ART | Mental Map
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Below are ten images to represent both what has influenced the way I think, and what inspires me.
1. Milan | Where I was born and lived for many years before moving to California
[ pic ] The Duomo is the cathedral church of Milan, Italy. The Gothic cathedral took nearly six centuries to complete. It is the fifth largest cathedral in the world and the largest in the Italian state territory
2. ISIA | Where I went to high-school
[ pic ] The Villa Reale (Royal Villa) was built in the 18th century (1777-1780), by the architect Giuseppe Piermarini one of the most important representative of the neoclassic style in Italy. Designed for the Archduke Ferdinando d’Austria, governor of Lombardy, it was the residence of archdukes, viceroys and kings.
3. Catholicism | How I was brought up
Catholicism and Arts in Italy are seamlessly integrated in people’s lives.
[ pic ] The Pietà (1498–1499) is a masterpiece of Renaissance sculpture by Michelangelo Buonarroti, housed in St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City. The sculpture, in Carrara marble, depicts the body of Jesus on the lap of his mother Mary after the Crucifixion.
4. Fantasy | The first children’s book I saw on the screen
[ pic ] The Adventures of Pinocchio was a television drama in five episodes, taken from the novel by Carlo Collodi , directed by Luigi Comencini. Pinocchio is a naughty, pine-wood marionette who gains wisdom through a series of misadventures which lead him to becoming a real human as reward for his good deeds.
5. Advertising | My bed-time stories
[ pic ] Carosello, a collection of little stories, cartoons, and fairy-tales on television to promote products in a familiar, homely, and seemingly innocuous way. The program was so wildly popular with children that a new phrase was born, a common refrain repeated from parents to children: “A letto dopo Carosello” (“go to bed after Carosello”).
6. Love | Intense, passionate and full of joy
[ pic ] The Kiss, Gustav Klimt. It is said that Klimt’s inspiration was brought on by his trip to Italy in 1903. He was inspired to use gold when he visited the Church of San Vitale. The Byzantine mosaics gave him a new perspective when it came to using the flatness and depth which brought a whole new style to the color. This was the start of his journey to using gold and silver in his paintings.
7. Fashion | Style and elegance
[ pic ] Erte, Russian-born Art Deco designer whose prolific career in theater, sculpture and the graphic arts spanned most of the 20th century. He designed hundreds of covers for the monthly fashion magazine Harper’s Bazaar. His highly stylized designs of sinuous women draped in beads and furs helped define fashion for a generation.
8. Architecture | Technological innovation is the topic of my thesis
[ pic ] The Eiffel Tower, La Tour Eiffel in French, was the main exhibit of the Paris Exposition — or World’s Fair — of 1889. It was constructed to commemorate the centennial of the French Revolution and to demonstrate France’s industrial prowess to the world.
9. Interior Design | The style I chose for my house
[ pic ] The Bauhaus movement began in 1919 when Walter Gropius founded a school with a vision of bridging the gap between art and industry by combining crafts and fine arts. The Bauhaus movement is characterized by economic sensibility, simplicity and a focus on mass production. The Bauhaus movement teaches “truth to materials” as a core tenet, which means that material should be used in its most appropriate and “honest” form, and its nature should not be changed. The Bauhaus movement transformed the design and production of modern furniture by incorporating the use of steel as frames and supports for tables, chairs, sofas and even lamps. The use of machine-made, mass-produced steel tubing created simple forms that required little handcrafting or upholstery and contributed to the streamlined, modern look of Bauhaus furniture.
10. Dreams | Listening to music in a magical city
[ pic ] Venice at night
