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 Antonio Palmieri
Antonio Palmieri, is a photographer based in Rome. He graduated as a Master of Art at the ISA – Cascano di Sessa Aurunca, Caserta. He has been involved in photography for more than ten years, and also had important experiences with ceramics and the processing of precious metals. Antonio deals with photographic portraits, theater photography, and in various photographic projects, collaborating with photographers such as Fiorenzo Niccoli, Gianmaria De Luca, and at the Studio Fotogramma 24, directed by Simona Bugionovi.
Antonio Palmieri is currently on the staff of the British School at Rome, where he follows a photographic project aimed at documenting life, events and portraying artists and scholars who spend part of their time at the BSR.
RAP: What is your definition of “art” today?
Antonio Palmieri: Giving a definition of art, in general, is a complicated topic to deal with. I would say that today art is a “transposition” linked to the events that surround us.
RAP: Art is dynamic and regenerates itself… how does it change, and how did it change us?
Antonio: It changes precisely in the relationship between dynamism and synergy, it changes over time and acts for it. This, inevitably, changes our perception.
RAP: When (and how) did you understand that art was becoming very important in your life?
Antonio: When I stopped taking care of art, physically, as if I were in the throes of a mystical crisis, then it took me back into its arms, and then I realized I couldn’t go on without it.
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?
Antonio: Art plays the same role as it has always captured souls and takes them to mystical places where you never thought you would go. One of the most fascinating figures I have studied lately is the photographer Sebastiao Salgado; his vision of the world is, in my opinion, out of the ordinary, and extraordinarily communicative.
RAP: Are there still traditional figures such as collectors, muses, mecenate and patrons, in today’s art and society interaction model?
Antonio: I know very little about this world but, by attending artists, photographers and creative talents, I hear about it as something growing and of significant importance.
RAP: How have the new technologies and media culture changed art today, improving or worsening it…? What do you feel are your biggest challenges?
Antonio: I believe that creativity has no limits. Technology is only a means of expression, like it can be a brush, a chisel or a pencil; if the message, the context and the artistic talent combine correctly to create the work of art, everything can work. It depends on the brain, not on the tool. This is the challenge of emptying ourselves of the superfluous and seeking the essence, that of art.
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?
Antonio: This pandemic experience gave us the opportunity to reflect. During the quarantine period I realized that I did not know enough about my children and my partner and, therefore, also about myself. This kind of surreal life, which we never thought we would have to face, gave us the opportunity to stop and understand our limits and our ambiguities. This path means being able to grow, it is growth.
I am sure that in all the difficulties of the moment many artists have found in their time the right space to reflect and improve their path.
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?
Antonio: I start from the assumption that I can always find everything that I see interesting, and this gives me the way of reflecting on the work in front of me. Obviously there are works that attract me more than others. My point of view is that anything needs to be studied and contextualized.
RAP: Which is the real role of Academies and Art schools today? What can artists learn from these institutions today?
Antonio: I would say that these Institutions are the springboard, the exercise and the place to understand if this is the right path for life. Understanding the materials and tools, techniques and history are fundamental steps for an aspiring artist, and I believe that institutions aimed at training artists are necessary.
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?
Antonio: In the “global era”, the only lifeline is individuality, this plays a fundamental role: without it we couldn’t go anywhere, and, perhaps, artistic expression represents the only individual and genuine part left. Without a genuine style it’s difficult to achieve one’s goals and progress.
RAP: How do Art Galleries and Museums position themselves today, and, in your opinion, how should they?
Antonio: These are the places, the “temples” where art takes on a different flavour for the beholder. Fortunately these institutions have also given visibility to emerging artists in recent years, but probably even more could be done in this direction.
RAP: “Figuration” vs “Abstraction”. Which of the two is better descriptive of the period we live in? Which one will have a better future?
Antonio: I don’t think these two expressive genres can have any relevance, to each other, in the future. Art is the expression, and sometimes it happens to observe a totally figurative abstract, and vice versa… this is what we are experiencing.
RAP: Today we often speak of “emerging artists”; what advice based on your experience do you feel you can give to young artists?
Antonio: Never to give up, and always trying harder, and pursuing your own vision.
RAP: Art as a lens for reading the present, can it modify the space and time we pass through? …will art save us?
Antonio: I would say that one of the peculiarities of art is precisely the ability to transport us to different places; also for this reason I believe that in the unconscious of every artist there is the idea of salvation.
@Antonio_palmieri1975