Marco Cingolani - group show "Reality il decennio degli effetti speciali”

If Umberto Eco, during the Tangentopoli era, described the eighties as the "decade of special effects", then REALITY '80 can be envisioned as the visual kaleidoscope of that period. Much like the phantasmagoric optical instrument, the exhibition—opening on December 19 at the Gruppo Credito Valtellinese Gallery and curated by Leo Guerra and Cristina Quadrio Curzio, with scientific consultation from Valentino Catricalà and Mario Piazza—presents a chronological and thematic convergence of culture, society, entertainment, arts, design, and graphics from the 'Milano da bere' era. The exhibition’s narrative weaves together continuous stories and figures from the 1980s within a thematic and structural framework composed of monumental fragments and artifacts from significant events—such as the 1981 assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II and the 1989 PSI congress at Ansaldo following the fall of the Berlin Wall. These are displayed alongside 'cult' objects like the dynamic circuit of Pac-Man in the Arcade tower format from game rooms, and an eclectic parade of surprises, gadgets, and 'Regalissimi' included in the snacks of the Paninari generation. All of this is aligned along a temporal axis, from the iconic Ramazzotti amaro poster (the start button in collective memory: "This Milan to live, to love, to enjoy... This Milan to drink") from a 1986 photo by Mario De Biasi—featured in the exhibition as a vintage print—to Keith Haring's scenic and symbolic remake for the Berlin Wall in 1986—a recreation of the preparatory stages of the famous, now-lost mural, reproduced on a large scale on truck tarps.