Decadence, Now.
For the first edition of City of Art, ‘Decadence, Now.’ was produced as an exhibition of artworks, objects, music and paraphernalia from the Decadent movement, curated by Andrew Borg Wirth. The contents of the exhibition accompanied a concert series curated by Lucia Micallef and Gillian Zammit.
This project claimed, to a great extent, that the critical study of decadence should not be confined to its traditional association with morbidity, a cult of artificiality, exoticism and aestheticism. Although these topics dominate the thematic texture of the decadent movement, as well as its lasting influence upon twentieth-century culture, they also continue to fuel a whole new wave of contemporary decadence in visual culture. ‘Decadence, Now.’ argued that decadence is more than a movement or compendium of transgressive themes and images by which it is usually identified; it is a zeitgeist which has been carried on well into the twenty-first century, as it continues to discuss the future of the end of world.
Artworks by Luke Azzopardi, Maria Theuma and Mike Zerafa, and a new composition by Karl Fiorini shared territory with artefacts from across international museums and collections, and music from the most celebrated composers of this time.
Decadence, Now. was awarded Multidisciplinary Project of the Year 2023 (Premju Għall-Arti, Arts Council Malta).
Curator’s Note
We stand, always, on a threshold. There, a lineage that is sewn by artists, musicians, writers and thinkers across cities and at different times. Decadence, Now. situates the viewer at such a cusp.
As modernity beckons in Europe at the turn of the twentieth century, there is a moment of recoil, which seems not only to extend the sentiments that precede it but also immerse them into altered states of consciousness. This subversion of reality presents an opportunity not to simply look back but, rather, for artists to forge a future forwards.
The artefacts in this exhibition use decline and decay as loci of self-expression. They are obscure fragments from a time which establishes the cult of the self and reinvents the art object, but they also contribute to a new lineage. The performing and visual artist-curators of Decadence, Now. investigate progress in its most recent sense and react not only to elements from another time but also to their own context today. They dwell upon time itself because to do so is the ultimate imperative of the Decadent. They—and, on this threshold, you, with them—are engrossed in the perennial question: What is Decadence?
Partners
Under the patronage of Jordi Goetstouwers and Valeria Limentani from Virgata Group
Programme Support Scheme, Arts Council Malta
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Malta Society of Arts
Heritage Malta
Embassies of France, Germany, Austria, Italy and Spain in Malta, and Istituto Italiano di Cultura
University of Malta, Faculty of Arts, Department of Art & Art History, Department of English
Bank of Valletta, Dr Karl Gonzi, SA Consult, Valletta Cultural Agency, and Von Peach
66 St Paul's Valletta, Camilleri Paris Mode, Casino Maltese, Express Trailers, Lune Noir, MAPFRE Middlesea, Mavenry, Intervisions, Saint–Émilion Wines, Teatru Salesjan, and Transcripta
Artemisia Fine Arts & Antiques, Biblioteca Nacional De España, Casa Rocca Piccola Valletta, Casati Archives, Man Ray Trust, Musée de l’Absinthe, Musée Félicien Rops, Musée Moreau, Museum of Lower Austria and the National Archives
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Special thanks to Carlo Tonna de Lorenzo, Ed Dingli, Elyse Tonna and Elisa von BrockdorffFelix Deepen, Lara Darmanin, Johanna Petreski, Marie Claude Delahaye, Marija Grech, Matthew Bonello, Marquis Nicholas De Piro, Martin Gauci, Rob Matthew Golfeo, Rosetta Debattista, Dr Samuel Azzopardi, Sam Chetcuti, Sean Mallia, Simon Abrahams and Francesca Del Rio, and Tom Armitage
Team
Production Team
Producer, Music Curator – Lucia Micallef
Exhibition Curator – Andrew Borg Wirth
Exhibition Researcher – Luke Azzopardi
Exhibition Illustrator – Rebecca Bonaci
Music Curator – Gillian Zammit
Salon Director – Denise Mulholland
Catalogue Editor – Maria Theuma
Communications Designer – Mike Zerafa
Marketing and PR Executive – Alessia Caruana
Social Media Executive – Kris Polidano
Programme Coordinator – Elaine Falzon, ARC Research & Consultancy
Programme Coordinator – Davinia Galea, ARC Research & Consultancy
Salon Performances
Contemporary Artists
Catalogue Contributors
Raffaele Abete, Mohamad Ali ‘Dali’ Aguerbi, Rachelle Deguara, Charlene Farrugia, Lucia Micallef, André Morsch, Maria Theuma, Gillian Zammit, Moritz Zavan Stoeckle
Luke Azzopardi, Andrew Borg Wirth, Karl Fiorini, Maria Theuma, Mike Zerafa
Luke Azzopardi, Prof. Ivan Callus, Dr Sandro Debono, Prof. Maria Frendo, Dr Luke Galea, Andrew Huth, Lucia Micallef, Denise Mulholland, Dr Maria Theuma, Dr Michele Tufigno, Kathleen Vella
Part series of academic reflections, part catalogue, this book commemorates the exhibition Decadence, Now., held at the Malta Society of Arts, in Palazzo de La Salle, Valletta, on 11–31 May 2023.
Published by Impeached, a division of Von Peach GmbH
Suurstoffi 37, 6343 Risch-Rotkreuz, Switzerland
Edited by Maria Theuma
Designed by Mike Zerafa
Printed and bound in Malta by Polidano Press Ltd, Ħal Luqa