Leaving the bubble that is realism, I KNOW – On The Aesthetic Of Truth invites audiences into the domain of what synthesis gallery founder, director, and curator George Vitale calls “Imaginative Truth” or “Anti-Realism”.

I KNOW – On The Aesthetic Of Truth is a collaboration between synthesis gallery and Feral File, which sets out to traverse the perilous landscape of truth. While technology has allowed us to be more connected to each other than ever before, we also live in a time when truth seems to be constantly slipping out of our grasp. It is a time where misinformation, fake news, and disinformation have been conveniently packaged in enticing branding to feed our need for unrelenting digital consumption.

The exhibition’s title references the declaration of the Italian artist and political figure Pier Paolo Pasolini, I know, but I have no proof from his famous column entitled ‘what is this coup d’état? I know’ published in the Italian newspaper Il Corriere della Sera in 1974. This publication is what is ultimately believed to have led to Pasolini’s subsequent murder in 1975 [1]. However, through a contemporary lens, it continues to raise important questions about truth and the use of creative formats and art in the narration and knowability of truth. The work’s subsequent critical reception has given way to the rise of two categories of truths: historic truths and aesthetic truths.

In contrast to historical truths that deal primarily with the historical realm of authenticity, the Italian academic Anna Lisa Tota defines aesthetic truths as truths that seek out an authenticity of the past as constructed by artistic and cultural modes and models in her 2017 article ‘I Know, But I Have No Proof’. Authentic Past and Aesthetic Truth in Post-War Italy. Tota further explains that while historical truths follow scientific conventions and rules that are standards in the field of history, aesthetic truths can convey that which cannot be directly addressed in historical accounts. These aesthetic truths often bring up issues concerning morality, allow room for memory, and articulate issues in ways that historical accounts simply cannot [2].

Η συνέχεια εδώ.