In one of the sunny Italian days during my trip to Rome I was lucky to meet the main implementer of the art piece for the Danube exhibition “State of Utopia”. Young and talented Italian creator presented his movie “I love Rome”. After the “premiere” of the video he explained to me the main idea and message of his art work.

To start with, Matteo Luchinovich, 25 years old citizen of Rome, specializes as free lancer in the audiovisual sphere. He used to study cinema at one of the universities of Rome and attended multimedia and video courses. In the free time Matteo lectures students at his Alma Mater. Creation of the video “I love Rome” for the exhibition “State of Utopia” has become the first experience for Matteo:  “Basically our clients order promotional videos and clips for television. But this documentary movie represents conceptual art”.

S: What gave you inspiration for creation of the video and what was your main concept?

Matteo: To create an art piece, I was inspired by the workshop Utopian City in Rome. Together with my students we have worked on elaboration of the main concept. There we had two factors which effected on the concept: we wanted to represent the ancient old Rome; and as far as guys are strongly oriented on technology, we came up with the multimedia approach and created a virtual city. From aesthetic point of view, but also for educational purposes, the citizens of our Utopia could wear glasses, which gave them a possibility to see Rome from different lenses:  architectural, historical, mathematics, physics, chemistry… like a time machine. We were thinking to embody this concept into movie, but we faced a lot of technical difficulties. Therefore, we were inspired to implement more narrative movie, using the documentary approach.

S: Please, tell about the concept of the video which you will present at the exhibition “State of Utopia” then. What is the name of the video and how did you came up with the idea for it?

Matteo: The slogan “I love Rome” appears on the screen several times, being written on different commercial objects. As well as we can see it on the shirt of protagonist-gladiator (his name is Massimo).

One day my dearest friend came to Rome to visit me. As far as she is also busy with an audiovisual profession, we prepared the scenario for “I love Rome” together. Working on it, we decided to show different ways of the understanding and representation of reality. We tried to find a real object, which can be seen as a symbol of Rome, but at the same time to carry ambiguous sense and message for spectators. So we came up with the idea which rises from the definition of Rome. Coexistence of ancient and modern: the force of the heavy Roman stones and the pace of fussy modern life. We, the citizens of Rome find ourselves in the double urbane environment. We understand that we are becoming more and more distant from these stones. The roman stones don’t represent anything for us anymore. Departing from this point, we started to work on the art piece.

S: Could you comment on the video and to emphasize the most important moments of the movie?

Matteo: The story of the art work is absolutely an Italian circumstance. We are talking about farce, with a whole series of masks and carnivals, stereotypes (especially in the nowadays political situation). Video about the gladiator consists in three parts. The first part is a fun, sunny Italian life, jokes and carnival. But on the other side it is a model of heroism which is associated with Roman stones and gladiators. But we, people, made an advertisement from it, we commercialized it.

The story of the protagonist is narrated by a modest and common citizen, who loves his city.  During the movie the author tries to unmask the gladiator Massimo and to break stereotypes about Italy.  In real life, he has 4 children, has difficult life conditions, he has three or four jobs to maintain his family.  He had a dark and troubled past. However, our gladiator was born in quite rich roman neighborhoods in area of Colloseo. He went to school there as well. But after some mysterious events, as we can guess, his life was changed. So Massimo is a person who struggle in his real life, but not when he dresses up as gladiator. This is one of our main messages: to show Rome of average persons. All the stereotypes are related to the gladiator, but not to a citizen Massimo. Therefore, the first part is farce, which represents a stereotypical day of the centurion: his farce, gesticulation, plays and jokes with people. This part is accompanied by popular music from the South of Itlay. The music is very loud and goes fast. The song says: “The sun is rising”.

In the second part our hero is fed up, tired, overloaded. And he is making pause: basta, silence. There is a warning of the stone, of the antiquities. The sun is rising from behind a stone. Here would be better to show more monuments, like the obelisk on the Piazza del Poppolo or Fori Imperiali. But the idea is that sun is rising from the behind of the stone in the moment of peace. The child we have found fortuity in the basilica dell’ Appia Antica (which remains an intact area of the ancient Rome). Here I put a montage of a picture, which is little detached from the rest of the video. A forceful little child goes towards the sun. This approach with the sun indicates a humble part of people and the child, which goes towards the rising sun. In this part Massimo exposes in a certain moment. This moment shows us the changed protagonist. He is very different, compare to the first part. He is tougher, he is smoking, looking around, talking by mobile telephone (we don’t know to whom. In fact it was his wife – after we can see her picture and can reconnect it). Therefore we see the reality. And after this reality Massimo says: “Basta, I am undressing”. At the moment of his undressing we see the sun which is rising from behind of him and in the end he is walking towards the sun, and we have associations with the pure part of his personality.

S: Thank you for the story about the documentary video. Could you please make comments on the first short video (introduction)?

Matteo: This is another theme, imagines. We have these stones, these monuments, and from the other side we have advertisement and trade. I have shown the barrier of images and pictures, the tricks with a mirror, the reflection of tourists in the mirror. Also there is the image of the area that represents restoration of the zone Fori Imperiale. We see all the bustle, tourists, trade, hawkers who sale cheap souvenirs and on contrary, ancient and great monuments, powerful Rome.

There was a moment where I show the monument of imperator Massimo and the reparations around it. I show it as barricade of the “City of Rome”. Emperor Maximus is in its splendor and he is separated from everyone by a barricade “Comune di Roma”. He is separated from the society by the government and the law. And here we see a tourist with a camera, who photographed the barrier. So this is a possible picture of the modern Rome as an institution. This is what happened in times of Massimo, a documentary story. Massimo as a monument was surrounded by an institution represented by gladiators, fictitious, transvestites. On the other side there is an average man, who is allowed to make pictures of the Roman power, but cannot start a dialog with the authorities.

I like concept of a common citizen, whose story I have reconstructed on my video. A citizen, who dresses up as a classical hero, what is seen as Italian stereotype. However, when he comes back into his real life, he becomes an average big hero, who struggles for his life.

Hypnotized by the atmosphere on this dark and empty hour, the strangers cross the threshold of the Charles Bridge, the epic centre of Prague. Under a cautious and strict eye of Saint Joseph, Jesus, and John the Baptist, the two strangers are having their first rendezvous with this sleeping town. An intimate moment of solitude on the bridge is under scribing the mysterious and impenetrable character of this city. It is a welcome feeling to this Sleeping Beauty.

In contrast to the alluring mysterious and magnificent impression of Prague, its inhabitants are frequently encountered as distant, austere, indifferent, inhospitable even. These distinctly opposite impressions seem almost surreal. While the city creates an elementary living environment and its conditions, it is the citizens who shape the atmosphere and dynamic of a city. It’s a silent cooperation which leads to certain unpredictable outcomes which are not directly relatable neither to the city, nor its inhabitants.

A remarkable observation was made on the lack of outside life in Prague. This characteristic way of life in Southern and Eastern Europe, appears to be completely absent in this city. The streets of Prague seem to be filled mainly with strangers, while real Prague people spend their leisure time in underground bars hidden deep under the picturesque streets. As a citizen noticed: “They just love their cellars!” Even during the weekends most inhabitants of Prague escape the city and find their way to their stern cottages in the countryside. It seems that the attractions of Prague, its architectonical beauty, the presence of history, its fairy tale appearance, are actually repulsive for its inhabitants.

Reminiscing on one of the best known works from this region, ‘The Unbearable Lightness of Being’ by Milan Kundera, I wonder in how far the inhabitants of Prague are fearful to enjoy their surroundings. To which extent are they too aware of the possibility that things might just be too beautiful to be true. So why bother, appreciating and being involved, for it won`t last…. It is this cynical, indifferent tone that is often noticed but rarely understood by people visiting Prague.

Even if this remains an enigma for me too, this attitude made this remarkable detachment to the city a bit more understandable. Prague, just like Venice, is practically an open-air museum, not necessarily a compliment in this case. Embracing so much beauty, as Prague does, has as a consequence few possibilities for change, development and innovation. A young generation of citizens seems almost obliged to honor the beauty of this city, without having a chance to be part of it. A museum is inspiring only as long as you have the chance to escape it.

By having permanent residence in such a beautiful place, one might suffer from the awareness of impotence on top of the effect this city already has. A drive for change, enthusiasm and innovation is slowly but surely being discouraged and subsequently followed by an indifference and detachment to the city.

As in the case of Narcissus, beauty may lead to rigidity, stateliness and finally death, a fate that hopefully won’t happen to this Sleeping Beauty.  Prague probably won’t manage to be an (artistic) incubator like Berlin or Belgrade, but it does have its lively underground steams which will hopefully find its way to daylight and be courageous enough to let its voice of the Sleeping Beauty be heard.

T. Bubic

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In january of his year the report by the Stiglitz Commission, commissioned by the French president Sarkozy, came out:  This 'Report on the measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress' also advocates for the need for other measures of economic performance then the good old GDP.

From being an obscure idea, promoted only by a few, the idea of wellbeing and happyness indicators is now gaining popularity and seems to really start having influence on policy. The concept had been floating around in some parts of the European Commission for a while as well, but no clear push on it has come fom that side. Ofcourse, some would say, it has to come from national governments. Well, let's see how far the Netherlands takes this, provided Groenlinks takes part in the government.

Having other measures of performance then GDP seems like a really good idea, and giving happiness some more weight in policy making seems only logical.  As long as we remember that wellbeing indicators and  especially the subjective wellbeing indicators of happiness,  are just a direction for policy. Happiness is nor a clear nor a  fully attainable goal. It would be utopian to think it is.

The Danube Foundation is organizing a new UTOPIAN CITY workshop ISTANBUL, on the 6^th of November. Check the Flyer for more details. And register via contact@danube-foundation.eu