VILLA ROMANA: Inspired by Etienne-Jules Marey
by Sonia Brodi (University of Florence)
If you are on the opposite side of the Arno, then you must stop by the aesthetically and philosophically themed exhibition that is being hosted by the Villa Romana until December 20 and that is entitled “Effect Marey.” The subject comes from the reflection of the curator Alessandro Sarri, who was inspired by the studies and the experiments of the Frenchman Etienne-Jules Marey, who was concerned with motion, static, traction, space and time. Marey was a distinguished physician, physiologist and inventor, who lived between 1830 and 1904. He is also considered a precursor of cinematography. He was, in fact, interested in multiple aspects of movement: the cardiac cycle, respiration, and muscular contraction, in addition to the flight of birds, the movement of air and of the tides, and, of course, human locomotion and coordination.
The building that houses the exhibition is a Neoclassical residence on Via Senese that was bought by the German artist Max Klinger in 1905 with the help of some of his friends. The aim was to encourage worthy artists and to give them a deserving and authoritative place of work and support, thus giving rise to an autonomous production not tied to training programs funded by the state. As a result, the Deutscher Künstlerbund founded the Villa Romana Prize, the oldest German award given to artists; it is still awarded annually to four winners, who receive a scholarship and who can work and stay in the residence for some months, so as to develop their own personal journey and their own artistic language.
Once you reach the imposing iron gate on the right side of the road, you need only ring the bell to enter and to be greeted by a very helpful girl who will tell you where to go and what you can visit. The building is obviously very elegant and sumptuous (it has recently undergone restoration and renovation, which was, of course, supported by the German government), and the grounds are equally pleasing. Opposite the entrance, you can see a fountain with a graceful female statue in stone. To the left, on a raised level reached by stairs, there is a small garden with another fountain, which is, this time, round in shape and bigger, with fish inside. Whereas, when continuing to the right of the building, you find a symmetrical and well-kept garden with various trees, including olive and palm trees. A little below, you can see some nice blue chairs that the artists probably utilize on sunny days. Once entering the front door, you see, to the left, the bust of the writer Elsa Asenijeff, who was Klinger’s companion. The large red curtains mark the beginning of the exhibition spaces. The residence also maintains a harmonious and balanced interior, typical of Neoclassicism. It ranges from pleasing round arches, barrel vaults, and checkered floors in light and dark marbles to modern and unusual chandeliers and delightful stained glass in geometric shapes.
But let’s get back to the content of the show. The fil rouge that connects the works is “movement,” or rather, the demonstration of movement through the impossibility of producing it, as the images cannot fully convey movement. Any tool you could use, even the most high-tech, cannot photograph or capture movement. The obtained result always appears as unmoving and static pictures. The brainteaser, then, is this: how can motion be represented by a series of static and inert elements? The artists have paradoxically expressed the powerlessness of representing something that is, in fact, non-existent, trying to fill the gap between image and action. Those who approached this difficult issue are: Emmanuel Becheri (Chalks), Ruben Bellinkx (The Musical Chair), Daniela De Lorenzo (Documentario, Panorama), Charles Guaita (Untitled, Colossus), David Rivalta (Lupo), Oleg Tcherny and Erwin Michelberger (Doch). The works of De Lorenzo, Becheri, and Guaita are distributed on the ground floor in a room off to the right, whereas, in the atrium, there is the video by Bellinkx, and, in the room-garden, there is the bronze statue of Rivalta. Then, up the stairs, you can see the work of Techerny and Michelberger on a sort of internal balcony.
Of all the works present, what attracted my attention the most was the idea of the Belgian, Bellinkx. He created a video installation, The Musical Chair, which is almost surreal and dreamlike and which somehow seems to hypnotize you. You see a chair abandoned in an empty and quiet room, while a black dog starts barking at it and biting it. The first dog is then joined by two other dogs who together destroy the chair completely and then finally, satisfied, crumple onto the floor. At the end, the remaining pieces of wood are framed, inert and immovable, just as the chair was immobile at the beginning of the video. In this way, he tries to convey the oxymoronic representation of image/movement, stasis/act.
If you are looking for a quiet and tranquil spot to spend some time reflecting, the Villa Romana is the ideal place for you. You can also enjoy a beautiful view of Florence without paying the exhibition entrance fee. Enjoy your visit!
