CRUEL BEAUTY
Theresa Ianotta, Sept. 2009
Angenagelt, 2008-2010
the work that probably touched me most in Skopje was located in Cifte Amam, an amazing museum in the old city, in a small square with a fountain and a Mosque. the location was itself already spectacular but one of the works really attracted my attention. it's the installation by german artist Nicolas Manenti, called "Angenageld". you can check some pics on the page dedicated to him in the BJCEM skopje website:
three real plants were pinned to the wall with white paper pins, leaf by leaf with a methodical and yet cruel attention. the beauty was astonishing and so it was the artificial aspect of the installation. It was as if their beauty and life was frozen there for ever. What can human hands make in terms of artfacts and modifications of what's already existing? How far can we push things to what we want them to become? I could spend hours in front of such works, they are able to talk to me more than many others (for sure more than all the other works in the room and in that location). This artwork was turning the natural state of things into something dreamy and cruel at the same time. I loved it.