It’s amazing that a city so robust, so full of energy and so completely different than the US has made me feel right at home. In one week, I have enjoyed a rollercoaster of emotions from happiness to exhaustion to invigorating peace. The fabric of the city has ignited a wonderful texture into my life. Culture differences, yes, of course. Communication barriers? Definitely. Wayfinding difficulties? Always. But somehow, I have found solace and liberty within these boundaries. These experiences have made me embrace the Italian Spirit—in a state of struggle, beauty arises. The contradictions of the city have taken over the monotonous. The blending of the old and new, the ugly and the beautiful, the unfinished with the polished unexpectedly creates a landscape that could only happen organically over a long period of time. The materials of the past become more beautiful as they sit next to new. The Duomo, for example, stands grand next to a shopping mall and above an underground transportation system. Though, they all have different functions, they all fit in nicely together, while the congestion of the city only adds a melodic motion to theterrain. The realization that all these fragments are but harmonious music notes adding rhythm to the city makes me love the city even more.
I am overwhelmed by how much information we have covered and processed in one week—from Divisionists to Fascism to Futurists back to art nouveau. Most of it I didn’t know, some I did. Either way, it has made me appreciate art history and architecture even more, but also made me appreciate the present. Feeling a paradox of my so-called privileged life. Got me thinking … could I have been a great designer in those times? … if I were a working class dreamer? … if I did not have access to a certain amount of wealth? This also got me thinking, these past moments and fragments in time have generated our current state of affairs. Although, most architects and designers were being critical of certain aesthetics and political movements, they were not aware of the environmental impact of their products. They were, however, embracing the small businessman, the craft maker, the hand-work designer and local materials, which reflect the current movement across the globe. Milan did not have to shift in production thinking because they were already locally-minded, they have done so for hundreds of years. Those were and are Milan’s blood vessels. In contrast, the United States has just now (in the last few decades) started reconsidering the art of small.
Visually, the city, is full of beautiful textures.