Christian Caliandro's Reflections on Transformation and Artistic Practice

Christian Caliandro, an art historian and professor at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze, publishes a personal essay titled "Scene dalla Grande Stagione (I)" on Artribune. The text explores themes of transformation, particularly the shift towards the feminine in contemporary culture, and the challenges of evolving gender roles. Caliandro discusses a conversation with Virginia Zanetti about the traumatic yet necessary changes in gender dynamics and their impact on art and culture. He contrasts the difficulty of discussing these topics with men versus the fluid exchange with women artists. The essay also delves into the nature of writing, proposing two methods: one driven by premeditated reasoning and another where writing precedes thought, allowing the hand to guide the mind. Caliandro emphasizes the danger and necessity of new, unexpected content in a stifling cultural context, advocating for complexity, refraction, and constant transformation. The piece references a quote from Jesse-Ethan Hawke in Richard Linklater's 1995 film "Before Sunrise" to illustrate the perpetual adolescence of adulthood. An image of Sidney Nolan's "After Glenrowan Siege (Second Ned Kelly Series)" from 1955, held at MoMA New York, accompanies the text.