Italy: Imagined & Realized

One of my favorite places to take friends to in downtown Bentonville is the 21c hotel and museum located just off the square. It is easy to spot with green penguin sculptures at the doors and on the roof, a car covered in coins permanently parked out front, and because of the basketball sculpture in the courtyard. This sculpture is something that reminds me of Leonardo da Vinci and the Renaissance because of the way it represents a tree. During class we looked at many representations of trees and how they developed from looking like flat, cookie cutter copies distributed across a painting in the Medieval times to da Vinci’s versions which were each unique and appeared to be in the process of growing in the painting. Then, after the Renaissance postmodern trees arrived, some only being a series of lines and color that seemingly left the shape to the imagination. Orange Tree, the sculpture created by Alexandre Arrechea is another example of a postmodern tree with a greater meaning.

The piece has been exhibited in New York, Philadelphia and Shanghai, as well as being used in a Pepsi-Cola campaign. It was designed to explore the interaction between urban street culture and sports, but the way the tree was designed lends itself to drawing Renaissance inspirations as well. Arrechea’s tree is clearly not symmetrical and follows the idea da Vinci used that branches do not extend directly out, but go slightly upward, bent, and more sparsely distributed at the bottom compared to the top. However, the sculpture also draws from postmodern art by not being scientifically realistic. It does not draw from da Vinci’s rule of trees, the idea that if you were to fold the branches of a tree up, it would look like one long trunk of equal width. The trunk of the Orange Tree is a straight pole of equal diameter throughout, making it impossible for the rule of trees to be applied here.

This contradiction created by using aspects of a realistic tree and unrealistic tree is something that makes this piece postmodern. As described by Linda Hutcheon, “postmodernism is a contradictory phenomenon, one that uses and abuses, installs and then subverts, the very concepts it challenges—be it in architecture, literature, painting, sculpture, film, video, dance, TV, music, philosophy, aesthetic theory, psychoanalysis, linguistics, or historiography,” (Hutcheon 3). Not only does Arrechea’s sculpture use and abuse the Renaissance idea of a tree, but its concept is contradictory as well. It shows how the urban street culture has a close relationship with sports. In the urban environment the basketball hoop being the tree that is widely distributed, representing a natural part of culture.

The basketballs below the tree could either be representative of fallen leaves, if one thinks of the sculpture as a traditional tree. Or, the basketballs could be thought of as representations of all the players who use the tree and its various hoops. In this form, the amount would be signifying the presence of a community built around the tree, brought together by the nature of their urban environment. It shows the amount of people and the amount of time they spend around a basketball hoop, showing the true significance of sports in street culture. It is more than a recreational activity, but a way that the community can bond and grow stronger, as represented by the growing tree with many hoops. The way the sculpture instills the concept of the strong bond between urban street culture and sports in the viewer’s head and then juxtaposes that with the natural elements of the tree-like structure creates the exact contradiction spoken of by Hutcheon as the epitome of postmodernism.

Finally, the piece exemplifies postmodernism and a change in paradigm by having multiple perspectives to look at the sculpture from. Da Vinci spent a lot of his time trying to establish perspective in his art, giving the viewer a specific point to stand from where they viewed the piece like he would want them too. Even sculptures at the time showed people in such a way that the viewer knew where to stand to look at the self-designated “front” of the sculpture. There was a focal point where one’s eyes would be drawn to in Renaissance art. This was largely due to the creation of the plane and vanishing point creating realistic dimensions and perspectives for distant objects. For the first time, a hazy, small background was used to draw the eyes to the foreground. That vanishing point used both back in the Renaissance and still some today establishes the correct way to view the art. Arrechea’s Orange Tree does not do this, or have a correct viewpoint, unlike Renaissance art. This is an example of the paradigm change that has since occurred, focusing less on the correct perspective but multiple different perspectives and interpretations like postmodernism does. The sculpture can be viewed from 360 degrees with the appearance of the piece changing each time the angle does because that is how it was designed. Alexandre Arrechea created a great example of the shift in paradigm since the Renaissance by drawing from some of da Vinci’s techniques and omitting others to create the postmodern sculpture Orange Tree.

Source

Hutcheon, Linda. A Poetics of Postmodernism: History, Theory, Fiction. Routledge, 2010.

During my time in Europe this past summer, when I was working toward achieving my Global Competence Certificate, I visited Schwangau, Germany. Although this is the location of a popular tourist destination, the Neuschwanstein Castle, that which the famous Disney Castle is based on, what I found most beautiful was the nature of the surrounding area. Rather than trying to visit many places in Europe in one trip, I spent an entire week exploring a small section of Germany. I was able to become familiar with the tram routes, market times and found myself doing less touristy things and surrounded by locals. After reading de Button’s passage stating “He deplored the blindness and haste of modern tourists, especially those who prided themselves on covering Europe in week by train,” I decided to make my word-painting about visiting the town of a famous tourist site (218).

The beauty of this site immediately overcame me as I looked down from a path to the castle down on the small town of Schwangau. It was nestled in woodland mountains that seemed to embrace the lake they surrounded, making it seem even more brilliantly blue from a distance. Then the perfect background behind that scene was created by the Alps with their snowy peaks reaching even higher towards the clear sky, in contrast with the wooded mountains in front. It was easy to be overcome with a feeling of of awe and amazement when looking at this scene, a feeling that increased exponentially when I viewed it up close. Wading into the water allowed me to see it wasn’t the brilliant blue I had thought from a distance, but rather entirely translucent, reflecting the blue tones of the sky above. It seemed as though the lake did not want to be disturbed as it became muddled and hazy when one stepped on the rocks at the bottom, kicking up minuscule particles of sand. I did not stay in the water long, although it was a nice relief for my feet on a hot day. I enjoyed the view from the shore more, once the sand had settled and the lake was clear once again. The nature was meant to be appreciated as a wonder for the senses, showing what could exist without the interference of man. To step into the water created an interference, an illusion that one was part of the setting, when truly they were the imposters being given the gift of experiencing such a sight.

Despite the clear aesthetics of the scenery, the way I was psychologically affected by the site is what allows me to envision I am still standing on the shore. This was something Ruskin recognized as written by de Button: “many places strike us as beautiful not on the basis of aesthetic criteria–because the colours match or symmetry and proportion are present–but on the basis of psychological criteria, inasmuch as they embody a value or mood of importance to us,” (229). I relate to the way he goes on to describe the trees on the Alps as something that have “never heard human voice,” because this perfectly describes why I felt an imposter even looking at them from the viewpoint of the lake. It was clear to me I did not belong, but was gifted the knowledge that this was found in the world I live in. I drew the view from high above along the castle path, to show the untouched beauty I saw from a distance. This is one experience I know I will never forget and one I hope reoccurs in another setting.

Source:

Botton, Alain De. The Art of Travel. Hamish Hamilton, 2014.

The freedom to go about one’s daily life facilitated by modern day’s ease of transportation and availability of goods was something many people in first-world countries took advantage of. Not often does one repeatedly have to go to a store in hopes of finding toilet paper or find themselves in their home for such a long period of time it seems more like a prison. Having a virus spread across the world made many lose the freedom and access to goods they took for granted. That freedom has been replaced by fear for loved ones and what were to happen if they contracted the virus. “Fear is the cruelest of assassins: it never kills, but it keeps you from living,” (Virilio 63). Due to COVID-19, many people who recognize the implications of this situation are now living in fear, hesitant to leave their house and see family. Their state of living is far from normal, but a new state of normalcy is developing for them. One where we revert to being confined in walls and all interaction occurs within these walls or on a screen.

While we are still able to connect with many people, there is still an experience of less interconnection with the rest of the world. This is due to the lack of face-to-face interactions, proving that technology cannot replace humanity’s desire to feel connected. Although many of us do experience benefits from having this digital form of interaction to keep us as in touch with the rest of the world that we can be, it is not everything. Additionally, the world now seems to be a larger place once more due to restricted travel. Before, we could imagine flying across the country within half a day, relaxing on a cruise ship going to another country or traveling to another continent without too much thought. Now, the separation created by many miles has begun to feel substantial once again as that access to transportation and connections to other places was taken away. The idea of space we held, that “the site is defined by relations of proximity between points or elements,” has temporarily been replaced with “what could very roughly be called medieval space: the space of emplacement,” (Foucault 23).

We have taken a step back in time in how we view space due to the partial loss of interconnection and efficiency of travel. Additionally, the government’s travel bans and quarantine orders add to this affect by restricting the acts of daily life that one can go about doing and the services they can receive. In many places it may feel equivalent to a house arrest of sorts because the only permissible reasons for leaving are work and needs related. Space has become of emplacement once more where our stability is reliant upon how slowed down society has become. This affects members of society mentally and the economic structure they rely upon. Stocks continue to drop, people continue to stock up on coveted goods and society seems to slow down to merely allow existence while we struggle through this time.

Although this situation is unprecedented in the lives of many who are living through it, for the time being we have to learn to accept the chaos around us by doing what we can individually to stop the spread of the virus and commit to providing what services we can. Suddenly, mortality seems more evident to many, except members of the younger generations who have adopted an ignorant mentality. They may be subject to citing a lack of experiencing the detrimental impacts of their actions as justification for ignorance. Da Vinci says something interesting about this when writing “Let Experience alone, and rather turn your complaints against your own ignorance,” (Da Vinci 6). Many are still in the stage of discovering they are not invincible and discovering their roles in society and COVID-19 has introduced something that either furthers that discovery or increases the ignorance. While da Vinci may have depicted man as being the perfect form, this shock to the world reminds us that we are not invincible, but very human. The virus is not within our control, causing many to feel helpless, suspended in a limbo until normal life can resume.

When normal life can resume, I think society will either have a rush of people taking advantage of their new-found “freedom” or people will still be hesitant to leave their homes. This will likely depend on what is known about the virus at that time and if there is a cure available. Assuming that a cure is found, it would not be unlikely that there would be an influx of people at vacation destinations–basically anywhere but their homes where they were cooped up for months. Transportation of people will therefore rise exponentially if people feel that they are safe, but transportation of some goods will go down when people stop feeling the need to stock up on things like toilet paper. Online services might also see a drop in their recently increased business as people being to find a new enjoyment in previously trivial things like grocery shopping and going to the mall.

Another impact of social distancing ending will be on the way people choose to connect. Space had reverted to the Medieval view of emplacement but will come back to a proximity concept. The world will seem smaller when forms of travel we have come to rely on are once again accepted as safe means of transportation. The idea of visiting a friend will no longer be an absurd, unrealistic, unsafe wish, but something easily achievable through a short drive or longer flight. Although people have come to rely on the internet for their interconnectedness as of late, it truly can never replace face-to-face interaction. This means that the true feeling of joy and interconnectedness people feel will increase after social distancing. Bonds that were weakened with only social media as communication will strengthen again when laughs can be shared over something like lunch or at the gym. The enjoyment and meaning found in these simple acts will be rediscovered and heightened, like a baby seeing the world for the first time, as people realize how much they missed seemingly minuscule parts of their days or small traditions.

Of course, this change will not be permanent either, since the paradigm will continue to shift and evolve into something new over time. Nevertheless, the revert to older ways of thinking temporarily will remain evidential and show that like many concepts, paradigms are continuous. Concepts that paradigms are based on build upon one another as new knowledge is introduced about our world and innovations are created, so it makes sense that paradigms would function similarly. Life may not go back to exactly how it was before the virus, but it open people’s eyes to what they took for granted and sorely missed, encouraging mindsets to change and shift to deal with the dissatisfaction in the world, furthering the transition into the new paradigm.

Sources:

Foucault, Michel. Of Other Spaces = Heterotopias. Www.foucault.info, 2000.

Leonardo, Da Vinci. Leonardo Da Vinci: Notebooks. Edited by Thereza Wells, Oxford University Press, 2008.

Virilio, Paul. Speed and Politics. Routledge, 2007.

When I first tell people I hail from Bentonville, Arkansas their first reaction is often “Wow, I’ve never met someone from Arkansas before.” To them, Arkansas is a practically non-existent place that must be akin to a cluster of the small towns often depicted in the Hallmark movies my mother enjoys. When I first visited Bentonville, I thought the same, and in a way, my preconceptions were validated by the downtown area. The facades to all the buildings look like they are from another century and this is only highlighted by the Five and Dime with an old pickup permanently parked in front. On one side of the square is even a trolley selling lemonade, funnel cakes and popcorn with the classic red and white candy stripes and yellow light bulbs to draw one’s attention. Immediately, the square seems like a place that has been lost in time, but it was not until I read about heterotopias that I knew why.

In Foucault’s “Of Other Spaces,” he describes an opposite to what we know as a utopia, calling it a heterotopia. Rather than the perfected form of society, heterotopias are something else entirely. Foucault states: “There are also, probably in every culture, in every civilization, real places — places that do exist and that are formed in the very founding of society — which are something like counter-sites, a kind of effectively enacted utopia in which the real sites, all the other real sites that can be found within the culture, are simultaneously represented, contested and inverted” (Foucault 24). To me, this is something that perfectly defines Bentonville’s town square, but I shall use the principles laid out by Foucault to formally make my case.

To begin, Foucault speaks of two classes of heterotopia: crisis and deviation. Although people going to a town square are not specifically doing so in crisis or due to deviant behavior, the square itself is a deviation nonetheless. While learning about urban design, we saw how city layouts, if viewed from an aerial position, have changed from being unstructured to grid-like. This is a change that was fundamentally begun during the Renaissance times and is still implemented and improved upon in today’s world. Bentonville is no exception to this type of layout. It has a grid-like structure with street names that further exonerate the grid mentality by being either numbers or letters. For example, I could tell someone to meet me on the corner of First St and A St and diagonally from that would be Second St and B St, one of the most logical layouts one could imagine. However, this grid is then broken up by a deviation: the town square. This disrupts the logical flow of streets and the ease at which people can drive through town, making its purpose not efficiency but the opposite as it encourages socialization.

The second principle Foucault speaks of refers to the use of space as fluid and changing over time. A town square fits this perfectly, because as time has changed the use of such a space has as well. Popular uses for town squares in history were often violent, with many a military parade or execution or used for important gatherings of the townspeople. More recently, town squares have become lighter in fashion, holding more celebratory parades, concerts and festivals aiming to bring people together as a community. Personally, I have attended a Christmas Parade, seen Santa walking around and many prom pictures taken on Bentonville’s square. The change over time in town square use shows the importance of a centrally located open space to a city due to its accessibility and variability.

Thirdly, Foucault says “the heterotopia is capable of juxtaposing in a single real place several spaces, several sites that are in themselves incompatible,” (25). Drawing from my previous square observations, this is true of Bentonville’s square as well as many others. A child alive with the magic of Christmas while sitting on Santa’s lap and whispering their desired presents is incompatible with a couple dressed up in a smart tux and flowing dress, clinging to each other as they celebrate the end of their childhood by going to a high school prom. However, these sites can occur in one place and I would not be at all surprised to see them happen one day after another if prom did not occur in the spring. A town square does not confine what experiences can take place inside, but rather encourages the usage of several spaces inside of itself.

Next, Foucault requires a heterotopia be linked to “slices in time,” (26). As aforementioned, Bentonville’s square is definitely of another time. Not only are the building facades reminiscent of the style one would expect in the 1940’s, but Walton’s first Five and Dime still exists on the square. Upon entering, one can go through the Walmart museum and learn all about its founder, Sam Walton. At the end of the museum, one comes out into the ice cream shop with prices like those one would find when Walton was a young man. With a museum to transport people back in time and a ice cream shop that continues that experience with ice cream for less than a dollar, Bentonville’s town square truly feels like one stepped into a time machine.

The fifth principle states heterotopias must have a coexisting feeling of openness and closure that is either compulsory or illusionary. While I would argue that in history, the purpose of town squares was more compulsory due to its violent past, I believe this has since transitioned to illusionary. In cases like parades and concerts, there are restrictions in place that prevent the public from gaining access to certain places. During parades, people not a part of the parade are refused entrance to the street and during concerts the same is true of the performing area. This creates a necessary separation between people that gives the illusion of being a part of the town square functions, while also being restricted to a viewer who cannot participate. All at once the person is inside, but also on the outside looking in. Foucault says this best in the quote “Everyone can enter into these heterotopic sites, but in fact that is only an illusion: we think we enter where we are, by the very fact that we enter, excluded,” (26). Once you get past the barrier of buildings that attempts to close off the square, you are inside, but its an illusion.

Finally, heterotopias must have a function that either exposes space or create another space in compensation. Town squares as a whole fall under the compensation category by being as organized and bringing communities together perfectly within four sides. All while doing this, they counteract the chaos and individualism that exists throughout the rest of the town. The walls almost serve as a prison to show what socialization and neighborly attitudes should be exhibited by community members, despite often being forgotten once people leave. Bentonville’s town square is no different from this and by combining the attributes of deviation in structure, flexibility in function, juxtaposition of sites, being of another time, illusionary inclusion and compensation for reality it is by Foucault’s definition, a heterotopia.

Sources Foucault, Michel. Of Other Spaces. Www.foucault.info, 2000.

While driving home today from Purdue, my parents and I passed through the town I grew up in that we have since moved away from. It was around lunch time, so they decided we should stop in Springfield, MO and eat at their favorite Mexican restaurant that they had discovered after I began college at Purdue. I had been here once before when visiting my best friend, and even though I was not specifically trying to analyze it at that time, I could tell that Cesar’s Old Mexico was the real deal. My best friend also supported this notion, having grown up eating authentic Mexican food made by her mother who’s family is from there. Fortunately, I have spent many a dinner at her house, so I have had my fair share of home-cooked Mexican dishes as well, giving me something to compare my dining experience to when at Cesar’s.

At Cesar’s there is always a line, it does not matter what time of day it is. In my case, we went around 2pm and there was still a wait as all the tables were in use and the bar was completely full. Taking this opportunity to look around, I was able to appreciate the interior more than during my prior visit. The previous restaurant there had been a pizza place, so when Cesar’s moved in after outgrowing their former space, they redid the entire interior. Elaborate murals decorate some of the walls and the area surrounding the skylight and a display with calaca (Mexican skeletons often used during Day of the Dead) in the middle of the main area. One wall holds the bar, where there is mainly alcohol all with Spanish labels and a TV showing wrestling in Spanish. Apparently the apple berry sangria is a house specialty, but since I am not 21 I was unable to try it. Along the adjacent wall is the kitchen where one can watch the food being cooked if they are seated on stools overlooking the area. The previous time I came, I was able to watch them cook and it was a very unique experience. I, of course, could not understand a word being spoken since the restaurant is owned and operated by a Mexican family, but it was clear they put a lot of care into their cooking.

This time, once we were seated the owner came up and took our orders. His name is Cesar, the namesake of the restaurant, and he calls every patron his “amigo.” This creates a relationship between the owner and the patron, and he and his wife are undoubtedly part of the reason people are drawn back. Although he was born in Mexico, Cesar’s wife, Sandra is from El Salvador and her influence can be found on the menu as well.

Cesar brought us chips and salsa, which might be the only Americanized thing about the restaurant. After talking to my friend, I learned that tortilla chips are more of an American thing that many Mexican restaurants have adopted. Nevertheless, the chips and salsa are all homemade and absolutely amazing. This gives the patrons a never-ending precursor to their main course while they are waiting for the cooks to prepare the dishes.

Once the food arrives at the table, delivered by Cesar himself, I took in the large dish that was placed before me. I ordered the Viva Mexico, made up of three enchiladas, one beef, one chicken and one cheese that are each covered with green, white and red queso to represent the Mexican flag. On top of that was sour cream, lettuce, pico de gallo and guacamole, and rice was served as a side. All in all, it was a very filling dish that I was personally unable to finish.

The experience of the restaurant itself was varied depending on your purpose for going there. Many American families simply went to enjoy good food, getting in and getting out rather quickly. This was not discouraged by the staff because the restaurant consistently had a wait and more hungry guests to serve. However, there were some Mexican patrons that came and seemed to socialize more than their American counterparts. Some seemed to personally know Cesar and his family, truly deserving of the title “amigo,” so there was an equal amount of English and Spanish spoken throughout the restaurant. The Mexican patrons seemed less concerned with getting their food and freeing up their table, and more focused on enjoying their meal together.

I feel like if the restaurant was larger still, despite their just having re-opened, then more people would appreciate the experience Cesar was trying to create with the welcoming atmosphere. However, I can guess that he is trying to find that balance of family-owned and satisfying his large customer-base, so another expansion is unlikely to occur anytime soon. Nevertheless, based on the constant wait line, I do not think the people of Springfield would be at all apposed to another Cesar’s opening in town.

All in all, it is easy to see why everyone loves Cesar’s Old Mexico, it is about as authentic Mexican as you can get, especially for Missouri. My best friend and her mother also support this idea, having much more experience with traditional Mexican cuisine than myself. I feel like every town has its special hidden gems where people of other cultures try to create an experience that is culturally unique and sometimes unappreciated by those who visit it, and Cesar’s Old Mexico is definitely one of those places in a sense. While I do think Mexican patrons appreciate having something so authentic where they are living, I feel like American patrons could learn to appreciate the atmosphere Cesar and his family have tried to create a little more, and that their experience would be all the better for it.

Although a bronze ball atop a dome may not seem like an architectural feat in the modern day, during the time of da Vinci and his predecessors, it was a major accomplishment. The amount of trial and error, mechanical innovations and time spent on creating the lantern and ball on the Florence Duomo is the epitome of where art met engineering during the Renaissance. Leonardo da Vinci was fortunate enough to be the apprentice of one Andrea del Verrocchio, the man who was commissioned to make the ball for the top of Filippo Brunelleschi’s lantern (Neilson 4).

This commission was like other projects that da Vinci would take on during his own career because of how it combined the disciplines of art, science and engineering. The way Brunelleschi, Verrocchio, da Vinci and others were able to view interdisciplinary problems begs the question “Did these men really see different things when looking at the same sorts of objects? (Kuhn 120).” Although this quote refers to astronomy, the concept still applies to the way these men were able to view problems in a drastically different way than those before them. This characteristic largely describes the essence of the Renaissance itself.

The problem given to Verrocchio was not only did he and his workshop have to design the ball, but hoist it to the top of a 375 foot dome. Verrocchio’s accomplishment with this design earned him the nickname “Verrocchio della Palla,” or “Verrocchio of the Ball” because of the marvel it became in the city of Florence (Feinburg 18). Leonardo da Vinci was fortunate enough to have this man as a mentor, with it being said that this specific project could have stimulated da Vinci’s interest in engineering and mechanical designs. Da Vinci certainly brought together many disciplines during his career, likely being heavily influenced by his predecessors. This is supported by Kuhn’s reflection of the relationship between a student and master when saying “only after a number of such transformations of vision does the student become an inhabitant of the scientist’s world, seeing what the scientist sees and responding as the scientist does,” (Kuhn 111-12). Da Vinci learned from his apprenticeship how to view projects through the lens of many disciplines, taking this approach with him as he went on to other work.

However, before the ball was ever designed, Brunelleschi first had to create the dome, another engineering and design feat that cultivated the interests and expertise of a young Leonardo da Vinci. It is safe to assume that da Vinci also highly respected Brunelleschi because of his sketches concerning the reversible hoist used to assemble the dome. Although he would not have been alive during the construction of the dome itself, how could a man so intrigued by the concept of flight not have admired the architectural achievement said to have “challenged the sky itself” (“On the Lantern”)? Additionally, da Vinci’s work with Verrocchio on the ball topping the lantern lends one to presume that he became very familiar with Brunelleschi’s earlier work on the same structure.

Prior to Verrocchio receiving the commission for the ball, another artist tried and failed to satisfactorily accomplish the task (Neilson 1). Neilson continued, saying the process of creating the ball was discussed at length before Verrocchio’s successful attempt, and this produced the method of using the finest copper possible to cast a ball over two tons and eight feet in diameter (2). It took three days for the workers to hoist and secure the ball and even more time for them to add the cross on top (“On the Lantern”). Once this was completed, the top of the Florence Duomo became the highest point in the city (“On the Lantern”). With da Vinci’s affinity for human flight, one must assume he dreamed of the view from the top of this point, if he never saw it for himself.

Following this experience of collaborating with Verrocchio on the ball, da Vinci completed his apprenticeship and began taking on his own projects. Once he came into his own, it is clear he lived up to his idea that “Poor is the pupil who does not surpass his master,” (“Leonardo”). Da Vinci clearly surpassed Verrocchio as he continued his career and brought together many disciplines in ways no one else had considered. However, it is known that this specific achievement left a lasting impression on him because of his reference to it nearly 40 years later saying, “Remember the solders used for soldering the ball on Santa Maria del Fiore,” (“On the Lantern”). He clearly was present for the hoisting and attachment of the ball after its completion and likely experienced the recorded singing of the Te Deum by Florentines when it was finally in place (Neilson 2). To this day, the dome atop Verrocchio’s ball sits is still the tallest in the world, having been ideated by men over 600 years ago.

Sources:

Feinberg, Larry J. The Young Leonardo: Art and Life in Fifteenth-Century Florence. Cambridge University Press, 2014.

Kuhn, Thomas S. The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. The University of Chicago Press, 2015.

“Leonardo Da Vinci’s Notebook.” The British Library, The British Library, 20 Jan. 2015, http://www.bl.uk/collection-items/leonardo-da-vinci-notebook.

Neilson, Christina. Practice and Theory in the Italian Renaissance Workshop: Verrocchio and the Epistemology of Making Art. Cambridge University Press, 2019.

“On the Lantern.” Erenow , Erenow, erenow.net/biographies/leonardo-da-vinci-the-flights-of-the-mind/15.php.

Last Friday, I had the pleasure of trying La Scala Italian Restaurant, located just over the bridge in Lafayette, Indiana. Although the town may be surrounded by cornfields, it never ceases to amaze me what hidden gems one can find in the most obscure places; La Scala did not disappoint. I think I speak for many Americans when I say Italian cuisine is one of my favorites, despite never having a true Italian dining experience in my life. Nevertheless, even at some places in America you can have experiences that stray away from the typical American restaurant and make an effort to transport you to another place as much as possible. After dining at La Scala, I can concur that this was no Olive Garden experience.

Prior to being asked to write about my experience at an “authentic” Italian restaurant in America, I cannot say I truly thought about how un-Italian places like Olive Garden and Fazoli’s are. While it is true that they serve Italian inspired dishes, the experience you have at the restaurant is comparable to any other American restaurant. I particularly enjoyed the conversation I had with some of my classmates when we determined Fazoli’s is the Italian McDonald’s of America and Olive Garden is the Italian version of Applebee’s. We came to this conclusion after I pointed out that if the restaurants served another type of food, then there would not be anything Italian about the restaurant. Although I have no experiences in Italy to compare this to, I feel like I can make this determination as an American due to my wide variety of experiences at restaurants in America. Places like Fazoli’s and Olive Garden are causal, loud, family oriented chain restaurants that are have mass advertisements to draw in customers by offering discounts and very large portions. The unlimited breadsticks and salad also gives reference to the American concept of getting a “bang for your buck.” The focus of these restaurants is not on authenticity, but rather American consumerism.

La Scala was an entirely different experience. I have had good “authentic” Italian cuisine in America, but I never concentrated my attention on to the atmosphere of the restaurant itself before a couple days ago. Although we had a large group compared to other patrons and took up many tables, the waiter did not seem in a rush to get us out. We had good conversation and I was able to connect more with my classmates than I think would have been possible in another environment. It seemed to encourage talking and making connections, so much that I did not notice how long the food took to arrive. At other restaurants, normally I feel very conscious of the amount of time I wait, but in this case I was not. The whole dinner took around two hours, but it did not feel that long in any way. Even though tables around us went through at least two groups of people in that amount of time, I cannot imagine my experience would have been as thought-provoking or enjoyable if it had been shorter.

While making these observations, I was attempting to draw from the knowledge I gained by reading Geertz’s “Deep Play: notes on the Balinese cock fight,” an ethnography about Balinese people. I tried to imagine myself in the restaurant as someone who had never experienced “authentic” Italian dining before and I think this is what helped me to have good insights. The part of Geertz’s ethnography that inspired me to do this was the turning point he identified when saying “In Bali, to be teased is to be accepted,” (Geertz & Bates 59). To me, an equivalent observation would be at authentic “Italian” restaurants the atmosphere and experience creates the authenticity equal to, if not more than, the food. Clearly, La Scala chefs can out cook those of Olive Garden any day, however the food was still not the main thing that made it authentic, in my opinion.

If I were to go to an Italian restaurant in Italy, the things I would look for to compare to all my Italian dining experiences in America would be the advertisement of the restaurant, the difference in food, the relationship between the waiters and patrons and how the atmosphere affected the actions of the patrons. My expectations, purely based on my imagination, would be that the locals know the waiters well and the interaction between them is less of a formal exchange and more of a casual conversation between friends. This would make the entire atmosphere more inviting, and the relationship between patron and waiter would be the advertisement for the restaurant. It would be the experience that keeps the customers coming back, not just the good food. Unfortunately, I will not get to validate or reject my hypothesis due to the cancellation of my trip, but I am still able to provide my best guess based on prior experiences here in America and my idea of Italian culture.

Sources:

Geertz, Clifford, and Wesley W. Bates. Deep Play: Notes on the Balinese Cockfight. Contre Coup Press, 2008.