Agile and silent, the many arms of the climbing plants weave, interweave, unweave and weave again. A chaotic array of voluble, egocentric shoots pour out on walls and columns, on land and fences, and they quickly conceal from view the underlying surfaces. Thousands of twisted, overlapping and crooked stems rapidly acquire the density and hardness of stone. Climbing plants grow on cold concrete and vulnerable wood, in between arrogant stakes and over irregular ground. They grow right in sight of the diligent gardener, or creep in under cover of impassive time. They grow in their moving, anarchic greenness, bringing life to inanimate structures and hiding established reality in their frenzied confusion.
Thus grow the climbing plants and in their indiscriminate expansion they also invade the artist’s canvas. Their whimsical stems become lines, movement and color, but these fall short: Eclectic materials and new structures are required. Having surpassed the canvas and taken over the exhibit hall, climbing plants truly achieve their full meaning. Their expansion is crowned by the conquered symbol where they preside over this exhibit. "Enredaderas" takes advantage of the symbolic nature of art to establish a mute dialog involving thin, imperceptible threads that reach out from the obvious, public representation of each piece to connect with the silent, intimate climbing plants within each visitor.
Endowed with the precious gift of thought, human beings have woven climbing plants since time immemorial. The stems of scientific knowledge have spread out over the most unsuspected surfaces and still gain ground on inhospitable terrain. The climbing plants of reason and doubt, in which philosophers and thinkers have willfully been caught, are only steps in the unending ladder of human knowledge. The maze-like shoots of artistic expression build and deconstruct their own principles, just as Penelope wove and unwove; rather than the end result, the process itself is most important. Immersed in climbing plants, humans have built their pathways to major triumphs, taking firm steps toward a distant summit while engaged in their intrinsic quest for answers. Emerging from the darkness of doubt, mankind has reached recondite vantage points of reason. Humans have trimmed these plants in the winter, to save their leaves from the frost. Mankind has turned them into part of their essence as individuals, as a vehicle and guiding force for their emotions, as a beacon to illuminate their thoughts and as a speedway to achieve their dreams. And yet, as a two-faced demon, climbing plants are also a vehicle for chaos and desolation. Having invaded vulnerable structures, having conquered ancient wood spoiled by rain and wind, they also herald destruction and grime. Invincible like obstinate time, ivy conquers the old wall in an abandoned garden. Raising its myriad arms, silently and quickly, ivy prevails over fragile structures and actually obliterates them. In the garden of thought, climbing plants stand for doubts and presumptions, for inference and prejudice that make walls crumble and open the gates to weeds that are alien to understanding and happiness. It’s evil ivy that reigns over feeble foundations that no one has protected from its invasion; disorder and confusion prevail in the potential garden of harmony. Every climbing plant is either a threat or a glimpse of hope, depending on the surface where it grows. If the old wall is weak and humans carelessly race up the climbing plants, these will cause destruction, chaos and death. Conversely, they can foster construction, harmony and progress if they act as a many-faceted tool for reason: as steps for man’s imagination and a bridge toward knowledge. Arturo Correa’s "Enredaderas" will speak to our visitors about these dualities. They question the very foundations on which their infinite, unending shoots are woven. They warn bystanders about the traps concealed in their greenness. They invade vision and understanding, laying out new mazes atop previous labyrinths. They make a call for reflection and analysis, through immersion in the ivy of color, texture and form. "Enredaderas" call on our visitors to climb up the intangible, ethereal ivy of reason. Vanessa Gill Diaz Lic. en Letras Universidad Catolica Andres Bello
Caracas, January 2006