In Honor of Prometheus
In Honor of Prometheus / Performance/Art Action by Dragan ZM Ilic
Multimedia performance/art action realized at the Belgrade, Ritopek ITS-Z1 site, where Dragan Ilić’s installation-sculpture, titled Vertical Form at ITS Z1 (Vertikala u ITS Z1), is situated.
This megalithic, iconic, nine-meter-high installation/sculpture is constructed from stone. It consists of huge, vertically arranged boulders, as well as various-sized rocks fortified and stabilized with rebar and cement. The sculpture reflects Ilić’s fascination with nature and existence, along with his special adoration of natural mineral rocks, which he has been collecting for decades.
In this performative-installation work, the artist’s quest and practice are based on a mystical, intuitive, and intentional fusion of primordial elements. These include fire—primarily through ritual incantation and purification, symbolic design, and the construction of dynamic and solid forms—through the specific visual shaping of flames and the resultant blaze over and around the monumental vertical stone structure.
Indeed, Ilić achieves a metaphorical and symbolic transmutation of matter (utilizing fire/heat/energy and stone/rocks/minerals) while performing a ritual incantation to praise, laud, and honor his mythical hero, Prometheus. The entire project is envisaged, among other things, as a spiritual quest for the development of human potentialities through technology/knowledge/techne and culture. It also advocates tolerance, compassion among humans, and world peace—pathways that may lead to the genuine advancement of the human condition.
Thus, the symbolic torch and commemorative bonfire lit over his previously realized installation (2018/2019) are entirely in line with Ilić’s past and current artistic practice. His approach involves combining and wedding diverse artistic materials with literary, mental, and neo-conceptual procedures and constructs, perfectly representing his current artistic preoccupations and his outlook on the predicament of humankind.
Drawing inspiration primarily from the ancient Greek myth of Prometheus, Ilić recalls the famous clash between the pre-Olympian gods, the Titans, and the Olympian god, Zeus. He highlights the ensuing transgression by Prometheus, who brought upon himself the terrible wrath of Zeus for having stolen fire and giving it to humans. This act symbolizes the transfer of knowledge/techne/technology to humans and their symbolic empowerment. The artist creatively commemorates the mythical, symbolic Promethean act of aiding humanity, recognizing and honoring Prometheus’s divine and heroic sacrifice.
The entire project and conception are fully aligned with Ilić’s transhumanist philosophy and his expressed gratitude for the existence of techne and cultural evolution. These developments have brought about technological advances that have enabled genuine evolutionary progress and a boundless increase in human potential.
