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| Vlassis Caniaris Vlassis Caniaris has never left Greece unattended. He has always treated it like parents treat their children. He has reprimanded it, questioned its actions and loved it. And always, wherever he was, he made sure he could be close to it. By means of the New Greek Sculpture (1964, Venice), he shed light on an existing void and the need of artists to find a home-country which would throw off its old symbols and be based on a new form of sculpture, different from the almost quaint tourist model of ancient Greek sculpture. Well, has he made it? Having been a cultural immigrant himself for years (as were most of the artists of his generation) he returned to Greece; it appears that he still cares for its struggles as if he has to deal with a child who stumbles and falls, at times hurts itself, grumbles, is in despair, finds hope again and continues his or her effort. Caniaris has never wanted to rid himself of his Greek identity. Yet, he would like this Greek identity to evolve. The 5 flags of this exhibition, packaged and placed within easy reach, remain enclosed within a cheap plastic cover. They are tied in knots, more or less tight, almost incapable of demonstrating what they symbolize. They are a sketchy bunch of wrapped up ideas; they are disabled symbols, which, even though they could, cannot show what they represent. They remain covered in the dust of time, tied up, trapped within an identity which is questioned on a daily basis, as if they were encircled by moth-balls within a wardrobe. A flag is the ultimate semantic – illustrative climax among national symbols. And yet, from Greek immigrants abroad to foreign immigrants in Greece, they all often seek to hold the same flag. Thus, symbols need to be redefined, since times and social conditions change. Through this work, Caniaris does not attack symbols, he merely disarms them. He may probably even let them unfold from their plastic cover and rise up to the symbolic expectations required by each condition, generation and need. Areti Leopoulou  Download CV |  Flags |
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