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| Dimitris Alithinos “Our art is a weapon. / Our art is our weapon. The ‘Armarte’. / Rulers are its target. / We know as much about the target as everyone. / We know it is powerful / it is moving / it is ruthless / it changes colours / it is terroristic and so much more. / And yet we know one more thing: that we are not alone. / Thousands of artists stand by us. / Millions of men and women stand by us / men and women who cannot / tolerate any patrons. / And this makes us fearless. / And this makes us active. / And this makes us aggressive. / And this makes us paint, write, create / Cry out… DO ARMARTE”. This is an excerpt from the First Manifest of Armarte, drawn up by Dimitris Alithinos and shared with the public, printed by mimeograph, during the exhibition Avanguardia e Sperimentazione (Avant-garde and Experimentation, “Galleria Civica”, Modena, 1977). Ailthinos appeared at the inauguration of the exhibition wearing the emotionally charged black hood, which is associated with terrorism, while another aspect of his proposal was the illegal placement in the streets of the Italian city of posters picturing the motto “va fa” (“go fuck yourself”). In a highly politicized era, when the majority of intellectuals and artists was involved in almost everything from the outset, Alithinos denounces and comments on the official, suppressive state mechanisms at an international level – from torture and exile sites during the period of dictatorship in Greece to the ‘white cells’ of West Germany; he invites and encourages everyone to resist, refute and rebel against any form of establishment and anachronism, suppression and conservatism, power and capitalism. The romantic – allegorical spirit engages in dialogue with the anarchist passion; the desire for change, the fighting spirit and the revolutionary momentum goes hand in hand with a deep faith in the value of collective battles; the semantic and communicative dimension with the sharp political comment; the sense of responsibility with the pressing need for an active and dynamic intervention of any creator in the modern realities and conditions he or she lives in. Giannis Bolis  Download CV |  Untitled |
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