Once more in the Valley of the Temples at Agrigento, the gigantic sculptures of Igor Mitoraj stand among the ancient remains of classical civilization, a setting with an aesthetic and emotional impact. A fascinating dialogue between past and present with new disquieting impressions of estrangement. Along the Via Sacra, the route that leads from one temple to another, in carefully measured, oriented, and consecrated spaces, the sculptures of Mitoraj emerge like modern votive offerings to ancient gods. Travertine and bronze stand out in stark contrast to the stone of the crumbling temples. In the silence of this timeless place, a voiceless dialogue between the fragmented sculptures of Mitoraj and the temples of the ancient Akragas/Agrigentum create a blank page of history where each visitor marks his own reactions and emotions. The reference to great Greek mythology in Sicily sets the scene to recall the legend of the ingenious Daedalus, the first artist in history whose name has reached us through the centuries, the very archetype of the creator of images. Daedalus, the father, is ideally reunited here with his son Icarus; the Valley of the Temples in Agrigento becomes the background to the myth which made Daedalus, the great sculptor, famous in ancient times for the beauty and ingenuity of his inventions, and of Icarus the symbol of the search for liberty even at the cost of life itself. These are the concepts that Mitoraj proposes for our attention and reflection in an exhibtion with endless inspiration and food for thought. These are the concepts that Mario Ciampi, also, shows us with his astonishing photographs, that take the reader on this romantic journey.
About the Author: IGOR MITORAJ was born in Olderan, Germany, from Polish parents. He had a classical painting education at the Krakow Art School and at the Krakow Academy of Fine Art. In 1968, he came to Paris to follow his own studies at the National School of Fine Arts where he approached painting. After a two-year journey in South America, he sculpted for the first time, and his first solo sculpture exhibition was held at the Galerie la Hune in Paris in 1976. He then opened a sculpture workshop in Paris and traveled to New York and Greece where he studied classic sculpture. In 1979, he visited Carrara in Italy and decided that marble was the perfect material for his sculptures. Since the opening of his workshop in Carrara in 1983, he has split his time between Italy and Paris. MARIO CIAMPI has been a photographer of architecture for many years. His complete mastery of the technique and his sophisticated, penetrating eye make his depictions of interiors an experience beyond photographic representation, placing his work in the vein of interior depictions in painting traditions. He has contributed to more than 50 books on the subject.