Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Freed, Lourdes (Lou)

Titel

The Annals of Art I in Naples, Italy

Ort / Verlag

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses

Erscheinungsjahr

2006

Link zum Volltext

Quelle

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses A&I

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• In Europe where culture conjures ancient heritage, some cities view Contemporary Art with disapproval because it is radically different from traditional art and architecture. The assumption underlying this paper was that Naples is one of those cities. To determine the validity of the assumption, research focused on four Contemporary Art exhibits held in the city of Naples, Italy, between June 2003 and February 2004: Jeff Koons, Anish Kapoor, Mario Giacomelli, and Hiroshi Sugimoto, during the first phase of Campania Region's innovative project, Annals of Art. Naples, the major city of southern Italy's Campania Region, has long been known for its deep, extensive Greek, Roman, Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, eighteenth- and nineteenth-century roots: Thus, the Annals of Art theme, Tempo incerto ("Uncertain Times"), had a double meaning: first, the instability of contemporary society caused by terrorism, violence, and moral decline and second, an uncertainty that Annals of Art I would be accepted in a city so rich in ancient artistic traditions and masterpieces. With the traditional heritage of Naples in mind, the thesis was that Annals of Art I would not succeed, meaning it would be rejected. Measures of success used were the Annals Committee's confirmation of continuing the next phase, Annals of Art II, museum visitors' comments, art critics' reviews, museum attendance statistics, and print media coverage. Contrary to expectations, nearly all measures of success confirmed that the Contemporary Art exhibits in Annals of Art I were successful and were not rejected in the city of Naples.