The Four Seasons Restaurant is a hypnotic journey through the history of images, a story of intransigence and risk related to every creative act. The show was inspired by a series of abstract works by Mark Rothko under the same title. The painter created it in 1958, having received a commission from the Seagram Building in New York. He resigned and returned the advance payment when it transpired that his works were to decorate an exclusive restaurant in the building. In the show Romeo Castellucci joins in the discussion on the theme of world’s superficiality, the world where a human being is incessantly confronted with pictures, often empty and persuasive, serving the purpose of entertainment rather than cognition.
He says: “The paradox of our times is that we have to produce images in order to express their decline. There is no other way. Every day we are forced to look and see. In city space man cannot escape ubiquitous advertising. Art can give us a break from looking under duress. An experience which has nothing to convey, is only an act of looking and contemplating.” In Castellucci’s show the references to art history are combined with contemporary elements and excerpts from The Death of Empedocles by Friedrich Hölderlin.
ROMEO CASTELLUCCI (curator of Idiom: oh man, oh machine / człowiek-maszyna) belongs to the circle of artists who define contemporary European theatre. He graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts of Bologna where he studied panting and stage design. In 1981 he founded the Socìetas Raffaello Sanzio group in which he creates to date, combining visual arts, theatre and performance. 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. His stage shows are presented in the most significant theatres and festivals in the world. Romeo Castellucci visited Poland for the first time for Malta Festival where in 2001 he presented his outstanding, award-winning show Genesi and in 2004 another show - Voyage au bout de la nuit.
From the cycle: "The Minister's Black Veil"
Direction, set design, costumes: Romeo Castellucci
Music: Scott Gibbons
performed by: Chiara Causa, Silvia Costa, Laura Dondoli, Irene Petris
Production: Cosetta Nicolini
Executive Producer: Socìetas Raffaello Sanzio
The activity of the Socìetas Raffaello Sanzio is supported by the following Italian institutions: Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali; Regione Emilia Romagna; Comune di Cesena/Emilia Romagna Teatro Fondazione
première: 17.07.2012