by Anna Dalaidi The 20th century society was complex and full of controversies: dynamic and stagnant, rebellious but still deeply obsolete, rampant while on the verge of collapsing. During the first decades of the 1900s, the so-called artistic avant-garde depicted the tense climate of uncertainty and unstoppable change by breaking the traditional rules of academicism,… Continue reading Music and Dance
Tag: art
Outcry Awareness: Vandalism for the Sake of Environmentalism?
‘A visitor to the Louvre tried to smash the glass protecting the world’s most famous painting before smearing cream across its surface’- the news outlet Reuters reported in May 2022. Seeing these outlandish headlines some months ago definitely brought global attention to the fight against climate change once again. The attempted destruction of world-renowned works… Continue reading Outcry Awareness: Vandalism for the Sake of Environmentalism?
Pop Art: A Celebration or a Critique of Consumerism?
Artists’ attitudes towards consumerism and the culture of mass media The concept of consumerism arose from the economic, political, technological, and cultural context of late 19th and early 20th century capitalism. Since the industrial revolution, society began consuming at a much higher rate than before. The development of technology and cheap fossil energy brought and… Continue reading Pop Art: A Celebration or a Critique of Consumerism?
On Beginnings – September 2022
A monthly review curated by the Mass Media and Culture team An ode to beginnings, as so many come and go, we forget to appreciate those seedlings of opportunity we reap at harvest. Though the seasons pass, the ripeness of opportunity never decays. For everyday blossoms a vast array of possibilities, where our daily tasks… Continue reading On Beginnings – September 2022
On Despair
‘No. I didn’t cry … I just kept thinking that when human beings get that way, they’re no good for anything.’ Osamu Dazai, No Longer Human pg. 176 Human suffering romanticised; a genre of drama which entertains the misery of the unfortunate, that of the tragedy. Consistent in the human condition is the notion of… Continue reading On Despair
On Metamorphosis – April 2022
A monthly review curated by the Mass Media and Culture team Embrace the dull pulse of growing pains. A transformation so deep it can be considered a metamorphosis that requires the hostage of our whole self. A process so human it fills mythology. Like Sisyphus pushing the boulder, we are bound to a cycle of… Continue reading On Metamorphosis – April 2022
On Serendipity – March 2022
A monthly review curated by the Mass Media and Culture team There’s that peculiar feeling when everything somehow works out your way. It’s those moments that appear unexpectedly, like a respite of warm sunlight on a day of thunderstorms, that bring color to life. It’s the feeling when you meet your soulmate at a coffee… Continue reading On Serendipity – March 2022
The Overlooked Artistic Legacy of a Forgotten Building
If you live in Milan, especially in the Bocconi area, you know this building. Locally known as a “buco nero” or “fortino delle droghe”, countless rumors circulate of rampant drug use and illegal activity. There was once a literal Al-Qaeda hideout in one of its studio apartments. The derelict façade and seemingly cheerless courtyard do… Continue reading The Overlooked Artistic Legacy of a Forgotten Building
The Contradiction of Aesthetic Diversity
Luxury fashion brands time and time again spark controversies in China because of their insensitivity in representing Chinese images. In November of 2021, a photograph displayed at the exhibition Lady Dior As Seen By was once again heavily criticized by netizens. The work, entitled Reserved Pride, features a freckled Asian woman wearing a Qing Dynasty-esque… Continue reading The Contradiction of Aesthetic Diversity
The Aesthetics of Order in Chaos
My middle-school mathematics classes were held in the basement, room 01. There was nothing pretty there, not the stained walls nor the humid smell. Most of the students had woken up less than an hour before, paying little attention to our teacher, laser focused on the clock’s minute hand. Customarily, a student asked, ‘what is… Continue reading The Aesthetics of Order in Chaos