CUT’s Department of Fine Arts hosts a presentation by Cypriot Artist Evelyn Anastasiou titled “Rejected Sounds of The Magic Flute

The Department of Fine Arts at the Cyprus University of Technology (CUT), in collaboration with the Austrian Embassy in Cyprus and within the framework of the events of Weeks of the German Language 2021, hosts the Cypriot Artist Evelyn Anastasiou in The Library Project II.

The Library Project is a biannual curatorial endeavour of the Cut Contemporary Fine Arts Lab http://www.cutcontemporaryfineartslab.com of the Department of Fine Arts at the Cyprus University of Technology. It is taking place every year at the University Municipal Library. The Library Project was successfully launched in 2019 by Professor of the Department of Fine Arts Dr Klitsa Antoniou and it foregrounds the multimedia nature of contemporary art as well as ephemeral artistic practices that open a dialogue with the Municipal Library.

On Saturday, October 30th at 19:00, the Cypriot visual artist will be presenting in the garden of the Municipal University Library, in Limassol (Karaiskaki & Agiou Andreou 269 3035) a musical performance drawing from The Magic Flute [Die Zauberflöte] by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, entitled “Rejected Sounds of The Magic Flute”. Dr Konstantinos Argianas is curating the event.

The Austrian composer's iconic opera, which has been presented to the Viennese public for the first time in 1791, is not only a magical tale with many hidden messages but also an ode to timeless, universal values, such as freedom, brotherhood, and love.

Anastasiou's research on the Magic Flute led her to the archives of the Berlin State Library, where the original scores of the work are located. There, the artist discovered a series of notes deleted by Mozart himself, which were never presented to the public, as they were condemned by their creator to oblivion. Then, through a detailed recording, Anastasiou gathered the fragments of the Magic Flute and assembled them creating a new musical composition; a short soundtrack, which can be seen as a hybrid post-musical work. With a reference point this piece of music, and with the participation of a large orchestra, the Cypriot visual artist will be presenting a Gesamtkunstwerk (A Total Artwork) at the Municipal Library.

At the same time, seeking the tangible presence of the public in her artistic practice - a fact that acquires special importance in the current biopolitical condition - the artist activates the external space of the library, transforming it into a bizarre operatic setting, which will welcome her work. With her Rejected Sounds of The Magic Flute, Anastasiou attempts to transcend the boundaries of artistic genres and proposes an explicit experimental experience.

Coordinated and Produced by Cut Contemporary Fine Arts Lab

http://www.cutcontemporaryfineartslab.com

Curated by Konstantinos Argianas

Conductor: Dr. Francis Guy                                                                                                                 

With the participation of The Commandaria Orchestra of the Cyprus Wine Museum in Limassol.

CONTACT: 00357 96 509976

Admission: Free

(*) All applicable health measures against the coronavirus pandemic will be observed during the presentation and entry will be allowed only by presenting a Covid-19 vaccination or recovery certificate according to the decision of the CUT’s Senate dated 24.8.2021.