Fase Due: Connessioni – Christian Caliandro on Art and Interconnection

In the seventh installment of his 'Fase Due' series on Artribune, Christian Caliandro argues for radical interconnection as a response to the present. He rejects the current era as 'cheap' and superficial, advocating for the construction of a new present through collaboration. Caliandro critiques the art world's past spectacles, such as a diamond-encrusted skull and a marble middle finger in front of Milan's stock exchange. He calls for liberation from vertical, masculine, egocentric thinking, embracing instead open, experimental ideas from a troubled world. Problems like racism, patriarchy, sexism, classism, and economic inequality are interconnected, as are their solutions. Authentic political and social innovation must also be artistic and cultural. Referencing James Baldwin, he highlights the freedom found in jazz and blues. The common thread among certain Italian artists today is their articulation with the whole—context, reality, nature—and the absence of boundaries between self and world. Drawing on Donna Haraway and the Ubuntu philosophy as explained by Laeticia Ouedraogo, Caliandro posits that evolution comes through connection, fusion, and intersection, not fear of losing oneself. The series is accompanied by artworks from Alessandro Scarabello and Anna Capolupo.