ROOM 4
— Studies on Freedom
— Studies on Freedom
— Studies on Freedom
“Freedom: one of those detestable words that have
more value than meaning; that sing more than they
speak; that ask more than they answer, (...) great
words for controversy, dialectic, eloquence; as
appropriate to illusionary analysis and infinite
subtleties as for endings of sentences that unleash
thunder”. So writes the French poet Paul Valéry in
his text Fluctuations sur la Liberté (1938).
Freedom was a central word in the speeches of
Mahatma Gandhi and Donald Trump. It was used by
the Black Panthers and the KKK. It justified the US
bombing of the Middle East while it is in the cry of
so many peoples in their acts of resistance against
the oppression and violence of external military
forces. Over the centuries, this concept has been
explored by theology, metaphysics, morals, ethics,
politics, art, fashion and marketing.
Boetti, Alighiero e | H. K. of Jordan | 1989
Boetti, Alighiero e | H. K. of Jordan | 1989
Boetti, Alighiero e | H. K. of Jordan | 1989
What could Freedom be but the denial, the refusal, the infinite forms of struggle against servitude? What else could it be but the active experimentation in the field of possibilities? Freedom is the ability to create new gestures on the surface of the planet, it is to inaugurate another way of living: it is the experiments, the rehearsals, the choreographies, and the new beginnings.
To act in freedom is to make something be born or reborn, it is to introduce the unexpected in the dimension of life. In this way, freedom would not be something that one owns or receives, but something for which one must act (in)adequately. Therefore, the use of the word “Freedom” implies a commitment to act in the present.Being a very complex word with so many unfoldings, it is necessary to think about it with care and attention.
This fourth moment of the exhibition brings together works by artists from different parts of the world, which can help us reflect on this concept. These are works that deal with individual, collective and community movements in which insubmission breaks the hegemonic ordination of the political dimension, that is, these are works in which the intertwining between life and learning opens paths for the renegotiation of the common.