Francesco Arena
Angolo Stanco (hommage à la mort de Walter Benjamin), 2018Iron, performer, chair200 × 200 × 200 cm (78 3⁄4 × 78 3⁄4 × 78 3⁄4 inches)
A black metal sculpture in the shape of a corner hosts a performer, whose age must be the yearly distance between the present time and the death of Walter Benjamin in Portbou. When approached, the performer reveals his name, his date of birth, and starts telling a little bit about his life. The work is the realization of the temporal distance between a definitive action, the death of Benjamin, and today. The anniversary celebration of someone's death is analyzed here through its opposite, that is the life of the performer that started when Benjamin died. The title refers to the angle as the founding element of architecture, which is as used and weary as Benjamin was when he decided to end his existence in Portbou. The sculpture is destined to change over time because every year the age of the performer grows, as well as increases the distance between the present and the moment of Benjamin's passing.
