Anna Frants, CYLAND MediaArtLab
Installation series, 2009-2013
Clay vessels were made in Ancient Greece for multiple purposes. Placed on an agora, they were a receptacle for vine, grain or oil for sale. Installed over a grave, they played the part of a funerary monument. In city houses, various cylices, amphorae or phials had both the utilitarian and decorative functions. But no matter what purpose they served, those vessels were always storytellers. There were stories depicted on them: scenes from the everyday life, tales of faraway cities or myths about gods and heroes. In the series “Made in Ancient Greece” by Anna Frants, classical vessels continue to tell stories by visual means, only, instead of black or red figures, the artists uses contemporary videos proving that an object from the past could be a great vehicle for a narrative about the present.
Ridiculing snobbishness of our conventional thinking, sculpture plays on principles of our vision, time that long term memory takes to pulls out cliches, and perfect proportions of the Greek pottery.