the photo of the bedroom.

Left, Licia's partner, Antonio Malleo, working on one of their wall paintings.

 

And here, a true tromp l'oeil from their Facebook site:

Another work we liked that shows off their "chromatic" approach (their Facebook and Instagram pages bear the word "cromaticamente"):

You can see more of their art - and Licia and Antonio at work - on their Facebook page, which will lead you into more photos on Instagram.

https://www.facebook.com/malleorossi/

Below this post, a few more photos, including the unassuming "street" in San Giovanni where Licia's studio is located.

Dianne

Licia with her sketches.

Visiting the studio.

C'era Una Volta: Once Upon a Time, there was a Tram

San Lorenzo is known for its wall art, and justly so, and most of it is where one would expect--on the exterior walls of the neighborhood's buildings. But one that caught our fancy is located not only inside, but inside a commercial establishment that's only been around a few years: C'era Una Volta [Once Upon a Time There Was...] Il Caffe--basically a bar like any other bar, serving coffee and sandwiches. On some evenings, men gather to watch a soccer game on a small TV. There's a place to bet on sports. 

C'era Una Volta is located at a critical intersection in San Lorenzo, where the historic via Tiburtina (San Lorenzo's "Main Street") and via dei Reti (the core of the area's transportation system) come together.

A grey day in San Lorenzo, looking straight up via dei Reti, with C'era Una Volta at right

The back room, usually open only for lunch, is a pizzeria/cafeteria, and on its back wall is that mural. "Once Upon a Time," the mural tell us--and it was only a few years ago at most--via dei Reti was a thorough for trams, though cars and trucks used it too. As far as we know, the only tram that ran on those lines--one in each direction, between Piazza Verano and Porta Maggiore--was the #19, right there in the mural. Until earlier this  year, several miles of the tracks used by the #19 tram were being repaired. The tram had been replaced by a bus--yes, the #19.

The mural (above) doesn't do justice to the bar's clientele. While C'era Una Volta has women customers, most of its patrons are men. Indeed, of the 5 or 6 tables on the sidewalk outside the bar, one or two are usually occupied by older men (or one older man), using the table as a space for social interaction, sometimes without any purchase. Just a place to hang out. 

Inside, too, most of the patrons are men

In contrast, the only patrons in the mural are women, and upper-class women at that, with fancy coats and vintage hats out of the 1930s. Their red lips--and the empty chair covered in red--are a nice touch, suggesting an elegance that the caffe', comfortable and efficient as it is, doesn't possess. On the sidewalk, a woman in more ordinary dress appears to roll up a sleeve, and another, behind her, seems to be picking something up. 

There's only one obvious male in the mural, and not a single student, or so it would seem, even though today's San Lorenzo is populated by, and enjoyed by, students from the nearby university. 

Prominently featured, although it hasn't been in operation for more than a year, is the #19 tram. 

Bill 

San Lorenzo is a fascinating neighborhood. Here are a couple prior posts featuring it.

San Lorenzo: Where Maria Montessori Got Her Start

The Mural on Scalo San Lorenzo: Reading the Politics of the Neighborhood

Rome's Public Markets: a Cautionary Tale

Cemetery wanderings - a great trek through Cimitero Verano in Rome

Sites of Anti-Fascism: Trionfale, Garbatella, and San Lorenzo

 

"Conclave" - 2 Film Critics' 3-Star (out of 4) Review

 

Conclave ★★★

Because the Papal Conclave began today (May 7), we offer 2 Film Critics' review of the 2024 film by Oscar-winning director Edward Berger.

Availability: The film is being shown again in some theaters nationally and internationally. It is also available on multiple platforms for purchase or rent, including Amazon Video, AppleTV, and Fandango at home. See Just Watch here for future streaming options.

I Doubt, therefore I Am

The Pope has died. His successor will be chosen by the Conclave, an institution at once elitist (the gathered cardinals of the Catholic Church) and democratic (one man/one vote, secret ballots), guided by a Dean (Cardinal Lawrence, Ralph Fiennes) specially selected by the Pope for what will prove a formidable task. There are the theological/institutional differences, of course, with Cardinal Tedesco (an Italian [Sergio Castellitto] whose name translates as “German”—perhaps a stand-in for German Ratzinger, Benedict XVI) at one end of the spectrum, advocating a return to the church’s pre-ecumenical days and looking forward with Crusades-like zeal to war with the heathen Muslims; and at the other end, Cardinal Bellini (the over-exposed, food-show veteran Stanley Tucci, lacking gravitas for the role), mouthing the liberal mantra of diversity, equity, and inclusion. A third player, Cardinal Tremblay of France (John Lithgow, without a French accent), by implication shares Bellini’s liberalism, but his interests are elsewhere.

Above, Ralph Fiennes (front, left) as Cardinal Lawrence

and Stanley Tucci (right) as Cardinal Bellini.

 

What will most concern Lawrence is neither the church’s theological foundation nor its future structure, but its corrupt present. 

The Papacy has long fascinated writers of novels and film. Recent offerings include “The Two Popes” (2019), “The Young Pope” (TV miniseries, 2016, by Italian director Paolo Sorrentino), and “We Have a Pope” (2011, by director Nanni Moretti; in the original Italian release titled “Habemus Papam”). Yet in this latest treatment of the Papacy from Oscar-nominated director Edward Berger (“All Quiet on the Western Front,” 2022), what will most concern Lawrence is neither the church’s theological foundation nor its future structure, but its corrupt present. A mere Dean (“just a manager”) of the process, Lawrence functions as a thoughtful, independent, selfless (though not without being tempted) investigator of ethical violations and wrongdoing at the highest levels of the Sacred College of Cardinals.

 

The screenplay is at its core a somewhat old-fashioned detective story and, at the same time, a morality play.

 

Curiously, the rather contrived plot requires that Lawrence regularly violate the requirement that the Conclave be a sequestered sanctuary, free from all outside influences. The screenplay by Peter Straughan (“Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy,” 2011), based on Robert Harris’s 2016 eponymous novel, is at its core a somewhat old-fashioned detective story and, at the same time, a morality play, all of it dipped in intrigue. Each of Lawrence’s forays into the informational world outside the Conclave triggers one perverse chain of events after another. Making the central figure a pragmatic, ordinary man, rather than a charismatic spiritual leader, is an interesting choice, though not unheard of in the detective realm, Columbo being the archetype. Berger and Fiennes have created a finely tuned, subtle protagonist.

Though he is less than fully comfortable with his access to information from beyond the walls (including via a computer owned by Sister Agnes [Isabella Rossellini]), Lawrence is practical, crossing ethical lines when he believes it necessary to produce a just result. Like Judge Tanya Chutkan, who released information in the election-interference Trump case during an election season, Lawrence apparently has decided that not to follow an information trail would be to lack the courage of a morally responsible leader.

Less than credible as a dramatic device is Lawrence’s decision to break the seal and enter the dead Pope’s chambers, hoping to find something. Also less than credible are Lawrence’s tense and loud (Tucci, especially) discussions with the major players that take place not in private but in a dormitory hallway and a stairwell.

 

No part of the actual Vatican City State appears on screen.

The Vatican won’t like this film, and certainly did not approve its filming, since no part of the actual Vatican City State appears on screen. Knowledgeable Romans will be amused that the church’s exterior spaces are represented by the massive columns of EUR (miles away, and built by Mussolini’s Fascists), the French Academy, the nymphaeum at Villa Giulia, and the courtyard of the Chiostro del Bramante, among the dozen locations. Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel, the site of the Conclave, is a reconstruction erected in Rome’s famed Cinecittà studios, and one never sees the artist’s “hand of God.” Otherwise, the film has the feeling, at least, of verisimilitude: the bowl/device in which the ballots are deposited is featured, as is the small furnace in which the counted ballots are burned and the appropriate color added to make the smoke emitted black (a ballot with no majority) or white (a new Pope has been elected). Turtles, which appear at least twice, are a rather over-determined symbol of spiritual independence, and maybe more.

As a woman, even the head nun, Sister Agnes (Isabella Rossellini), left, is not supposed to have a say in the Conclave—except, in another twist in the film, she does.

You’ll see the new Pope selected—a choice at once absurd, overly symbolic, and hardly believable. The new Pope’s identity cleverly and importantly returns the film to Lawrence, who is always at the center of this story, and to a speech he delivers early in the film that arguably articulates the lesson of the morality play. The great danger for those gathered, as Lawrence explains, is in excessive certainty. With certainty there is no doubt, without doubt there is no mystery, and without mystery, no need for faith. Lawrence has doubt aplenty, and just enough faith—in his own skills and values, and in the Conclave process—to be “just” the manager he needs to be.

 

The great danger for those gathered, as Lawrence explains, is in excessive certainty.

 

Despite its flaws, “Conclave” is a highly entertaining film, anchored by a brilliant performance by Ralph Fiennes.

 

He says: I kept waiting for Tucci’s Bellini to say, “best carbonara I’ve ever tasted!"

She says: The “shouters” around Fiennes—Tucci, Lithgow, Castellitto—have the odd effect of making his nuanced performance seem even better.
Box photo at top of review: Cardinal Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes, front and center) is the manager/detective/pragmatist at the heart of Conclave." Competing for influence are, from left, Cardinal Bellini (Stanley Tucci), Sister Agnes (Isabella Rossellini), and Cardinal Tremblay (John Lithgow).

Date: 2024

Director: Edward Berger

Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, Sergio Castellitto, Isabella Rossellini

Runtime: 120 minutes

Country: United States, United Kingdom

Language: English, Italian, Spanish, Latin; most non-English lines subtitled in English

Other Awards: 4 wins and 2 other nominations