TECHNOLOGIA

of FATMI Mounir

FRANCE, 2010, 00:05:03

Production : FATMI Mounir
Genre : Video art
Keyword : Movement, Homage

Summary :

Technologia is a work inside a work. It links ancient circular Arabic calligraphy and Marcel Duchamp's "rotoreliefs," the first manifestations of opitcal art produced in the context of modern industrialized society.
The dizzying effect of the installation also draws on the legacy of Marcel Duchamp and his “Rotoreliefs”. Duchamp's spinning circular optical illusions were amongst the first manifestations of kinetic art, produced in the context of a modern industrial society.

"(...) Technologia adds geometric patterns to rapidly flashing circles of black and white calligraphic text, creating the illusion of depth and form. Simultaneously hypnotizing and disorienting, these videos that unite text with the circle can be understood to visualize acts of devotional repetition, from the daily Muslim prayer cycle and the circumambulations of the Kaaba to the Catholic rosary.
As Fatmi’s circles of calligraphy spin on the wall and the dance floor decks, they also recall Marcel Duchamp’s Rotoreliefs, 1935, black and white cardboard disks that are spun to produce an illusion of depth or a familiar three-dimensional object. Printed as an edition, Duchamp’s Rotoreliefs also echo the assembly line production of Chaplin’s factory and anticipate Fatmi’s interest in the copy. (…)"

Lillian Davies, Excerpt from Suspect Language, Skira, 2012.

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