Santa Nastro responds to Gian Maria Tosatti on generational struggle in art

In a July 2020 article on Artribune, critic and journalist Santa Nastro (born 1981) responds to artist Gian Maria Tosatti's earlier piece on OperaViva magazine (June 22, 2020) about the difficulty of the TQ (thirty-forty) generation to leave a mark and "kill the fathers." Nastro agrees that her generation failed to overthrow the previous one, which she describes as dysfunctional Dorian Grays who push old age forward. However, she adds a mea culpa: her generation was not angry but desired to be loved and famous, obeying cultural parents who promised success in exchange for compliance. She references Pink Floyd's "Mother" (The Wall, 1979). Nastro criticizes the generation for traveling alone, lacking the fraternity seen in Arte Povera circles (often cited by Tosatti). She mentions the death of critic Germano Celant, calling him a giant, but expresses horror at social media posts suggesting art history ends with him or that art is now rudderless. Nastro calls for a feminine, generative thought, for her generation to become parents—of children, works, mature ideas—and to build the present. She warns against repeating the mistake of delegitimizing younger generations, urging instead to teach them to unite, take risks, and not remove complexity. The piece ends with hope that the next generation will "kill" them too, but after having made the ground fertile again.