On the first of January we made the trek down to Lecce with a hatchback jam packed with belongings. We still don't know how much longer we are going to be here in Puglia for: it could be til the end of the year, another year after that or it could be an endless summer thing if we play our cards right.
But in the little over half a year that we've been here, we've just loved getting to know this part of the world, which to my mind, has no competition with any other region of Italy (except perhaps Sicily) as the most beautiful region in the country. Here's a little snap shot of our year to date...
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WHAT some people will do to sell some salad. Around 100 or so foreign 'models' descended on Beijing this week as part of a marketing campaign by Salad Sweetie to promote a new salad delivery service in the capital. Paying tribute to Sparta and to the ever in vogue bondage inspired gear, these model types generated a huge amount of 'interest' and keffufle and fell onto the wrong side of local law enforcement who eventually detained many of them for creating a public disturbance or whatever it was that they did. Listen, I've been in Beijing in the summer and it's not pleasant. It's muggy and dusty and your clothes stick to you like a needy lover. I totally get that these guys wanted to feel the fresh air on their skin and to feel the freedom of taking an escalator with everything hanging out, because that is freshness and that is what salad is all about. I just hope that Salad Sweetie are not those salad snobs that I hate. I hope that they know the value of some crisp, cold iceberg lettuce in the summer months, because if they don't then this whole marketing ploy of theirs was a complete failure and waste of time. And because this whole thing was earth shatteringly important, I'm very glad that Time magazine covered the story too. Diplo is in my ancestral home of Mongolia and has been posting a series of brilliant images to social networks that just make me super envious. But, and file this under where analogue meets digital, Google are also in town, photographing and mapping Mongolia (and even its icy lakes) for street view. They started documenting the landscape in October of 2014. Just goes to show, that not even the world's hottest DJ is a match for the world's biggest algorithm: even if it too is on horseback. Hotness. More here. IF WE were still in the eighties, and greats like Whitney were still (alive and) at their peak, then I think we'd have a very different back catalogue on offer from our stars. Deleted tweets like broken hearts go somewhere that we don't like to ponder. They disappear from sight, and vanish only after wreaking havoc and emotional damage. A nasty tweet is like a bum boyfriend or a scrub. That's a nineties reference, but whatever. Anyway, if there was anyone that could've brought justice, emotional range and a Dianne Warren style ballad about tweets to life, then it would've been Whitney. It would've hung around the charts like that Bodyguard soundtrack and you know that the gal would've made the word tweet an eighteen syllable word. But with the latest Twitter war between Nicki, Taylor and now Katy, all we get is the edgy, impulsive tweets but none of the real heartbreak that comes with them. But Whitney would've sang it, Madge would've made a piping hot video to it and J.J would've had the go-to interpretative dance routine for them. But now that Whitney's no longer here, and no one's that interested in the eighties gals anymore, I guess we just gotta keep our eyes peeled for all the smart barbs on twitter as they come rolling through our feeds and devise our own music videos for them. IN case you needed any more proof that Japan is the most superior nation on earth then prepare to have your socks rocked.
Okay, so land art is a bit passe you say. Well, fine. I'll take that. But this is not just land art. This is rice paddy art. Take that! Do you know how amazing that is? That's worth toasting with some rice wine or sake! I remember when I lived in Kyoto. We had a little rice paddy next to our apartment block. Man the cicadas love that shit in the summer. You don't get a minute's silence with all the racket that those glorified moths make, but it's nice to look over a paddy rather than be forced to stare at someone's little concrete balcony when you're outside on your own. But I'm so jealous that it didn't occur to me to adapt that paddy into an artistic working space. I could've carved out my favourite album covers each month. That would've been the pop bomb! But back to the sexy storm troopers. Basically, in a bid to attract tourists, the town of Inakadate in Aomori prefecture - it's in the northern part of the main Japanese island, just under Hokkaido) - often stages these kinds of interventions. In the past they've often used iconic images from Japanese art that for art nerds like me just blew me away, but this year they've gone all Hollywood (in a good way, not like the snobby, snooty way your friends sometimes do) and paid tribute to Star Wars among other classics. So, if that wasn't enough, they contacted the Death Star or wherever these troopers are hanging out these days and had them come and oversee the launch of the new designs (and presumably to promote the upcoming The Force Awakens. There are so many levels of pop culture genius in this year's edition that I'm going to have to go and have a lie down to get over the excitement. And, the rice will be harvested and eaten at the end of the summer. Delicious!!! Past images here. More images and background of this year's here. I get the sads when my train is late or when I have to queue up at border control with about 12,000 other people who all converge into the same line while we wait for the three working border staff to pretend to look at the passports and not even stamp them. Despite all the hype it's hard sometimes to remember the human cost of politics and Ai Weiwei is an example of that. For the last four years his movements have been curtailed by the Chinese government. But a ray of light: his passport has been returned to him. Perhaps he'll be able to move more freely now. Or head over to London in September and lend his presence/support to the Royal Academy's kick starter appeal to purchase his works. More on that here. And congrats on getting your passport back AW. I've been living here in the south of Puglia since January and there are always new surprises alongside old favourites for me to explore. After an afternoon at the beach, decided to pop into a little town on the way home. It's called Acaya. I often refer to it jokingly as a ghost town because it feels like a Wild West town, but just with a castle and fortress wall. But seriously this part of the world is something special and I think having this kind of heritage at hand (and so easily accessible) is a dream like situation for a lot of people like myself who come from countries like Australia whose own histories are just so different. Love it. The British Museum finds itself in that strange and uncomfortable place called Now, where its collections scream colonial booty and its funding arrangements leave something to be desired. Case in point: The BM has about 6,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander items in its collection, which it acknowledges as being sensitive and important, but that it won't willingly restitute without a legal push. Its new exhibit which will play out in London and Australia is being financed by BP, which has drawn even more criticism as it tries to paint the petroleum giant as being an ally to indigenous communities in the process. Great in depth look here. I adore Nicki Minaj. I think she's a lot of fun, but at the same time, I think she's just had her Kanye moment via Twitter, and wouldn't you know it, TayTay is in the thick of it too. While Nicki turned to Twitter to lament her lack of VMA video of the year, and TayTay took it as an affront, we all just carried on scratching our heads about MTV's wisdom. I mean what does MTV have to do with music and music videos anymore? Proof: this round up that collects some of the other brilliant music videos that were completely overlooked. The Japan of today is a very different place post 3/11. The events of that day have underscored much of what is going on in the national psyche in its attempt to rebuild itself. One of the ways in which culture contributes is by building esteem, and so in a move that seems reminiscent of the cool Britain of the 1990s, The Japanese music scene is trying to rebuild itself and position itself as being a one stop esteem shop. But there's fears in some quarters that this is being done through a rising element of nationalism. Not perhaps the kind of nationalism that strikes fear into liberal hearts, but with more intense scrutiny on its artists now, the question of how appropriate the new undercurrent is is being raised. More here. I'm lucky. I've got some really talented and dedicated friends in lots of different pockets of the world. And I think when you have talented friends you should support them in any way you can. A couple of years ago a few of my friends here in the province of Lecce decided that they could band together to bring a dormant cultural tradition back to life for contemporary audiences. It's easy to forget where we've come from and how life, even just a few decades ago was once so very different. But before the electronic age kicked in and before music was something that we could comfortably afford to own for ourselves, music and culture was often seen as something only for the elite. Not everybody could afford to visit the opera or travel distances and bear the expense to experience the pleasure of hearing a symphony for example. But out of that situation of disadvantage arose an awareness that the greater public too deserved the opportunity to access high culture. So, in Southern European cities, symphonies and grand orchestral pieces were often performed by local (or traveling) orchestras in the piazzas in order to give locals the chance to stay abreast of culture and to enjoy the creative fruits of the greatest available talents. As a result of this, in some Italian towns and cities, you will often find a casa armonica - often a small, circular stage with an embellished roof top that brings to mind a carousel. It's here on these stages in the piazzas, particularly in southern regions of Italy (like here in Puglia), that these stages were brought to life by musicians who performed the most important operas for locals. It was a cultural tradition that lasted for decades, but that with the dawning of the electronic age began to disappear. Some towns in fact even dismantled the casa armonica, burying its significance in the process... Some of my friends in the town of Trepuzzi, which is just a stone's throw from the city of Lecce, decided that such an important cultural tradition, and one that effectively brought people together, was something that was worth reviving and modernising for today's audiences. So, under the artistic direction of accomplished composer, Gioacchino Palma, they set about bringing the sounds of world music back to where they belong: to the piazza and the streets. Their ambitious and altruistic idea has now grown from a dream into a reality. Now in its fourth edition, Bande a Sud (Bande=bands, Sud=South), is preparing to roll out again for 2015. As with each year, the Bande a Sud team have organised a fortnight of free, public events that will take place on stages, streets and in abbots in Trepuzzi and nearby Casalabate. Each year the festival's cultural offerings have grown and have a unique local flavour whilst also inviting and incorporating neighbouring Mediterranean and Balkan currents into the spotlight. Having been to each of the festivals, and been amongst the thousands of people who regularly turn out for the evening concerts, I can tell you that this is a living, breathing festival and well worth the ten minute drive from Lecce if you are in town in the first half of August. These guys work unbelievably hard, not only during these exhausting summer months to stage these (non profit) events, but also throughout the year as they undertake other activities such as educational visits to local schools to support existing (and non existent) musical programs. They do it for love not for money, and in doing so, have helped put their town of 13,000 on the cultural map. I'll do my bit to keep you posted on events and the full schedule as it comes to light; and this year's program will once again be full of surprises. The team have pulled off an amazing coup this year by securing Goran Bregovich as the year's headline act. European readers will know of Bregovich as he's not only a widely loved and respected composer, but he's also been a musical and artistic director of major festivals himself. That said,you can do your bit to sustain this grassroots initiative simply by liking Bande A Sud's Facebook page or learning more about their work via their website (in Italian/will be updated with the full 2015 calendar shortly). ROME has been on the receiving end of some international press of late. It started a few weeks back when Reuters posted an article pointing to all the things going wrong in Rome...problems with litter and cleanliness, the ongoing fallout of a fire at its Fiumicino airport and the subsequent cancellation of up to 50% of its flights, public transport issues etc. etc. Much of the information in the articles doing the rounds comes from s Facebook page called Roma Fa Schifo. This page, basically Rome sucks in English, is a long established page in which residents post photos of eyesores, criminal activity and other perceived failings in the city. Many of the problems are perennials; they never get resolved and Romans on the whole just accept that living in one of the most beautiful cities in the world has to be tempered by these problems which seem too big and troublesome to resolve. Anyone that has spent more than a couple of days in Rome knows that Rome as a city doesn't function very well. Its services are questionable at best and are already strained: so events like the current heatwave gripping Italy compromise an already compromised city. Residents know the same thing happens in winter when deluges of rain bring the city to a stand still. Part of the problem is that Romans have lost their patience with the current mayor, Marino. Marino- back for his second non consecutive stint as mayor- inherited a heavily corrupt local government and has been hard at work at undoing much of the Mafia related activity that has infested the local government (Alemanno the ex mayor is amongst the dozens of public officials indicted in the Mafia Capitale scandal). So right now, any time something goes wrong, Romans vent their frustrations out on Marino. The reality is that aside from the May fire at Fiumicino (the terminal came back online just in these past days) much of what is going on in Rome is no different to any other time. Transport is notoriously ineffective and prone to transport worker strikes, sanitation is severely compromised in all but the more affluent suburbs of the city (though now the centre of town isn't being as well maintained as usual) and there is huge frustration brewing with between residents and migrants (Roma and those arriving by boat from North Africa). Transparency is not something that comes easily to Italian beauracracy, so when you throw that in the mix and look at Rome through an outsider's eyes it's clear that the city is in a shambles. But it's not a new thing- I just finished five years living there and I can tell you that these problems that the press are crowing about are daily realities. It's just that attention is now being focused on Rome. That's the only change in the situation. Apathy and scapegoating seem the most logical choices to residents when their complaints seem to fall on deaf ears. So, don't fear for Rome despite all the press you're reading. It's survived worse and despite all its failings, it has a charm unlike any other city. Just don't move there. |
Dave
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Dave Di Vito is a writer, teacher and former curator.He's also the author of the Vinyl Tiger series and Replace The Sky.
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