Meta_Prometheus: The Third (III) Artistic Action of the MetARTum Project

God, Titan, Daemon — Prometheus stands as the dominant symbol of humanity’s transition from savagery to civilization, achieved through his conscious self-sacrifice as punishment for stealing fire. The name Prometheus means “the one who knows beforehand” (pro-Metis).

Prometheus’ fire is, in essence, the flame of intellectual awakening: the idea behind numbers, letters, the arts, the stars, herbs, and divination. It represents a primordial upgrade of humanity — perhaps comparable to today’s digital upgrade.

In the area known as “Mavros Kormos” (“Black Trunk”), and at the mitato (stone shepherd’s hut) of the Anogeian shepherds Stelis and Giannis Chairetis, the third artistic action of the MetARTum Project, titled meta_Prometheus, took place. The concept and creation belong to the visual artist, art conservator, and director Morfeas Papoutsakis, accompanied by a musical improvisation on the Cretan lyra by Kostis Andreadakis, Greece’s civil society ambassador for the Future of Europe.

As the artist Morfeas Papoutsakis himself narrates and reflects:

“It was a conscious decision to present an Anti-Work of Art when I was invited to create something based on the myth of Prometheus. An Anti-Work of Art that would look directly into the eyes of the liminal era humanity is currently passing through — an era marked by the absence of critical thought, despite our technological achievements.

An Anti-Work of Art poised at the threshold between concepts such as: Decay – Incorruptibility, Plasticity – Primal Matter, Masculine – Feminine, God – Human, Human – Animal.

By associatively activating opposing poles of energy, the sculpture itself becomes less a form of protest and more the imprint of a realization standing silently in time — a realization without expectation or illusion.

The material I chose to work with is nothing more than simple earth that can be found anywhere in nature, kneaded with only a small amount of water. Meanwhile, the great protagonist — fire/knowledge — which would connect the work to the myth of Prometheus, is conspicuously absent. In this way, the piece becomes an ‘Anti-Work of Art,’ acquiring a dual existence. This is because fire is precisely what would stabilize it in time, granting it a small measure of ‘immortality,’ both as an autonomous entity and as a structured form imposed upon this primitive material by the hands of a contemporary artist.

In conclusion, I do not know whether I ultimately shaped a god, a human, or even a bird. Perhaps it is all of these condensed into a single form. Or perhaps it is simply a pile of earth, eager to return to the embrace of entropy.”
With the completion of this third artistic action, a first cycle of works and collaborations between folk and contemporary culture comes to a close. This marks the beginning of Psiloritis’ transition into the space-time of the Metaverse and augmented reality through art.

The Androidus Project Tank, as the production team, in collaboration with researcher Thodoris Evdaimon (Human-Computer Interaction Laboratory, FORTH) and filmmaker Manolis Papadakis, warmly thanks Morfeas Papoutsakis and Kostis Andreadakis for accepting our invitation and for their contribution to the land and the mountains through their artistic coexistence, as well as for their time and dedication to a collective vision.

We also extend our sincere thanks to the shepherd Stelis Chairetis for his hospitality at the mitato and for guiding us through its surroundings — a region filled with legends and traditions preserved by memory and by the enduring presence of humans in this landscape.