|
The First Art Newspaper on the Net |
|
Established in 1996 |
|
Friday, March 29, 2024 |
|
Exhibition at Mucem questions notions of identity and identification through different motif |
|
|
Anca Benera & Arnold Estefan, Isa, por ës homou vogymuk (We are all dust and ashes), 2017-in progress © Courtesy of the artists.
|
MARSEILLE.- The exhibition Persona. Works by Romanian artists questions notions of identity and identification through different motifs, such as the mask. It first considers the links between ethnographic heritage and rites of folklore and mythology, before proposing a broad critical examination of national, cultural, and ethnic affiliations.
The Latin term persona has had an ambiguous development, from its original meaning to its current semantic applications in Latin languages, leaving the field wide open to a broad interpretation of what person and character can mean today, especially given the virtual avatars of new technologies.
Made up of different stories that question the nuances between local particularity and universal character, the exhibition Persona presents a panorama of the most significant artistic engagements of Romanian art today. Artists of the diaspora, artists living and working in Romania, artists of different generations, artists of different ethnic origins, artists using a wide variety of techniques all contribute to this exhibition, combining their points of view on contemporary visual cultural production.
The main themes of the exhibition are, on the one hand, the incontestable capacity of societies to cultivate a myth and preserve their history and, on the other hand, the permanent reinvention or fictional rewrite based on these stories. To better judge the reality and authenticity of what is shown in the exhibition, it is useful to begin thinking about the ability of a visual element to tell a story and for it to create a timeless space. Indeed, by removing the boundaries between history and the present, the works that are on display make possible the reconciliation between opposing discourses. This is especially noticeable in Anca Munteanu Rîmnics series of photographs Simulanta, where the struggle of a character pulling, stretching, and repelling a traditional Moldovan rug represents the metaphorical struggle between the weight of inherited traditions and the need to break free.
By exploring the Romanian funds in the collection preserved at the Mucem, it soon became clear that the mask motif was the most recurrent and also the most fascinating recollection of ancient customs and popular traditions. Ethnologist Ioana Popescu, a researcher at the Museum of the Romanian Peasant in Bucharest, emphasizes that the mask covers the faces of people for the sole purpose of liberating them: wearing the mask, the individual does not separate themself from but rather moves towards something. For her, the value of rituals involving masks lies in their ability to dissolve the opaque curtain that separates one person from another, one world from another world. The mask thus erases the laws of time and space, belonging to the domain of ancient cosmogonic rituals, ceremonies, and pagan rites.
From ritual and magical practices to subsequent social usages, communities practicing these types of collective rites generally connect them to life and death at key moments of human existence and to keep evil spirits away.
|
|
Today's News
April 23, 2019
Bruce Museum opens science exhibition about sharks
The Musée Maillol exhibits masterpieces from the Emil Bührle Collection
Self-Portrait by William Blake to be exhibited in the UK for the first time
Tutankhamun's priceless treasures return to Paris for the first time in a generation
Exhibition features large-scale paintings from two new series of works by Zhou Li
Remarkable results at Rago, including Asian art works, important silver, and fine decorative objects
MoMA surveys gender representation, sexual identity, and feminism in movie marketing posters
Tate acquires installation, The British Library, by Yinka Shonibare
Exceptional Marini sculpture highlights Bonhams Impressionist and Modern Art sale
Prince memoir to be released in October
Phillips to offer artworks benefiting Artadia
Exhibition at Mucem questions notions of identity and identification through different motif
Group show inaugurates Tim Van Laere Gallery's new space
Michael C. Carlos Museum names Ruth Allen Curator of Greek and Roman Art
N.C. Wyeth, Norman Rockwell among top artists featured in Heritage Auctions' American Art Auction
The MIT List Visual Arts Center presents 'List Projects: Rose Salane'
Domain of Chaumont-sur-Loire Centre for Arts and Nature opens for spring season
The Barbican hosts arts festival devoted to modern families and the science of making babies
Large-scale exhibition of contemporary Haitian art travels to South Florida
Ancient Resource Auctions announces May 4 Exceptional Antiquities sale
Chinese, Japanese art to headline Clarke Auction Gallery May 5
Majolica, designer fur chair to star at Benefit Shop Foundation May 8
Exhibition brings together 35 works spanning nearly 40 years of Robert Longo's career
|
|
|
|
|
Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography, Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs, Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, . |
|
|
|
Royalville Communications, Inc produces:
|
|
|
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful
|
|