Art is the shortest path
“Art is the shortest path” is an edition of an original artwork used by eL Seed as a background for his virtual art installation with 49 people on Zoom. All proceeds will be equally shared between the hospital Ambroise Paré in Boulogne-Billancourt (France) and the hospital Mohamed Ben Sassi in Gabes (Tunisia).
Colors: lithograph printed on Marinoni machine
Paper: White paper BFK Rives – 300 grams – Hand cut
Signature: Numbered and signed on the left side corner
Size: 78 x 104 cm
Edition: 49
The lithograph will be delivered with a certificate of authenticity.
Due the current world health circumstances, the lithographs will be shipped in July.
Description
I always say Art is a pretext. Yesterday night, I was more than ever convinced by this statement. Through Art and technology, 49 people from many different countries and backgrounds were united to share a unique moment of humanity. During this difficult time, what I miss the most is the human interactions that I live when I do my art projects. I believe we all have this heightened need for social interaction these days.
André Malraux said: ‘Art, is the shortest path from one human being to another human being.’ I depicted the words of the French Novelist in Arabic on an artwork that I divided in 49 pieces. Each piece was sent to a person, all around the world: Nigeria, USA, Portugal, Italy, China, Canada, UAE, Qatar, France, UK, Netherlands, Pakistan, Tunisia, Rwanda, Egypt, and Romania
Then at 1PM EST time, on April 26 2020, everyone logged in with their respective virtual backgrounds. As the conductor, I just had to synchronize the participants, shape the final picture, allowing people to enter the Zoom call according to their position on the artwork. Each person was a single instrument playing a solo. Person by person, I could witness the artwork taking shape. I had to trust everyone to do his or her part so we could create the artwork together. Their part was to be on time, have a good internet connection and a laptop. It was amazing to see each person entering the room and to their surprise, being greeted by people from all over the world whether they knew them or not. There was an undeniable comradery that was genuinely endearing.
The best part of it was not the artwork, it was the ambiance, the energy, and the love everyone shared during the call. This wouldn’t have been possible without the talented Aloe Blacc who performed throughout the call, and the performance of the amazing Dutch dancers Norah, Yarah, and Rosa.
For over an hour we were all at the same level, in unison, sharing the same human condition. I didn’t realize what was happening until the call was over and the participants left one by one just as I had added them.