Luca Malacrino is a Welsh actor, living in Los Angeles. He has worked on on over 30 projects, including works such as Criminal Minds, Grey’s Anatomy, Coronation Street, Distant Vision with the Godfather’s Francis Ford Coppola, and his first self-produced movie, Elephants is now available to watch on Amazon Prime.
Hello friends!
It has been a while since we chatted. I hope you and your loved ones are staying safe and well during this MENTAL time. I kept putting off writing this article out of fear of messing up such an important topic… here goes nothing.
In order to talk about saving art, I feel we need to first understand ‘what it is’ and ‘how it affects our life’. Firstly, on a more scientific note, art in any form, whether while creating or observing, reduces the stress hormone called cortisol. It also releases the feel-good hormones called endorphins which helps us combat stress and pain.
Demitri Vrubel’s painting of the Soviet Union’s Leonid Brezhneu and East Germany’s Erich Honecker kissing – “My God, Help Me to Survive This Deadly Love”.
It is a way of expression, a way of joy, a way of making people understand and FEEL things which can’t be done verbally. It can turn a bad day into a good one, or even a good one into a great one. It can inspire us to create, give, or simply breathe. After all, it has been embedded into our culture since 70,000 BC. That’s right… The Late Stone Age.
Let me ask you a question. During COVID, how much harder would it have been without art? Without movies, songs, paintings, TV shows, etc? I can tell you right now without my music, family photos, and nightly episode of The Office, I would have lost my mind.
And just because you may be reading this and see yourself more as a ‘Business Person’, don’t think this doesn’t involve you, too! I am sure you have used graphic designers to create marketing assets, or a photographer to capture your business’ essence? Where do you think these artists drew inspiration from? I can promise you it’s not from looking at spreadsheets… haha.
The problem we all live with – Norman Rockwell
Art may have the ability to cheer us up, to entertain us, but it also has the power to effect real change in the world. Whether it be the continuous battle for equal rights, putting an end to racism, or the most current issue – COVID-19, you will find paintings, movies and songs that have allowed society to connect, unite, and even change their own perceptions about these topics.
On a personal note, this year one of my biggest role models, my grandfather, Domenico Malacrino passed away as a result of COVID. Even worse, I, just like many, was unable to attend his funeral. It crushed me. I felt lost and so guilty for not being there to support my family in person. The one thing that truly helped me was my art. Through specific song lyrics, scripts, and movies, I realized that there will be moments of joy like marriage and bringing new life into this world, as well as divorce and death – and there is nothing we can do about it. ‘Life Happens’ and all we CAN do is celebrate the positive moments even harder while reflecting and growing from the darker periods.
So you are probably asking yourself how you can ‘save the arts’? Don’t worry, I am not going to ask you to write a large cheque to your local art school. (I mean you can if you like…)
There are so many small ways we can support the arts on a daily basis and here is an image showing the various ways. I promise you will FEEL something in return. It will prompt conversation, help build stronger relationships, or at the very least put a smile on your face during this MENTAL period.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this column and Style of the city Magazine for focusing on such important topics that need to be talked about.
Be safe,
Luca Malacrino
Follow Luca’s journey at @GlucaMalacrino.
