Christian Caliandro on Art as Reality and the Post-Pandemic Shift

In a reflective essay published on Artribune, art historian Christian Caliandro argues that the true artwork is not the object but the event and the reality it points to. He cites Andy Warhol's 1965 exhibition at the ICA Philadelphia, where the artist realized the show was the event itself, not the paintings. Caliandro connects this to the pandemic as a catalyst for new thinking, urging a break from vertical, egocentric systems toward open, experimental engagement with a troubled world. He invokes Germano Celant's 1983 text on radical social critique and the Velvet Underground's "I'll Be Your Mirror" to argue that art, the sacred, and truth reside in reality itself. The essay includes references to Carl Gustav Jung, Anna Capolupo's 2020 painting "Snake '97," and the author's own location in Torre di Palme, Fermo. Caliandro teaches at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze and serves on the scientific committee of Symbola Foundation.