Regina Célia Pinto on Wed, 19 Mar 2003 22:01:22 +0100 (CET) |
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[nettime-lat] "SHELLIFE" |
> > For immediate release: > > > > > > What: "SHELLIFE" - An INDIVIDUAL exhibition by Regina Vater > > > > Where: Women & Their Work 700 Lavaca - Austin, Texas > > > > When: Thursday April 3 > > > > Contact: http://www.womenandtheirwork.org > > > > "SHELLIFE" > > or Art as an Experience of Awareness > > > > > > > > "When creative art is truly inspired, it comes close to being > sacramental." > > Paul Brunton > > > > "A poem is a mystery; the reader must find the key." ("Un poème est un > > mystère dont le lecteur doit chercher la clef.") Stéphane Mallarmé > > > > "Let the soul of man take the whole universe for its body." Simone Weil > > > > > > Since "Magi(o)cean", her very first installation, in 1970, to the present > > day, Brazilian born and Texas based artist Regina Vater has consistently > > developed an important, powerful, and impressive body of installation > works. > > She started her artistic career in the sixties at a very young age and was > > already an established artist in Brazil and abroad before moving to the > USA. > > Her art has a life of its own and is definitely not concerned with > > reproducing the past, applying any kind of aesthetic 'recipe' or 'formula' > > to present human and artistic issues, or trying to unveil the 'mystery' of > > these issues through any 'special effects' for the future. On the > contrary, > > Vater's art is a sincere celebration of the mystery of Space, Time, Life, > > Art, Poetry, and the related Human Myths and Cosmologies. And here resides > > her unique approach to Art as an integral experience of awareness. > > > > The pieces exhibited in the present show, "Shellife," are the most recent > > examples of this compelling life-long celebration. Affirming her reverence > > for life and nature, honoring the fruitful reflections of the human spirit > > and constructing works conducive to the appreciation of the beauty of > > creation, she accomplishes a sacred function ('sacred' being defined as > > 'participating in the divine creation,') in accordance to the hermeneutics > > of Art. > > > > These pieces, which could also be described as "awareness" pieces, or > > "metaphors of awareness," are created as a way to materialize what is > behind > > and beyond their physical and aesthetic presence or material > manifestation. > > Their ultimate goal is to offer the viewers a deep motivation to stimulate > > and raise their own state of consciousness, aesthetic latitude, and > > sensibility. Poignantly and concisely sharing with the viewer not only a > > 'finished object or artistic product,' but the (embodiment of) the process > > of her own philosophical concerns, existential reflections, as well as her > > perspectives on life, art, culture, poetry, and spirituality, Vater's > > ultimate interest is to create works that best express her soul, > fulfilling > > masterfully the definition of a work of art as given by Maurice Barrès in > > his "Mes cahiers" (My notebooks): "A work of art is the medium of a soul" > > ("Une oeuvre d'art c'est le moyen d'une âme.") > > > > The installation "Shellife" is the main piece of the exhibit and extends > its > > title to the entire show. Like the other pieces, it overwhelms the viewer > by > > its conciseness, strength, meaningfulness, and beauty. The images and > > installations created by the artist reveal a surprising economy in terms > of > > the visual elements employed - real or depicted eggshells, a fossil shell, > > the image of an ear (or, rather, an 'acoustic shell',) stones, petals, > > different fabrics, and verses -, commonplace elements in our everyday > lives; > > yet the works created with these few and common elements have an extremely > > powerful presence, which in turn empowers the viewer's soul and his/her > > knowledge of the created things. They intelligently point to the fact that > > the sacred dwells precisely in the commonplace of our everyday lives, in > the > > simple things, in Nature. > > > > In "Shellife," the artist invokes the mystery of the primordial egg - > > genesis of the universe, symbol of life and the renewal of nature - > causing > > enchantment and amazement, and provoking a myriad of sensations, > > reflections, and meditations. The artist transforms the tangible reality > of > > the piece - a yellow fabric in the background evoking the oneness of the > egg > > yolk, a transparent screen composed of countless eggshells resembling the > > roof of heaven, and a white ceramic bowl containing the compact paste of > > life - making us see the unseen, creating a magical and timeless space > that > > leads us to an intangible meditation on the spirituality and the mystery > of > > life. We are transported from the material to the immaterial; from the > > visible to the invisible; from the Total Fragmentation to the Total Unity, > > where every single piece of shell or every verse disposed among the > objects > > contributes to mirror and enlighten the "unus mundus", the one world, the > > Uni-verse. As a Space and Time capsule, it is inside the space of the > > eggshell that time operates generating life, as a synthesis of the > duality, > > as a conciliation of the dichotomy. In a similar way, the use of the > > artistic force in metamorphosing the objects into a ritual of high art or > > high magic is a way for the artist to convey her own experience, share the > > many gifts she received, and also refine and renew her own investigations > > and state of consciousness. > > > > Vater condenses the myth of the primordial egg, present in so many > > cosmologies, in the 'paste' of life located inside the bowl, rendering > > homage to all cosmologies, and more specifically to the Yoruba goddess > > Oshun, that immigrated to the Americas with the African Diaspora. In > effect, > > during the Afro-American rituals, eggs are offered to Oshun and the yoke > > paste is considered to be the recipient of the Ashé, or the vital energy. > In > > previous installations, Vater has also made a striking and remarkable use > of > > food as the main artistic material of her work. Just to mention a few of > the > > most recent works where this occurs, the artist used rice, corn, and black > > beans in "Vervê," a 1997 installation with the shape of a spiral mandala; > > nuts in the 1997 'God gives nuts to some who have no teeth" installation; > > honey in "The Inominable," a 1998/99 installation; and popcorn in > > "Amon/Amen," a 1999 installation. In this frequent and highly creative use > > of food as raw material for her installations, Vater has dignified both > the > > food, as a fundamental vehicle of life and the divinity, and art, as a > > supreme offering of spiritual nourishment. > > > > It is interesting to observe how Space and Time have always been a central > > and constant concern to Vater, in terms of her own personal investigations > > and work, leading her initially to research and study the myths of the > > Amazon, and then the other Brazilian and World cosmologies as well. > Through > > her work, the artist constantly reminds us of how much in need the > > contemporary world is of the knowledge contained in these cosmologies. To > > Vater, they are the real repositories of the ancient wisdom, an invaluable > > source that broadens the horizon of our souls. The knowledge transmitted > by > > these mythologies revealed to her the importance of a spiritual vision > where > > the human being is an integral part of nature, and not an external entity > > meant to subjugate it at his own will. So, from her concern with Time and > > Space, and her investigations of ancient mythologies and cosmologies, > Vater > > realized the urgency to incorporate ecology as one of her primary artistic > > concerns. In effect, to her credit, she was one of the first artists to > deal > > with the subject of ecology, having participated in the first major > > international event ever dedicated to the issue, the 1976 Venice Biennale. > > > > If the motif of the egg is also central to other pieces of the show: > "Cosmic > > Egg 1" (1980), "Cosmic Egg 2" (1980), and "Tempo or Time Folds" (1987), > and > > if these pieces also stress the artist's concern with Time and renewal, > they > > privilege, however, slightly different implications. Cosmic Egg 1 and 2 > are > > prints representing an entire egg and a broken egg, respectively. The word > > TIME is written on the eggshell, revealing that for the artist the egg is > an > > image of the threshold of time, but also highlighting the need in our > > contemporary societies to verbalize the obvious, since we are quickly > losing > > the mythical signification of beings and things, and nowadays TIME seems > to > > have become essentially an artificial construct. Time Folds, on the other > > hand, introduces yet another enigmatic element: the coexistence of > different > > 'chronographies' or multiple times, in other words, how different spaces > (an > > eggshell and a fossil shell) become metaphors for different concepts of > > time, and how time leaves its marks on different spaces- which become, in > > turn, different metaphors for time. > > > > In "Milarepa," a print inspired by oriental scrolls, Vater uses the image > of > > an ear (or 'an acoustic shell') as the central feature, surrounded by > > selected fragments of poetry. Milarepa, a Tibetan poet/saint, was depicted > > with a hand pointing to the ear, as a sign that it was through perceiving > > the murmurs of Nature that he became enlightened. Here, Vater reaffirms > her > > belief in the sacredness of Nature, and she also emphasizes the importance > > of an acute Perception and Awareness to better perceive the "inner" > > manifestations of Art. > > > > In "Sentence or Lampião" (Lamp or Lantern), a circle of nine lime stones > > illuminated by a central lamp composes the basis for the visual poetry > work. > > Over each stone, a piece of Plexiglas carries a word forming the following > > verse of the eleventh century Persian poet Hafiz: > > > > "WHAT WE SPEAK BECOMES THE HOUSE WE LIVE IN" > > > > Besides revealing the importance of Poetry in Vater's work, this > > installation, like other works created by the artist, reminds us of the > > symbolic importance of stones in every religion and cosmology. In other > > installations, Vater has already used stones as the main visual element of > > the piece. For example, in the 1993-95 "ITA-OTA" installation ('ita' > meaning > > 'stone" in the Tupi-Guarani language of the native Brazilians, and 'ota' > > also meaning 'stone,' in the African Yorubá language.) In that > installation, > > Vater spoke directly about the sacredness of stones in all cosmologies, > and > > wrote: > > > > I PLACE IN YOUR HAND > > A STONE > > A SANDY GRAIN > > > > AND MY OWN HANDS > > ALL COMING FROM THE STARS > > > > Therefore, every stone, as every word emitted by human creatures should > > generate appreciation, reverence, renewal, and love for our entire planet, > > because we are literally the houses we live in. > > > > The artist - in the piece titled "Tope," meaning 'shrine,' in Tibetan - > > expresses and avows the hope for this high state of awareness. Inspired by > > the aesthetics of Eastern religions, a cascade of dry petals falls in a > > golden bowl, which is full of fresh rose petals of the same color, > > suggesting grace, miracle, and renewal. The piece is like an abstract and > > intense Annunciation, an incitement to emulate the attitude of wonder of > the > > philosopher (lover of wisdom,) letting the flower(s) blossom within > oneself, > > in our existence of mirrors and containers for the whole universe. > > > > According to Regina Vater's very words: "My work has to do with ideas, > with > > poetry and with a shamanistic approach to art. For me, any artwork, even > in > > an unconscious way, is a form of reaching out to the creative and > > regenerative forces of the universe." > > > > As one of the many admirers of her work, I can only conclude by saying > that > > in the middle of so much 'terminal art' and 'terminator attitudes,' Vater > > has my deepest gratitude for sharing her provoking insights, and the gifts > > she was given, contributing to an Art that grabs us for its power of > organic > > inclusion to the web of life." > > > > > > Mario S. Mieli > > New York, Spring 2003 > > > > > > > > Regina Vater, who last year designed and curated the remarkable show > > "Brazilian Visual Poetry" for Mexic-Arte Museum, which received a six > page > > color feature story in "Art In America" magazine , has lived in Austin > since > > 1985. > > > > She is the winner of important national and international art prizes and > > has works in many international collections including the Austin Museum > of > > Art and the San Antonio Museum of Arts . > > > > Photography, digital art, video, visual poetry, installations, artist's > > books and graphic design are among the media Ms. Vater has employed > > throughout her career. > > > > > > > > This show was made possible in part by contributions in kind from:Jane & > > Hank Ellison - Balcones Frame Supply, Inc., HEB, Laird Plastics, The > Shangai > > Collection and a small grant from Brazil Center, Teresa Lozano Long - > > Institute of Latin American Studies - University of Texas at Austin > > > _______________________________________________ Nettime-lat mailing list Nettime-lat@nettime.org http://amsterdam.nettime.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/nettime-lat