NEWSLETTER
FEB_MAR 2013
ISSUE 1 - YEAR 3 | PALAZZI/FUA | FEBRUARY-MARCH 2013
BREAKING NEWS
ELECTION TIME IN ITALY by Blending Staff & Lucia Giardino
The upcoming elections in Italy, scheduled for February 24 and 25, will determine the Italian Chamber of Deputies and Senate, and ultimately the Prime Minister of the country. The strongest three candidates, Pier Luigi Bersani, Silvio Berlusconi, and current Prime Minister, Mario Monti, are no new faces to Italian politics, however important novelties have developed around the current round of elections thanks to the evolution of technology. Social media election coverage by journalists and media experts, as well as a high increase in campaigning through digital media, have brought about a noteworthy change in the landscape of Italian politics. Here are just a few of the many sites and media tools to check out (In Italian): The first social media site dedicated to following Italian election candidates and campaigns in real time can be viewed at http://www.italia2013. me/. Italian readers may find all candidates’ Twitter accounts gathered at www.twitantonio. it/, while http://polismeter. it/ monitors web mentions of political candidates and parties.
Almost as a commentary to the contemporary Italian political culture in this critical moment of the upcoming elections, a new art exhibition based on politics will open on February 21 at the Galleria Biagiotti in Florence. La Mala Educatión, curated by Pietro Gaglianò, features young artists who were teenagers during the 1990s when Silvio Berlusconi was first elected as Prime Minister (1994). The concept of this exhibition is that these artists have developed a “bad” (mala), yet necessary “behavior” (educatión), in order to contrast the “bad behavior” inspired by the conformism of Berlusconi’s era.
tradition from Gramsci to Pasolini. I do not know if it will influence the elections, but I hope so. Do you think art plays a role in creating political consciousness? Of course it plays a role; it also creates meanings. Art is politcs, but it must be declared.
Blending asked Gaglianò a few questions before the opening of La Mala Educatión: What kind of relevance might this exhibition have in relationship to the upcoming elections? The exhibition poses questions on the moral education of a generation who grew up during the so called era of Berlusconism. Therefore, it proposes a critical point of view on this social culture, also considering the Italian historic political
GAETANO CUNSOLO, Una volta un tizio mi ha detto che si vedeva chi della mia generazione non aveva fatto il militare…, mixed media, cm 20x30, 2013. [Someone once told me that it was evident that my generation hadn’t been in the army.] Image courtesy of the exhibition La Mala Educatión.