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Mario Merz

Born in 1925.
Died 2003 in Turin

The Couvent des Jacobins will welcome a distinguished work by this major representative of Arte Provera, Ché fare ? (What is to be done ? ), a neon sign in a large metal basin. Referring to political writings (notably Lenin's, Chto Delat (What is to be done ? ), 1912), Ché fare is nonetheless a poetic submission. This questionning comes with a feeling of urgency and the necessity of rethinking the world while taking into account that which comes from us. Here, as Jacques Derrida wrote, thinking the future leads to a double questionning : « What is to be done with 'what is to be done ?' » ? . Through this open ended question, the work projects the spectator into the near future, inciting him to think about the future and the way in which he will construct himself with it.

Courtesy Musée d’art ancien et contemporain d'Epinal