Only In Stillness is a virtual space developed by Dane Palmieri around the work of the early 20th-century art historian and cultural theorist Aby Warburg and in particular his Mnemosyne Atlas.
The work employs various organizational techniques developed and utilized by Warburg to dissect, categorize, emotionally interpret, and link together parts of the artist's archive of personal material.These elements encompass a diverse range, spanning from sculptures to photographs, industrial items to natural objects, as well as written materials, narratives, and sensory experiences.The objective is to formulate a process that weaves together these seemingly disparate pieces of information, laying the groundwork for future sculptural works.
The project's name comes from a quote by Plato: "Stillness is a state intermediate between sadness and gaiety; and, for the same reason, stillness is the state most appropriate to beauty." Palmieri finds the objects and materials used in the project to embody this aspirational stillness in pursuit of beauty.The resonance of these artifacts, and how deeply entrenched they are in the artist's psyche, is a constant fascination. It motivates the effort to infuse new life into each element, allowing them to guide the way into the next phase of their coexistence.
The space's methodology comprises five distinct categories:Affect, Sense, Narrative, Preservation, and Symbolic.These categories serve to compartmentalize the emotional dimensions of the diverse materials.Together, they form the concep- tual framework that will underpin the project's ongoing expansion and evolution as an artistic expression.