ANTONIA PIA GORDON MOMENTS OF HISTORICAL IMPACT

ANTONIA PIA GORDON
MOMENTS OF HISTORICAL IMPACT
ANTONIA PIA GORDON
MOMENTS OF HISTORICAL IMPACT
PROLOGUE
Moments of Historical Impact
Antonia Pia Gordon
Antonia Pia Gordon’s series Moments of Histori-
pose universal future-oriented questions in this
common to all religions of - in the most pre-
the word revelation, namely the unveiling of hu-
cal Impact began in the aftermath shock of 9/11
context and not to pass judgment on what has
cious works - combining pictures with words. In
man nature and the ongoing struggle between
and is a dystopian collection of works of impres-
happened nor to raise questions limited to one
The Attack the helpers of 9/11 find their place
good and evil and is an ode to the maintenance
sive impact. The apocalyptic dimensions of the
country or political system in the story-telling
among inferno towers with tumbling people set
of freedom. Gordon’s combination of different
event are clearly depicted in the mixed media
opening piece in this series, bringing computer
in blue calmness, in a witness to human support
styles and sources of inspiration in this expres-
application entitled
chips, GPS, video cameras and super-robots as
in times of need. The paintings entitled Why I
sive and striking series is typical of her versatile
digital devils, reminiscent of many video games
and Why II, combining letterism in manifold lan-
range as an artist.
to this respect, without putting the blame for
guages set in silent colour fields and including
the event at the door of any one particular
newspaper articles and applications, which as
country or any particular peoples. Rather again
a whole are reminiscent of street art, unite the
she looks at mutual intrinsic human motivations
world in asking why these events took place,
and common human reactions and controls.
in a nod again to Gordon’s universal outlook in
Call for Wisdom in which Gordon cites the second beast from the Book of Revelations 13:11
in lettrist statement and combines this with
sentiments of George Orwell’s 1984, where the
never-seen character Big Brother is the enigmatic dictator of a state, in which the ruling bodies
her topical art and in not letting fear become
have total power over the citizens in their state
Throughout the Moments of Historical Impact
by means of constant surveillance.
series and typical for the Gordon style, colours
Despite the first impression of the Bible being
applied to the painting and the Revelations
originating from it, Gordon has once again
demonstrated political and religious impartiality
by having chosen symbolism common to many
religions, for revelations of similar dimensions
are common to all prophets of all religions. Her
artistic time-witness protest in series directs itself to the loss of individuality and the loss of
freedom, which she pre-empts as a result of the
9/11 attacks. Just as September 11th is the first
a silent dictator in a loss of freedom due to it.
are boldly applied that are unexpected in such a
The series culminates in the wooden cabinet
dramatic context. The collage applied towers in
mounted time icon Hell on Earth, with which
Call for Wisdom and The Attack are placed in a
Gordon continues the tradition of the artistic
serene and almost heavenly colour field of blue,
presentation of the apocalypse in icon art but
symbolic of the glorious sunny day, on which
propels this tradition into the 21st century by
the events took place, and only the lava-type
her interpretation and use of materials. With
fire that is reminiscent of the destruction of
the inspiration in Rodin’s Gates of Hell and
Pompeii by volcanic intervention bears witness
Dante Inferno Gordon typically refers to clas-
in colour to the dramatic happenings. This set-
sical artistic tradition and Hell on Earth towers
ting strongly conveys the sense of surreal hap-
above its viewers with its epic proportions that
pening of 9/11.
are of course reminiscent of the Towers that
provided the vivid image of inspiration for the
day of a new year in the Coptic or Alexandri-
Channelling the moving moments in analytic
complete Moments of Historical Impact series.
an Calendar, September 11th is to become the
avant-garde art, Gordon appeals with her Mo-
The historical relevance of Moments of Histori-
beginning of a new era of fear and the control
ments of Historical Impact series to all peoples
cal Impact and the time icon Hell on Earth could
measures that fear causes. Similar to Eric Arthur
- irrespective of origin, religion or political be-
form the basis for a constant increase in value.
Blair (pseudonym: George Orwell) Gordon’s
lief - for wisdom and sober-mindedness in the
intensive multi-cultural background of living
aftermath of this dramatic event making use
Taken as a whole, the Moments of Historical
in different countries and cultures calls her to
of a striking, traditional and antique technique
Impact series represents the Greek meaning of
The Attack | 2001
9 / 11
Mixed media, acrylics on chip board, 3D
163 x 215 cm
Why 1 | 2001
9 / 11
Collage, mixed media, acrylics on canvas
160 x 100 cm
Why 2 | 2001
9 / 11
Collage, mixed media, acrylics on canvas
160 x 100 cm
ARTIST STATEMENT
The Attack
It was a glorious, cloudless September morning in 2001. But I shall never forget the impact of what embedded itself in my memory that day. The image of two aircrafts hurled into the Towers of the World Trade
Center is still as vivid as if it only just happened a moment ago. It was madness. Despite the barbarity of this
terrorist crime, I was stunned by the visual power and uniqueness of the spectacle. It was most impressively
replayed over and over again by the media.
No one was prepared for this terrorist act. To express my deepest indignation, I rushed to my studio to transfer the overload on my mind to the materials at hand. I suddenly realised that this historic moment must be
the end of peace and freedom, as we had known it up until then. 9 / 11 changed everything.
It changed us, it changed me. But another terrible aspect about this event is that we will probably never
learn the whole truth behind it. What really happened? And above all: WHY!
When the frenzy connected to this moment of historic impact had calmed a little, I set out to transfer my
vision of “Hell on Earth” into a sculptural installation.
A SPIRIT ON THE MOVE
Antonia Pia Gordon was born in Hamburg, Germany and lives and
works in the United Arab Emirates.
She was educated in Germany, Switzerland and in France. Her diversified interests and talents manifested themselves early on in her
choice of studies in French, Literature, Art, Design, Psychology and
Business Administration.
After leaving the business world to explore the works and techniques of famous artists such as Van Gogh, Chagall, Picasso, Rodin,
Hockney, Warhol, participating in theatre, film, cross-cultural and
media projects all over the world, and investigating different life
patterns, Antonia Pia Gordon went on to leave the beaten path
with her own individual artistic style creating works of art that encompass highly expressive paintings, striking sculptures and continual experiments with new materials, and eloquent and poignant
writing, presenting classic thoughts in modern contexts. She participated in a number of artistic projects such as screenplay and play
writing at UCLA, Los Angeles and studying and reading plays at the
London Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
Gordon has a distinct and unmistakable style of multi-media interdisciplinary modern and expressive art. Among these are monumental
TIME ICON installations combining different styles and integrating
historical and economic themes in cultural settings that pre-empt
future developments reminiscent of such theorists as Rifkin. Her
magnum opus is Spheres & Vortices, a series she began working on
in the 1990s and which still today forms a basis for future visionary
works of artistic elegance. What makes Antonia Pia Gordon’s works
unique are her occupation with dualities of colour and theme and
the harmonic combination of opposites such as male and female,
child and adult media, light and dark, serenity and chaos. Gordon
possesses the exceptional ability to tame chaos with harmony and to
move tradition into the modern with classical installations reminiscent of masters with modern media. She is gifted to bridge cultures
with her works. Her pre-empting social and economic theorism and
her visionary genius are combined with timeless fashionability.
Antonia Pia Gordon’s art bears witness to the deep and secure values of tradition, whilst simultaneously questioning the staidness of
tradition with breaks to move it into a forward-looking basis for
innovative movement and reflection.
Impressum:
Copyright:
© 2016 Antonia Pia Gordon.
Concept:
FIREBIRD FZE, DUBAI, UAE
Repros and Realisation: FIREBIRD FZE, DUBAI, UAE
Portrait
Paul Pannak, London, UK
Photos:
Christian Mehr, CH-5036
Contact:
Antonia Pia Gordon, FIREBIRD FZE, c/o HLP, P.O. Box 185616, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Tel + 971 50 147 83 16, info(@)antoniapiagordon.com, www.antoniapiagordon.com
ISBN:
ANTON IA PIA G O R DON
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