L'Ottobrata Romana - Indulging in Art & Consumption
- Hilda Steinkamp
- Oct 21
- 5 min read
Updated: Oct 25
October delights in the Roman city area
Almost a cover picture for the Ottobrata romana,
the pleasurable life in October, the second Roman summer after the abundant rains of September, with milder temperatures and a more gracious sun than in the hot months of July and August.
In the Kostabi painting: A meatless banquet with fruits from the fields, orchards, and vineyards on a table set in a simple, almost rustic style with a loosely draped tablecloth, topped with two candles with a warming glow. A waiter figure approaches discreetly from the right, carrying another delicacy under a silver cap on a gourmet plate. The colors of both the dining room and the guests are bright and cheerful, their postures graceful, their appetites restrained, the chatter of one of the two couples serene as they enjoy their food and drink in moderation, their gestures inviting as they approach their table neighbors, wine glasses on slender stems raised in a toast.
Taste in the palate – that may be one meaning of "taste" in Mark Konstabi's oil painting. "A Matter of Taste" – concerning the selection of culinary offerings, the stylish ambiance in the primary colors blue, yellow, and red, and the select guests. Pure culinary culture.
I've landed in a decorative pop art show?! Fitting for the light enjoyment of the Ottobrata!
Not at all. A look under the table reveals the hidden double meaning of the title. Here, in the reddish-brown shadows below the table's edge, two more pairs reveal a different kind of pleasure:
Carnal, lustfully directed at the human body, with sharp hunting knives ready to satisfy sensual desires with violence. Lying, crawling, kneeling, these figures are the complete opposite of the gracefully upright posture of the figures above at the table. The thick, rich red drops from the overturned wine bottle at the edge of the table are likely less grape juice than bodily fluid, blood that can flow in the erotic tussle of the sexes. The other couple on the floor appears to be very busy with examining the lower body of one of the knife-wielding figures before them. This "matter of taste" in carnal pleasure is certainly more debatable than the mannerly table setting in the light area.
Or are these perhaps two sides of the same table? Controlled appetite at the banquet, unleashed desire behind the facade of social etiquette? A reflection of a decadent society?
In a later version, Mark Kostabi (*1960 in L.A.) is more direct in his imagery and title: The Duality of Decadence (2024).
From enjoyment to feast
In the past, this could certainly happen in Rome on mild October days, during the Ottobrata, in both noble and simple social circles. The hard field work was over, the harvest was in, the vintage was finished. Above all, the moderate temperatures in October allowed citizens to venture safely out into the hills, safe from malaria attacks in the swampy lowlands of the Roman river landscape.
So there were multiple reasons to celebrate exuberantly!
Thus, the ancient tradition of the Bacchanalia, the festivals honoring the wine god Bacchus, lived on. Processions with decorated horse-drawn carts, costumed people, and abundant provisions traditionally drew people to the countryside or to stately homes on the outskirts of Rome, such as the Villa Borghese, which opened their doors to the public for celebration.
Ottobrata Romana di arte e cultura
This is the modern interpretation of the festive month of October, with a wealth of activities promoted by various organizers in the city of Rome. I experienced some of them with all my senses, both aesthetically and culinary, and also socially stimulating. On my own, as a couple, or in gruppo.
From Pop to Eternity
I still can't get over the Mark Kostabi Exhibition, located on nearly 2000 square meters of space in a former large rural farm with cowsheds in Rome's southern district of EUR ( Esposizione Universale di Roma ). An ambitious building project conceived by Mussolini in the pre-war year of 1938, featuring monumental buildings in the grandiose fascist style, the site of the 1942 World's Fair, which, for well-known reasons, never took place. Not even after Mussolini pressured organizers to postpone the date.
So back to the Vaccheria. After its conversion into a cultural space in 2022, it hosted Andy Warhol as its first artist; since then it has been called La Casa della Pop Art a Roma.
A Marilyn Monroe sculpture with an iconic depiction of her face à la Warhol and her globally known, wind-blown skirt, has since adorned the entrance to the restroom area.
Mark Kostabi's faceless figures are his trademark.
They appear like comic figures in the tradition of Andy Warhol, the empty oval of their faces seemingly inspired by Modigliani. Figures without individuality, icons of human existence like Everyman in the Anglo-Saxon literary tradition. Anonymous beings without their own life stories. We, the art consumers, supplement these.
Kostabi's "Taste" painting (above) drew my attention for a second tour of the exhibition. I can now glean social messages from his aesthetic forms. His paintings are more than just beautiful decoration: a cosmos full of meaning, disguised as decorative painting!
Hippie-style costume
Now I'm hungry for that! And for the easygoing lifestyle of the 1970s. I find it in the Secret Garden in the Parco tra gli Acquedotti, against the historic backdrop of ancient Roman aqueducts, typical of Rome's reutilized architecture.
Colorful hustle and bustle at the market stalls with all kinds of lifestyle accessories of the Flower Power People:
To go with my bandana, I allowe myself to buy a cheap pair of sunglasses that were fashionable in the hippie cult film Easy Rider (1969). I can't double Peter Fonda without a Harley Davidson Chopper.
Steel drums and their dreadlocked drummer exude a meditative Caribbean atmosphere, while light smoke from incest sticks wafts through the air.
Dancing to live music with vocals completes the happening:
Socializing at the Piano Bar Roma
ends my 3-day Ottobrata.
The InterNations community gathers in this bar in the platonic and alcoholic spirit of its name Mon Ami: for aperitivi, antipasti and friendly chat:
Yes, the Kostabi guy
made a lasting impression on me. Also with its couple motif: lovers in an embrace, faceless, anonymous, stylized beauty, often inserted into strict geometric forms. In today's world, where the visual dominates and has a high market value, the painter questions the self behind the beautiful facade. In the mirror image, I try to experimentally lose my face. It doesn't work. Completely. Fortunately.
The painter sees himself as a "business artist": "Business success is the most fascinating kind of art." At Kostabi World in NYC, the entrepreneur has assistants create paintings according to his design and only signs them when they meet his expectations. Artist factories have a long tradition, from Giotto and Michelangelo to Rubens and Rembrandt to Andy Warhol. Nothing inglorious about it.
If you can’t experience this exhibition live , you can still take the virtual art tour in www.rosinigutman.com : Exhibition spaces as works of art, Kostabi's multi-talent as a painter, sculptor and musician, his dual love for New York and Roma.
Comments