Sacred Art

I spent most of the morning trying to write up a really good definition of New Media for The Florence Film School since we are launching into our new low residency Master program in Film Production and New Media.

I took several definitions off of Wikipedia and sent it to my girl friend who is a copy editor in New York. She got back to me the dreaded advice “Why don’t you create your own definition.”

I quickly reminded her that it is such a NEW field I don’t think any body really has a clue as to all the immense possibilities that it can and will encompass. She quickly reminded me that that was the reason behind the school to begin with, to create an academic foundation and structure in which the pioneers of this NEW renaissance of NEW media can help bring about a positive world vision. Bla, bla, bla she went on and I nodded in agreement at the enormity of the task.

After staring at the computer screen and throwing around words like installation art, performance art, video art, multi media installation performance art!!! I paused and remembered the reason I had chosen to create this program in Italy to begin with. Has been creating and recreating NEW Media for centuries.

I though back to the other night when Cheryl and I had finished a wonderful dinner in Piazza Santa Spirito with our French companion Christoff. We meandered into the Piazza and noticed a white statue of Mother Mary gentling rocky to and fro as she was lifted and carried above a sea of humans. She floated there, perfectly framed in door of the Santo Spirito’s Cathedral. Then slowly she made her way through the Piazza with thousands of nuns, priests, workers and just plain common folk trailing after her with little bags muffling the soft glow of candles.

All the time a priest was sweetly singing cantos of Ave Maria.

It was magical. There was a soft, nurturing, immensely sacred feminine energy that just flowed forth from the sea of people. Then as if on cue a sadistic looking man with a Mohawk and a read t-shirt darted into the group of nuns shouting curses against the virgin and the church.

You just can’t couldn’t ask for a more all encompassing multi media even and these things happen everyday in Florence!

The Florence Film School

Florence is coming to life after the long summer break where this year just about everyone left the city in a mad exodus, except me. I was here holding up th decaying walls and keeping alive the energy to the best of my ability although it did get rather dead at times. But she's still here in all her glory. It was a tough job but someone had to do it. I feel sorry for the person who was positioned in Venice and had to keep that fair city afloat.

The students are coming back all excited about their semester abroad in Firenze! They are pretending to be Itlain shouting words like " ciao. bongiorno and some of the guys are getting up the courage to say bella!" to all the women. It's quite fun.

The bars are picking up and we have had an onslught of Irish Wedding parties and do I mean parties. At my local Fiddler's elbow they were singing Irish songs into the wee hours of the night. I run into old firends every three or four steps. Every one is rested and yes ready to get back to work. It is amazing how this city flows in cycles and after three years of swimming up stream I am ready to go with the flow.

Yesterday I visited two art galleries and chatted with several artists, its just amazing that in the tiny town you can't walk five feet without running into an artist, muscian, painter, sculpture, writer, film maker. It's so stimulating!

This year we are preparing for our first Florence International Film Festival! I have recieved some amazing film shorts from both students and professionals from all over the world. The theme is new media that gives a positive vision for humanity. This is our first film festival but it looks like its going to be a real winner! So now I am working on getting a big name to visit our beautiful little town and talk about the future of film with the new generation of film makers and multi media artists.
I know George Clooney has a place right down the road and I happen to be from Kentucky myself so I was going to extend an inventation! Who knows, it could happen!