In summer 2018 the a.r.t.e.s. kunstfenster presented the exhibition MICROCOSMS in the building of the a.r.t.e.s. Graduate School. The exhibition focused on the concepts microcosm and macrocosm, which stand in a relationship of mutual reference – they reflect the whole through its parts, and vice versa. We spoke to the current kunstfenster team, consisting of Elio Antonucci, Christina Rath, Claudia Rizzo and Caterina Ventura, about their experiences of participating in the a.r.t.e.s. kunstfenster and curating MICROCOSMS.
a.r.t.e.s. Graduate School for the Humanities Cologne: Dear Caterina, Claudia, Elio and Tina – you ’ve recently organised the exhibition MICROCOSMS in the premises of the a.r.t.e.s. Graduate School. Could you give us a short explanation of the exhibition’s topic?
a.r.t.e.s. kunstfenster team: The topic of this year’s kunstfenster exhibition is the analogy between the world as a whole and its individual units, microcosms. Microcosm and macrocosm stand in a relationship of mutual reference; they reflect the whole through its parts, and vice versa. One of the central principles of the relation between these two concepts is a similarity in both pattern and structure that can be found in nature: human beings and the universe. By studying the characteristics of one of these two, it is thought to be possible to improve our understanding of the other.