Rogério Nuno Costa, MISSED-EN-ABÎME
O MUSEU COMO PERFORMANCE
Horário: 17:30, 19:30

Image: Jani Nummela
In 1917, Marcel Duchamp writes “1917” in an upside down urinal. In 1919,
he draws a moustache in the most important portrait of the history of art; not
the original one (he’s not Banksy), not even a reproduction (Pop was yet to be
invented), but a portrait he painted himself, copying the “original”, and, by
doing so, almost repeating Melville: I would prefer not to. In 1921, Man Ray
photographs Duchamp as Rrose Sélavy, thus completing the circle, or else paving
the way for the artist’s disappearance. A century later, we still don’t know
how to deal, historically and artistically, with these radical endeavours,
sometimes discrediting them (or assigning them new authorships...), sometimes
assuming a somewhat insurmountable historical irresolution for them. ‘MISSED-EN-ABÎME’
aims to talk about a (centennial) gesture which can be interpreted as
destruction, revelation, or simply self-imposed ostracism, as if it was
impossible to do anything more after having obliterated (almost) everything.
Duchamp spent decades doing nothing, the reason why Enrique Vila-Matas decided
to dedicate some footnotes to him in his novel about the negative authors (‘Bartleby
& Cia.’, 2000): « One time, in Paris, artist Naum Gabo asks Marcel Duchamp
the reason for having stopped paiting. “Mais que voulez-vous?”, answers
Duchamp, raising his arms in the air. “Je n’ai plus d’idées!” ». Inspired by
this impasse, ‘MISSED-EN-ABÎME’ ritualizes a queer, sacrificial isolationism,
thus daring to revisit Duchamp’s negligence while avoiding to find it a
solution — « …parce qu’il n’y a pas de problème » —, rather accepting failure,
withdrawal, invisibility and oblivion, perhaps also disappearance, as acts of
survival and resistance.
Subtitled ‘Psychobiography of a Losing Hero (1917-1921)’, this piece
consists in a three-part display (performance/installation, book and film)
meant to be shown in the space of the contemporary art museum, thus concluding
a research process on Art-History-Solitude conducted by Rogério Nuno Costa in
collaboration with artists and thinkers from Portugal and Finland.
Creation,
Direction, Edition and Performance: Rogério Nuno Costa
Production: Inês Carvalho e Lemos
Set Display: Luís Lázaro Matos
Light
Design & Technical Direction: Kristian Palmu
Sound Art:
Niko Skorpio
Movement
Dramaturgy: Pie Kär
Design Gráfico: Jani Nummela
Workshop e Dramaturgical Support: Colectivo FACA
(Andreia Coutinho & Maribel Sobreira)
Stage Photography: Miguel Refresco
Project funded by Governo de Portugal – Direção-Geral
das Artes.
Co-production: Teatro Viriato and MUDAS. Museu de
Arte Contemporânea da Madeira.
Residencies: Rua das Gaivotas 6, Là-Bas
Studio/Kaapelitehdas, Aalto University (School of Arts, Design and
Architecture), Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris – Maison du Portugal,
Campus Paulo e Silva. Preview presentations: Museum
of Impossible Forms (Helsinki, 2018), Maison du Portugal/Parfums de Lisbonne
(Paris, 2021).
Premiere: Serralves Museu de Arte Contemporânea
(Porto). Tour: Festival Contradança (Covilhã), Festival Temps d’Images/Museu
Coleção Berardo (Lisbon), Teatro Viriato (Viseu), Chão de Oliva/Festival
Periferias (Sintra), Teatro-Cine de Torres Vedras and MUDAS (Madeira).
Support: A Bela Associação (Almada), Ballet
Contemporâneo do Norte (Sta. Maria da Feira), Estrutura (Porto), Teatro
Feiticeiro do Norte (Funchal).
On going
Past