Roman Variations
1991, 45 minutes
A portrait of Rome that would have made Plutarch
proud. Roman Variations was made during a residency at a studio provided
by the gallerist Barbara Gladstone.
The piece is structured around variations on recurring
motifs large and small. These include fragmented statuary, Italian television,
the view from Auder's window, and graphic violence in Renaissance painting.
Replete with a cheesy Euro-Pop soundtrack, the piece follows the city's
different moods and rhythms from the hustle and bustle of its piazzas
and narrow, Vespa-filled streets to the quiet ruminations on the passing
of history and civilization afforded through its many ruins.
Whereas Rome unavoidably announces itself to the
lens as one big historic landmark, Auder is interested in capturing
the city's character as revealed in the unconscious and informal gestures
of the city's inhabitants going about their daily lives.