PERPETUO

Perpetuo

PERPETUO is a site-specific installation created for the single-aisle Renaissance space of the Church of Santa Maria della Visitazione in Venice. It is a work that stands as a threshold between the real, the spiritual, and the virtual worlds, between which the Western civilization is gradually groping its way, often failing to distinguish their boundaries. In this sense, the never-ending loop of the figurative composition is a materialization of contemporary social architecture.

PERPETUO is a sculptural paraphrase of the endless proliferation of visual posts that dominate our reality; from automated scrolling on social networks and tailormade advertisements to the most private areas of everyone’s life. PERPETUO thus creates a unique space to stop and reflect on what we still perceive as real on the “net” and what is no longer real.

PERPETUO is a representation of the eternal human need to idealize the stories we tell as we wish them to be perceived. Throughout the history of mankind, only the means of expression have changed.

Nowadays, social media profoundly influence both our real and our spiritual worlds, whether we like it or not.  We cling to the “net” like people cling to religion. We seek solace, encouragement, inspiration, and a space to share emotions and experiences. The only question is whether it gives our soul more than it takes from it…

PERPETUO could be installed possibly anywhere, but the unique combination of PERPETUO and the space of the church gives strength to the juxtaposition of the present with the tradition of history and art in Renaissance architecture, in a place where for centuries the faithful have turned to God.

Veronika Psotková

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Figurative sculpture has always served as an artistic means for visual representation of the human form and its emotions in which the creator wants to present them to the public. In this sense, this art form has always fulfilled a similar role to the images on Facebook or Instagram today, although without the possibility of rapid production and replication. Sculpture places a greater demand on the skills and technique of execution. It also demands the precision of expression however; it also prevents the visual presentation of the individual from being superficial.

In contrast, social media networks, like an accelerated and simplified video, offer the public self-portraits of the statuses’ authors in the form in which the user wants to be presented: women as more beautiful and slimmer, men as strong and confident.

The main motif of the PERPETUO installation is an endless cycle of bodily scenes of figurative beauty. In its conception, the sculptural composition recalls the aesthetics and the mode of communication of social media networks. The viewer enters the loop and becomes part of it. At the same time, he enters a contemporary world that emphasizes the external presentation of the individual rather than their true inner world.

These ideas are expressed by the PERPETUO installation in an artistic form that organically combines contemporary sculptural practices with the sculptural and painting tradition of Italian Renaissance and Baroque art.

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The wire material softens and moderates the realism inherent in figurative sculpture. It introduces an indeterminacy of form, dispenses with descriptive details, and gives the figures an abstract and timeless element. Such an abstract conception emphasizing symbolism was also characteristic of early Christian art. It was precisely the early Christian buildings in Italy that inspired Leon Battista Alberti to formulate his architectural concepts, the application of which can be found in the simple and austere architecture of the Church of Santa Maria della Visitazione.

Despite the heavy internal steel structure, however, the final installation appears to be almost immaterial in nature, airy, and light compared to the original Renaissance and Baroque sculptural matrix. PERPETUO co-creates the interior architecture, relying on interactions with visitors and offering different possibilities for its use. It is possible to pass through it as a gateway, but at the same time, its floor plan has the shape of an unclosed number eight, so that the visitor can close this loop with their body and merge with its dynamic action.

Robert Janás

Curator

curator

Mgr. Robert Janás, Ph.D. (* 1973 Brno, Czech Republic)

is a Czech art historian, theorist, curator, and photographer. 

He is primarily concerned with XIX-century painting in Moravia in the context of European and contemporary art. Since 2016, he has been director of the Brno City Gallery (until 2021 of the Department of Art History) and curator of ancient art at the Brno City Museum. He studied art history, history, and auxiliary historical sciences at the Faculty of Arts of Masaryk University in Brno, where he completed his doctoral studies in art theory and history. From 1998 to 2003 and 2015 to 2019, he taught Art History at the Faculty of Arts of Masaryk University and the Institute of Archival and Auxiliary Historical Sciences. In 2005–2006, he taught at the Faculty of Arts of Charles University, Institute of Art History.

He is the author of nearly three dozen exhibitions, including a permanent exhibition of XVI–XIX century art at the Brno City Museum.

He has published about sixty monographs, peer-reviewed art historical studies, and popular articles on XIX and XX century painting, sculpture, and architecture. As part of his artistic activities, he founded, among others, the art group Prague Stuckists.

www.muzeumbrna.cz