Sarah F. Maclaren facts for kids

Sarah F. Maclaren (born June 4, 1964, in London, UK) is a British-Italian expert who studies cultures, societies, and people. She is also very knowledgeable about Cultural Studies (how culture works), History of ideas (how big ideas have changed over time), Aesthetics (the study of beauty), and Rhetoric (the art of speaking or writing effectively). She also helps organize cultural and academic events.

About Sarah Maclaren

Sarah Maclaren was born in London, United Kingdom. She later moved to Rome, Italy, where she lives and works today. She went to a classical high school where she studied subjects like Latin and ancient Greek.

She earned her first degree in Social and Cultural Anthropology from the University of Rome “La Sapienza” in 1988. Later, she received her Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Rome “Tor Vergata.”

Since 1999, Sarah Maclaren has taught Sociology at the Loyola University of Chicago Rome Center. Her classes focus on topics like "Italy Today" and "Italian Fashion and Design." She is also an editor for Ágalma. Rivista di studi culturali e di estetica, a journal about Cultural Studies and Aesthetics. This journal was started by the Italian philosopher Mario Perniola in 2000.

Sarah Maclaren has written many books and articles about the history of ideas and cultural studies. In 2004, she traveled to Kyoto, Japan, to research the ideas about beauty held by the architect Arata Isozaki. She has given talks in many countries, including the US, Canada, Australia, Japan, Brazil, Italy, and other parts of Europe. She is also a member of the IAPL (The International Association for Philosophy and Literature).

What is Magnificence?

A big part of Sarah Maclaren's work looks at the idea of magnificence (history of ideas). In her book Magnificenza e mondo classico (Magnificence and the Classical World, 2003), she explores how this idea has been important in Western culture since ancient times.

In ancient Greek, it was called “megaloprépeia,” and in Latin, “magnificentia.” It means doing something great that fits the situation. Sarah Maclaren explains that magnificence is about great actions, courage, excellence, honor, generosity, and grand lifestyles for good reasons.

She shows how thinkers like Plato, Aristotle, and Cicero saw magnificence as an idea that connected many fields. These included Philosophy, Economics, Sociology, Anthropology, Art Criticism, Rhetoric, Architecture, and Art.

However, this desire for greatness doesn't always lead to good actions. For example, Alcibiades, an ancient Greek figure, showed how human excellence could turn bad. This happens if people can't resist political ambition, corruption, or greed.

Sarah Maclaren also explains that magnificence is different from luxury. Luxury has a completely different history in Western civilization.

Piranesi and Magnificence

In her book La magnificenza e il suo doppio. Il pensiero estetico di Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Magnificence and its Double. The Aesthetic thought of Giovanni Battista Piranesi, 2005), Sarah Maclaren explores the ideas of the famous Italian artist Giovanni Battista Piranesi.

She shows how Piranesi used the idea of magnificence when other ideas, like luxury, were becoming more popular. Piranesi believed in the genius of Roman architecture, even more than Greek architecture. In his book Della Magnificenza ed Architettura de’ Romani (Concerning Roman Magnificence and Architecture, 1761), he argued that magnificence was a virtue shared by all ancient Romans.

Maclaren also suggests that Piranesi had a surprising view of magnificence. He saw it in hidden, invisible, and even strange places. This included the Roman sewage system (the cloacae) and his famous etchings called Carceri (The Prisons). She argues that there's a link between grand Baroque palaces and these dark "Prisons."

So, for Piranesi, magnificence had two meanings: a traditional, positive one, and a more unusual, controversial one. This idea of magnificence helps us understand all of Piranesi's work. His ideas influenced many artists and writers, including William Beckford, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Edgar Allan Poe, and Aldous Huxley.

Japan and Architecture

Sarah Maclaren also studied the beauty in modern Japanese architecture during her research in Kyoto. She focused on Arata Isozaki, a world-leading architect.

In her book about Piranesi, Maclaren shows how Piranesi's ideas often inspired Isozaki's designs. Isozaki used the more unusual and cutting-edge parts of Piranesi's work. In her book Arata Isozaki e la fine dell’utopia (Arata Isozaki and the End of Utopia, 2007), Maclaren discusses Isozaki's revolutionary and anti-modernist style.

This approach made him unique globally. He was one of the few architects who combined ideas from both Eastern and Western traditions in his designs. Maclaren also suggests that modern Japanese architecture has used some of Piranesi's ideas about magnificence.

Large public works, artificial islands, and global cities in Japan show a commitment to building things that benefit everyone. However, the "chika" (Japanese underground cities) remind us of the strange and controversial side of magnificence. This is similar to Piranesi's "Prisons" and the Roman sewers.

Studio Crafts

Sarah Maclaren has also explored the world of studio craft. In her work Che cosa sono gli Studio Crafts? (What are Studio Crafts?, 2007), she looks at what makes this artistic field special. She examines how it differs from fine art and design. She also explores why craftspeople value their technical skill and training, and how their artworks are recognized and collected.

Maclaren also studied the Italian context, where studio crafts haven't always received enough attention. In her article Studio Craft. Una produzione tra arte e artigianato (Studio Craft. A production between art and craft, 2007), she tells the story of Japanese Onta pottery.

This traditional pottery was made by a rural community in Southern Japan until the 1930s. Maclaren shows how this pottery could have disappeared. But it was saved and became famous, collected, and displayed in museums.

Sarah Maclaren also highlights the important role of Yanagi Sōetsu. Inspired by the British Arts and Crafts movement, Yanagi worked to protect traditional folk crafts. These crafts were in danger of disappearing because of Japan's fast industrialization. Yanagi started the Japanese Mingei movement. He spread his ideas through journals, books, museums, and exhibitions. He also gave awards to outstanding crafts and craftspeople. He discovered Onta pottery during his travels and admired it because it fit his ideas of beauty.

Brazil

Sarah Maclaren is also interested in Brazilian anthropology and aesthetics. She conducted research in a small traditional community in the northeastern state of Pernambuco, Brazil. She did this with help from the Archeological, Historic and Geographic Institute of Pernambuco, a Brazilian cultural organization she is a member of.