Anri Sala on Future Emotions and the Sublime in Art
Albanian artist Anri Sala (Tirana, 1974) expresses concern that the future may control human emotions and artistic inspiration. In an interview with Futuro Antico, he cites Michelangelo Antonioni and Apichatpong Weerasethakul as influences for their ability to convey narratives without explicit storytelling. Sala identifies his 1998 video 'Intervista' as a seminal work, which juxtaposes a 1977 interview with his mother with a 1998 conversation, reflecting Albania's social and political changes. He uses sound and music to enhance awareness of place. Sala distinguishes the sublime from the sacred in art, arguing that the sublime's secular transcendence can restore experience against post-truth fragmentation. He warns of three current predispositions that could diminish the future: simulated experiences, control of senses and knowledge, and conversion of inspiration into predictable projects. The interview was conducted by Ludovico Pratesi.
Key facts
- Anri Sala is an Albanian artist born in Tirana in 1974.
- Sala fears the future may control human emotions and artistic inspiration.
- He cites Michelangelo Antonioni and Apichatpong Weerasethakul as influences.
- His work 'Intervista' (1998) uses a 1977 interview with his mother and a 1998 conversation.
- The 1977 interview was after the 7th congress of the Union of Albanian Working Youth.
- Sala used a deaf person to lip-read the silent footage of his mother.
- He prefers the notion of the sublime over the sacred in art.
- Sala identifies three threats to the future: simulated experiences, control of senses, and predictable inspiration.
Entities
Artists
- Anri Sala
- Michelangelo Antonioni
- Apichatpong Weerasethakul
- Ludovico Pratesi
Institutions
- Futuro Antico
- Artribune
- Union of Albanian Working Youth
Locations
- Tirana
- Albania