“The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.” – Aristotle (384-322BC)
Athens has always been a city that has exalted its inhabitants and its visitors since birth. One of the most marvellous senses of exaltation is that derived by the Athenian artist, who draws upon the city’s internal reality to extract inspiration, and to provoke thought and creation. In contemporary Athens, there are many social and political facets that can provoke thought and creation in the eyes of the artist.
One particular artist who has taken the city’s offerings to spawn the creation of two series of paintings is Ben Fuog, an artist whose philosophy is creatively paralleled with Aristotle’s belief in art as the representation of the inward significance of things. As a non-Greek Philhellene, Fuog offers his audiences a unique and contemporary perspective on his understandings of Athens during the economic crisis and during its ascension from the crisis via two series; ‘Μολών λαβε’ (‘Molon Lave’) in 2011 and ‘Athena Ascending’ in 2014.
Ben Fuog is an Australian artist with a distinct passion and love for Greece. His partnership with his Greek Australian wife and his paintings based on the reality of modern Athens are a charming indication of his fervent Philhellenism. Growing up in Murrumbeena, Fuog was always aware of the Greek culture and within months of meeting his wife, he travelled to Greece which sparked a deep love for the country. Fuog has since travelled extensively to Greece and has spent a vast amount of time on the Greek islands, the Peloponnese and Athens, with Athens being Fuog’s most inspirational location. For the artist, Athens is experienced as “a truly beautiful city” whose “incredible character tends to unveil at every corner”. Fuog further cites that his experiences during the crisis in Athens “inspired, intrigued and infuriated him”, stating that “before, during and after the crisis, Athens, and its tremendous history, has always and will always be a fertile ground of inspiration for artists”.
Fuog began his unique expression regarding the Athenian economic crisis in 2011, with his series entitled ‘Μολών λαβε’. In the summer of 2011, the collective consciousness of Athens was actively realising the severity of the economic crisis and responded with strikes and protests. The series features multiple depictions of the ‘Athina Kathari’ garbage strike, which left hundreds of garbage bags strewn across the sidewalks of Athens and the series title, which translates as ‘come and take’, is Fuog’s modern interpretation of the saying towards the government in terms of collecting the garbage. Upon his arrival in Athens, the city had been deluged with the physical manifestation of waste, which provoked a contemplation within him regarding “modern democracy, capitalism and consumerism” and further inspired his first series. Despite the mess created by the conflicting ideologies of the time, Fuog uses his skill to manifest a bright and colourful aesthetic, to represent the neverending beauty of Athens and its people, which he believed “shone as brightly and as defiantly as ever” in 2011.
Three years after the creation of ‘Μολών λαβε’, Fuog returned to Greece to spend a further three months in Athens. After spending time in Athens, he realised that 2014 Athens offered up a strong sense of hope from the wired state of 2011.
“2014 had offered up a sense of relief from the utter hopelessness and despair of 2011,” he tells Neos Kosmos. In order to reflect the contemporary ascension of Athens from the dark depths of the crisis, he produced ‘Athena Ascending’; a sharp contrastive series that reflects the humanitarian and caring nature of the Athenians, which allowed Fuog to extract a strong sense of hope to inspire the series. “Athenians were struggling with the oppressive constraints put upon them, yet the people were drawing people together to help one another and the bonds of family, friends and community seemed to be growing stronger,” Fuog states.
‘Athena Ascending’ aesthetically depicts the “density and the pure size of Athens”, where the house upon house nature of Athens is shown. In Fuog’s belief, every building in the series “serves as a reminder that people live in them, and [the fact that] each one of those people has a right to a prosperous life.” The light and colour portrays Fuog’s experiences with the people of Athens and their indomitable spirit.
The artist’s contrastive set of series offers audiences an exclusive, intimate and artistic insight into a Philhellene’s perception of and persevering love for a country which constantly exalts the passion and humanitarianism of its people. At the consistent core of the two series are two important notions; the first being the ever consistent bright, caring and hopeful nature of the Athenians, and the second, the importance of art as a reflection of a location’s internal reality. It is through these two series where the ancient philosophy of Aristotle is brought to life for contemporary reflection and enjoyment.