The event participates in the 22nd edition of “Giornata del Contemporaneo” (Contemporary Art Day), promoted by AMACI, the Association of Italian Contemporary Art Museums
Studio Sutta Le Capanne du Ripa and Studio 22
Specchia, Piazza del Popolo
10th to 18th October
Curated and staged by Architect Prof. Stefania Branca
Esse quam videri
To be rather than to seem
In our consumerist age, where even thought closes itself off into ideology and personalism, the installation Esse quam videri, presented by Luigi De Giovanni, is intended as an invitation to reflect on the true meaning of human life, which, set against the span of nature, amounts to less than an instant. It is a reflection on the present day, which reveals, ever more oppressively, the clouds of uncertainty and fear. Textured paintings unfold into a flexible, mouldable installation that, following the line of the walls, intersects a metal drum, a vessel for fatuousness, and a circular net, a prison of thought. Together, these stand for individual evolution and the castration of freedom of thought, now standardised to models advertised on social media. Empty, unnatural models, devoid of spontaneity, have found their way into the concepts behind the works, which foreground the repeated inscription “Esse quam videri” (“To be rather than to seem”), also visible through a sea of splashed colour. It is a sorrowful denunciation from someone who once had dreams and fought for them, only to find himself today in situations he thought long forgotten. It is an account of thought defeated by the paralysis of the models put forward by influencers who manipulate and exploit, and which is fast becoming the only one on offer. Federica Murgia
