Classic Ruin

Classic Ruin is inspired by my first encounter (and love affair) with the great city of Rome.

As soon as I stepped foot upon her worn and winding streets, I was immediately enchanted. The smell of delicious meals drifting from bistros, alongside music pouring from crowded cafés, kept me walking, almost dancing, deeper into Roma’s hold. My eyes were dazzled by almost everything in front of them. Old ruins, flashy fashion, passing Vespas, attractive people…

Out of all these new experiences, I was most struck by the strong contrast between street art and classic art. Gorgeous graffiti layered over timeless, almost god-like sculptures. My breath was taken away at every turn, yet my eyes and heart couldn’t get enough. The mixing of these elements left me intoxicated, thirsty, and inspired.

At first, it felt wrong to see these two mediums displayed side by side. But as I thought more about it, I realized just how right it was. The voices and visions of creatives, generations apart, exposing their passion, culture, and selves to viewers they might never meet, was an experience neither side could have imagined. It spoke in an old tongue with new slang, in poetry not yet defined. It mixed mediums never before paired and crossed class systems that the lords of society never intended to intersect.

Classic Ruin is my attempt to articulate a fraction of what I experienced that fall in Rome. It is one of many works I will need to create to fully communicate what I saw on those streets. A glimpse into the magnificent display that generations of creatives unknowingly put on for me in that very moment.