Giovanni Casu is an artist living in Berlin, originally from Sardinia. During his residency at the "Palais des paris," he developed a strategy that combines both the experimentation of a concept and the production of works. Giovanni Casu decided to address the expectations surrounding the globalized art world, highlighting the interest that Japanese craftsmanship techniques generate among foreign artists who wish to create their works using a distant expertise. This simulation provides an opportunity to examine the journey of valuable objects in our globalized world, deconstructing how certain artifacts acquire an economic status that places them in the realm of luxury. We follow Giovanni Casu's reflections in the Omotesando district, under the gleam of shop windows whose aesthetics mimic the codes of contemporary art. This simulation also brings forth pataphysical narratives that blend irrational imagination with logical propositions. For instance, we will head to a beach in Kamakura to collect iron powder in pursuit of certain Sardinian archaeological theories. Additionally, the internationalization of artisanal methods intersects with the complex issue of appropriating a tradition. Indeed, if popular arts are already modern constructions, then their reuse in the art field is simply another step toward losing authenticity. Finally, the figure of the modernist artist is an object of worship and fantasy, whether it’s Duchamp, Brancusi, or Klee. Invoking these figures and their forms serves as the starting point for any contemporary artistic endeavor. However, this too is a fiction, a simulacrum that should only be taken half-seriously.
Subtitles are available in both French and English.
Video imagery: Inamuragasaki Beach in KamakuraOmotesando District in TokyoUmeyamamokuzai Woodworking in TakasakiKomaba Museum, University of TokyoMingei Museum in Tokyo