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Firenze hosts Australian young talents who interpret perfection

Five emerging talents interpret the physical perfection of the David of Michelangelo in the beautiful corniche of the Accademia di Belle Arti

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The Accademia di Belle Arti of Firenze and the University of Melbourne collaborated to a very interesting project about art and its deep exploration. The Australian’s Atheneum young students from the department of Music & Fine Arts started to work on their projects back in January. They were only told to work on the concept of “human physical perfection”, as their very first commission, which also inspired the exhibition’s title. Five young students were eventually selected to represent their work in Firenze, that is all about the varied and always changing concept of perfection, explored through dance, music and also architecture. Weber Shandwick kindly invited us to the inauguration, and we had the chance to chat with the young talents. Esther Stewart, architect, whose CV includes a collaboration with Valentino, created a series of huge colorful cloths thought to interact with the Renaissance garden full of statues. She told us that her occupational hazard always leads her to think how she can adapt domestic architecture to someone’s own body, because perfection comes in different shapes and personalities and perspectives. Danna Yun, a talented classical composer, delighted her guests conducting the young orchestra from the Conservatorio di Firenze. She confessed us that her pièce is inspired by the greek-roman mythology and by the peaceful statues in marble depicting the gods. “These gods are beautiful, but they also hide many flaws and imperfections”. But they always reveal their beautiful side, and this duplicity was the turning point that triggered a narration built by musical notations. Her passion for musical composition started when she was only 14, a little bit depressed and confused. “I used to love playing video games, and I was always amused by their soundtracks. The musical notations naturally popped up in my mind, and so I decided to improve my passion”. Sam Kreusler worked with music as well, performing with a classical guitar, inspired by the same combination perfection/imperfection. “I thought about those athletes who used their physical imperfections as a source on strenght. Tommy Caldwell, a well-known American climber, lost his index finger, but this loss actually made him improve his physical performances. Here’s why I wanted to get rid of some guitar strings, and then see what I could do with that remaining elements”. Jack Riley performed a mesmerizing choreography titled “Duplex”, together with a female dancer. His work, very essential and physical, aims to explore the constant pursuit of perfection, which is of course a utopia, but also a constant source of motivation to get better and better. “This dichotomy can be also found in our costumes. I wear a pair of trousers, while my partner wears a top. We complete each other, just like imperfection pushes us to perfection and viceversa”. Ashley Perry, Aboriginal visual artist, presented a sophisticated installation made up by long poles connected with tablets. These ones are animated by hundreds of images that literally bombard the viewer. Ashley googled “What’s the Human Physical Perfection?”. He started surfing the web, looking for the stereotypes of body perfection. “I found bodybuilders, top models. Japanese mangas, memes, robots, …”. Everyone has their own subjective criterion, and the tablet itself is a powerful device that affects the vision of ourselves and of other people. If you are in Florence during the month of July, you can visit “First Commissions” at the Accademia di Belle Arti in via Ricasoli, 66. The entrance is free and you’ll find a fresh peaceful oasis animated by very cool artists.    

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