MALTA FESTIVAL POZNAŃ 2013
24th June – 20th July
Idiom: oh man, oh machine / człowiek-maszyna
curator: Romeo Castellucci
Idiom - 24th June - 29th June
The human being/machine relationship or, to put it more widely, the human being/technology relationship which, since the times of the Industrial Revolution, has been the subject of philosophers’, ethicists’ and sociologists’ reflections, stimulates the imagination of scientists and artists in addition to provoking some often powerful reactions among “ordinary” people. Machines, computers and robots; the new technologies change our world providing new and fantastic opportunities for development, shifting the limits of what is possible and… causing anxiety.
Transhumanism, or human transformation caused by the development of science and technology, as well as the limits of subjectivity are areas that demand a thorough reflection by the artist who is capable of looking at the dynamics of contemporary times with the insight of a philosopher and who asks general and universal questions that attempt to arrive at the “nature of things”; the artist who is aware of and interested in the changes occurring in the imaginativeness and perception of the individual, the citizen of the world here and now. Such an artist is Romeo Castellucci, one of the most brilliant contemporary European creators, who combines in his theatre and stage projects extraordinarily powerful visions and radical images that affect viewers in a penetrating and total way; visions and images that convey an ethically and existentially involved message. Castellucci does not hesitate to ask difficult questions or to revisit archetypes, that which has been suppressed; to study the dark sides of humanity. He is engaged in the world being aware of the present’s shadows and traps and, at the same time, is fascinated by it and constantly looks within it for traces of the Human Being. In his works Castelluci experiments, merges different media and tests the viewers’ endurance. His theatre does not leave one indifferent. Piotr Gruszczyński has said that Castellucci is an artist who, right now, defines everything that is going on in theatrical Europe.
Castelluci came to Poland for the first time to the Malta Festival where, in 2001, his company, Societas Raffaello Sanzio, staged the outstanding and highly awarded show, Genesi. They returned in 2004 with another show, Voyage au bout de la nuit. In 2013 Castelluci will be present at Malta Festival Poznań in an exceptional role – that of the curator responsible for the programme of the idiom entitled oh man, oh machine / człowiek-maszyna. The event is all the more momentous that Castelluci rarely becomes involved in curating projects. In 2005 he curated the programme of the Theatre Biennale in Venice and, in 2008, he was artiste associé, i.e. the co-creator of the Avignon Festival programme. Hence, his commitment to next year’s Malta marks not only another return to our festival but also a new and extremely important chapter in the history of our collaboration.