Carola Spadoni Dio è morto

A Rome-born film-maker who trained in the 1990s at the Brooklyn College of New York and in American independent cinema, Carola Spadoni has explored the language of film in documentaries, feature films, musical videos, and shorts. The contamination between film and visual arts can be found in "Dio è morto", the artist’s first video installation. Made for the Premio per la giovane arte italiana, it was presented at the Venice Biennale. The video installation introduced the concept of the “mise en espace of cinema” into Spadoni’s work: in line with the idea developed by the artist of an “AlterActiveCinema,” the aim is to involve the viewer physically in the reception of the work. The result is obtained with the unusual 32:9 format of the frame, with Dolby Surround sound and dual screening on adjacent, angled screens, which amplify the image horizontally. The video features a cowgirl, a classic image of independence and strength, who advances, tired but without stopping, through a Western setting, trying with difficulty to take off the clothes she is wearing and which designate her role. The work is a metaphor of the difficulty but also the possibility of a change, of a personal liberation, only if absolute certainties are abandoned – hence the title, which refers to Friedrich Nietzsche’s wellknown aphorism.

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F. Bonami, L. Frisa (eds.), Sogni e Conflitti. La dittatura dello spettatore, exhibition catalogue (Venice, Venice Biennale, 50th International Art Exhibition), Venice 2003, pp. 2; 21; 531; 550-551. M. Pignatti Morano, S. Vannini (eds.), Premio per la giovane arte italiana 2002-2003, exhibition catalogue (Venice, Venice Biennale, 50th International Art Exhibition), Rome 2003, pp. 53-68. M.R. Sossai, Film d’artista. Percorsi e confronti tra arte e cinema, Cinisello Balsamo 2008, pp. 44-45;105-107.

video still

Premio per la Giovane Arte Italiana 2002 - 2003

Installation