Opinion & reviews

Editorials, critical reviews, analyses, commentaries, and viewpoints on the contemporary art world.

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Why Art Has Not Become an Industry Like Fashion opinion-review
Stefano Monti argues that the art market lacks the industrial structure of fashion, despite both sectors sharing creative and artisanal roots. While fashion has developed a…
Italian Art Archives in Crisis: The Carla Lonzi Case Sparks National Debate opinion-review
The debate surrounding the Carla Lonzi archive has once again stirred discussions in Italy regarding the preservation and accessibility of modern art archives. Artists, curators,…
Art Bonus 10 Years On: Dario Franceschini on Cultural Patronage in Italy opinion-review
Ten years after introducing the Art Bonus tax incentive, former Italian Minister of Cultural Heritage Dario Franceschini reflects on its impact. The measure has raised nearly €1…
Firenze d'estate: turismo, Rinascimento e la città che rende tutti turisti opinion-review
Christian Caliandro riflette sulla natura unica di Firenze, città che non mette ansia ma trasforma ogni visitatore in turista, anche i residenti. La cupola di Brunelleschi ha un…
The rhetoric of leaving Rome: from Verdone to Remotti opinion-review
Carlo Verdone's recent outburst about wanting to leave Rome has reignited a recurring cultural discourse. The actor, who plays a character leaving the city in Paolo Sorrentino's…
Mental Health in TV Series: From 13 Reasons Why to Euphoria opinion-review
The article traces the evolution of mental health representation in television series over the past decade, identifying 2017's "13 Reasons Why" as a watershed moment. Based on Jay…
YouGov survey on Italian museum attendance reveals skewed data opinion-review
A YouGov survey promoted by Ansa claims 6% of Italians visit a museum at least once a month, which would translate to over 3.5 million people making about 46 million annual…
Italy's cultural heritage protection needs a triage model opinion-review
Fabrizio Federici argues that Italy's cultural heritage protection system is failing due to a lack of prioritization. Even when funds are available, they are often wasted on…
Photography's Shifting Gaze on Female Beauty Standards opinion-review
The article examines how male photographers like Peter Lindbergh, Mario Testino, Mario Sorrenti, Steven Meisel, Terry Richardson, Patrick Demarchelier, and David LaChapelle have…
Paris Olympics Blasphemy Controversy: Catholic Censorship of Queer Tableau opinion-review
The 2024 Paris Olympics opening ceremony sparked accusations of blasphemy from Catholic groups over a tableau vivant featuring queer and trans performers. Critics claimed the…
Christian Caliandro argues art has lost its critical function in times of crisis opinion-review
In a reflective essay on Artribune, Christian Caliandro contends that contemporary art has become decorative and speculative, losing its capacity to foster understanding and…
Artists as Celebrities: The Rise of the ArtiStar opinion-review
Contemporary society no longer needs art objects but requires artists who create spaces for reflection on otherwise overlooked themes. The symbolic value of images dominates…
Tarantino's Cinema Rewrites History Through Alternate Realities opinion-review
In a detailed analysis on Artribune, Christian Caliandro examines Quentin Tarantino's post-2009 filmography as a deliberate project to alter historical narratives. Starting with…
Bari's Summer: Lilac Flowers, Historical Fakes, and Cultural Marketing opinion-review
In a personal essay for Artribune, Fabrizio Bellomo reflects on Bari's summer landscape, blending memories of abandoned beach clubs with observations on cultural marketing and…
Italian cultural spending: football outpaces theatre and cinema in 2022 opinion-review
Federculture's annual report on Italian cultural consumption reveals a troubling trend: despite a narrative of cultural revival, spending on live performances like theatre,…
Sandi Hilal and Alessandro Petti on Pro-Palestine Campus Encampments opinion-review
In an interview with Artribune, architects Sandi Hilal and Alessandro Petti, winners of the Golden Lion at the 2023 Venice Biennale and founders of DAAR (Decolonizing Architecture…
Can industrial R&D save Italy's contemporary art system? opinion-review
The Italian contemporary art system suffers from chronic crisis and lack of self-sufficiency, with artists struggling for international recognition and collectors favoring foreign…
Rome's Summer: How Much Public Space Do We Need? opinion-review
In a contemplative essay, Stefano Ciavatta examines the public areas of Rome in the summer, emphasizing the conflict between shared spaces and privatized zones. Following the…
Trump assassination attempt and the visual history of US political violence opinion-review
Christian Caliandro analyzes the July 13, 2024 assassination attempt on Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, framing it within a long visual tradition of US political violence.…
Florence's new culture councilor lacks cultural experience opinion-review
Florence's newly elected mayor Sara Funaro has appointed Giovanni Bettarini as assessore alla Cultura, despite his lack of specific cultural experience. Bettarini, 54, previously…
Italian Free Museum Sundays: Success or Unsustainable? opinion-review
On the tenth anniversary of Italy's 'Free Sunday at the Museum' initiative, Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano released provisional visitor data for the first Sunday of July…
AI and satellite tech could end archaeological delays in construction opinion-review
A common belief holds that archaeological finds slow down construction work, but Stefano Monti argues this is a misconception rooted in outdated practices. In the age of…
Sergio Leone's Time Trilogy: Memory, Nostalgia, and the Birth of Postmodern Cinema opinion-review
Christian Caliandro examines Sergio Leone's 'time trilogy,' which includes Once Upon a Time in the West (1968), Duck, You Sucker! (1971), and Once Upon a Time in America (1984), a…
Italy's airport naming tradition clashes with Berlusconi Malpensa proposal opinion-review
The Italian government's plan to rename Milan Malpensa airport after Silvio Berlusconi, just one year after his death, breaks the customary ten-year waiting period for public…
How mass image production is reshaping written language opinion-review
Domenico Ioppolo contends that the proliferation of images since the iPhone's debut on January 9, 2007, is transforming written language. He outlines the transition of Italian…
Louis Fratino's Biennale Paintings: Style Over Content? opinion-review
At the 2024 Venice Biennale, a room in the central pavilion at the Giardini is dedicated to new paintings by Louis Fratino (b. 1993, New York). The works depict queer domestic…
Enrico Camprini on the Curator's Role: Responsibility, Compromise, and the Need for Authentic Collaboration opinion-review
In a conversation with Artribune, Enrico Camprini, an independent curator born in 1995 in Forlì, shares insights into his curatorial approach and philosophy. A graduate in…
Italian Piracy Losses Hit €2 Billion, But Not All Pirates Are Equal opinion-review
Nearly 40% of Italians accessed audiovisual content illegally in 2023, causing an estimated €2 billion revenue loss from about 319 million piracy acts. However, the article argues…
Torino's identity crisis: Carlo Ratti's vision of a Milan-Turin metropolis opinion-review
Carlo Ratti, incoming director of the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale, argues that Turin's future lies in merging with Milan to form 'the largest metropolis in southern Europe.'…
Review of Faber-Castell Polychromos Colored Pencils for Professional Art opinion-review
An artist's review evaluates Faber-Castell Polychromos colored pencils, noting their oil-based composition, high lightfastness, and durability. The pencils are described as…
Christian Caliandro argues content-driven art is a market-friendly escape from true politics opinion-review
In an essay on Artribune, Christian Caliandro contends that politically themed art often neutralizes its own political potential by prioritizing subject matter over form. He…
AI Reveals Art as Human Necessity, Not Product opinion-review
Stefano Monti argues that the rise of artificial intelligence paradoxically reaffirms art as a fundamental human need, not merely a finished product. He contrasts everyday…
Flavio Favelli critiques content-driven validation in contemporary art opinion-review
In a recent article on Antinomie, artist Flavio Favelli compares his works "Traliccio Tunisi" (2019) and "Ferro di Confine" (2023) with Kiluanji Kia Henda's "A Espiral do Medo"…
Italian Art Historian Slams British Cultural Arrogance Over Omission in Artist's Film Book opinion-review
Marco Senaldi, an Italian philosopher and art theorist, critiques British cultural arrogance in an opinion piece on Artribune. He highlights the omission of Italian artist film…
Public space as cultural resource: a call for radical rethinking opinion-review
Massimiliano Tonelli argues that public space is the last major economic asset of Italian municipalities and should be leveraged for cultural purposes rather than squandered. He…
Danilo Miranda Criticizes Government Censorship of Artists in Brazil opinion-review
Danilo Miranda has voiced concerns about government censorship in Brazil, arguing that artists are being restricted by a lack of support for production. He emphasizes that without…
ChatGPT as Art Critic: Daniele Torcellini Tests AI's Critical Eye opinion-review
Daniele Torcellini, an art critic and curator, conducted a series of dialogues with OpenAI's GPT-4o to test its ability to produce art criticism. He provided the AI with a…
Overtourism in Italy: It's an Organizational Problem, Not a Numbers Game opinion-review
Stefano Monti argues that overtourism in Italy is not a problem of too many tourists but of poor organization. He compares the phenomenon to a Sunday lunch at grandma's house: the…
Pino Boresta Reflects on Art Symposium at Galleria Nazionale di Roma opinion-review
On May 27, 2024, the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea in Rome hosted The Art Symposium, organized by Guido Talarico, director and founder of InsideArt, and the…
Biennale Arte 2024: Shabby Chic and Contentism Triumph in Pedrosa's Curatorial Vision opinion-review
Christian Caliandro's critical review of the 60th Venice Biennale, 'Stranieri Ovunque / Foreigners Everywhere,' curated by Adriano Pedrosa, argues that the exhibition epitomizes…

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