Christian Caliandro's personal reflections on memory and art

Christian Caliandro, an Italian contemporary art historian and professor at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze, writes a personal essay for Artribune on May 2018. He intertwines memories of his youth in Petrosa Jonica, Italy, with reflections on art, music, and the illusion of security. He recalls listening to Stone Temple Pilots' "Core" in May 1999 at age twenty, while checking a family genealogy with his father. His cousin Giorgio enters to announce his daughter's first communion, which will take place at Sala La Pentima, a historic venue where Caliandro will later marry and which will be demolished for a condo. Giorgio dies two weeks later in a car accident. Caliandro also describes listening to King Crimson's "Three of a Perfect Pair" on an amaca at the Timpano college in Pisa in April 2000, while discovering films by Antonioni, Fellini, and Alan Parker's "The Wall." He reflects on the need for flexibility and absence as a strategy, and criticizes the contemporary desire for reassurance and formulas. The essay includes references to The Cure's song "Lost" and Masaccio's fresco "San Pietro risana gli infermi con la sua ombra" (1425-27) in Florence's Santa Maria del Carmine. Caliandro is a member of the scientific committee of Symbola Fondazione per le Qualità italiane and has published books on contemporary art.