ART, WHATEVER IT TAKES
Since the early pandemic in 2020, Rome Art Program has conducted a series of interviews, “Art, Whatever It Takes.”
Artists, Art Critics, and Art Historians living in Italy, the U.S., and U.K., share their insights during these powerful times.
Interview with Alexandra Mazzanti
Alexandra Mazzanti is an Italian Art Curator, Advisor, and Gallery Owner. She curated over 100 exhibitions, including institutional and museum projects. In 2007, she founded Dorothy Circus Gallery in Rome and expanded to London in 2016, where she currently resides. Alexandra curates site-specific outdoor projects with international street artists, promotes female artists’ perspectives on women’s rights and social issues, and explores groundbreaking talents from Asia.
RAP: What is your definition of “art” today?
Alexandra Mazzanti: Art is a declaration of love for humanity. A celebration of our collective spirit, resonating with the eternal ‘Humanitas, Felicitas, Libertas’. Art is a song to mystery and to the wonders of existence.
RAP: Art is dynamic and regenerates itself… how does it change, and how did it change us?
Alexandra: Art is a continuous osmotic exchange. Art is a timeless memory, still mirroring the present while understanding the past and anticipating the future.
RAP: When (and how) did you understand that art was becoming very important in your life?
Alexandra: As I was a very introverted child, it is rather art that ‘chose’ me. My passion for art and its continuous ‘inner dialogue’ have always accompanied me in my exploration of the complexity of human nature, resonating with my feelings. My love of art has made me a visionary.
RAP: What role does art play today? What are the “great figures” who have recently changed it? Do you feel close to any of these figures?
Alexandra: Today, art, especially ‘visual’ art, is the most powerful communication tool. We live in a world where the image is totally dominant. Having turned my attention to the avant-garde, I feel close to all those gallery owners who, like me, are laboriously and courageously researching.
RAP: Are there still traditional figures such as collectors, muses, mecenate and patrons, in today’s art and society interaction model?
Alexandra: The figure of the patron is now replaced by the gallerist. The gallery owner is the key figure who connects the artist with ‘his’ audience. Collectors also play a key role, supporting the gallerists’ ‘curatorial visions’ with their purchases.
RAP: How have the new technologies and media culture changed art today, improving or worsening it…? What do you feel are your biggest challenges?
Alexandra: I do not feel ‘attracted’ by new technologies applied in a somewhat forced manner to art. Instead, I believe it is important to defend the genuine nature of artistic creation, a path also made up of ‘dirty hands, tears, and sweat’, without underestimating the necessary combination of traditional techniques and innovation.
RAP: Art as a mirror of man, in this moment of emergency seems to be shattered …what do these fragments reflect now?… Shadow or light of the moment?
Alexandra: Lights and shadows as always, for an authentic and profound tale.
RAP: Understanding, interpreting, and then possibly judging the work of art; which is the right path when we are in front of a piece of art?
Alexandra: There is no single answer. For me, it is the emotional impact that plays the most important role in approaching art. Instinct for the beautiful before reasoning for the ‘well executed’. The work of art restores the mystery of our mind: it can equally make us feel connected or repel us. In front of art, one cannot lie.
RAP: Which is the real role of Academies and Art schools today? What can artists learn from these institutions today?
Alexandra: Their role should be to help the artist grow, unhurriedly, providing knowledge, inspiration and methods. Unfortunately, vice versa often imposes castrating models that lead students away from their most sincere artistic expression.
RAP: Art too has undergone a complex process of globalization; can having an authentic and genuine style be an advantage or a drag for an artist?
Alexandra: More than ever at this point in history, it is important not to conform to a general view. One sure advantage is, in the long run, being able to develop an authentic and genuine style, but at the service of a strong and profound message that can ‘resonate’ with present and future humanity.
RAP: How do Art Galleries and Museums position themselves today, and, in your opinion, how should they?
Alexandra: Nowadays, compared to yesterday, the art world is ‘borderless’, also in the sense of being geographically and culturally broader. Ultimately also less elitist. I would say almost without rules. Fortunately. It is therefore possible to situate oneself in one’s own well-defined artistic ‘niche’, either as a gallery or as a small museum and/or foundation, contributing original and specific curatorial visions.
RAP: “Figuration” vs “Abstraction”. Which of the two is better descriptive of the period we live in? Which one will have a better future?
Alexandra: Definitely the figurative, which represents the contemporary world more than the abstract. I do not rule out a new wave of abstractionism, but for the next 10 years figure art will triumph, increasingly rich in narratives related to social and environmental issues, so dear to the new generations.
RAP: Today we often speak of “emerging artists”; what advice based on your experience do you feel you can give to young artists?
Alexandra: Do not be afraid to compare yourself with the great artists of the past, nor be in a hurry to put your work on the market. Let passion drive you rather than the market, even if this certainly means a life of sacrifice and renunciation, at least initially.
RAP: Art as a lens for reading the present, can it modify the space and time we pass through? …will art save us?
Alexandra: Every day, artists stand up for ‘change’ and help shape public awareness and opinion. The ‘voice’ of an artist who ‘lives’ his cause touches deep chords, raising awareness where media information tends to neutralise even the most obvious horrors.
@dorothycircus