Dear The Florentine
I am a lover of Florence and a lover of art. From here in the United States, I looked at many of Rabarama’s works [see local news in TF 144] online and found nothing in them that could be of substantive objection.
Apparently, one of the criticisms has to do with the modern look of the art. Shall Florence then ban all public use of cameras, cell phones, iPods, and other electronic devices, because they look ‘too modern’? Should only horse-drawn vehicles be allowed in town? Shall all the ladies and gents be required to dress in Renaissance garb? Of course not!
It’s probably time for Florence to loosen up a bit on things such as contemporary open-air monumental art exhibits; for goodness sake, it’s just temporary.
As regards the mutual mudslinging between the artist and the cultural chief, I am sorry for that. But it might do well for us to remember that the overwhelming majority of art on display in Florentine museums was created by men, and that-as Jane Fortune documents in Invisible Women-there are hundreds upon hundreds of historic works by women artists languishing in the vaults of Florentine museums.
Sincerely,
Bev Eschenburg
Redwood City, California, USA.
