[nettime-lat] "SHELLIFE"

[Regina Célia Pinto <regvampi@iis.com.br>]

> > 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
> >
>


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