The Potato Eaters'' is the title of an extraordinary artistic project by the artist Rados Antonijevic, which is realised on the lawn in front of the Museum of Contemporary Art of RS.

Artistic intervention ''The Potato Eaters'' is part of the artist's exhibition „ Standing One`s Ground“ which will be opened at the Museum of Contemporary Art of RS on July 6th 2017.

The potato (Lat. Solanum tuberosum) is a perennial herbaceous plant that originated in South America. Brought to Europe by Spanish sailors in the mid-16^th century, today it grows at all geographic longitudes and is the world’s fourth staple food.

 Potatoes will most probably be the main source of energy in astronauts’ diets in the future because scientists are trying to develop a system of growing plants at space stations and in that way enable humans to stay in outer space for longer periods of time.

“The Potato Eatersˮ is the title of a painting by Vincent Van Gogh (1885), which shows Dutch peasants having their modest meal in a dimly lit, cramped room. The mention of potatoes in the painting title complements the scene and seems to transport this dark space far underground, where potatoes belong. The room where the scene takes place rather reminds of a grim den inhabited by badgers, which only imitate humans. It looks as if the artist needed to descend deep underground, only to soar towards the sun later on and create his most famous paintings.

The Potato Eatersˮ is an art project by Radoš Antonijević and it is a part of the “Standing One’s Ground” exhibition. The artist uses the potato as a plant with all of its symbolic and material potential for the needs of the project; what he wishes is to point out the fantastic manifestations of life and wisdom which can be found in nature and which we are surrounded by, but are often unaware of. The potato originated in Peru and it stands as testimony to constant natural and artificial migrations, which change the image of the world on a daily basis. Everyone considers it part of their own culture, regardless of their religion or nation; moreover, with social status becoming an ever stronger determinant, the continuing impoverishment is increasing the group of people who may call themselves “potato eaters’’. During this project, the artist will try to grow potatoes to resemble Vincent Van Gogh’s portrait (an artist famous, albeit very poor), and later try to preserve them in their original state, or using a sculpting material. Cultivating plants for artistic purposes raises the question of transience, so this complex work, which is at the same time an installation, sculpture, art action and happening in public space, leads us to think and search for an answer to the question of where the essence of a work of art lies. Does the essence lie in the seed – the idea; in the flower – beauty; in the fruit – the body; in the surroundings – the context; or in the relation between all of these positions – relations, or maybe only in play as a manifestation of the will to live, which transcends all of these forms. In any case, all the fruits to be cultivated during the project will be consumed by the artist, curators and audience. Let the circle be unbroken.

Sculptor Radoš Antonijević (1969, Serbia) questions the medium of sculpture and its limits by creating works of art that problematise issues related to functionality, materiality and perception. Such formal explorations always implicate themes that touch upon neuralgic points of living, concentrating on aspects of history, politics, culture and society.

• Radoš Antonijević Radoš Antonijević
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• Radoš Antonijević Radoš Antonijević
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