We live in a country where the educational system is constantly under fire, many times for the right reasons. One such reason is our inability to argue and discuss in a constructive and informed manner. We have a serious deficiency in that respect.

We are taught a myriad of subjects, forced to learn so many details by heart, only to forget most of them once the exams are over.

Then we are not taught how to construct valid arguments and how to present them in a debate or simple discussion among friends.

Just go through any discussion blog and you will understand what I mean. Any discussion about an idea, a proposal or an opinion is bound to end up in a never-ending squabble, too often for all the wrong reasons!

But if there is one particular topic of discussion that is bound to degenerate from the very start, it is the one concerning anything artistic. Again, part of this blame goes to the way art is tackled in the classroom first and foremost, because art should never be taught in the classroom.

Real appreciation comes from observing real works of art – not by leafing through a book or listening to abstract tutorials.

Any discussion about what is artistic is set to degenerate either because many are not taught how to appreciate art or because many think they know it all.

The best way not to let a discussion about art degenerate is to start from the very basic premise that art and its appreciation, or lack of it, is and will always be subjective.

One cannot force someone to like something that one clearly does not. Aesthetics and the way we absorb what we see is very much based on all our past experiences, just like an artwork by any artist is the product of all the works produced before it.

That is why I find it totally pointless to discuss the beauty of the new Valletta City Gate project with people who do not like it.

Because no matter what aesthetical or theoretical arguments I bring up, anyone who does not appreciate the linearity, the new way how the whole space has been reinterpreted, how certain details resonate the past and how the whole project brings out the very nature of what Valletta stands for, will never start liking it.

Real appreciation comes from observing real works of art – not by leafing through a book or listening to abstract tutorials

And this is also why I find it totally pointless discussing whether it was a good idea for the government of Malta to spend €163,000 to acquire one of Antonio Sciortino’s finest works.

Because if there are (and there are) people who think this was a waste of money or that this piece (as someone put it) is only good enough to be placed on a mantelpiece because Sciortino was no one, then any further discussion is definitely bound to degenerate.

Sciortino might not share the same fame as Bernini or Michelangelo but just as the latter giants were products of their time, so was Sciortino. His talent was a monumental one.

I still have vague recollections of when I was very young, stopping in awe in front of his Les Gavroches in between hide and seek games at the Upper Barrakka on hot summer evenings, wondering whether those three homeless children would ever come to life.

Acquiring this piece was one good move. We needed some positive news anyway. Whoever took the initiative is to be commended.

I only dread to think that there might have been similar opportunities in the past that went unnoticed or not acted upon.

But let’s not be negative! This is a good start and I do hope that, if other outstanding art pieces had to resurface, there will be the funds to acquire them.

There might be those who look at Speed and think “What the... [please insert your own expression]!” Granted. Art is subjective.

But there are many who look at this piece and dream of seeing it prominently displayed on a brand new plinth, singled out by proper lighting, alongside many other great works by Malta’s modern and contemporary artists, inside a spanking new Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art. So many works are in storage, waiting to be prominently displayed.

I respect differing opinions but, in this case, I will not dwell on them and will hold on to the dream.