Boat over mountain = Fitzcarraldo. Get it? Such an obvious quotation (or is it homage to a great film?) requires a second glance: what do they have in common; what are the differences? Ultimately, Fitzcarraldo is about a purely cultural conflict, as Western civilisation and its messianic culture sought to convert so-called primitive civilisations by way of an opera house.
In the film the boat stands for the steadfast faith in the achievements of one’s own culture and civilisation, whereas here at passage the boat is a manually crafted artefact, both a functionalised means of transportation and a metaphorical object.
A fire-red boat upon a glacier, this whale of the climatologic conscience, the individualised attestation of our destruction of the Earth, starts off as a strong image. But it is also a human battle, the artist’s battle – not only against Nature but above all against a self-imposed objective. The boat was intended to cross the Alps to reach Venice, that concentration of Western culture turned to stone, to the most significant art event in the world. Great! Sensational! The louder the drums, the stronger the echo. But up on the mountain, all is calm. The same old game: the battle against the elements and the laws of nature. Dangers abound; landslides, storms, snow. The chance that it will fail is big. Will the boat ever reach Venice safely in order to make contact with water for the very first time? And if so, where will its journey head?
CS
CS
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