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MOSTAFA ABDEL MOITY - SCULPTURES-BRONZE 2015
Venue Zamalek Art Gallery - Venue I Other offers Map
Start date 08-02-2015
End date 08-05-2025
With the end of the age of certainty, the contemporary individual lives in a perpetual state of doubt. Today, the modern human being is experiencing an age devoid of any absolutes; rather, constant change is the rule of life. In the process, uncertainty has infiltrated all aspects of life. What was previously believed to be reality has been proved beyond a doubt to be a matter of relativity. Quite simply, there is no such thing as absolute truth in the modern age.
Such is the principle of the age of science as science is always ruled by doubt; in other words, there are no givens in science. Creativity, in turn, necessarily exists in this state, consciously and intellectually at the same time. Gone is the time when art used to follow a certain school or style. Instead, the state of creativity has become a vision for the artist living in an age where conflicting ideas swirl this way and that, occasionally finding himself caught up in the ensuing whirlpool. It is during such instances that the artist takes on a completely different persona at variance with his previous self; as such, the person of today is definitely not the person of yesterday. Similarly, the principles of style and specific schools have dissolved in the field of art. The question that arises here is: how can the artist experiencing the turbulence of these constituents and rules of life achieve stability in style or adhere to any given principle after undergoing this metamorphosis? This is why art has become a dynamic and changing vision.
When this vision emerges from the absolute world in which it exists in the mind, consciousness, and feelings of the artist in order to be realized in the material world, it possesses complete freedom in conjuring both the means and the medium which achieve this material existence.
With the collapse of the imaginary barriers between areas of abstract creativity, between photography (by which I mean colour), sculpture, or the material form…drawing…ceramics…the fluid image… any occupied space, there is no such thing as a void in the universe… as with the human body and aesthetic concepts of nature, and so on.
The creative vision of today comes in the narrative of a comprehensive world which actualizes its presence in the material world. Nevertheless, in the language of the creativity of the age, we might find in a single work a fusion of colour, form, music, light, word, sound, and all sorts of nuances and pre-conceived elements after the artist’s eye has draped them with a garment of beauty invisible to the conventional eye.
All of these features could be incorporated into one work, one could say in one single vision. Such is the state of contemporary artistic innovation out of which any assumptions must be viewed. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that an artist formerly expressing his vision in a work should now do so by means of an interplay of colour or the digitalized images of the latest technological advances which have imposed new aesthetic standards, and in turn, incorporated a deeper dimension into the heart of artistic innovation.
I personally believe that the artist who fails to respond to his own innovative stirrings in the actualization state (whatever it may be) is living in a time warp of specific schools and styles.
Accordingly, today we are looking at an exhibition by an artist unlike any other previous works. This should not divert us away from the aesthetics of the creative vision and the extent to which it is meaningful and relevant to contemporary life. Gone are the days of stereotypical innovation unless it can be reconciled to life. All of this depends on the authenticity of the artistic vision in presenting a compelling work in the field of artistic creativity.
Adhering to this concept was the Abstract School of artists in the early 1950s; scorning a specific style or school, there was only complete freedom of creativity with the artistic vision conjuring up the specific medium in which was actualized.
The more conscious and genuine the vision, the richer, more luminous, and more whole will be the resulting materialization of the artistic character.
This is by no means an invitation to the artist to abandon his principles and ideals in order to actualize this concept. I only urge him not to take up his art without fully liberating his artistic vision in terms of choice of the actualizing medium no matter what form it may take. The only consideration here is for the vision to convey truth, awareness, and relevance.
When reflecting on modern and contemporary art, rarely do we find a work untouched by a romantic or surreal tinge regardless of its genre. And why should not this be so? The truth is that since the 20th century the individual has been living in deadly isolation despite the crowded nature of his surroundings. He exists in a painful reality dominated by the machine in all its tyranny - a reality that requires him to seek refuge in his inner self…into his own reverie wherein he mistakenly believes lies his salvation.
According to my own perception of contemporary innovation, this collection of sculpted works represents a dialogue involving the language of the single form as a dynamic model in the construction of the artwork. It is an attempt to actualize the aesthetic side with the element. The resulting positive energy first attracts our eyes, before infiltrating through them into our heart and mind. Whether or not the element stands alone or interplays with another element, each separate element possesses its own magnetic field. We always seem to forget that at the same time there is also an aesthetic dimension to the element. That is, each element in itself embodies the scales of a balanced life: the mind represented in the scientific side in the magnetic field and consciousness in the sensory side in the artistic field.
Let us first agree that our eyes are drawn to the element according to what it radiates in terms of aesthetic-magnetic energy, in a manner of speaking. This aesthetic energy found in the field is instrumental in actualizing and rendering special the element and establishing its presence. In this sense, the element, whether it exists independently or is engaged with one or more elements, represents an aesthetic world stretching into infinity.
By way of illustrating the above concept, let us choose a specific element, say, the ubiquitous sphere, found in so many works of art. This same ball or sphere which features specific dimensions, colour, and material, when encountering another exactly matching sphere results in a different aesthetic effect than when it encounters another form such as the cube. This is because the sphere immerses us in a kind of aesthetic symphony produced during interplay with other elements. That is, the impact of the sphere forms a harmonious and well-proportioned world as if it were a key element in the construction of a whole family built on aesthetic dynamics. If we were to imagine that the sphere upon interplaying with another element in an installation bestows its full capacity in terms of aesthetic presentations, we would be erroneously sentencing it to a state of paralyzed rigidity by removing its potential to move forward, amalgamate with other elements, and transmit its boundless aesthetic obligations. Such an assumption is both stifling and unfair.
Why shouldn’t we give creative imagination complete freedom to stimulate all living things in the universe in their perpetual motion? Similarly, creative imagination can radiate its beauty this way and that to embellish the universe with a unifying streak which makes life dearer to man. All this hinges on our belief that the universe is driven by motion rather than stability.
My second foray into the realm of bronze sculpture is summed up in the present collection which presents the language of form on the altar of dialogue - all the forms comprising abstract art. As the elements approach each other, they engage in the dialogue of introduction and familiarity. Each element gravitates towards the other as the starting point of the artwork. At times, we can see the ball shedding its formidable aura formed by its size and substance, gliding and taking on a circular shape to blend in with the other elements. In a similar way, the pyramid is reinvented in the shape of a cube and the cube into a square. The sphere embodies a very special affinity to the Egyptian people. It has been an essential element in their cultural legacy since ancient times when the spherical shape of the sun was observed; indeed, the sun disc and the Nile together defined Egyptians’ way of life and their very presence. The sun represents light and warmth – it was revered and evolved into Amun, god of all the gods. Even the traditional loaf in Upper Egypt is shaped like the sun as were the millstones used to grind grain for making bread. Even the surface of the kiln designated for baking bread is circular. The low table or tableya that simple folk eat on is also circular. And so we see that it is no coincidence that the most vital tools for daily life featured a circular shape; from the very beginning, the sphere has been not only a symbol of life but also a giver of sustenance. The circle in the life of the average Egyptian has always been associated with his very existence.
We see the sphere as it capriciously moves between the elements, choosing among them whatever it fancies in order to merge into a new being bearing a spiritual dimension of the human self. Alternately, the sphere might select the pyramid shape with its sublime proportions and unique presence invented so long ago by the ancient Egyptians, bearing on its tip the epitome of balance which is the basis of all universal matter in their interaction with each other. The pyramid shape reaches skywards, a place occupied by Ra in the glorious sun disk. Truly, the bond between the sun and the pyramid is as old as time itself.
The spherical element then might turn, in its original form and size, to interweave with other elements to form more and more different aesthetic shapes.
On every occasion and with every interaction, the sphere undergoes a change in the bestowing of its gifts, despite retaining the same basic shape and size. This is because in each interaction the sphere represents a kind of birth of a new aesthetic dimension. Thus, the spherical element does not confine itself to a limited world; rather, it becomes an element with an infinite capacity for radiating beauty in its interaction with diverse elements. Accordingly, we cannot possibly put imaginary parameters to close in and stifle its potential to convey aesthetic principles. When the relationship between elements changes, it gives rise to aesthetic dimensions springing from a new world actualized by the aesthetic field of all the newly formed elements of the work put together.
The works currently displayed are a testament to the vision described above.
When you wander from piece to piece, you will feel as if you are among est members of a single family often united by similarly shaped parts. As a result, if you listen closely you will hear a whispered conversation which might help modern man to endure the pressures and cares of the life he is living. This is achieved by fulfilling his inherent need to be surrounded by beauty. He only has to listen to the call uttered by the art work.
The works on display here represent an attempt to reveal the value of the aesthetic field, which knows no boundaries, of a particular element. Our only task is to make way for the aesthetic dimension to radiate light to fill our lives, vanquishing the darkness surrounding modern man.
Artist
MOSTAFA ABDEL MOITY