Longing for Eternal Wisdom
Filippos’ inspiration is no less eclectic than his technique. Part of it is derived from the artist’s Greek heritage: Some of his marble and sandstone sculptures of human characters, as well as his wooden carvings of angels and centaurs, conjure up an idea of balance that is reminiscent of the great tradition of ancient Greece, albeit in its pre-classical phase.
The most interesting part of his inspiration, however, is that of themes gathered in his travels across the globe. Here, Filippos is no longer the “Greek” artist discoursing about man as his unique object, and about man discovering for himself an unlimited destiny.
It is on the contrary Filippos the artist discovering his own limits and the limits of modern man’s power: round or spiral stones studded in their center with human fi gurines, gems or esoteric symbols, most of Filippos’ works are indeed an exploration of cosmic symbols through which the artist, far from affi rming the uniqueness of man’s condition, views man as bound to merge into the Oneness of Being.
The symbols chosen may be mandalas, sun faces, roses of the wind, men with outstretched arms and legs, cosmic eggs or spheres, eyes of ubiquitous knowledge, wombs, cosmic dancers, etc; all refer to a cosmic symbology painstakingly collected in the artist’s long wanderings among the cultures of the world: Filippos’ travels and works are all moments of a spiritual quest.
Filippos’ treatment of this dual source of inspiration further brings new information about the artist’s message. The anthropomorphy of his “Greek” inspired characters never really intends to achieve the naturalist perfection of the Platonian ideal – which his magnifi cent workmanship would enable him to do.
The expression he gives to these characters, often looking upward in expectation or with their eyes cast downward in dejection, carry instead an angst-laden questioning of which the cosmic world of his other works is meant to suggest an answer.
And indeed Filippos’ treatment of these cosmic themes is revealing: the symbols are unambiguous, neatly carved or embedded; the technique fl awless; as if the artist’s cosmos, unlike the chaotic one of ancient Greece, were paradoxically inhabited by the Platonian spirit of ideal order.
The message thus is unambiguous. To Filippos, man is not only the hero conqueror of chaos and creator of meaning the artist’s ancestors dreamed him to be; man is also a powerless and angst-ridden fi gure who should aim at achieving Ultimate Oneness.
Put it in other words, man’s only future is to turn himself into a universal sage. This is indeed what is, increasingly often, happening. The more the “heroic” modern man extends his control over nature, the more futile appears his endeavor, and the more he longs for the Oneness of Being. Filippos is one of the carriers of this ultimate message of humility and wisdom. May his talent further bloom in this unending quest.
Jean Couteau
Art Professor