The forest of nymphs
by Marco Vitale
Visual Cultures and Curatorial Practices, Brera Academy of Fine Arts, Milano
In the work Il bosco delle ninfe (The forest of nymphs), Guzzetti examines the theme of image distortion, an operation that has been made familiar by the spread of the computer. Whereas in the past an exhibited work offered no contact with the viewer, the file that reproduces it is instead accessible and editable within seconds. Therefore, it appears less eternal and monolithic; for example, enlarging a photo of a human figure without respecting its proportions produces a curious ‘elongated’ effect: the eyes and head become oval, the neck and torso thin and narrow, the shoulders unnaturally sloping. Although the elements of the body are in fact still there, the more it stretches, the more unrecognisable and alien it becomes – that traveller from an alternative world that is so dear to the artist. The installation brings this idea to life, displaying distorted reproductions of Greek statues varying in length from one to three metres, in a peculiar transition from digital image to tangible matter.
These oblong tree-esque statues form a forest, a place that has always had an irresistible appeal to humanity. Indeed, from the very earliest times, it has evoked a sacred atmosphere: in ancient Greece, in the eyes of the ancient gods, cutting down a tree without reason was punishable by death; a temple itself is an attempt to reproduce the trunks of trees, transforming them into columns. Guzzetti reverses this relationship: it is not the forest that generates the temple, but the temple is born of the art it inspired; the divine figures of the nymphs, who are born and die with the tree, no longer hide inside it, but form its trunks with their bodies. This can happen because Nike and Athena, and the religiosity they embody, form such a deep and founding layer of our culture that they can be likened to nature itself, two planes that in the artist’s work merge, becoming complementary and inseparable.
For ancient peoples, trees are silent, powerful living beings, breathing and pulsating with life. Created by 3D printing and animated by the sampled and distorted voices of musician Bruno De Franceschi, these new tree forms also breathe, emitting sounds when they detect the movement of the viewer. Through listening, the privileged sense of the forest, they attempt to establish a personal relationship with each individual, the living individual just like them. These presences of sound are sometimes disturbing or ironic, but they all suggest renouncing one’s individuality in order to find a new communion with the mystical forest. Therefore, through technological experimentation, which has its roots in classical art, Guzzetti suggests a way of reconciliation with nature, in an attempt to save a humanity that seems sadly headed towards the twilight of its time on this planet.