η Αρχή των Πραγμάτων 1992 (1)

The Principle of Things

In his art Dimitris Tragkas turns to the metaphysical dimension of his expressionistic investigations. His style is driven by thoughts aiming to express ‘totality’. He believes that when the ‘Principle of Things’ is deeply experienced, the choice of the directions in one’s journeys becomes an exciting game! The art of Tragkas often presents an obsession with points in the time-space continuum that expand with projecting potential lines towards infinity. This idea governs his sculpture entitled The Principle of Things, which was the forerunner of his installations where geometrical shapes are created by wires oriented to specific stars at the time of their creation. For his art Tragkas relies on material that is every time available before him. For the construction of the present artwork, the artist used three building scantlings which he tied at their center using rope and finally painted black. With the economy of his aesthetic vocabulary – the immediacy of the material and the selection of only black color – Tragkas leaves no room for spare words, while his creation represents the essence of his thinking.

The Principle of Things in fact encapsulates the potential to create something. The central point where the lines converge is a place simultaneously of birth, communication and destination. Being of such significance The Principle of Things is distinguished for its simplicity, which has to do with the facture of the form. This particular form is but a point, which through its potential projections acquires dimension and expands. Taking off from the philosophy of Blaise Pascal, that “nature is an infinite sphere of which the center is everywhere and the circumference nowhere” [Pensées 1670], Tragkas created a form with six lines of potentially infinite extension towards the beyondness of things. This thought shutters the perception of form and makes it a symbol that is archetypal and emotional. As a symbol the form acquires a metaphysical dimension of spiritual implications. The Principle of Things may not be typical of Tragkas’ art, but embodies the basic internal principle of his thinking. The symbolism of the potentially infinite extension of a point in time and space is applicable to all his artwork.

Megakles Rogakos, 2009
(For the Art Collection of the American College of Athens)