Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/459448
14 IF you have tears, prepare to shed them now. I've always wanted to start an interview with that quote: and Prof. Alex Torpiano gave me the perfect opportunity this week, when he joined a chorus of disapproval at the proposed relocation of the Val- letta monti [market] to Ordinance Street. "Why I am crying for Valletta", his opinion piece was headlined in The Times this week: though he will soon inform me that the choice of head- line was not his, but the editor's. Either way, few can deny that responses to this proposal were somewhat emotional on both sides. Project architect Antonio Belvedere 'cried' when he heard of the proposed desecration of Piano's masterpiece; one monti hawker's wife reportedly 'cried' when her husband was called a hamallu on the social media. Valletta, it seems, has become a vale of tears. So my first question for Prof. Torpiano concerns what it is, exactly, that makes this particular space – the entranceway to our capi- tal city – such an emotional venue for so many people. How does he ac- count for such sentimental reactions to this issue? "I think I'll go back a couple of steps. There is an issue regarding the design of the [market] stalls and an issue about where to place the mar- ket, and I disagree with both. How- ever, I think there is a much more se- rious issue which I'm not sure we're addressing at all…" Torpiano's article quoted well- known industrialist Joseph FX Zah- ra, who expressed concern that: "We are back on the road of populism and traditionalism, with fear of breaking boundaries…" "I referred to Zahra's comment because I think it's the first time I've seen it written anywhere: we have many exhibitions, but what are we exhibiting? Are we kidding ourselves? We have lots of budding artists... but are we really moving forward? Do we have an appreciation for art? Is it just about making pictures or statues, or is there more to it than that? What worries me is our approach to such issues. We were talking about the stalls as if… 'OK, we have a structure, now let's just put any old wrapping over it, and it will be fine'… I think we have a serious problem in our foundation. It starts at school: how we perceive things like 'culture'…" But isn't culture notoriously sub- jective? One could argue that the Valletta monti is part of our culture, too… Torpiano concedes that it is a very difficult word to define. "One can even say, if I go bare-chested in my home village, that's part of my cul- ture… so yes, you could argue that. But there are certain levels of sophis- tication in culture as well…" Torpiano turns to experience to il- lustrate his point: "I remember very clearly a conversation I had with a taxi driver in Florence, on what was probably my second visit there. He decided to give me an architectural tour of the city. And… you know, he was a taxi driver. He wasn't a scholar, or an academic, or even a rich busi- nessman. But he was proud of his city's heritage. And he was knowl- edgeable, too. He wasn't talking rub- bish…" This reminds me of a (supposedly true) anecdote about a Maltese taxi- driver on his first day at work. He picked up an Italian tourist at the airport, who said: "Albergo". So he drove him to Birgu… I have a bad habit of laughing at my own jokes, but luckily Torpiano laughs with me. "That's a good one, but I can tell you another: here at the department, we have restructured the course and included what we call a 'diploma in design foundation', where we get students who come from a science background (our course requires science). One lec- turer gives a course on 20th century cultural movements; and obviously this includes references to events such as the Russian revolution. In the discussion, the name 'Lenin' cropped up. The lecturer saw a number of blank faces. 'Surely you've all heard of Lenin?' she asked… and one stu- dent piped up – perhaps tongue-in- cheek – 'Ah, yes, he used to play with The Beatles'…" Joking apart, Torpiano admits to being worried at this apparent lacuna in our cultural formation, and sees much the same lack of awareness in the monti relocation decision, too. "Now: whether you like the design of Renzo Piano's parliament or not… when people start equating the de- sign of that building with the monti, and ask which is the 'better' of the two… I say, hold on a minute, what are we comparing here? It's in that sense that I became 'emotional'… It hurts me that people put these things on the same level." Inevitably, talk turns to criticism of Piano's design for the entrance to Valletta. Like most commentators to date, Torpiano affirms his own ad- miration for the Parliament building on the former Freedom Square. "The decision was taken, whether you like the idea of the parliament being there or not… whether you admire Renzo Piano or not; wheth- er you think it's a masterpiece or a cheese-grater. I happen to admire Piano, because compared to other contemporary architects, I find that he is more contextual. If you com- pare with Zaha Hadid, for instance… when she was criticised for her build- ing in Rome, she said: 'I don't care about context: that's my building…" Torpiano argues that the Piano project represents the opposite ap- proach: his design for Valletta was planned with the context in mind all along. "Renzo Piano is a different type of architect whom I admire. He is a master, whether we like it or not. In a sense, it's as if we are continu- ing the tradition that we had in the time of the Knights, of getting the best engineers and architects from Europe. We didn't understand the layout of cities when Valletta was built; we didn't understand fortifica- tions. Maybe we even criticised their work at the time; but now we admire the palaces, the bastions, the archi- tecture…" But what some people question is precisely the vision behind this project as the entranceway to a capital city. When we suddenly hear opinions to the effect that there shouldn't be any activity at all in the vicinity of this building, because it would jar with the artistic vision of some architectural grandee... I for one say, hang on: is this a city, or an architect's playground? It's as if we've created this great monument only to be observed respectfully from a distance… "That is certainly not what I was saying: what I said was that the sort of activity in question – selling cheap ware from China… is that what we want? I've been to cities where there are stalls even in main squares; but they sell good foods, and things like that. The scale is different; even the character is different …" He cites the example of an artisan market he once visited in Lithuania. "The stalls were modest, tasteful, and they sold beau- tiful things made in Lithuania…" So, to follow this reasoning… if the Valletta market sold goods of superior quality instead of what has been described as 'cheap, tacky tat', would it be considered OK to relo- cate it to Ordinance Street? If so, it is difficult to escape the notion that what underpins these objections is ultimately just a matter of class. It's as though the monti is objectionable merely because it appeals to a lower social denomination… Torpiano vehemently shakes his head. "It's not a question of class. It's a question of culture, ultimately. Un- derstanding the vision…" What if, I put it to him – and I'm not saying this was the actual intention – that the 'vision' behind relocating the monti was in fact to breathe life into the city entranceway, by install- ing a commercial activity that is ulti- mately part of the 'sights and sounds' of any living city anywhere? And if so, the flipside would surely be that removing all such activity may also condemn Valletta to die a gradual death… "I perfectly agree with you. But the decision doesn't seem to have been based on that. If there was that kind of logic, and… take the Lithuania market again. That sort of market does breathe life into a city. It gen- erates commercial activity, boosts tourism, etc. There was a plan. But quite frankly, don't tell me that this is what we're doing in Valletta. There isn't any comparable vision…." Perhaps not, but let me throw an- other idea into the cauldron. What if, by moving these stalls to such a prominent location, we are actually encouraging the local monti to pull its socks up? For example: one fre- quent criticism is that the Valletta market sells fake [pirated] DVDs. Certainly it has done so in the past, as attested by several police raids. But surely it would be harder for them to get away with that, if they're breaking copyright law right under the noses of 71 MPs? "True. But that's exactly why I was annoyed. If that was the intention, I would have subscribed to it. But that would have meant starting out by us- ing a higher quality stall, for exam- ple. It starts from there…" Torpiano insists that his main ob- jection was to the way things were done. "There wasn't a plan to have commercial activity of a certain qual- ity, constrained by these limits, etc. Nothing you could call a vision. Let's be blunt: what there was, was an electoral promise made to the monti hawkers." Here he imagines how the prom- ise was carried out: "It was almost mathematical: 'There are 75 of them, where can we fit them?… Can we fit them there? Yes… so… let's put them there.' That's not a plan. Certainly I don't believe it was in any way stud- ied… it was just a promise they had to fulfil. And it annoys me. Not because it's one party or the other, either. It has been said, I'm not sure by whom, that the same promise had been made before, under the previous adminis- tration. I don't know if it's true, but… what right do these politicians have, to promise this on public space? We elect them to power… and then we don't have a say in any of these deci- sions? I object to that." At the same time, however, isn't there a bit of hypocrisy at work be- hind the scenes? The Kamra tal- Periti came out with a statement against the monti relocation on the basis of 'good taste'. Yet one could argue – provocatively, I admit – that Maltese architects as a whole should Interview By Raphael Vassallo maltatoday, SUNDAY, 8 FEBRUARY 2015 Stuck in a cultural MEDIOCRITY By accepting everything as 'culture', all we've done is get ourselves stuck in a rut. We're not acknowledging that we have a problem, so we're not getting out of the rut PROMISES What right do these politicians have, to promise this on public space? We elect them to power… and then we don't have a say in any of these decisions? I object to that