By Elizabeth Reinking
Staff Writer
There were a lot of things I planned on when I decided to go to Florence with the Pepperdine art program.
I planned on meeting a great group of Pepperdine students. I planned on seeing so much incredible art that my head would be in danger of exploding. I planned on having the time of my life.
By the end of the summer, all of these plans had been successfully achieved, though luckily my head remained intact. However, there were quite a few things on which I did not plan.
One thing that I did not anticipate was the incredible opportunities Florence offered. For example, I was given the opportunity to witness first-hand the hottest summer in Italy on record. And Italy’s records go back 200 years.
I was fortunate that Italian culture does not yet encompass the widespread presence of advanced technology such as “ice” and “air conditioning.” This allowed me to fully interact with my new environment, especially when combined with the fact that I hadn’t brought any shorts. Temperatures of 96 degrees Fahrenheit with 94 percent humidity might sound miserable to some grumblers, but I took to the heat like eggs to a frying pan.
Before Florence, from my lofty perch on the top of the food chain, I had never felt what it’s like to actually be prey. Luckily, the heat only encouraged Florence’s mosquito population, that took care of the deficiency in my education as quickly as they knew how.
And boy do they know how. I found their efficiency remarkable. By focusing on my feet and lower limbs, I almost felt like they were attempting to immobilize me before moving in for the kill. It was an amazing illustration of nature at work, and I for one felt privileged to be a witness.
Speaking of food, there’s nothing like a month in Florence to teach a person about the huge varieties of carbohydrates which are readily available to an Italian citizen or visitor.
I mean, think about it – you’ve got white pasta, wheat pasta, fried pasta, thin pasta, fat pasta, rice-shaped pasta, donut shaped pasta – and that’s barely scratching the surface. The mind boggles with all the delicious possibilities.
Before coming to the Studio Art Centers International program, I had worried that there wouldn’t be enough time for me to sample the diversity of pasta that Italy has to offer. But I was delighted to discover that I was served pasta after pasta after pasta until I was satisfied that I had received the “full” Florence eating experience, both figuratively and literally.
Finally, because it wouldn’t do to have an article purportedly sharing my experiences on a Florence art program and neglect to mention art, I will now share with you the most shocking secret ever revealed to Pepperkind – naked people do in fact appear in several famous pieces of art.
Consequently, I and my fellow art students were permitted to draw nude human figures in our art classes, without using Barbie dolls and anatomy books. While our scandalous actions might shock you to the core, I can’t deny that it offered a modicum of improvement over drawing Human Figure in Sweatsuit. However, I doubt she got much respite from the mosquitoes.
September 11, 2003