Les Fleurs du mal, as the title of the exhibition, evokes not only the symbolism of Charles Baudelaire, but also the subtle toxic influences that insidiously creep into the life of every creator, as the author said, intensifying the burden and drama of the artistic journey. Charles Baudelaire's reflections on the clash between an ideal world and the theater of falsehood that dominates social interactions remain valid today.
14 artists explore in varied media – painting, sculpture, photography, installation and new media – big themes such as alienation, disalienation and identity issues.
The themes of identity are intertwined with the exploration of death, seen not only as a physical finality, but also as a symbolic death, a kind of repetition for death, a rehearsal with an audience, in which there is an attempt to embrace a possible end point of life through an existence in accord with one's own soul. Whether it be a self-alienation, existential, social or cultural, these artists navigate against the unseen winds of an eternally dissatisfied world.
The accelerated pace of evolutionary trends generates a society with ever more demanding imperatives; thus, the contemporary artist is forced to navigate a socio-professional landscape supersaturated with expectations and constraints.
Social alienation, in this context, is manifested by the rupture between the artist and the society that imposes roles and identities that alienate him from himself. Under this pressure, he finds himself facing a dilemma: how can he remain free and authentic in an atmosphere where conformism is still a precondition for validation?
The artists experience a cultural tension that causes them to fluctuate between being true to themselves and meeting cultural demands to become a product for the art market.
Even if it is an alienation of different causes, on different levels, it is a subtle one, similar to the one that Jean-Paul Sartre describes in ”Being and Nothingness” , where man is ”condemned to freedom” and at the same time to the burden of creating his own meaning in the world.
In this context, one can also notice a kind of emotional dysmorphia, in which the artist perceives his creative identity through a distorted lens, feeling that he is never valuable or authentic enough to live up to social expectations.
The artists showcased here are forced to define their place in a system that often pushes them to painful compromises. Their art is not only a response to this pressure, but also a refusal to think in hierarchical terms.
Similarly to those who are locked up in logic of expectation in a state of Beckettian suspension, others choose to regain their personal power and artistic integrity by opposing the process of alienation, regardless of its level of manifestation.
It takes a lot of courage to escape the trap of mediocrity and invent your own identity, the latter assuming to walk on risky paths – but only from the point of view of society. The quest for a more authentic identity is constantly accompanied by subtle forms of self-alienation, where the distinctions between the true Self and the context-imposed mask are becoming more difficult to distinguish.
”The Flowers of Evil” represent not only the corruption of the soul, but also the possible rebirth through suffering, the expression of a dialogue between the forces that constrain and those that liberate, art becoming the channel through which these artists choose to keep in front of the mirror of the world.
Flowers are born in the chaos of urban experiences including social and cultural alienation, and artists are building gardens with new forms of freedom that transcends the limits imposed by the outside and capable to liberate other people willing to think.
Les Fleurs du mal x-rays both the vulnerability and the power of the artist in a context in which friendships, alliances and social pressures can determine his trajectory. Thus, each work featured in this exhibition becomes a personal manifesto – a declaration of freedom in front of a system that can no longer induce alienation.
A certain kind of understanding is born, and all concepts of how we should be, live, or what we should do are dissolved. This transcendence of alienation, be it social, cultural or existential, becomes the core of the new identity claimed by these artists. They move right into the interior of existence, the only strangers remaining those who seek outside of themselves the validation of their artistic or personal identity. Alienation is now a catalyst for redefining the self, culture, and society in this landscape, not just a destructive force but a starting point for redefining the self, culture and society.
LES FLEURS DU MAL
Constanța Art Museum
October 11 - November 30, 2024
Curator:
Nora Cupcencu
Artists:
Olimpiu Bandalac, Irina Cîmpeanu, Nora Cupcencu, Matei Emanuel, Dumitru Gorzo, Petru Lucaci, Alex Mirutziu, Gili Mocanu, Denis Nanciu, Răzvan Neagoe, Magdalena Pelmuș, Bogdan Pelmuș, Beniamin Popescu, Alexandru Ranga