Useless Army is the ‘Art army’, useless in military terms but always active in denouncing and protesting against violence, destruction and war.
The main exhibition at the eleventh edition of Paratissima, curated by Francesca Canfora and Cristina Marinelli aims at raising awareness and keeping the memory of the tragedies of the past alive through art.
While in the past art used to celebrate war unreservedly, in present days art narrates the horrors of war by dealing with extremely important themes such as the divulgation and the denounciation of unjust situations, the defense of human rights and social justice, the achievement of democratic and civilized values.
Useless Army, through the abstraction of the concept of war, narrates about a part of reality that by now appears very far from western ordinary life that can only be distractedly perceived through media. Useless Army alludes to those governments that tend to drastically reduce the number of their military power, at the same time strengthening them with a gradual professionalization and employing them in far away missions. In the meantime the exhibition alludes aims at give back a widespread sensation to those who only saw war on TV and to those that think that armies are just a useless and anachronistic element. Art opens a new path through current events by shortening distances between war fronts and our consciences.
Paratissima renews its collaboration with Club To Club in order to create new audio effects. Students of Sound Design at Ied Visual Communication Milano will produce an original soundtrack of the Useless Army exhibition, under the supervision of sund designer Painè Cuadrelli. Their compositions, halfway through electronica and sound processing, will give a personal interpretationa of the exhibition’s theme while transporting the visitors through a unique experiences improved by sound. During the exhibiton, Silent Disoc heaphones will be available (thanks to Red Bull technical support) for an ultimate experience of sound and image.
