L’identità culturale: una osmosi ma anche un distinguo fra identico e diverso
10.6092/issn.1973-9494/7146
application/pdf
1973-9494
7146
en
Mauro Mantovani
Conservation Science in Cultural Heritage
Cultural identity: an osmosis but also a distinction between identical and diverse
Text.Serial.Journal
https://conservation-science.unibo.it/
16
Editorial
2017-07-24
2017-07-10
2017-07-24
2018-03-27
23-29
CSCH
Mauro Mantovani
2016
10.6092/issn.1973-9494/7146
23
Università Pontificia Salesiana, Roma
1973-9494
en
29
Cultural identity: an osmosis but also a distinction between identical and diverse
https://conservation-science.unibo.it/article/download/7146/6847
16
E    DITORIAL


Cultural identity: an osmosis but also a distinction
between identical and diverse

   Salvatore Lorusso
   Conservation chemist

   Mauro Mantovani
   Philosopher


    Identity can be defined as the qualification of a person, a place, an object based on
a set of characteristics that determines its specificity, differentiating it from all others
and thus enabling its identification. Besides, philosophically, identity – consider Aristo-
tle – is one of the fundamental principles, both from an ontological and logical point of
view, and its correlation with the principle of non-contradiction is a guarantee not only
for any type of discussion and discourse that wishes to be truly such (i.e. a guarantee),
but also to protect the dignity of each reality which – in some way – it represents. This
is due to the infinite originality of each reality, whatever it may be.
    Thomas Aquinas, reflecting on the transcendental of being, as presented in Article
1 of Quaestio 1 of the De Veritate, observes that every being, understood as entity (id
quod est), can be considered, first of all, in himself. In this way, it can be acknowledged
as something that is, and as an indivisum, a unum therefore, endowed with a character




                                                                                                    CONSERVATION SCIENCE IN CULTURAL HERITAGE
of inalienable and positive unitary wholeness. From this, therefore, comes the original
basis of identity.
    The being, however, can also be considered in relation to something else: from this
point of view, it is seen as a quid aliud, an aliquid, something inherently different. From
here comes the original basis of alterity and diversity and for this reason the need to go
beyond any equivocal and univocal perspective in one’s approach to reality.
    If we come directly to the themes of identity and cultural diversity, a number of spe-
cific questions undoubtedly arise that open up a wider field for further reflection.
    Is identity something immutable? Is it something material or immaterial? Or is it the
result of dynamic evolution in which “the same” continues to persist in “‘the other”?
How can the “old” and the “new” be integrated without altering the cultural identity of a
people, a nation, as well as that of a single person?
    If we apply these questions to the identity of any living being, their gradual meta-
morphosis does not stop them from always being the same: despite inevitable trans-
formations (the infant, the child, the adult, the elder), a person is always perceived as
being the “same”. They remain themselves even though they grow up and evolve. In
this case, development shows an evolution marked by accidental mutations and not a
substantial change. On the other hand, it is also true that the historical, contextual and
relational dimensions in which the person is undeniably inserted, strongly contribute to
moulding them, to giving them a new “form”, showing them not only as something that
is, but as a reality that is and that “one makes”.


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                                            Ethical thought that is attentive to the profound meaning of action, in compliance
                                        with a law that exists both inside and outside the being, confirms this almost “meta-
                                        physical” plasticity of human action and relationships for us. It highlights the fact that
                                        we ourselves enter into almost symbiotic connection with what (people, environment
                                        and property) moves our affections, desires, thoughts, relationships.
                                            Absolutizing, therefore, never helps to understand: identity is not something stat-
                                        ic or uncontaminated, as some proponents of identitary purity would like and are
                                        against any form of change and / or contamination with the “other”, but a complex
                                        set of mutations and permanence, a continuous osmosis between the identical and
                                        the diverse.
                                            Applied to cultural heritage, this concept of identity justifies Cesare Brandi’s theory
                                        of respecting the patina of time, the work of art, in that, far from modifying the work’s
                                        identity, it testifies to the changes that have taken place over time, despite essentially
                                        remaining faithful to itself: a reflection of life in its historical and evolutionary path. It is
                                        into this more general framework that a consideration on the concept of “beauty” fits,
                                        and is seen as the most precious legacy that our history has left us.
                                            It is well known that no country in the world is so full of artistic treasures, cities and
                                        squares as Italy – though alas, it is also threatened by earthquakes – which represent
                                        a wealth of beauty, of artisan traditions that are able to produce wonders, of sun, sea
                                        and mountains. This positive image of our country can be traced to a distinct feature
                                        that characterizes it, to beauty: where else can our demand for identity be satisfied?
                                        But this is not enough, especially in a time such as the present where, in a world that
                                        has shrunk in size, in other words, has become global, there must be something more
                                        to offer: a reason to be different. It is beauty itself that can represent this distinctive
                                        feature.
                                            However, it is not to be considered merely and solely as offer and availability. Beau-
                                        ty, in fact, can only become a resource in a society that does not enclose itself in
                                        restrictive standards, is able to escape rigid and repetitive patterns and go beyond the
                                        dull particular and the occasional happening.
                                            A society, consequently, that knows how to see growth as a process that invests in
                                        all the dimensions of an individual, including their changes and evolution, following the
                                        path of beauty with an idea of integral growth and does not neutralize the more creative
                                        human dimensions, but sees them as part of a multidimensional idea of value. In this
                                        perspective education becomes truly “vital”, particularly in the education of values and
S. Lorusso, M. Mantovani - Editorial




                                        beauty. Giving life to and nourishing a model of growth that is not repetition and stand-
                                        ardization, but the continuous widespread creation and generation of cultural identity
                                        that achieves interpenetration, exchange, mutual influence.
                                            And in this context – especially after the event of emergency situations related to
                                        the recent earthquakes – alongside the necessary initiatives related to people’s health
                                        and accommodation, the reconstruction of the houses and the restart of economic ac-
                                        tivities, there is also an urgent need to set up and establish a “Civil Protection” for our
                                        artistic heritage to protect them from degradation.
                                            In this way, their beauty will be well guarded, preserved, promoted, enhanced and
                                        transmitted, as an authentic bonum commune, to future generations. Hence, a civil
                                        commitment, so that our culture does not die, that the beauty we have received is
                                        not destroyed. If it is the task of the “technicians”, particularly in these situations, to
                                        pay special attention to artistic heritage that is ‘at risk’, including the provision of more



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streamlined and less bureaucratic procedures and regulations, it is everyone’s respon-
sibility to promote, not only when there are emergencies, a “culture of beauty”.
    Obviously, here we are referring especially to what genetically or naturally exists
(the person, the location, the environmental object), including what is anthropically
conceived and realized (the artifact of historic-artistic interest) or to what, as previously
indicated, is subject to change and / or modification, and definitely not to inertia, much
less degradation.
    In witnessing this process, we can thus find satisfaction and reason for our exist-
ence and acceptance in our request for cultural identity as a fusion of the identical and
the diverse. It is true that a clear distinction, though problematic, is that between the
authentic and the diverse, understood as being reproduced, in the case of a work of
art. In fact, among the various terms that distinguish the origin of a work of art when
speaking of its attribution (authentic, original, replica, copy, attributed to, signed by,
school, follower, fake), one finds the term “reproduced”, that is, a work produced by
means of digital reconstruction and reproduction: one acknowledged example is the oil
painting on canvas, “The Wedding at Cana” by Paolo Veronese, reproduced in 2007,
clearly representing something totally “new”, but later followed by other works similarly
reproduced over the years.
    Thus, through computerization it is possible to obtain a work that is identical to the
original, in which shape, color, and even “materiality” are identical, and consequently,
very difficult to distinguish, in the case of both a subjective evaluation (historical, artis-
tic, aesthetic, stylistic, iconographic analyses) and an objective evaluation (through the
use of diagnostic and analytical technologies).
    At this point a number questions arise that are ethical rather than aesthetic: – where
is the principle of unicum?
    – where is its unrepeatability?
    – where is its cultural identity?
    – where is its inevitable market price?




                                                                                                      CONSERVATION SCIENCE IN CULTURAL HERITAGE
    The computerized reproduction of a masterpiece might be judged lawful, as long as
what it is, is clearly indicated.
    The easiest way to respond to these objections might be to rely on a serious and
scientifically complete analysis, to be integrated with the above-mentioned evalua-
tions. However, as has been previously pointed out, the question has remained unre-
solved by the experts, giving rise to an aspect that seen in a broader vision, refers to
dimensions and limits ranging from real to virtual. Virtuality and reality: two dimensions
that are in contrast, two worlds which can, however, explain something about each
other and open themselves to multiple interpretations.
    If we talk about virtuality, our first thought is of the Internet, whose contents are able
to influence and to question the choices we make in our real everyday life, because the
virtual dimension of the network and its power can influence our tastes.
    According to some, the influence of the media – in particular social networks – in our
lives, makes it difficult for us to understand what it is we really like: the desirable object
can become a tedious cliche in a very short time. And, in conclusion, how do we keep
in mind that the world of the media also puts before us a problem of authenticity and,
therefore, the inability to distinguish the genuine from the reproduction?
    Yet, as Pope Francis wrote in his Encyclical of 2015 in N.103, dedicated – as is
known – to the “care of our common home”, the Laudatosi’: «Technoscience, when
well directed, can produce important means of improving the quality of human life, from


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                                        useful domestic appliances to great transportation systems, bridges, buildings and
                                        public spaces. It can also produce art and enable men and women immersed in the
                                        material world to “leap” into the world of beauty. Who can deny the beauty of an aircraft
                                        or a skyscraper? Valuable works of art and music now make use of new technologies.
                                        So, in the beauty intended by the one who uses new technical instruments and in the
                                        contemplation of such beauty, a quantum leap occurs, resulting in a fulfillment which
                                        is uniquely human».
S. Lorusso, M. Mantovani - Editorial




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