Call it a smoky art installation or a unique tribute to what’s considered a timeless novel: Don Quixote. Also known as “The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha” by that Cervantes guy, ex-slave, soldier of fortune, and small-time entrepreneur. Oh yeah, he wrote a novel too.
There’s supposed to be a message behind this also ingenious little project that enunciates the whole of Don Quixote (a real door stopper it is) letter by letter thru smoke. It’s a pretty incendiary broadside against the art establishment too. The most scathing part reads:
And so just as Don Quixote’s over-credulousness leads him to receive numerous violent thrashings and endanger Sancho Panza endlessly, so does our own artistic credulousness lead to an abundance of hypersyllabic essays on, quite frankly, bad *** art.
The Artistic Message
This project is not just a tribute to Cervantes’ work but also a commentary on the current state of the art world. The use of smoke to spell out the text of Don Quixote is a metaphor for the ephemeral nature of modern art. Just as smoke dissipates into the air, so too does much of contemporary art, leaving behind little lasting impact. The creators of this installation seem to be making a statement about the superficiality and pretentiousness that often pervades the art world today. By choosing Don Quixote, a novel that critiques the absurdities of chivalric traditions, the artists draw a parallel to the absurdities they perceive in modern art.
Why Don Quixote?
Don Quixote is not just any novel; it is a cornerstone of Western literature. Written by Miguel de Cervantes in the early 17th century, it tells the story of a man who becomes so enamored with tales of chivalry that he decides to become a knight-errant himself. His adventures, often misguided and comical, serve as a critique of the romanticized notions of knighthood and heroism. The novel is rich in themes and offers a deep exploration of reality versus illusion, making it a fitting subject for an art installation that seeks to challenge perceptions.
There’s a whole lot more explanatory text that’s best viewed by opening the source link down south. In the meantime, enjoy the video:
Also, since we’re at it, we’d like to recommend an earnest reading of Don Quixote, a novel written at the behest of a Spanish nobleman several centuries ago. It’s a fun portrayal of Spain emerging from the Middle Ages. It’s rife with esoteric references as well. They don’t write books like they used to.
And—Shakespeare can suck it. Cervantes rules. Ha.
Source Mitchell F. Chan
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