The Block Museum will feature a solo show by artist Federico Solmi called The Great Farce, starting on September 19. This exhibition will showcase a monumental video installation that transforms the museum’s largest gallery space. Solmi, an Italian-born, New York-based artist and Guggenheim fellow, is known for his mixed-media installations of animated videos that use vibrant colors and sharp satire.
The Great Farce was originally commissioned for the B3 Festival of the Moving Image in Frankfurt, Germany, in 2017. The video portrays a unique story where historical figures such as conquistadors, kings, popes, and presidents arrive in America and are welcomed by Native people. The video is a nine-minute epic of high satire presented in a distinct aesthetic.
The installation at the Block Museum will feature The Great Farce as a nine-channel video displayed in a U-shaped triptych. The immersive experience includes sound coming from speakers at each corner of the space, creating a stroboscopic frenzy with haunting marching music. Although not part of this exhibition, The Great Farce is also available in another format in the Block’s collection as a painted, sculptural “portable theater” with embedded monitors.
Janet Dees, the Block’s curator of modern and contemporary art, explained that the exhibition was initially planned for 2020 but was postponed due to the pandemic. The artwork was gifted to the Block Museum in 2019 as part of its Thinking About History initiative, which aims to encourage a critical understanding of art as a representation of the past. The Great Farce challenges viewers to think about how history is narrated and represented.
Solmi’s artistic process involves combining old and new animation techniques to create videos in a game engine. His influences include Renaissance painters, German expressionist cinema, and critical literature on American history. The final scene of The Great Farce critiques consumerism and celebrity culture, merging historical narratives with contemporary aesthetics.
Visitors can experience Federico Solmi’s The Great Farce at the Block Museum until December 1. The exhibition is open Wednesday to Friday from noon to 8 PM, and Saturday to Sunday from noon to 5 PM. The immersive video installation invites viewers to reflect on historical narratives, satire, and the intersection of art and storytelling.