Ludovico Pratesi on Contemporary Art and Archaeology in Rome

Ludovico Pratesi reflects on the dialogue between contemporary art and archaeology, starting with the 2000 edition of 'I Giganti' at the Fori Imperiali in Rome. Jannis Kounellis created a silent concert of instruments and coats on marble blocks in Trajan's Forum, evoking Giorgione and Titian. Ettore Spalletti placed a silver circle between stones, nearly invisible. In 2001, Joseph Kosuth's 'Frammenti di Vitruvio' featured luminous panels with quotes from Vitruvius at Trajan's Forum, while Marina Abramovic's 'Cutting edge' used seven ladders with knives against the Forum of Caesar. In 2003, Mario Merz installed a giant neon Fibonacci spiral among ruins. Currently, Ugo Rondinone presents five white aluminum casts of ancient olive trees at the Mercati di Traiano. Pratesi cites historical artists like Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo, Palladio, Scamozzi, Bernini, Borromini, Piranesi, Canova, Libera, and Sironi as precedents. He argues that such dialogues revive Rome as a living metropolis, not a static museum, and warns against dividing history into blocks. The exhibition 'Par tibi, Roma, nihil' runs until October 23, 2016, at the Palatino, curated by Raffaella Frascarelli.