student exhibition fall 2015

S t u d e n t E x h i b i t i o n F a l l 2 0 1 5

M E DIT E R R AN E A

D E R E


M E D IT E R R AN E A

D E R E


On Friday, December 4, 2015 at 6pm, the Corridoio Fiorentino at Palazzo Doni will host the opening of the “De Re Mediterranea” exhibition presented by the students and faculty of DIVA and the School of Fine Arts of FUA.

The exhibition features FUA student work in the form of photography, painting, drawing, choreography, and other media based on the Mediterranean theme. A special section will be dedicated to the research project “Florence, a Multiethnic Mosaic” guided by Matteo Pretelli .

The student work shown in this exhibition is a collaboration of learning and doing. All the students, this semester, have been learning about the Mediterranean culture and not only have they been learning about it - they have been immersed in it. These are their fi nal projects, expressing their inspirations from this unique culture.

Participating classes and their professors:Classes from DIVA:Simone Pierotti Street Photography and Advanced Digital PhotographyJuri Ciani Introduction to Creative Videomaking Ivka Markovic Introduction to Computer Design

Classes from SAS School of Fine ArtsGaetano Cunsolo Advanced PaintingNicoletta Salomon Words, Painting, and Emotions: the Mindmap of Creativity Paride Moretti Mixed Media

Classes from the J School Fabio Binarelli Intercultural Communication

The Mediterranean is defi nitely the space in which human civilization has achieved a very early and rich

development. But it is also the space of the most intense crossing and exchange between different

cultures for ethnic, linguistic, cultural, religious, political structure. This feature will become the

hallmark of “Western civilization” and will be the master of it will bloom in literature, philosophy, science,

music and visual arts. In the age of globalization and advanced technology, and secular humanist

inheritance of classicism, it gives important functions the Mediterranean space. Universalism and versatility

of cultural traditions help provide not fragile bases to processes of ethnic, social, and political integration. The cosmopolitan vision inherited from the Greek-

Roman world and revisited by Christianity can underpin non-mercantile process of unifi cation of the world. In this context, an important responsibility goes to France, Italy, Spain, that are more advanced in the process of modernization. They have at the same

time the function of representing the views of the new members facing the international community and

that to assert in the less developed the principles of coexistence set by the new democratic international law.

Giovanni RossielloFaculty CoordinatorFaculty Coordinator


Matteo PretelliResearch Project CoordinatorResearch Project Coordinator

Florence, a Multiethnic Mosaic

Florence is the place of destination for immigrants of different ethnicities, nationalities

and races, mostly attracted by the city’s reputation for tolerance towards ‘outsiders.’ The

presence of an array of communities, in particular from Africa, East Europe and South

America, is transforming Florence into a globalized cosmopolitan city.

Based on Experiential and Field Learning core activities, the project “Florence,

A Multi-Ethnic Mosaic” aims to bring students of the Florence University of Arts closer

to the fascinating realm of immigrants living in the city. With the objective of generating

prolifi c cultural encounters, students with different backgrounds were encouraged to

meet, interview and fi lm members of these communities, and to participate in their cultural

events. Videos, photos and captions (mostly extracted from students’ research papers)

displayed in this exhibition are the outcome of student research.

Department of Mass Communicat ionFabio Binarelli

Florence a Multiethnic Mosaic

Students:

Erica Kavanagh, Sarah Waller Interns - FUA Communication and Marketing Offi ce

Cassandra Kernick, Chelsea Robinson, Hailey Hansen, Andrew DiGiovanni,

Sara Allison, Ben Saef, Carmela Pearsall, Abigail Ashe Intercultural Communication

F l o r e n c e , A M u l t i e t h n i c M o s a i c

Cassandra Kernick

“Arriving in Florence, I was an outsider. With blue eyes and pale skin, I stood out. As I am not from any part of Europe, in all technicality I am extra-comunitaria.

However, I do not face the discrimination or prejudice that those from less privileged countries do here. [...]

Through this project I have had the ability to interact with Eritreans, Colombians ,and Somalis and the thing that remains constant for all of their cultures is the

importance they put on gathering together. Maybe this is simply the reaction of being in a foreign place-sticking together becomes the only way to really adjust. Or maybe it simply comes from the importance of community that is ingrained

in civilizations other than America and Europe, where the ‘every man for himself ’ mentality is more commonly accepted. [...]

From this project I chanted at an Eritrean wedding and heard the stories of a Somali refugee. I drank traditional Colombian coffee and typical Somali tea.

I talked to people with stories of triumph and stories of tribulations. But at the end of the day, I was able to connect with them all on a human level. We shared

hugs and handshakes, and ultimately exchanged our worldviews and culture. Immigration may be a topic of heated opinions but one thing is certain-we are all

human and we’re all just trying to make the best of the life we’re given.”


Department of Photography Simone Pierotti


Students:

Spencer Sisselman Advanced Digital Photography

Cavarocchi Shannon, Rebecca Menezes, Sydnie Kroneberger Street Photography

The works presented by students of Street Photography and Advanced Digital

Photography represent the starting point of a larger and ambitious research

project conducted by FUA, which aims to expose students to the migrant

community in Florence.

For the creation of this project, students have been challenged on two different levels:

the technical aspect of the image production, as well as a human and personal aspect,

that will inevitably involve the photographer when approaching at a different reality

from his or her own.

An ability to observe and listen with an unbiased perspective that goes beyond

all forms of prejudice is fundamental for this innovative project, for which the

students have portrayed representatives of the various communities of migrants

in Florence.

During the course of this project, FUA students have explored these stories of

migration, the success, and the diffi culties of individuals forced to leave their

home country, which we can all relate to in some way through our personal and

family backgrounds.


Rebecca MenezesS a n t o s , B ra s i l

U n i ve r s i d a d e P r e s b i t e r i a n a M a c ke n z i e

Co l o m b i a n m o s a i c m a ke r M a r i o N av a r re te N i ñ o

M e d i a d i g i t a l p r i n t 6 0 x 4 2 c m


Rebecca MenezesS a n t o s , B ra s i l

U n i ve r s i d a d e P r e s b i t e r i a n a M a c ke n z i e

Mario Navarrete Niño at work in his studio in Florence


Ayan (Community of Somalia)

in her bar in Via Palazzuolo, Florence



Spencer S isse lmanL o u i s v i l l e , C o l o ra d o , U S A

Migrants



Sydnie KronenbergerD e n ve r, C o l o ra d o , U S A

S a i n t M a r y ’s C o l l e g e o f C a l i f o r n i a

Colombian mosaic maker Mario Navarrete Niño


Shannon CavarocchiB r y n M a w r, Pe n n s y l v a n i a

I n d e p e n d e n t

Angolan students dancing their traditional dance Kizomba at the Biblioteca delle Oblate, Florence.



Department of Video Juri Ciani


Student:

Ramzi Malouf, Margherita Innocenti , Spencer Sisselman

Introduction to Creative Videomaking Experiential Learning

Starting from De Re Mediterranean then passing through Migrants

Project, students have had the possibility to meet people with many

different cultures. During these meeting it has been possible to make

interviews, taking pictures and - in some cases - having the opportunity

to go deep in experimenting of mores that are coming from lands all

around Mediterranean Sea or more far away, but that

eventually meet here.

Students who had the chance to focus on roommate discovering

deeply their origin and their willingness and wishes:

A Colombian mosaicist who opened us his laboratory to show

the students’ particular handworks.

Representatives of the community of Benin who told us about their

experience in meeting Italian and Florentine culture.

An Eritrean wedding party with dances

and songs of popular culture.

And many other exciting experience told in this documentary.


Ramzi MaloufB e i r u t , L e b a n o n

F l o r e n c e U n i ve r s i t y o f t h e A r t s

Margher i ta Innocent iB a g n o a R i p o l i , F l o r e n c e , I t a l y


Spencer S isse lmanL o u i s v i l l e , C o l o ra d o , U S A

UntitledV i d e o


Department of F ine ArtsGaetano Cunsolo

De Re Mediterranea

Student:

Natalie Heddens Advanced Painting

The work of Natalie Hedens is situated in a space just right

before painting. Probably in the multiple possibilities

that the practice of drawing deserves.

We started to think in our meetings how to deal with

the Re Mediterranea theme and we ended up thinking

almost immediately to the concepts of shifting, displacement

and movement. But Natalie’s paintings shows an interrupted

movement, where the subjects disappeared, and what is left

is just masses of objects and clothes. Her representations

are the narrations of unknown paths, where everything is

suspended.

Her colors are bright, evanescent, and inconsistent.

The masses of clothes and objects are now the first subject,

hung and arrested in the projection of time.Those masses are

the leftover, depersonalized and useless, but the only things

that makes us question about the unknown

paths of their owners.

D e R e M e d i t e r r a n e a

Natal ie HeddensE d i n a , M i n n e s o t a , U S A

U n i ve r s i t y o f N o r t h e r n I ow a

Overabundance or Necessity?o i l o n c a n v a s 1 0 0 x 1 5 0 c m


Natal ie Heddens

Olive Green Sleeveless Shirt Mustard Crocheted Tights Eggshell Turtlenecko i l o n p a p e r - 5 7 x 7 7 c m


Department of Photography Simone Pierotti

Waiting

Student:

Emily McColl Street Photography

The work of the student Emily McColl is a part of the collective

installation “De Re Mediterranea.”

Emily’s interpretation of the conference theme is expressed through

a series of black and white photographs portraying landmarks of the

Florence city center. Squares and streets become places of transition

where blurred shadows dart around single figures, immobile and waiting

without an apparent individuality: waiting.

The photographs express the distance between the individual and

place. Despite the historical identity, place is reduced to a mere

background where silhouettes of people in constant movement flow

along the streets of this magnificent city, still immobile and tenaciously

anchored to the past.

W a i t i n g

Emily McCol lN e w Yo r k , N e w Yo r k , U S A

Untitledo i l o n c a n v a s 1 0 0 x 1 5 0 c m


Department of F ine ArtsParide Moretti

Decostruction of Depersonalization

Student:

Natalie Heddens Mixed Media

Through myths and tradition, all around

the Mediterraneo, the primordial aspect of weaving has been

experienced in projection upon the great mother who weaves

the web of life and spins the threads of fate, regardless

whether she appears as one Great

Spinstress or , as so frequently, in a lunar triad.

Weaving is a conscious act involving all the qualities

necessary for creating and producing.

The deconstruction in the title is directly related to the literal

deconstruction of the canvas happening string by string and

the act implies all connections opposite to the creation, also

touching the intimate aspects of the person.

D e c o s t r u c t i o n o f D e p e r s o n a l i z a t i o n

Natal ie HeddensE d i n a , M i n n e s o t a , U S A


Decostruction of DepersonalizationTe a r i n g s t r i n g by s t r i n g o f ra w c a n v a n s

(w a l l p i e c e a n d p e r f o r m a n c e)

1 6 0 x 9 0 c m

“Depersonalization is an

anomaly of self-awareness; it is

essentially when a person feels

they are watching themselves

from outside of their own body

(like they are on auto-pilot). I

want to dissect this anomaly

that I’ve experienced as well as

the canvas, so participating in

such a monotonous and tedious

action can allow me to do so. I

wanted both pieces to be raw,

natural, and simple so as to only

focus on this particular action of

taking apart a canvas.”


Department of F ine ArtsNicoletta Salomon

WonderStudents: Carolyn Alessi, Hannah Boyd, Vincent DelaCruz, Tiana Ferrante, Courtney Keating, Stephanie Leone, Susan Meyers, Alexis Petersen, Nicholas Redeker, KasMone Vasha Williams, Brooke Wise, Gabriella Andino, Nichole LegerWords, Painting, and Emotions: the Mind Map of Creativity

We entered the Mediterranean as a cradle of natural and cultural visual wonder, and wonder is the emotion of the philosopher, as stated by Plato in his Theaetetus. So, we entered this travel as wanderer, with the hope of experiencing those wonders as artists, and of developing our awareness of them as philosophers would do. I guided my class into tuning to colors and shapes, learning how to deeply sense them, connecting with individual sources of inspiration, and only after that inner process which stays beyond each piece of art, facing the canvas or paper. The Mediterranean concentrated energy, made of centuries of artistic gestures and philosophic reflections helped us to gain an emotional contact with the riche palette of waters and skies tones, greenery tones, and earth tones. The class was able to witness the emotional reactions as raised by mindfully living each color’s vibrations as displayed by the Mediterranean nature, both it’s surface and deep perspective, and than to transform them step by step into visual pieces of art, while always getting back to the first fresh impact: the wonder. We lived that as a blind wandering in the unknown with the excitement and awe that accompanies each of us when entering the Mediterranean Nature and Culture.

Nichole Leger’s project (“A Metamorphosis of Colors and Symbols of the Mediterranean”) displays an experience of the Mediterranean nature and culture through an elegant and rhythmic series of acrylics: subtle chromatic transitions,

variations of textures, research for symbols of the Mediterranean culture, fruits of the Mediterranean tradition as employed as painting tools are combined in a final work which preserves the mystery of the spiritual roots of our culture.

Gabriella Andino’s project can be read as a two-sided research about the lighted appearance of life and the quest for its dark abyss depth. In her series of colorful acrylic paintings a soft surface gets pierced by unstable and unsettling organic forms of life emerging from the unknown, while – in her video whith her choreography “Power that Black” as matched with her somber acrylic under the same title – she dared digging into that abyss of a scaring potential of life and death, an energy’s dark abyss made of earth and fires, which hosts as a cradle the contemporary troubled waters of the Mediterranean culture.

And, lastly, the group project “Fragment of Blues” stem as a wonderful surprise to me, which I interpreted as a gift of the Mediterranean Blue itself. The class worked in a friendly atmosphere of mutual sharing of ideas, feedbacks and working, while being able to exchange discoveries and doubts, and to witness each individual path of research: in this way it grew faster while enjoying the process. The idea of building up a mosaic of small size blue tesseras need to be viewed at as a wish of the Mediterranean itself to keep on preserving and nurturing its diversity in communication, where the manifold nuances of blue and types of brushing allude by synecdoche to the diverse individuality of the thousand of component of its historical and future cultural contribution to the World. Blue, the king color of the Mediterranean sea, is the color of deep thought and communication, which are probably the highest wishes we can formulate for the Mediterranean heritage today.

W o n d e r

Gabrie l la AndinoM o l i n e , I l l i n o i s , U S A

U n i ve r s i t y o f G e o r g i a

Power that BA c r y l i c o n p a p e r, 1 9, 5 x 2 3 , 5 c m

A c r y l i c a n d p i g m e n t o n p a p e r, 3 7 x 3 0 c m

A c r y l i c o n p a p e r, 1 4 x 1 3 , 5 c m

A c r y l i c o n p a p e r, 2 1 x 2 0 , 2 c m

A c r y l i c o n p a p e r, 1 9,1 x 2 0 , 5 c m

A c r y l i c o n p a p e r, 2 0 , 5 x 1 9, 5 c m


Carolyn Aless i , Hannah Boyd, Vincent DelaCruz, Tiana Ferrante , Courtney Keat ing, Stephanie Leone, Susan Meyers , Alex is Petersen, Nicholas Redeker , KasMone Vasha Wil l iams, Brooke Wise

Fragments of BluePa p e r/c a n v a s , 1 2 x 1 2 c m

Blue is a shrine of wonder. Precious, vibrating, deep or light, blues convey the hope of communication as well as ineffable states of mind that connect with subtle thoughts and the transcendence. Blue is the king color of the Mediterranean, and we dared entering it in his manifold declinations. As a source of inspiration the class also worked in my studio, where I shared with students my present artistic and philosophical meditation on the powers of Blue. Small tesseras-paintings are exhibited as traces of that collective meeting with the Blue, while witnessing in it ephemeral moments of nostalgia, tenderness, melancholy, and regality: all gifts of the Mediterranean sea.

Nichole LegerS u d b u r y, M a s s a c h u s e t t s

L a s e l l C o l l e g e

A Metamorphosis of Colors and Symbols of the MediterraneanA c r y l i c o n p a p e r, 2 2 x 2 5 c m

In my Words Painting and Emotions class we were given guidelines to use blues and earth tones to paint with. Starting with visualizing the ocean, and traveling in a bubble we began working with blue tones. Experimenting how the watercolors mimic the flow of the ocean

was where the process began. From there the class began experimenting with blues and earth tones. Focusing on how the colors we were using related to the Mediterranean concept and creating textures with different brush strokes. After experimenting with the color palette and discovering new brush strokes we were given our midterm assignment. Create a Mediterranean themed series of paintings.

From there I experimented with painting techniques and came across splatter painting. I liked how unpredictable creating each piece was and how unique each one became. I stuck with the blue and earth tones and tried to create patterns and textures of how I felt about the

Mediterranean. For the blue palettes I focused on creating the flow of the water, the ripples and bubbles formed as the water moves. I even used the end of a lemon to create a background texture that reminded me of sea plant life. I used deep blues on black backgrounds

to represent the unknowing the depth of the ocean holds. Light and dark blue combinations represent the shallower parts of water and how the ocean varies in color depending on the daylight reflecting off it. As for the earth tones, I focused on representing the dirt and

soil, which the grass and plants grow from. One painting I used a celery wedge to create a tree bark texture. Every painting was made in the makeshift studio I created in my apartment fireplace. Surrounding myself with stone and sitting on the hardwood floor added to my inspirations for the paintings. Each texture was created based on patterns I noticed on my walk to school or inspiration from the Louvre as

well as other museums. The series was a process that took time and effort to form completely.

W o n d e r


Departmet of Visua l Communicat ionIvka Markovic

Recycling the News

Students:

Alessandra Moretti, Chau Minh Thai, Daniela Anselmo, Garrett Day, Harley Bode,

Josh Berendes, Nick Mitchell, Sylvia Rojas

Introduction to Computer Graphics

Students were given a number of high fashion,

art, and lifestyle magazines to choose a limited

number of pages from.

This material was to be manipulated with the goal

of conveying their own personal reflection,

perspective of the refugee (migration) crisis.

In the light of recent events and our perception heavily

influenced by media outlets, students have

analysed news reports and carefully developed their concepts

before working with scans from their

selected pages only.

Final result are collages collected from another

aspect of our reality communicating (instead)

human suffering.

R e c y c l i n g t h e N e w s

Alessandra Morett iB a g n o a R i p o l i , F l o r e n c e I t a l y


Vicious CircleD i g i t a l p r i n t 6 0 x 4 2 c m

Chau Minh Thai V i e t n a m


Safety D i g i t a l p r i n t 6 0 x 4 2 c m


Danie la AnselmoE d m o n t o n , A l b e r t a , C a n a d a


La Nave Dei BambiniD i g i t a l p r i n t 6 0 x 4 2 c m

Josh Berendes L e M a r s , I ow a , U S A


PurgeD i g i t a l p r i n t 6 0 x 4 2 c m

Garrett DayM o b i l e , A l a b a m a , U S A


UntitledD i g i t a l p r i n t 6 0 x 4 2 c m

Sylv ia RojasQ u e e n s , N e w Yo r k , U S A

H a r t w i c k C o l l e g e

UntitledD i g i t a l p r i n t 6 0 x 4 2 c m

R e c y c l i n g t h e N e w s


Nick Mitchel lWe s t U n i o n , I ow a , U S A


UnknownD i g i t a l p r i n t 6 0 x 4 2 c m

Harley Bode

Lost WomenD i g i t a l p r i n t 6 0 x 4 2 c m

R i n g r a z i a m e n t i A c k n o w l e d g e m e n t s

Gabriella GanugiFUA PresidentFUA President

David WeissDIVA ChairDIVA Chair

Giovanna Franciosa Sydnie Christine KronebergerBrianna Suzanne TepperMeaghan WhiteStudent CuratorsStudent Curators

Giovanni RossielloFaculty CoordinatorFaculty Coordinator

Giulio VinciDIVA and IDEAS Academic CoordinatorDIVA and IDEAS Academic Coordinator

Matteo PretelliPh.D. Researcher, FUA Florence University of the ArtsPh.D. Researcher, FUA Florence University of the Arts

Fabio BinarelliIntercultural CommunicationIntercultural Communication

Simone PierottiAdvanced Digital PhotographyAdvanced Digital PhotographyStreet PhotographyStreet Photography

Juri CianiIntroduction to Creative VideomakingIntroduction to Creative Videomaking

Gaetano CunsoloAdvanced PaintingAdvanced Painting

Nicoletta SalomonWords, Painting and Emotions: The Mind Map of CreativityWords, Painting and Emotions: The Mind Map of Creativity

Paride MorettiMixed MediaMixed Media

Ivka MarkovicIntroduction to Computer GraphicsIntroduction to Computer Graphics Susanna Bausi Grace JohPress OfficePress Office

Enrica QuarantaDIVA StaffDIVA Staff

Alberto SimoncioniGraphic DesignGraphic Design

Berna AydinInternIntern

Printed on December 2015 by FUA Florence University of the Arts

CORRIDOIO FIORENTINO Via Magliabechi, 1 December 4, 2015December 4, 2015

TN

M E D IT E R R AN E A

D E R E

student exhibition fall 2015

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