Midnight Rambler, 2021
Wood, concrete, clay, modelling clay, acrylic paint, pencil, gesso
35 cm x 46 cm x 40 cm
The slapstick or, as originally referred to in the Italian commedia dell’arte, the batacchio, was used as a theatrical prop consisted of two thin wooden planks that produced a 'slapping' sound when one comedian would slap another. The slapping gesture on the face would become synchronized with the sound of two thin planks slapping each other thus transforming an inanimate, soulless object into an animated sound-producing prop. If movement is a necessary condition for any living organism (Latin for anima) the thin slapstick boards here obtain an animated, living role. In the world of physical comedies, this movement is driven by the logic of action and reaction, while the sound is dry and noisy. Sculpturally speaking, the straight long narrow boards-slats with the strong blows, do not have the plasticity of other shapes. But from a technical point of view, they present animistic characteristics since they produce sound and have an open and close structure. The theatrical batacchio, the only one of its kind in this specific type of theatre, therefore impersonates a function which is acted twice; on stage and backstage.
In the exhibition 'Slapstick Masonry', the batacchio is appropriated through a series of large-scale slapstick sculptures accompanied by other more sculptural and lyrical works that pay tribute to conditions that lead to stumbling events and changeable situations, as much so as in American silent film comedies. These sculptures are reminiscent of clumsy, fleeting narratives similar to a staggering sleepwalker, a shaky scaffolding or a couple splitting up. In other cases, the sculptures portray ideas with seemingly opposite relationships. One work describes the mechanism of thought based on the rotating functions of a circus, while another compares the genius persona of Luci Ball to a rough catapult throwing balls and boulders. “Buster Keaton Daydreaming” is embedded in two stones that look to the south. In another, a pile of bricks and other materials, reveal the contradictory emergence of flowers through dense masonry. The slapping batacchio is revealed to us, not only as a hidden, multi-functioning, performative prop but primarily as a liberated albeit clumsy object that causes blunders in its attempt to become autonomous.
Slapstick Masonry
Opening Thursday 3rd of February @monitorgallery in Lisbon
6-9 pm
https://www.monitoronline.org/lisbon/
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