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Arts & Communication Hack the art: Yanoulis Halepas

Figure 2. Yanoulis Halepas (middle) and two of his masterpieces: Satyr Playing with Eros (left) and Satyr’s Head (Right)

1938, is a prolongation of the previous ones but features illness. During his era, social stigma heavily influenced
greater realism in volumes and forms. Indicative works perceptions and attitudes toward people suffering from
from this period include The Great Reposed, The Girl with a mental illness. In our time, it is our duty to eliminate
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Rose, and The Satyr and Eros XII. Halepas’s art throughout these outdated perceptions and contribute to the non-
these periods was permeated with pictorial elements of the stigmatization of mental illness, thereby promoting the
currents of the time. Classicism, Romanticism, and the essential freedom of people’s identities. As a result, the
avant-garde currents of early 20 -century Europe, such as case of Halepas is ideal for raising awareness about mental
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Cubism, as well as popular artistic tradition and ancient illness. In the past, cinematic and literary portrayals of
Greek cultural heritage, all influenced his art. 20-22 “madness” often “demonized” the sufferer as a “lunatic”
The Dounai Kai Lavein exhibition took place at stalking the “sane,” shaping the collective unconscious
the Teloglion Foundation of Art in Thessaloniki from in harmful ways. Yianoulis Halepas provides a chance to
February 18 to July 17, 2022, in partnership with the deconstruct these negative dimensions and highlight a
Onassis Foundation, which owns over 80 works of more human and realistic perspective. Furthermore, it is of
Yianoulis Halepas This exhibition was the reason for great interest to observe the coexistence and co-formation
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the formation of the student competition “Hack the Art: of mental illness and art.
Yanoulis Halepas,” which took place between January and Aside from these reasons, Halepas’ body of work and life
May 2023. The choice of this particular artist was made narrative remains largely unfamiliar to the general public.
for several reasons. First, the wide range of his art and the His contributions are also infrequently encountered by
particular way in which his art evolved are fascinating. students at various educational levels and within applied
Through his work, students come into contact with both curricula. This competition offers a chance to reassess
the technical and interpretative aspects of art analysis, the content of secondary education courses in visual art
becoming accustomed to marble sculpture, preforms, and art history. It does so by introducing new material,
sculpting techniques, and tools. They also unravel various exploring diverse methods and technologies, and engaging
aspects of art history, learning about Greek and European students with the life stories of artists whose contributions
artists, art currents such as Classicism, and interpretive have been overlooked or sidelined.
dimensions, such as the role of myth and symbols in his
art. This approach leads to deeper and more meaningful 4. The educational aim of the competition
understanding. Therefore, given Halepas’s diverse body of The national student competition “Hack the Art: Yanoulis
work, he is an ideal subject for educational purposes and Halepas” was announced in September 2022 and ran from
acquaintance with art. Through technological means and January to May 2023. The main goal of the competition
interactive methods, students can engage more deeply with was to motivate secondary school groups to:
and conduct further research on his art. (i) Utilize advanced technology applications to create

Another main reason Halepas is worth mentioning digital projects that highlight the life and work of the
as an option for the competition is the issue of mental great Greek sculptor Yanoulis Halepas

Volume 2 Issue 4 (2024) 4 doi: 10.36922/ac.2557