Christian Caliandro on Art, Criticism, and the Construction of Normality

Christian Caliandro, an art historian and cultural studies scholar teaching at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze and a member of the scientific committee of Symbola Fondazione per le Qualità italiane, reflects on the nature of normality, authority, and the role of art and criticism. Drawing on quotes from Sarah Kane's "4.48 Psychosis," Elio Petri's film "Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion," Federico Fellini's writings and his film "Roma," Lucio Battisti's song "Slow Motion," and an anecdote about Fellini's working method from Claudia Cardinale, Caliandro argues that contemporary art operates as a network of connections, an "infrastructure of relations." He contends that writing and art must mirror the fragmented, digressive nature of thought, rejecting ready-made, linear narratives as infantile illusions. The text, published on Artribune, is a philosophical essay rather than a news report, advocating for a critical practice that exposes lies and dismantles approximations, echoing Fellini's call to unmask falsehood as a precarious salvation.