ARTiculAction Art Review April 2014 by ARTiculAction Art Review

April 2014 February 2014

Ivonne Dippmann, Germany ÂŠJoerg Reichardt

SPECIAL EDITION April 2014

SUMMARY

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IN THIS ISSUE

Ivonne Dippmann

(Germany) "Since the beginning of my work the artistic discourse is situated very much within the aesthetics and appearance of my environment" , says Ivonne Dippmann of her own work. However, she changed her environment constantly.

Shahar Marcus

(Israel)

By working with food, a perishable, momentary substance and by turning it into a piece of clothing or a set, Marcus also flirts with art history; transforming arbitrary objects and materials into something immortal and everlasting.

Boris Eldagsen

(Germany) Eldagsen grew up in West Germany and moved to Berlin in the late nineties. Through travel he delved further into the fringes of knowledge, having visited most European countries, the US, China, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Taiwan.

Karine Van de Velde

(USA) â&#x20AC;&#x153;The waves of the dunes painted by Karine van de Velde are a journey into a different reality. She moves into the world of lights, matter and colours. In her paintings, each impression, each perception may be a source of inspiration, in which formal reality breaks free of its restraints."

Florencia Davidzon

(Argentina/Mexico/USA) "For me, Art is the transformation of someoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s individual human experience into a new dimension in the form of a creative resolution. In my case, the transformation was the result of a personal journey spurred on by my commitment, vulnerability, pain, joy, and, overall, a lot of questions. In order to complete the journey, I needed to have the integrity and bravery to dig deep into the paths of intuition and imagination in order to build a personal truth"

SUMMARY

(USA)

Megan C Mosholder

"My practice is centered on site-responsive, sculptural installations that emphasize obscured elements within recognizable objects. I articulate space and present a multi-sensory experience using simple materials such as light, twine, eyelets and wood."

(Germany)

Florian Tuercke

(Greece)

The art installation by Manolis Hadjimanolis and Irene Zenonos is a linear representation 3 meters long depicting clashes between protestors and the police, based on the recent riots that took place in Greece, typical of the impasse the country had been locked in.

(Montenegro)

Manolis Hadjimanolis & Irene Zenonos

Milena Joviceviv

“My work is inspired by everyday- life situations and paradoxes of contemporary society and world we live, that strange place saturated with the media, with an exaggerated production and exaggerated consumption.”

(USA)

Jana Charl

“My longest enduring fascination is to capture the human form and psyche utilizing multiple media. Often my interpretation of the female form is anatomically exaggerated, emphasizing the curves that distinguish women as well as define feminine beauty and fertility.”

(Turkey)

“ My artwork is based on personal history, on relationships and memory (dreams, space, geography, land). It is broadly related to memory, dreams, space and connotations. These topics are drawn from daily life as much as from unconscious thoughts. Essentially, I’m attempting to create images according to my own psychological needs. “

Çiğdem Menteşoğlu

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Ivonne Dippmann (Germany) About Dippmann's work

“Since the beginning of my work the artistic discourse is situated very much within the aesthetics and appearance of my environment”, says Ivonne Dippmann of her own work. However, she changed her environment constantly. Born and raised 1981 in Karl-Marx-Stadt, former East Germany, a city that has changed its name twice within fifty years. No place that would guarantee consistency, unless for a constancy of change and loss. Since Dippmann has left her hometown, she made stations in the United States, in the Basque country in Spain and lived in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Berlin. The origin can not explain what happens in her work, and it would also be onedimensional to look for a simple and simplistic basis in this bundle, which defines it – technique, expression, style and color, a will and political passion which seeks for space and its power being transformed into images. Nevertheless, the place where a drawing, graphic or other image of work is produced, plays a special role. Ivonne Dippmann generally starts from relatively smallscale drawings. A starting point, a beginning, because these small formats will later encounter a different situation, an exhibition space, a stage or a book. They will transform themselves in order to adapt to a new room. Nothing remains as it was and if Dippmann uses templates – which were originally used as illustrations for a book – and converts them into large-scale murals combined with colorful yarns stretched within a space, it creates a unique effect. Because she phrases a no man’s land, which is both politically and geographically allocated. A paradoxical everywhere. (English translation of a text by Jan Kuhlbrodt for the exhibition

Activists and workers from the West",

"Activists and worker from the West", 2012)

multi media installation, solo show West

Ivonne Dippmann

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Gold, (background detail) Mixed Media on canvas, 2012

werk Hamburg, 2012

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Ivonne Dippmann

An interview with

Ivonne Dippmann Hello Ivonne and welcome to ARTiculAction. I would start this interview with my usual introductory question: what in your opinion defines a work of Art? By the way, what could be in your opinion the features that mark an artwork as a piece of Contemporary Art? Do you think that there's a dichotomy between tradition and contemporariness?

Honestly, Art? I don't know. A more colorful, overpriced version of the New York Times? Good Art for me is characterized by attitude and having something to say. It derives out of curiosity, playfulness, a very own opinion and the capacity to take responsibility for. Essential - a good sense of humor! Contemporary basically means today, so I guess Contemporary Art should talk about your own time and generation in an eloquent and unpretentious way. Tradition for me preserves values and rituals that influence social structures and norms, publicly and in private. Contemporariness is somehow a different basket. I associate this term more with trends in the fashion industry. Unlike tradition it comes along very unpredictable, eccentric and a bit overrated. But a well executed contemporariness may transform into a tradition one day?

Ivonne Dippmann ÂŠ Photography Daniel Reiter

Would you like to tell us something about your background? Besides your studies in Visual Communication at the University of the Arts in Berlin, you have attended classes in Israel, Spain and in the USA, where, among the others, you attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. How have these experiences impacted on the way you currently produce your artworks? By the way, I sometimes I wonder if a certain kind of formal training could even stifle a young artist's creativity... what's your point?

Communication, cross studied in Experimental Media Design and finished with a Master in Fine Arts in Israel. Coming from East Germany, I saw my "education plan" as a free ticket to conquer and explore the world, not just creatively. Being a student at the University of the Arts Berlin, I have spent 70% of my time abroad. By learning within different creative fields and manners abroad, I created considerably, with a clear agenda attached my personal "box of tools". These skills now define the spine of my daily work flow and led to a personal freedom and artistic independence. It was a very privileged time and experience.

My studies were an unforgettable 10 year life experience. I received my MeisterschĂźler in Visual

Jennifer Sims

Ivonne Dippmann

ARTiculAction

Broad street line (Collage) multi color prints, Fabric Workshop and Museum Philadelphia 2012 4 way repeat on linen fabrics in different sizes and color combinations,

making your artworks? In particular, what technical aspects do you mainly focus on your work? By the way, I have read that you often start from relatively small-scale drawings: does it allow you to visualize your final works before creating? Moreover, do you know what it will look like before you begin?

I don't believe in a formalistic discourse of "art education". The outcome is very hollow without significant substance! In my opinion it is of relevance to have a life first and with it, hand in hand, a good education which will help to sharpen your qualities, to find your own language and to have the opportunity to encounter great people on the way.

I live in my sketchbooks, I haven't had a studio in 2 years since I wouldn't figure out my base yet. Since I move a lot it was the most convenient way to keep track of ideas, thoughts and inspirations. I work site specific and the small scale drawings are the base of every project. I carry a specific intention or theme, but the work itself materiali-

I am drawing since I am 5, I guess the only though very comforting consistency in my life so far. Before starting to elaborate about your production, would you like to tell to our readers something about your process and set up for 7

ARTiculAction zes while I am in the process. It needs time to execute ideas, also work free time which I learned to enjoy! I most often use resources from my direct environment, so what I do or work with depends on where I am located. In Skowhegan I only worked with quilt, there was simply no jersey to find ("No jersey in Maine"). For a theatre production in Tel Aviv (Every time I recall, I pull my nose) I worked exclusively with leftovers from furniture stores and textile storages. I like to work with analog printing techniques and I get very obsessed once I start. Everything connected to craftsmanship and hand on work is an ideal prerequisite to get my immediate attention. Every project I start, I finish. Now let's focus on your art production: I would start from Broad street line and Aktivisten und Westarbeiter 1 & 2, that our readers have already started to admire in the introductory pages of this article. Would you tell us something about the genesis of these projects? What was your initial inspiration?

A&W was based on a collaborative project with the German author J. Kuhlbordt, now living and working in Leipzig. I produced a series of black and white drawings for his upcoming publication "Stoetzers Lied - der Gesang vom Leben danach". Stoetzer is a character who takes on everything

Aktivisten und Westarbeiter 2 Installlation setup, Wall: mural, ink, acrylics, pigment,

that rolls him over: politics, economics, art, history. Out of statics he is commenting the movements, the decay of the past and the arrival of the new millennium. It is a philosophical interwoven volume of poetry, that addresses with humor and sharpness the complex approach to history. I connected to his work right away since we shared common grounds by being raised and educated in Karl - Marx - Stadt. Aktivisten und Westarbeiter works with the former qualities of my hometown, which has been the center of textile production in East Germany. I basically grew up in the middle of cotton and wool. The center pieces of the two installations in A&W 1/ 2 were made out of yarns of different colors of VEB POLAR Karl-Marx-Stadt, taken fromJennifer my personal archive of my family. All Sims

Falafel Mixed media installation Bezalel / Tel Aviv 2010

Ivonne Dippmann

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Stoetzers Lied, 2013 Ink and marker on paraffained paper, A4 folded

tial design was drawn out in one of my sketchbooks (Book 05 PH2012, Broad Street Line). Some of the printed fabrics were used for designing the fashion line "Hallah", a project in collaboration with the Berlin designer Kunji Baerwald. It was very much a last minute project for a shooting planed to be included in an art book publication (Ivonne Dippmann - My hostilities Are Distributed In A Justified Way, 2013 Revolver Publishing).

spraypaint, 3 m x 4 m / nichtsalsgespenster Berlin 2013

the drawings and wall-paintings were based on the drawings for Kuhlbordts book. My works are oftentimes inspired by texts, by works of authors I collaborated with for their own publications (J. Kuhlbrodt, C. Wagner or R. Winkler). I also use dialogues from movies (I had a great Woody Allen time in Jerusalem), the everyday talk outside, dreams and outside observations which I write down separately. Broad street line is a textile project, executed within a 3 month apprenticeship at the FWM in Philadelphia. Out of my own designs, I created a two (Broad street line) and a four way repeat (Hallah). I printed 3 months straight and it was a pleasure experimenting and playing around with techniques, shapes and colors. As in A&W the ini-

Jennifer Sims

Broad street line, detail 9

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Les Modes Personnels

Ivonne Dippmann

ÂŠ Photography Daniel Reiter

Screen print, mono print, hand dye on linen fabric, 1/17 unique outfits, made in Berlin / 2013

Another interesting pieces that have particularly impressed me and on which I would like to spend some words are from your Les Modes Personnels project: as our readers can view at http://www.ivonnedippmann.eu/index.php?id= 123, multidisciplinarity is a crucial aspect of your art practice: I would go as far as to state that you seem to be interested in creating a multi-sensory, kinetic and relational art experience... while crossing the borders of different artistic fields have you ever happened to realize that a synergy between different disciplines is the only way to achieve some results, to express some concepts?

simply tools to execute an idea. The more you have the more freedom you experience in expressing your thoughts and ideas. LMP just happened by going through old fabrics and towels made in former East Germany at my parents house last summer. I found those old, worn out crystal salt bags from my grand father in our basement and wanted to make something out of it. Since I planed a shooting for documenting "Broad street line" anyways, I thought why not including a recent line of textile work? I had an apartment to work in and a printing place at a friends design firm (Zwoelf Medien Berlin). Since I had no budget, I could not hire a model / make up person in Berlin.

I think "disciplines" how you call it or a medium are

Jennifer Sims 10

Ivonne Dippmann

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La vie c’est moi!, Installation setup, Bloom field Gallery / Tel Aviv 2011 © Banz & Bowinkel

nion personal experience is an absolutely indispensable part of a creative process... Do you think that a creative process could be disconnected from direct experience?

As I was looking desperately, a friend just commented on fb: "Why don t you do it yourself?" So based on the circumstances I did everything myself and I had a very patient and passionate photographer. I see LMP like a series of drawings, it flips through shapes, material and movement in real time. It is one of my favorite pieces so far, it really came out of nothing and says everything.

Well I guess this phenomena of being disconnected from a direct experience is called "conceptual art"? I am not a fan. It feels like a dry dessert. I personally admire artists who work passionately hands on, going through a work period which requires time, involves physical movement and transpiration on the way. My drawing routine is the spine of my daily life experience and vice versa. It is a safe place I can always go back to. I started literally "shooting" myself by documenting myself in relationship to my work or to a specific

Your pieces La vie c’est moi!, Wir sind viele (we are many) and especially the interesting Reformation clearly show that your art practice is strictly connected with the chance to create a deep involvement with your audience, both on a intellectual aspect and on an emotive side... I would like to ask you if in your opi11

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Wir sind Viele – und wir Gottlose gewinnen, © Martin Kiefer C – print, dimensions variable, La grande galerie du musée du Louvre / Paris 2011

As you have remarked in the starting lines of your artist's statement, "the artistic discourse is situated very much within the aesthetics and appearance of my environment"... I can recognize such a socio political feature in your pieces, and even though I'm aware that this might sound a bit naïf, I'm sort of convinced that Art these days could play an effective role not only making aware public opinion, but I would go as far as to say that nowadays Art can steer people's behavior... what's your point about this? Do you think that it's an exaggeration?

specific environment. It helped me to establish a connection with a new place. It caught the way I felt. For La vie c’est moi!, Wir sind viele (we are many) I was meeting a friend in Paris who works by chance in the Louvre, Paris. He gave me a tour in the Museum after everyone left, no lines, no crowds, no school classes. The place was empty and while walking with him through this impressive collection of art, I felt the urge to make a work there. Two days later we got the permission to photograph for 10 minutes. Of course I did not find the room I wanted, so I chose the center hallway of the old Masters. The piece goes together with a 3 m x 6 m written wall work, containing excerpts of dialogues of the war movie Lakonia in combination with expressions of a crossword puzzle. The works mentioned are not performance pieces, I see them purely as a documentation of a work.

Art talks about time, to some extend it embodies history, which is more less an archive of "steering" peoples behaviors. I think the power of art is that a piece of work keeps on communicating without you. It shapes time historically and provides a peek into someone's personal agenda and perception. By showing a specific selection of art to the public, institutionsJennifer create anSims archive stuffed with expe12

Ivonne Dippmann

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MISSING CAPTIONS details

Reformation | Performative work, Installation setup, Somerset county jail Skowhegan / Maine 2011

without mention Peter Tabor who once said that "collaboration is working together with another to create something as a synthesis of two practices, that alone one could not": what's your point about this? Can you explain how your work demonstrates communication between two artists?

riences, remarks, thoughts and insides, defining and redefining a "Zeitgeist" within an era or time period. By walking through a retrospective feels like flipping through someone's fotoalbum which is for generations to keep and remember. My personal decisions or choices can be seen as a summation of experiences based on the people I met on my way and whose works and personality touched me somehow.

"We believe that interdisciplinary collaboration today is an ever growing force in the art-, fashionand design world. We believe that our traditional distinction between these fields is rapidly breaking apart, making room for cross-platform projects that question the authority of each classification. We strongly believe that most exciting things happen when creative minds from different fields of practice meet and collaborate on a project."

And I couldn't do without mentioning E/Scapes - the disappearance from landscape, an extremely interesting collaborative project that you have established with Andrea van Reimersdahl... I personally find absolutely fascinating the collaborations that artists can established together as you did, especially because this often reveals a symbiosis between apparently different approaches to art... and I can't help

Gold, (background detail)

Jennifer Sims

Those 3 lines are taken fromMedia a recent proposal for Mixed on canvas, 2012 13

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Ivonne Dippmann

E/Scapes - the disappearance from landscape collaboration between Ivonne Dippmann and Andrea van Reimersdahl

with people I like and get along with well, based on a mutual understanding of work attitude and respect. Collaborations are a great opportunity to learn and to have an artistic dialogue on a daily basis. I don' t want to be surrounded with my own state of mind and work always, so I decided to collaborate at least once a year in whatever field, rhe more diverse the better. E/Scapes is an ongoing textile based project in collaboration with the Berlin artist and designer AVR who I met by coincidence through a friend. What finally brought us together is the empathy and the immediate use of textiles and the material related printing craft. We are still looking for funding in order to finally execute this project in the coming months. During these years your artworks have been exhibited across your country and abroad, and you recently had the solo CADAVRE EXQUIS in collaboration with the French painter Asnaby at Blick Gallery in Tel Aviv... It goes without saying that feedbacks and especially awards are capable of supporting an artist: I was just wondering if an award -or better, the expectation of positive feedback- could even influence the process of an artist... By the way, how much important is for you the feedback of your

Ohn(e)macht, X-pon art Hamburg, Inc, acrylic, spray paint on concrete, 2012

an interdisciplinary workshop "The Art of collaboration", drafted by a colleague of mine (Marek Polewski, Floor5 Berlin). There is not much to add. For me to collaborate means an enrichment of my quality of life as an artist. I do only collaborate

Jennifer Sims 14

Ivonne Dippmann

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audience? Do you ever think to whom will enjoy your Art when you conceive your pieces? I sometimes wonder if it could ever exist a genuine relationship between business and Art...

Awards and grants provided me with the financial basis in order to live and to execute my art work as I do. Without this support system I would not stand where I am now and I am grateful for that. Regarding feedback,I think you are better off if you don't give a crab. It doesn't really matter what people think of you. I did not become an artist in order to get compliments or to be liked. My audience should enjoy the ride and remain critical and opinionated. To push myself further, I appreciate honest, constructive critique. Business is something different. Therefore it is a lucky win, if you are represented by a gallerist who is professional and trustworthy.

Landmarks, Florentine district, Tel Aviv Cycle 00_TA0312, “gelbe Tasche – blauer Citroën fährt um die Kurve – schwarz gefütterte Windjacke – kurze dunkelblonde Haare – Regen prescht gegen die Fenster”, 60 – Part Installation“, 1,50m x 1,90 m; Tel Aviv / Berlin 2014; Ink, spraypaint, marker, pencil on paper; based on a collaborative project with AVR

spend some time in Paris for collaborating on a fashion project, creating exclusive designs for a brand or label. Ongoing projects are the fundraiser for the project E/Scapes - the disappearance from landscapes, which can be accessed through both of our websites. There is a show coming up at the Kulturforum Alte Post Neuss next year and of course, worthwhile mentioning my recently published art book "Ivonne Dippmann - My hostilities Are Distributed In A Justified Way", 2013 by Revolver Publishing Berlin.

A genuine relationship? Never!, therefore the art market is too chaotic and biased. Thanks a lot for your time and your thoughts Ivonne. My last question deals with your future plans: what's next for you?

Well, on one hand I am looking for a studio in Berlin in order to have a home base for production and meetings. On the other hand I would like to

ARTiculAction

Shahar Marcus (Israel) an artist’s statement

Shahar Marcus (b. 1971) is an Israeli based artist who primary works in the medium of performance and video art. His initial works dealt with the exploration of his own body and its limitations- incorporating various perishable materials, such as dough, juice and ice. His body served as an instrument, a platform on which various ‘experiments’ took place: lying on the operating table, set on fire, dressed in a ‘bread suit’ and more. Food is also a major theme in Marcus’s works. For instance, his recurrent use of bread as a symbol of essentiality and survival is juxtaposed with military symbols. By working with food, a perishable, momentary substance and by turning it into a piece of clothing or a set, Marcus also flirts with art history; transforming arbitrary objects and materials into something immortal and everlasting. His early videoperformances feature himself along with other artists, with whom he had collaborated in the past. However, in his recent works, Marcus appears by himself, while embodying different roles and characters. ‘The man with the suit’ is a personage that was born from an intuitive desire to create a ‘clean-cut’ version of an artist, juxtaposed to the common visual stereotype of the artist as a laborer. Drawing influence from Magritte’s familiar figure- the headless suit, a symbol of Petite bourgeoisie, Marcus embodies this man with a suit as an artist who is in charge, a director. His most recent works deal with local political issues, by approaching iconic Israeli landmarks with a critical and humorous point of view. Thus, Marcus reflects on his own heritage, environment and the creation of local historical narratives. His works are influenced by the visual language of cinematography along with familiar themes and tributes to art – history and artists, such as Ives Klein, Paul McCarthy, Peter Greenway and Jackson Pollack. *Shahar Marcus is an active artist for over a decade and has exhibited at various art- institutions, both in Israel and around the world, including: The Tate Modern, The Israel Museum, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Petach Tikva Museum of Art , Charlottenburg, Copenhagen- Kunsthalle , Moscow Biennale, Poznan Biannale, Moscow Museum of Modern Art and at other art- venues in Polland, Italy, Germany, Georgia, Japan, the USA and Turkey. Many of his works are a part of various important collections, such as The Israel Museum, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Petach Tikva Museum of Art as well as art- intuitions in Poland and Italy. Shahar Marcus 16

Urban Audio

Shahar Marcus

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Gold, (background detail) Mixed Media on canvas, 2012

Freeze, performance

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Shahar Marcus

An interview with

Shahar Marcus Hello Shahar, and welcome to ARTiculAction. I would start this interview with my usual ice breaker question: what in your opinion defines a work of Art? Moreover, what could be the features that mark an artworks as a piece of Contemporary Art?

My Opinion is that a work of art and especially a contemporary work of art is a work that rather demand from the beholder to ask a question and not receiving messages from the artist. The idea and message should lie in the questions that the work raise. Would you like to tell us something about your background? You have studied Linguistic and moreover you hold a MA History of Art that you have received from the University of Tel Aviv: how have these experiences impacted on the way you currently produce your films? By the way, I sometimes I wonder if a certain kind of formal training could even stifle a young artist's creativity... what's your point?

Shahar Marcus The Curator, performance

As an artist who didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t go to an art school and started exhibiting his works I often find that at he beginning I wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t influence by teachers and older artists by how should an art work should look like.

the idea I try to connect it to art history and not always in the idea level but sometimes in the level of the materials which iuse in the piece. I always try to think about a strong physical action that will connect the whole story into coherent outline. Some of my works are ideas that come fast and then the production will take a lot of efforts.

I think it gives you some creative freedom in just doing your things without having your teacher voice in your head all the time. As an Art history student I have many works which are influence from iconic artists like Jackson Pollock (Sabich), Yves Klein (Leap of faith) and Marcel Duchamp.

I always think of my budget and my options at that stage because I hate to come up with ideas that I can't produce. I like to work fast and usually it takes 3-4 months once I have the Idea until the work is done. In my video The curator which was complicated because it involved many scenes, texts and participants it took me 10 months to finish the work (of course I manage to shoot two

Before starting to elaborate about your production, would you like to tell to our readers something about your process and set up for making your artworks? In particular, what technical aspects do you mainly focus on your work? And how much preparation and time do

Jennifer Sims 18

Shahar Marcus

ARTiculAction

diums. I think sometime I have an idea and I find that it an not work as a performance or a video and that the best way for it is to be an installation. Freeze for example was able to be a video, a performance an etching and a photography and in each medium turn out a bit different. A good friend of mine once told me that it doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t matter in which medium I will work, whether it will be video photography or installation it will always look like a performance art. I try to avoid that but sometimes I think he is right. I have the tendency to revive all my art.

new videos and a solo show in that time). I would say I'm a sprinter and not a long runs artist. I think it's important to remark that you shift between media as often as possible: your art practice ranges from Video Art to photography, from etching to performances as the interesting Sabich that our readers can view directly at https://vimeo.com/18207623: while crossing the borders of different artistic fields have you ever happened to realize that a synergy between different disciplines is the only way to achieve some results, to express some concepts?

As an artist but also as a beholder I always try not to bore myself and try to work in different me-

Sabich, performance

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Shahar Marcus

Que Sera Sera, performance

Your works are often pervaded with a deep social criticism, as The fathers have eaten sour grapes: even though I'm aware that this might sound a bit naif, I have to admit that I'm sort of convinced that Art -especially nowadayscould play an effective role in sociopolitical questions: not only just by offering to people a generic platform for expression... I would go as far as to state that Art could even steer people's behaviour... what's your point about this? Does it sound a bit exaggerated?

For my opinion art can do everything and can do Urban Audio nothing. It all lies on the shoulders of the beholder.

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Shahar Marcus

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ticularly impressed me and on which I would like to spend some words is entitled Still Burning: it's a provoking piece that effectively establishes a deep interaction with the viewer, involving her/him both on an intellectual aspect and on -I daresay- a physical one... by the wat, this piece refers to the old tradition of the art history and the traditional paintings of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;still natureâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;... so I would ask you: do you think tha that there's a dichotomy between tradition and contemporariness?

In many cases I think that there is a dichotomy between tradition and contemporariness especially in the themes that contemporary art is dealing with. In Still Burning I am dealing with "memento

The Fathers Has Eaten Sour Grapes, performance

The only thing an Artist can do is to make a significant strong art piece that will move the beholder and make him ask questions. A good art piece can move a person out of his spot and can help him see things different but if a person come to an exhibition without curiosity and will to listen then even the best art piece in the world will fly over his head. None the less if he comes with an open mind to receive something than it is the artist responsibility to deliver him an experience that might steer his thoughts and behavior. Gold, (background detail) Still Burning, performance

Another interesting work of yours that has par-

Mixed Media on canvas, 2012

Freeze, performance 21

Still Burning, performance

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Shahar Marcus

Frog Test, performance

process could be disconnected from direct experience? Actually, I think that I would have loved this pieces also if I didn't know anything about Contemporary scene...

mory" that has such a long history in art and especially in painting. Taking the theme and dealing with it in a contemporary medium such as performance allow the piece to open up to more expects which exist in this matter.

The Curator was shown all over the world to different kind of audience and in many cases it was not an art audience but rather a film audience or other. As I saw People like it even without knowing what a curator is because you can easily replace the curator in an actor singer or any nobody who became a star in three minutes. The work says a lot about us as a society which always look for the next thing and have no patience for experience but rather looking to coronate a new king in instan-

And I couldn't do without mentioning The Curator that I have to admit I have extremely enjoyed: I love the way you have so ironically described a part of the complicated world of Contemporary Art. So I would like to ask you if in your opinion personal experience is an absolutely indespensable part of a creative process... both for creating and for enjoying the creation itself? Do you think that a creative

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Shahar Marcus

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Still Burning, performance

Leap of the faith, performance

ce time. I think that personal experience always help you when you try to produce a new art piece because than it is easy to understand the process and what will be the best way to make the piece but since I always try that my works will be understandable and communicative than even if I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know any curator in my life I think I would be able to pull it off just by reading or hearing about this caricature.

guess that what all the artists wants. I think that the only aspect that it does affect me is that the minute that I finish one work I start thinking about the next one because you know that your audience always want more of you and as soon as possible. I always think of me as the audience and I always imagine myself what will happen if I see that piece of art. Will I like it/ if it works for me than I can do the work. Sometimes when you have an exhibition and the commercial galleries are involved than you really need to listen to your wills and thoughts and try to walk the line between art and business. If after walking the line your art survive that clash it means you made it.

During these years you have exhibited at various art- institutions, both in your homeland Israel and abroad, including among several others: The Tate Modern, Copenhagen Kunsthalle and Moscow Museum of Modern Art... moroever, you have recently received The Israeli Ministry of Culture award for Encouraging Creativity. It goes without saying that feedbacks and especially awards are capable of supporting an artist: I was just wondering if an award -or better, the ex-pectation of an award- could even influence the process of an artist... By the way, how much important is for you the feedback of your audience? Do you ever think to whom will enjoy your Art when you conceive your pieces? I sometimes wonder if it could ever exist a genuine relationship between business and Art...

Thanks a lot for your time and your thoughts, Shahar. My last question deals with your futufre plans: anything coming up for you professionally that you would like readers to be aware of?

At the beginning of April I will travel to Saarbrucken in Germany and I will create a new video piece with the artist Nezaket Ekici which I have been collaborating for the last two years in a project that travel from Israel to Tbilisi, Istanbul and then T Saarbrucken Germany. This coming October we will have a big show in Saarbrucken Stadtgallery. Other than that I will show this year in Taiwan and I will be working on a new solo show in 2015.

An expectation for an award cant really effect your work except for the understanding that a good piece of art might give you an award but I

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Boris Eldagsen (Germany)

Berlin-based German artist Boris Eldagsen has studied photography and visual arts at the Art Academy of Mainz (Vladimir Spacek & Klaus Vogelgesang), conceptual art and intermedia at the Academy of Fine Arts Prague (Miloš Šejn & Milan Knížák) and fine art the Sarojini Naidu School of Arts & Communication Hyderabad / India (Laxma Goud) – and philosophy at the Universities of Cologne and Mainz. In 2013 he participated in a Roger Ballen Masterclass. Eldagsen grew up in the South-West of Germany and moved to Berlin in the late nineties. He travelled most European countries, the US, China, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Taiwan. From 2003 – 2010 he lived between Berlin and Melbourne / Australia. His photomedia work has been shown internationally in institutions and festivals such as Fridericianum Kassel, Deichtorhallen Hamburg, CCP Melbourne, ACP Sydney, EMAF Osnabrück, Videonale Bonn, Edinburgh Art Festival, Athens Video Art Festival, Kuyre Istanbul, Media Forum Moscow, WRO Media Art Biennale Wroclaw, Biennale Le Havre and Biennale of Electronic Arts Perth. 2013, he has been awarded the Prix Voies Off / Arles for the strength of his photo work “how to disappear completely / THE POEMS”. Boris works as a multi-media consultant and a lecturer. He has lectured at Centre for Ideas – Victorian College of the Arts and Music / Melbourne, the Photography Studies College Melbourne, the Akademie für Bildende Künste Mainz, Hochschule Furtwangen, the Sommerakademie of Fotografie Forum Frankfurt, Westlicht Wien, F/Stop Leipzig, Centre for Contemporary Photography Melbourne, RMIT University Melbourne and Monash University Melbourne. For his collaborative work BORIS+NATASCHA he is represented by Yasha Young Gallery, New York.

#196 Winter 26

From the how to disappear completely series: POEM #55 2

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Boris Eldagsen

An interview with

Boris Eldagsen Hello Boris, and welcome to ARTiculAction. I would start this interview with my usual ice breaker question: what in your opinion defines a work of Art?

An artwork should have the power to effect you on multiple levels. First there needs to be a gut feeling, the work needs to talk to my subconscious level. Then there should be parts that I can understand on an analytical level with my mind, see references, appreciate humour. If both levels are balanced so that they open up a new perspective, the art work is perfect. By the way, what could be in your opinion the features that mark an artwork as a piece of Contemporary Art?

anfind interview with To a new expression of a timeless archetype by combining old and new ingrediences. Would you like to tell us something about your background? Besides your studies of Photography and Visual Arts at the Art Academy of Mainz you have studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague, as well as in Indiaâ&#x20AC;Ś moreover, you recently participated in a Roger Ballen Masterclass. How have these experiences impacted on the way you currently produce your artworks? By the way, I sometimes wonder if a certain kind of formal training could even stifle a young artist's creativity... since you are also a lecturer I would ask your point about this...

Boris Eldagsen (photo by Marcus Hoehn)

In the nineties, I studied visual arts and philosophy for over six years. I was training my mind and collecting skills. After 2000 those various skills became an orchestra that I could play with. From 2010, I became conscious of the always underlying red thread and started to concentrate one my own personal subject, my own personal tune.

Lecturing for over 10 years, I believe that the main task of teaching is to take away fear. Fear of not knowing enough, fear of having insufficant skills, fear of making yourself ridiculous, fear of fear. Once you are able to create a fearless space where students can experiment and learn freely, everything else will fall into place.

Participating in a Roger Ballen Masterclass was a conscious choice, because his approach and thinking is close to mine. For me, he is the most inspiring living artist working with photography. His most valuable advice was to go back to that early days of forming and have a close look at how it all started. And then to develop aspects that have been forgotten on the way.

Boris Eldagsen

From the how to disappear completely series: THE SCHOOL OF HOPE (the show must go on) Before starting to elaborate about your production, would you like to tell to our readers something about your process and set up for making your artworks? In particular, what technical aspects do you mainly focus on your work? And how much preparation and time do you put in before and during the process of creating a piece?

You would be surprised to see how little technology I really need. Since 2008 I regularly give workshops called 'No Budget Staged Photography'.

The process is a balance between analytical preparation and an intuitive realisation. Technology always serves the purpose of the specific work

THE SCHOOLS need sharp analytical glasses, especially for the script, and its rewriting during shooting and editing.

I would also like to state that I have two complimentary modes of working: The POEMS use analytical preparation and intuitive process on equal terms.

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Boris Eldagsen

POEM #76

POEM #77

Now let's focus on your art production: I would start from How to disappear completely, that our readers have already started to get to know in the introductory pages of this article: an I would suggest to our readers to visit your website directly at http://www.eldagsen.com/ in order to get a wider idea of this interesting project... In the meanwhile, would you like to tell us something about the genesis of this work? What was your initial inspiration?

timeless psychological archetypes. Half of my images are produced in a 'street photography' style, without any manipulation, half are 'staged photography' in which I create a set in front of the camera which is then creatively 'documented'. Both create an alchemical mix of photography, painting, theatre and film â&#x20AC;&#x201C; no matter how they were pro-duced. Working like this depends heavily on an intuitive process. Some props and ideas can be prepared, but THE POEMS' working method is highly intuitive. Whereas the videos of THE SCHOOLS are conceptual works in which the analytical mind plays an important role.

With the POEMS, I want to create images that speak directly to the subconscious, finding new versions of

Since 2012, I started creating more and more POEMS using a tumblr workaround. Browsing the endless stream of images, I map my own subconscious by liking images I respond to the most intuitively. Once a month I revisit those likes with an analytical eye, examining the reasons for my choice. Step by step I become aware of the archetypes that influence me. When I work with models, I give them a preselection of those images and ask them to pick their favourites. This way, I find out to what ideas they subconsciously respond to. Then I take these ideas further. Because I have my model personally involved, he or she will be much more daring than without this method. #196 Winter

POEM #78 30

Boris Eldagsen

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From the how to disappear completely series: POEM #90

Multidisciplinarity is a crucial aspect of your art practice: you produce photographic works as well as videos and transdisciplinary projects... while crossing the borders of different artistic fields have you ever happened to realize that a synergy between different disciplines is the only way to achieve some results, to express some concepts?

The work will tell you when it is finished and what form it needs to be complete. For me, different forms are like different spices, and I like to mix them and add some flavours to the main mediums I work with. Your works are strictly connected to the chance of establishing a deep involvement with your audience, both on an intellectual aspect and -I daresay- on a physical state... so I would like to

Yes, this was what was leading me from photography to video and from video to installation. 31

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Boris Eldagsen

an interview with

From the how to disappear completely series: POEM #93

ask you if in your opinion personal experience is an absolutely indespensable part of a creative process... Do you think that a creative process could be disconnected from direct experience?

As you have remarked once, your works utilise the external reality, to paint the inner reality, that of the unconscious, archetypical and unspoken... I'm sort of convinced that some informations & ideas are hidden, or even "encrypted" in the environment we live in, so we need -in a way- to decipher them. Maybe that one of the roles of an artist could be to reveal unexpected sides of our inner Nature... what's your point about this?

It could, but it is not my way. Personally I consider works without direct experience as shallow. Direct experience creates a thunderstorm of emotions and images in your subconscious mind, and this is what I draw from during the process of creation. I follow my intuition which is nurtured by direct experience.

It is the role of the artist to become more and more 32

Boris Eldagsen

From the how to disappear completely series: POEM #94

conscious about the universe inside him, and how it dances with the world around him. So firstly, he needs to decipher the nature in himself, to travel fearlessly into his inner realm. Then he needs to come back and translate this dance of realities into an artistic form.

to the surface, creating glossy images and believing in a simple idea of reality can suffice. But for an artists, the journey inwards is inevitable. And I couldn't do without mentioning also SUPERHIGH, an extremely interesting collaborative project that you have created with Sabine Taeubner... I personally find absolutely fascinating the collaborations that artists can established together as you did, especially because this often reveals a symbiosis between apparently different approaches to art... and I can't

When somebody describes me as photographer I always correct the term into 'artist working with photography'. One can be a succesful photographer without having any idea of yourself. Sticking 33

Still from THE SCHOOL OF HIGH (SUPERHIGH) / Voting

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Boris Eldagsen

Still from THE SCHOOL OF HIGH (SUPERHIGH) / Round II'

help without mention Peter Tabor who once said that "collaboration is working together with another to create something as a synthesis of two practices, that alone one could not": what's your point about this? Can you explain how your work demonstrates communication between several artists?

play with words and the beyond, this led to our ongoing work 'ORACLE'. Last year I started working with Spanish artist Rosana Antoli. We needed half a year to work out our strenghts and how to combine them to a consistent work. Her passion for sex, death and animals plays into my fascination for Jungian archetypes, so we started creating seductive and disgusting monsters called THE MOTH, THE SPIDER etc.

I totally agree. Collaborating with others brings out the humorous, absurde side in me. In addition to that, I always meet common ground with my collaborator. Working with Sabine was an excercise in what she calls 'czech humour' â&#x20AC;&#x201C; absurde black humour that is even more bent than british humour. It was easy because we are knowing each other for 24 years and we always loved sharing the absurde side of life.

Your works have been exhibited in many cultural events and exhibitions, both in Germany and abroad, as in Australia, Canada, France and even in India... It goes without saying that feedbacks and especially awards are capable of supporting an artist: I was just wondering if an award -or better, the expectation of a positive feedback- could even influence the process of an artist... By the way, how much important is for you the feedback of your audience? Do you #196 Winter

Since 2004 I am working with Australian artist Natascha Stellmach. We share an interest for the 36

Boris Eldagsen

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Still from THE SCHOOL OF HIGH (SUPERHIGH) / Round II BORIS+NATASCHA, 2010, ORACLE from the grave of Oscar Wilde, Paris, Frottage on handmade paper, 51x76cm, unique piece

ever think to whom will enjoy your Art when you conceive your pieces? I sometimes wonder if it could ever exist a genuine relationship between business and Art...

feedback from the audience and I kept on working. Since two years, the appreciation exploded. It is wonderful to see that my work actually has an impact on others, but frankly I would have continued without that. For sure an award opens doors, gets attention and broadens reach. I see this as a reward for all the blood, sweat and tears that were invested into the work.

These are many questions in one. Let me see if I can answer them one by one. How important is feedback? During your studies and forming, feedback is essential. Feedback from peers and experienced teachers. Feedback from a neutral audience. But once you have found your own path, you better follow this very own calling.

Do I have a target group? No. An artist needs to create his work out of himself. If he works for an audience, he will crumble when he gets no feedback. And if he follows trends to receive appreciation, his work will have a short life span and a shallow ground.

Can awards and expectations influence the process of an artist? Generally spoken: yes. I think the earlier you receive them in your career the more they will. During the last eight years I got beyond any external influences. I do what I need to do, uninfluenced by any feedback or external reward. This is why my photomedia work has its own signature. There were times when I had zero

Is there a genuine relationship between business and art? Sure, it is called art market. Ideally art comes first, with no purpose than opening a window on life. Then the business is put on top. In reality this has of course always been mixed up to create a hell of a mess. Thanks a lot for your time and for sharing your thoughts with us, Boris: what's next for you? Anything coming up for you professionally that you would like readers to be aware of?

Sabine and I turned SUPERHIGH into a one-night event for contemporary art museums, starting with Van Abbemuseum in the Netherlands. Check out www.superhigh.org/ontour to be informed of the following events.

Still from THE SCHOOL OF HIGH (SUPERHIGH) / Jury 37

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Karine van de Velde (USA) an artist’s statement

Karine van de Velde is an American Orientalist Painter. Descendant of a famous Dutch family of painters, she was born in Sweden where she spent her early days. At six years old, she left Europe for the shores of Africa where she lived until she graduated high school in Ivory Coast. In 1991, seven years after moving to Aix en Provence to take a degree in modern literature, Karine entered the world of painting. In 2013, She was awarded the painting prize at the 35th edition of the “Salon des Ecrivains et Artistes rapatriés à Antibes.” Member of the “Institut européen des arts contemporains” Mr Marcel van Jole, International curator of Cagnes-sur-Mer Museums’ exhibitions, describes Karine as an Orientalist painter. With Karine, the lights of the Orient dance in a brushstroke. About Karine paintings, Mr Jean-Claude Orru says: “The waves of the dunes painted by Karine van de Velde are a journey into a different reality. She moves into the world of lights, matter and colours. In her paintings, each impression, each perception may be a source of inspiration, in which formal reality breaks free of its restraints, even abolishing the inescapable step towards the horizon – boundless. Karine van de Velde’s paintings burst the boundaries of formalism, as they invite us to discover another dimension of space. From the heart of the dunes seeps out the music of setting suns and full moons, and the song of the waking light embracing the horizon; Karine’s inspiration is nurtured by this music, by these landscapes, by these colours from ancient times, by these sands that were once water – to our delight. From shade to light, from stillness in time to an a-temporal approach, from a new path resphaping perspective, Karine drives us through a journey where she talentedly brushes these colours made of tenderness and ethereal music. She teaches us that in the desert, music is also silence... She has established her painting studio AFRIKAVELDE in Seranon, located in the hinterland of Grasse, south of France

Karine van de Velde 38

Krista Nassi

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Gold, (background detail) Mixed Media on canvas, 2012 La folle méharée, oil on canvas (100 x 81 cm) 2014

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Karine van de Velde

An interview with

Karine van de Velde Hello Karine, and welcome to ARTiculAction. I would start this interview with my usual introductory question: what in your opinion defines a work of Art? By the way, what could be in your opinion the features that mark an artworks as a piece of Contemporary Art? Do you think that there's a dichotomy between tradition and contemporariness?

First of all, thank you for your welcome and for selecting my artwork. What defines a work of art is not as that easy to word out! Is it that it’s beautiful, scary, or peaceful? I think a work of art is mostly something created by someone with his soul, with passion to bring to someone else happiness, dreams or maybe a mirror of its life. What makes a work of art could also be its capacity of going through the centuries. This is a real philosophical question! I also think a work of art is a reflection, a witness of our society. And most of all what we call Art today will maybe be rubbish in the coming years! A little bit like the impressionists when they’ve decided to quite with classicism. The public of the first “Salon” of impressionism in Paris was shocked with this new style of painting!

Karine van de Velde

ness. I am trying to keep the tradition of the orientalist painters of the past century, to melt it with impressionism with my last paintings. Maybe painted in a more modern way.

Sometimes I wonder about being a contemporary artist!! Not that I refuse my century and the world I leave in, but I hardly understand the deep meaning of Contemporary Art. It sounds to me like using these words to be “smart” or “in the mood”! It’s obvious to me that artist and art are contemporary to its period and that they won’t be any more in the future. Is it an opposition to Classicism? Why Contemporary Art should always be Abstract? There would be so much to say about Art nowadays!!!

Would you like to tell us something about your background? Are there any experiences that have particularly impacted on the way you currently produce your artworks? By the way, during your life you have travelled quite a lot, so I do think that this have surely influenced your art practice... isn't it?

As you’ve noticed I’ve been travelling a lot in my youth, spending fifteen years in West Africa. I was eleven when I first met a Touareg, in Nigeria. He was ageless, coming from the Mission du Père de Foucault in the Sahara desert, miles away from that beach in Lagos! Then my parents took me to

For in my paintings I would say there could be a dichotomy between traditions and contemporari-

Jennifer Sims 40

Karine van de Velde

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To tell more about my art, first of all I would like to say that all my paintings are oil on canvas. I mainly focus on the traditions of Orient. I need to have music in my workshop while I am painting, to have an atmosphere! I paint with my feelings, no special technical aspect, just melt colors together and see what it looks like on the canvas!!! You know, when I start a new painting, I always say to my husband, “I am going to try something.” So each of my paintings are a “try”!!! I think I paint quite quickly, depends of the subject and the atmosphere I want to give to my work. It’s like if I was stepping into a different world as soon as I take a brush and start painting. To be truthful , I can hardly can speak about my paintings, as it makes me feel embarrassed! I think people should just look at a painting or a sculptor and just let the emotions flow in!

the city of Kano in the north of Nigeria, a boundary with the desert, a city made of “mud”, with the north door opening on that wide area of sand with a caravan coming on the sky line, it was just like being in “Lawrence of Arabia”!! So when we moved back to Europe, and more specifically to the south of France, I felt the need to express my nostalgia of Africa. First of all I wrote a lot, poems on the countries I had been living in. Then after graduating in modern literature I felt the need to paint with a sense of urgency. I am completely self-taught. But we have a long tradition of painters in the family, the van de Velde’s dynasty started in the seventeenth century!!! And Henry van de Velde (1863-1957), the Art Nouveau creator was my great gran uncle!!! Africa is a real passion to me, and most of all the tribes of the Sahara desert.

Karine van de Velde working on "La folle méharée"

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Contemplation, oil on canvas (73 x 54) 2013

Now let's focus on your art production: I would start from Contemplation and La folle méharée, a recent piece that our readers have already started to admire in the introductory pages of this article: I would suggest our readers to visit http://www.afrikavelde.com/ in order to get a wider idea the series of whom it's part of. In the meanwhile, would you tell us something about the genesis of these pieces? What was your initial inspiration?

“Contemplation” was made for a contest planned in May in Sainte -Maxime nearby Saint Tropez. My godfather, a great orientalist painter named Roger Vives, told me to paint “a felluca , a camel and the pyramids”, so that’s how I did it. About “La folle méharée” I think it’s one of my most tormented painting . I did it just after I had a negative answer for an exhibition in Paris so all my anger spread on the canvas! I noticed that many of your pieces are focused on "human" subjects, or - I'd better say- the "human contemplation"- that - as in La course de l'homme bleu and La ronde des flammes often reveals such an inner struggle anda silent but intense involvement... I would like to ask you if in your opinion personal experience is an absolutely indespensable part of a

La course de l'homme bleu, 2013 Oil on canvas (46 x 61 cm)

Jennifer Sims 42

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creative processâ&#x20AC;Ś Do you think that a creative process could be disconnected from direct experience?

Focusing on the human experience, I think my life abroad in Africa taught me a different way of thinking. People in these countries have a different approach of life, illness, and children. They are very contemplative not in the way we may think in Europe or in the USA, but they look a lot around them. Silent is more efficient then thousands of words, they speak with their eyes, with their hands. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s also what I want to translate into my art; I am the painter of the silence. The only noise is the brush that caresses the canvas! I think that in a creation process, you become in a way disconnected with reality, art is no longer a realistic picture, and it is a part of your own personality, hidden injuries of life or a great feeling of happiness.

La ronde des flammes, 2014 oil on canvas (27 x 22 cm)

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Karine van de Velde

Le Nil bleu, oil on canvas ( 41 x 33 cm) 2013

A feature of Le Nil bleu that has mostly impacted on me is your capability of creating a deep intellectual interaction, communicating a wide variety of states of mind : even though I'm aware that this might sound a bit naif, I have to admit that in a certain sense it unsettles me a bit... it's an effective mix between anguish and thoughtless, maybe hidden happiness... I would go as far as to state that this piece, rather than simply describing, poses

us a question: it just forces us to meditation...

A boat, where ever she is in the world, has this power of making people unsettled. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s always a moment of sadness for those who are left ashore, but a great moment of joy for who is sailing on a new journey. The painting won an award, maybe because of all that!! Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a peaceful moment with the sun shining

Jennifer Sims 44

Karine van de Velde

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Ephémère, oil on canvas (61 x 38 cm) 2014

on her sail, day end. If you feel for meditation, the aim of the painting is reached!

a very rainy winter. So as it is the first painting of 2014, I’ve decide to put more details in the sky. I am a fan of Monet, of Pissaro, Berthe Morisot an all the great impressionist.

While admiring La hautaine and Ephémère I have been struck with the way you have been capable of merging delicate and thoughtful tone of colors with nuances of red which turns from a delicate tone to an intense, almost flooding one, which turns to saturate the canvas as in Safran du désert , a wonderful piece that I have to admit it's one of my favourite work of yours... By the way, any comments on your choice of "palette" and how it has changed over time?

Not that I want to be compared, but I am seeking for that brightness, that colorful way of painting. I am also seeking the reflection in the water; I love that impression like I did on the painting named “Reflet” and many others with Egyptian boats or pirogues in Mali. The change of “palette” is the normal evolution of an artist, I think. I like warm colors; I hat grey, black or white! Life should be colored!

Thank you for your nice comment on these paintings! Ephémère was a deep need of sun!! We had

Your artworks have been exhibited in many

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Karine van de Velde

occasions and moreover you have been recently awarded at the 35th edition of the Salon des Ecrivains et Artistes rapatriés à Antibes... it goes without saying that feedbacks and especially awards are capable of supporting an artist: I was just wondering if an award -or better, the expectation of an award- could even influence the process of an artist... By the way, how much important is for you the feedback of your audience? Do you ever think to whom will enjoy your Art when you conceive your pieces? I sometimes wonder if it could ever exist a genuine relationship between business and Art...

To be honest, I was very surprised to win that award last year! I do not paint for awards; neither do I paint for money! I paint for my own pleasure. I expect too much of myself, always seeking for better results. Of course I am very glad to get the feedback from the audience after an exhibition. I love to share my art with people, it’s like a drug! I think an artist needs to be seen; needs to have critics bad or good.

Safran du désert, oil on canvas (100 x 81 cm) 2012

for me to share a little of my passion with your readers.

When I finish one of my paintings, and that I post it my web site, it doesn’t belong to me anymore, it belongs to the public. So when I think of who could like or love or hate my work, I always say to myself: “do your best by respect for those who are coming to visit your exhibition”

I have a lot of exhibitions coming during spring, especially an art fair taking place in Mandelieu la Napoule in France, nearby Cannes from 11th to 14th April, then May, I’ll be in Antibes ( 1st to 4thmay) and Avignon (1st to 7th may). Fall will see me in the south west of France in Valence d’Agen from 26th to 28th September. If I may add something to this interview, I would like to say that I am looking for a gallery that would bet on me and believe in my work, somewhere it should exist!!! I think the best for your readers is to go on my web site so they can follow my furthers exhibitions.

The dream of a genuine relationship between business and art, will that ever exist? It is hard to give a price to something that you have created, with your soul and passion. There are some people who don’t know the price of your work, that ask you for it like if they were about to buy a pair of shoe! To those I refuse to sell, because I don’t want my art to finish behind the door of a cupboard!!! Thanks a lot for your time and your thoughts, Karine. My last question deals with your future plans: what's next for you? Anything coming up for you professionally that you would like readers to be aware of?

an interview by articulaction@post.com

Thank you for this interview, it was a real pleasure

oil on canvas (33 x 41 cm)

La hautaine, 2014

Jennifer Sims 46

Karine van de Velde

ARTiculAction

Florencia Davidzon (Argentina / Mexico / USA)

The Marching Quixotes

Logline: A social worker, a political activist and an unemployed join the 15M Movement to march 500 km to Madrid on foot as repudiation of the sociopolitical status quo. Even though the 15M would eventually inspire groups such as Occupy Wall Street, the marching mates get to learn soon enough about the difficulties of changing the world by the hand of an unlikely fictional character. Synopsis: Every thousand-mile walk starts with a step. Silvia leaves her job as a social worker and takes that step after singing one of her songs at a protest. She joins the 15M Movement in Catalu単a. Miguel, who comes from a long anti-Franco family joins in with his son to teach him about social reform. Jack, an unemployed, finds in the march a place where he feels accepted. Despite their disparate backgrounds, the 15M movement represents their common vision: to create a world with a social, political and economical system that is inclusive and participatory. As they march their 21st century revolution brings out their brilliance as well as the groups contradictions. Silvia, Miguel and Jack first embrace the idea of direct democracy in order to organize the groups that march towards Madrid. They implement public assemblies and consensus, where the majority doesn't win. Instead they reach full consensus by working through every person's grievances and reservations. While this method assures that everybody is wholeheartedly involved and validated, it also makes meetings long and vulnerable to sabotage by their own members. It's then that the fictional character Don Quixote steps in to impart some lessons about human nature. As the march progresses through countless towns, Silvia meets an upper class French young man, whose family owns castles. They fall in love and her song becomes the anthem of the march. Miguel, in charge of water supply to the marchers, shares his years of activism

A still from THE MARCHING QUIXOTES

experience with the younger generation. Jack is the spokespersons in the public assembles and rescue stray dogs while on the road. Once in Madrid, the group sets up the biggest protest and attempts to present their grievances to the parliament, which was on vacation. They scatter across the country looking for new challenges with the wisdom of Don Quixote still whispering in their ears. Silvia, her new love and a small group of friends take over an abandoned house in the countryside to live communally. #196 Winter 48

Evictions don't discourage them, they start again up in the mountains. Once settled, the passion and contradictions from the marching days are magnified with everyday living.

Jack, like Silvia, also fell in love. He tried several projects but ultimately wants to have a home, a job, a normal life. Unemployed, he lives off her girlfriend's income and tumbles between episodes of depression.

Miguel, back in his hometown, starts a demonstration in front of the hospital where he used to work followed by a hunger strike. His son the permanent witness of his vehement fight against the system is told: You have to fight until you die! Miguel's health deteriorates fast in spite of being only early 50s.

All three keep challenging the system. When there are talks of a new march, they will all decide very different course of actions as they believe the world they dream of can be build in many different ways. Don Quixote remains both an inspiration and their toughest critic.

ARTiculAction

Florencia Davidzon

An interview with

Florencia Davidzon Hello Florencia, and welcome to ARTiculAction. I would start this interview with my usual ice breaker question: what in your opinion defines a work of Art?

For me, Art is the transformation of someoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s individual human experience into a new dimension in the form of a creative resolution. In my case, the transformation was the result of a personal journey spurred on by my commitment, vulnerability, pain, joy, and, overall, a lot of questions. In order to complete the journey, I needed to have the integrity and bravery to dig deep into the paths of intuition and imagination in order to build a personal truth with care of aesthetics to share ideas, emotions and a point of view interview with others thatwith intent to stay over time. an By the way, as a contemporary film maker, do you think that there's a dichotomy between tradition and contemporariness?

Dichotomy? I have never thought about a dichotomy between tradition and contemporariness since Art itself from has potential and a promising future when actually can rely on that edge, when its pillars and essence are on the oxymoron of all meanings, ideas, technologies, and approaches.

Florencia Davidzon

ted on the way you currently produce your independent personal films?

Art should embrace dichotomies and I, personally, love the clash of eras, schools and ideas. I love collages and appreciate Art when has it contains a dialogue with more than one referent with the uniqueness of its makers.

My personality and appetite for the teachings of thinkers, who question how societies are formed, consolidated and become self-regulating in order to achieve a peaceful and harmonious existence, stem from my study of political science I am fascinated by the inherent contradictions created by the vastness that exists between ideology and reality and have questioned whether it is possible for an entire community to be collectively satisfied and happy. I believe that being a social researcher

Would you like to tell us something about your background? In particular, I have read that you your trajectory as a filmmaker was sparked by your video projects for market and communication research: how has this experience impac-

Florencia Davidzon

A still from THE MARCHING QUIXOTES

has a big influence of how I relate to art and creation.

Desarrollo the movie from Miguel Coyula, Vals and Bashir from Ari Filman, Persepolis from Marjan Satrapi, Social Genocide from Pino Solanas and, The Act of Killing from Joshua Oppenheimer have deeply influenced me.

On a creative level, I am inspired by many forms of art, but films are definitely my core inspiration. Movies from different periods have had a lot of influence in my approach toward my documentaries and filmmaking in general.

Some of these films are difficult to categorize strictly as documentaries or narrative fiction and this gray area has inspired me to focus less on whether a project is fiction or non-fiction, but, instead, develop an original point-of-view that is intellectually and emotionally moving and tackles transcending ephemeral and historical events.

From my childhood Camila from Maria Luisa Bermberg, Yentle, from Barbara Streisand and Veronico Cruz -La Deuda Interna-, from Miguel Pereira were key encounters. More recently, Vertov at Man with Movie Camera, Memorias del

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Florencia Davidzon

A still from THE MARCHING QUIXOTES

My ability to create communication research videos has allowed me to make a living, while, also, opened my eyes to my desire to want to create other types of work. I believe that I have a responsibility with my interviewers and society beyond helping a brand sell its products. While making these videos, people shared their lives, weaknesses and dreams with me and I must do something with that information, I could not stay still. Once you are open to seeing your surroundings in a new light, you live with an awareness that allows you to see the reality of what others may be missing.

A still from THE MARCHING QUIXOTES

to creating written or audiovisual artwork begins with curiosity mixed with profound love and the desire to provide justice or righteousness to a story. Therefore, at the beginning, the project is more a matter of falling in love with a story and feeling that I have no choice but to follow through with its completion.

This is a difficult question since each project manifests itself in different ways. I almost become a different person for each project. Therefore, I cannot provide you with one unique approach that I use. I can tell you, however, that I find my approach

Once I have committed myself to a story, I use all of my resources to complete the necessary research, raise the necessary funding and take the risks needed to get the project completed. I find that once in the throes of a project, I become #196 Winter 52

Florencia Davidzon

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tory pages of this article, and I would suggest them to visit your vimeo page directly at https://vimeo.com/30567032 in order to get a wider idea of it. In the meanwhile, would you tell us something about the genesis of this film? Besides the clear reference to the journey of "Indignant" people, was there other inspiration that lead you to develop this work?

Well, hopefully, soon I will have a new trailer to share with the audience. This project has been a long, four year journey and the movie has changed a lot from what I originally shape but not the vision. The movie is very close to completion and I am happy with the life and friends that this project gave to me. The project was conceived after I was profoundly moved by the events of 15M, which took place in Spain in 2011. The march caused me to feel guilt and frustration about my own escape from my country, Argentina. When things got difficult there, I opted to leave for my personal survival and to fulfill my individual destiny instead of helping the country and my fellow countrymen to fulfill our collective destiny. I went to all of the demonstrations in 2011 in Buenos Aires; however, afterward, I felt that if anything real happens in my country, there was not any real collective change were population keep the power.

stubborn and must do things my way. I make mistakes, but I feel that my actions are always necessary in order to protect my project from all internal and external forces that want to change it from the vision I see. My creative process often comes with much suffering and sacrifices, but, once the project is complete, I feel that it is worth it. Now let's focus on your art production: I would start from The Marching Quixotes, an extremely interesting work that our readers have already started to get to know in the introduc53

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Florencia Davidzon

A still from THE MARCHING QUIXOTES

It was then that I decided to leave the country and I have never returned. Leaving left me with an open emotional scar that has never closed. I am not in exile and, as such, often feel as if I abandoned my an interview with people instead of helping them.

movement allowed me to pursue those interests. But this movement came at a time when I had become cynical about the power of society to change, and I wanted to explore this. This movement lifted my heart and made me feel as if I was in my 20s again, able to fight against the world and the injustice that I was seeing.

By 2011, I had been already living in three countries, 10 years had past, the 15M born and, I felt like life was giving me a chance to be present for others and be part of a collective. I have always had a strong desire to believe in the power of collective thinking and collective actions and this

This documentary is very personal to me and, as such, is not neutral. My intention in creating it was to reveal the expanse that exists between utopia and reality, incongruence and uniformity. I used verite footage that I had been collecting and creating since 2011 , my own footage merged with animated sequences of the story of “Don Quixote” as a means through which to probe deeper into the core theme of idealism versus pragmatism. By the way, since these days Cataluña comes again to the news for the recent secessionist movements, I would daresay to find such an Ariadne's thread between this and the reaction to socio economical sufferance that has lead to the creation of the 15M Movement...

The occurrence of these two things at the same time was not random. The 15M (15 May 2011) and 22M (22 of March 2014) are both parts of the same massive national grassroots movement lead by 54

Florencia Davidzon

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A still from THE MARCHING QUIXOTES

protesters who are trying to build a better future through solidarity, generosity and peaceful ideas. They are not connected with the Secessionist and most of 15M followers in CataluĂąa are against those ideas.

As a movement, it is capable of adapting and supporting related causes. It is made up of those individuals who have the wisdom to realize that separatism is not a solution, but, also, not the real problem.

In other eras, people such as Hitler have manipulated crises and used them to exploit peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hate for each other. 15M, on the other hand, is based in love as a means by which to solve the issues that plague society. It embraces change and welcomes differences. It is an inclusive movement, not so concern about boarders.

The movement does have problems, however, as it has to walk a thin line between practicing what it preaches by allowing all to join the movement, even those who are intending to cause the movement harm or take advantage of those within the movement. I address this issue in my film.

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Florencia Davidzon

A still from As Usual Bill

Your works, as the impressive short As Usual Bill that our readers can be view directly at https://vimeo.com/35335219 often deal with socio political aspects of our everyday reality: even though I'm aware that this might sound a bit naif, I have to admit that I'm sort of convinced that Art could play an effective role in sociopolitical questions: not only just by offering to people a generic platform for expression...

belief that I can use art to change the world, even if onlya small part of it. I am a firm believer that the use of art will allow me to achieve my dreams. Just as the marchers in my film believed that they would make it to Madrid and make a difference, I, too, believe that my art will allow me to march to the difference I want to see in the world. Your art practice, as your works clearly show, is based on a deep involvement both on intellectual and on a physical aspect as well... I would like to ask you if in your opinion personal experience is an absolutely indispensable part of a creative process... Do you think that a creative process could be disconnected from direct experience?

I would go as far as to state that Art could even steer people's behavior... what's your point about this? Does it sound a bit exaggerated?

Not at all. If I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t believe that art had this ability, I would not invest my time, energy, resources and life into creating art. The creation of art is, sometimes, a lonely and frustrating venture.

In my case, I know that it cannot be disconnected. I want to walk in my charactersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; shoes. I need to breath, eat, smell, think and feel their lives in or#196 Winter

One of the few things that keeps me going is my 56

Florencia Davidzon

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A still from As Usual Bill

it could ever exist a genuine relationship between business and Art... A still from As Usual Bill

I have not received many awards or grants during my career. I use more of a Robin Hood theory to find my projects. I use the money that I earn at my day job to create my projects. I would rather work this way than have to give up some of my creative control over my projects for money. Some people may think that this is not a smart way to conduct my business, but it allows me to be completely independent and I am ok with that, (sometimes!!!! LOL, I keep knocking funders doorsâ&#x20AC;Ś)

der to be able to create the world in which they live and properly portray it in my art. Even in projects that take place in the fictional world. There is much research that I must complete in order to move my creative process forward. If I have not connected with the situation or do not have deep feeling about the events that I am going to discuss, I cannot successfully create the art that I desire to create.

It would make my life easier if I won some awards and I cannot deny that I long for good reviews, but I have never focused the creation of my work on these outcomes. Instead, I am driven by listening to myself and the creative drive within me. I want my work to be honest and not influenced by what is popular or will be well-received by critics. I do think a lot in terms of how my audience will feel watching particular scenes, but I still have to be true to my work. If that earns me good reviews and awards, then it is just icing on the cake.

It goes without saying that feedbacks and especially awards are capable of supporting an artist: I was just wondering if an award -or or just the expectation of positive feedbackscould even influence the process of an artist... By the way, how much important is for you the feedback of your audience? Do you ever think to whom will enjoy your Art when you conceive your pieces? I sometimes wonder if 57

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Florencia Davidzon

This documentary is very personal to me and, as such, is not neutral. My intention in creating it was to reveal the expanse that exists between utopia and reality, incongruence and uniformity. I used verite footage that I had been collecting and creating since 2011 , my own footage merged with animated sequences of the story of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Don Quixoteâ&#x20AC;? as a means through which to probe deeper into the core theme of idealism versus pragmatism. By the way, since these days CataluĂąa comes again to the news for the recent secessionist movements, I would daresay to find such an Ariadne's thread between this and the reaction to socio economical sufferance that has lead to the creation of the 15M Movement...

The occurrence of these two things at the same time was not random. The 15M (15 May 2011) and 22M (22 of March 2014) are both parts of the same massive national grassroots movement lead by From Navidad

Florencia Davidzon

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From Navidad

it as a script and I am currently preparing a production proposal for it. I hope to shoot it in Mexico, Cuba and Miami. It is the story of a Cuban painter, obsessed with becoming a national reference point as a plastic artist. When her dream fails, she flees to Mexico City in hope of finding fame there.

From Navidad

However, she feels guilty about leaving and fails in Mexico City to find any fame. Her emotional fragility, guilt and impulsiveness lead her to betray her homeland, seeking political asylum in Miami, where she decides to settle old scores with her brother, Vladimir, who also lives in the city. However, once she is in his presence, she changes her mind and commits suicide. Hopefully, you will be able to see it on the big screen.

Thanks a lot for your time and your thoughts, Florencia. My last question deals with your future plans: what's next for you? Anything coming up for you professionally that you would like readers to be aware of?

I am going to launch a new short called NAVIDAD (Christmas), which is an intimate story of a family that lives in both the U.S. and Mexico. It focuses on how the socioeconomic context of the story impacts the dreams and reality of the members of the family. It is currently in post production and should be ready to submit to film festivals soon.

This film will be my opera prima in fiction as a feature length movie. The main themes of the movie are that the end does not justify the means and you need to learn how to keep integrity and be true to yourself.

I am writing also a fictional movie called Violeta. It started as a novel in 2012, but I recently rewrote

An interview by articulaction@post.com

Peripheral ARTeries

Mi Existencia entre Las Fronteras, 2013 Douglas Fir, import/export cotton fabric, thread,

Support and Seizure, Installation

repurposed pallet boards and video projection (photo by Danny Ghitis)

Megan C. Mosholder (USA)

My practice is centered on siteresponsive, sculptural installations that emphasize obscured elements within recognizable objects. I articulate space and present a multi-sensory experience using simple materials such as light, twine, eyelets and wood. These “three-dimensional drawings” bind the social and literal landscape and reawaken for a moment the simple intrigue of an artist’s statementlooking. They are a visual dialogue about movement, and Priscilla Dobler is a visual artisttime whoseand work dimension explores the critical issues of her encourage identity’s construction culturally, politically and the viewer to appreciate socially within her Scottish, American German and Mayan spaces for what they are but also background. She primarily works with wood and textile examine meanings. production,their with a hidden major focus on weaving. She has exhibited at the Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art, Peekskill, NY, Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art, New Paltz, NY, Ann Street Gallery, Newburgh, NY, Catalyst Gallery, Beacon, NY, Masters On Main St, Catskill, NY; Cumulus Nimbus Collective at Chashama Gallery, New York, NY; Issues Project Room, Megan C Mosholder Brooklyn, NY and Collaborative Concepts, Saunders Farm, Garrison, NY. She received her MFA in Sculpture from the State University of New York at New Paltz in 2013. Priscilla currently lives and works in New York, NY.

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Megan C. Mosholder

an interview with

Megan C. Mosholder What in your opinion defines a work of Art?

I going to Copy Robert Storr on this one and quote Robert Rauschenberg who said art is what artists say it is. This is an age-old question, one that is constantly being redefined. I am glad that I get to be a participant of that definition. By the way, what could be in your opinion the features that mark an artwork as a piece of Contemporary Art?

I understand contemporary art to be works that challenge preconceived notions of what art is and also participate in the current art dialogue. Features such as new media, for example, mark a work of contemporary art, or media that has been repurposed to function as an artistic medium. Would you like to tell us something about your background? You hold Master of Fine Arts that you received from the Savannah College of Art and Design and moreover you had the chance to study in France. How have these experiences impacted on the way you currently produce your artworks? By the way, I sometimes I wonder if a certain kind of formal training could even stifle a young artist's creativity... what's your point?

Megan C Mosholder (photo by Danny Ghitis)

duate school is not about education: itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s about networking and finding the professors and colleagues who are willing to support you outside of school.

I totally agree with you: I believe that academia often does stifle a young artistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s creativity, sometimes intentionally. My graduate school experience was a frustrating one. I think many of my classmates and professors felt I was over confident in my abilities. Often I felt like my professors were trying to lead my work in a direction that didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t complement my artistic views or that they were trying to confuse, trip me up or lead me down the wrong path and away from my aha moment. I was fortunate enough to be mentored by New York painter and SCAD visiting artist Paul Bloodgood who believed in my work and my studio practice. In the end I realized that gra-

My experience in France changed my life forever. It was there that I was able to meet and work with installation artist Teresita Fernandez, who both pushed me outside of my painting comfort zone and towards site-specific installation. It was because of her that I wrapped over 400 rocks in sewing thread: I was attempting to both impress and remind her that she agreed to intern me in her Brooklyn studio. I moved to Brooklyn in April of 2012 and ended up completing my MFA Cassandra Hanks 62

Megan C. Mosholder

ARTiculAction

Southern Pine Co., "A Tale of Two Bridges, Installation (photo by Steve Moraco)

requirements remotely. I fully believe that I would not be working the way I do now if it had not been for the move from Savannah, GA to NYC, one of the art epicenters of the world.

in time. by both interior and exterior spaces, I look for sites where nature has been permeated by manufactured elements or ways in which structures can communicate certain particulars about the current human condition.

My process of working grew out my daily practice: I work everyday. Often the work is simply sitting in front of the computer, researching grant and proposal opportunities, searching for the money that will become my income and allow me to build a new body of work. At times my work has become a hypothetical presentation of ideas: this is what I will create if given the time, space and money. It has forced my mind to work in a diffe-

I use simple, temporary materials that evolve into sculptural work that largely depends on a moment Jolanta Gmur 63

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Megan C. Mosholder

Southern Pine Co., "A Tale of Two Bridges," 10/12 (photo by Steve Moraco)

rent way. I have learned how to write and sell the idea before it has even been realized. My to maintain a studio practice has also augmented my process. These days I travel a lot to and from residencies. This is an expensive evocation one that is difficult to fund without fulltime employment. The use of string grew out of my need to make large works of art on a very tight budget.

I do try to put as much time as possible into an installation before creation. This often takes the form of sketching or laying awake at night trying to problem solve. However, because the work is site-responsive, I really don’t know what’s going to happen until I get to the installation site. I have to work intuitively and think on my feet in order to problem solve and make the piece successful. Now let's focus on your art production: I would start from A Tale of Two Bridges, that our readers have already admired in these pages. Would you like to tell us something about the genesis of this work? What was your initial inspiration?

The technical aspects that I focus on have to do with materials – I think about how to build a structure that will last. The line work has to be very straight otherwise it disrupts the overall image. I also have to be concerned about light pollution, which can disrupt the blacklight and the overall glow effect.

I began my MFA education at the Savannah College of Art and Design in the fall of 2010 and Cassandra Hanks 64

Megan C. Mosholder

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Megan C. Mo

Southern Pine Co., "A Tale of Two Bridges," 10/12 (photo by Steve Moraco)

moved to Georgia as an alien/outsider from the Midwest not accustomed to Southern culture. I was shocked by the prevalence of minority segregation in the city. A Tale of Two Bridges was my visual response/reaction to the social dynamics of the Southern American culture I found myself in. It was a projection of my thoughts and ideas relating to the social norms of Savannah that made me uncomfortable. The Talmadge Memorial Bridge and the remains of the previous bridge directly next to it, which appeared to echo the surrounding neighborhoods, directly inspired my installation.

statuesque remnants of the old bridge, arching my neck looking upwards to find where the pylons ended in the sky. The old bridge supports that increase in size as they lead toward the waterway are representative of a Savannah long past. They are forms that have led me to ask numerous questions: Why have they been left behind? Why not remove them when the new bridge was built? Since they have been left behind, what do they represent now and more importantly, how can they be used? I wanted to understand the story of both bridges so that I could utilize a variety of media in order to connect the formal lines of the two bridges with the social and political lines that they have drawn as well. These questions lead me to research at The Georgia Historical Society. What I discovered there was an allegorical narra-

The bridges stood outside my graduate studio building where I spent the majority of my time while in Savannah. Often IJolanta would stand under the Gmur 65

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Megan C. Mosholder

tive about the Talmadge Memorial Bridge that has effected and continues to affect multiple groups of people. A Tale of Two Bridges (2012) explored old conversations about city planning, race and power, and the more current social and political climate in Savannah, Georgia through the recreation and emulation of The Talmadge Memorial Bridge and its skeletal twin. The installation was built inside the remnants of an old confectionary building located at Southern Pine Company, a warehouse complex located in Savannah. This piece created out of light-sensitive braided mason twine and illuminated by blacklight appeared as a beacon of hope amidst its dilapidated surroundings of the warehouse and outlying, economically depressed, immediate neighborhood. The selection of this location was a visual way of incorporating Yamacraw Village, a notorious public housing neighborhood that lies in the shadow of the Talmadge Bridge, an area that once belonged to Native Yamacraw Americans. Multidisciplinarity is a crucial aspect of your art practice: your pieces, as the aforesaid one, are made of video, found objects, blacklight, braided mason line, screw eyes, acrylic, wood... while crossing the borders of different artistic fields have you ever happened to realize that a synergy between different disciplines is the only way to achieve some results, to express some concepts?

I am interested in creating a multi-sensory, kinetic and relational art experience. As such, I utilize anything I feel will best convey my ideas. This is not new to me: ever since I was a small child I have been able to create an art material out of whatever object I come across. In fact, my parents love to tell stories about how nothing in the house was safe, everything was a potential art object.

Dream Catcher, Brooklyn, NY, 2013

begun to embroider the canvas, and feel that I am directly incorporating the line into the composition. This is also an inquiry into the meaning behind painting today: the stiches are deviating the grid, literally breaking apart the picture plane.

Recently I have been working to articulate my three-dimensional ideas two-dimensionally through a series of screen prints and canvases. The majority of the canvases have been small – 12” x 12” – a conscious choice so that I can continue to work on them while traveling. I have

Another interesting piece of yours that has particularly impacted on me and on which I would like to spend some words is entitled Dream Catcher: it's a very stimulating installation that, as you have stated, is a remin66

Megan C. Mosholder

ARTiculAction

tion. Dream Catcher was a piece that I selfishly built for myself. I had recently completed my MFA requirements while living in Brooklyn and working as a waitress to make ends meet. Working in a restaurant again was horrifically terrible and I felt as though I was selling my soul. I would work during the day filling out applications and writing proposals for grants and residencies, hoping that I would be accepted to something, anything to validate for myself that my work was a worthy investment, the light at the end of the tunnel. I built Dream Catcherto literally catch my dreams. It was stretched across my walls and the ceiling above my bed. It was the first thing I saw when I woke up in the morning and the last thing I saw at night before I fell asleep. I built the piece to remind myself about what I was working towards as an artist: the articulation of space, the creation of an experience, one that could engage in the current dialogue and prove all of the haters wrong. Your artworks as Gossamer and The Wassaic Project are strictly connected to the chance to create intellectual involvement and a deep interaction, since rather than modify the space, your artworks are the space in which your audience, a large number of people, enjoy your pieces: how much important is for you the feedback of your audience? Do you ever think to whom will enjoy your Art when you conceive your pieces?

First off, Support and Seizure, is the title of the work and is mixed-media three-dimensional drawing installed directly onto Luther Barn that explored the socio-political dynamics of theÂ&#x20AC; Wassaic Project Artist Residency. I was particularly interested in the merger between the two communities: artists and natives, and the revival of Wassaic, once a forgotten hamlet plagued with home foreclosures. Many of the community members told me how happy they were about the existence of the residency because it brought new life and interest to the area. When I asked local Dave Luther how he felt about Luther barn being used for artist studios, he said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;when a building remains empty, it dies".

der of what you was working towards as an artist... so I would like to ask you if in your opinion personal experience is an absolutely indespensable part of a creative process... Do you think that a creative process could be disconnected from direct experience?

No, I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think personal experienceis absolutely indispensable part a creative process. I try to remove myself from my work as an attempt to make my sculptural drawings more accessible to all audiences, regardless of experience or educa67

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Megan C. Mosholder

Gossamer, Hilton Head Island, SC, 2013.

The Wassaic Project (photo by Danny Ghitis)

(Photo by Adam Trevillian)

The Wassaic Project continues to look for ways to revive the area such as its newly implemented art education program, which I have had the pleasure to be a participant of as an education fellow.

truly think. I do think it is a justification of a job well done when they can visualize the underlying message or get as excited about the space/installation as I do.

Conceptually, Gossamer embraced sacred geometrythrough repeated formsand structures. The forms created from these materials are reminiscent of waves, a visual reminder of Hilton Head Island that thesculpture isinstalled upon. This light-sensitivethree-dimensional not only points to line, color, and spatial composition, but also respond to the site itself, its architectural forms and its utilitarian history. The installation brought new life to the old structure of the poll barn and the surrounding landscape.

I do not worry about who will enjoy the final works of art, not really. I think about what I want to see and what I am interested in conveying. My need to see an installation built is the most important aspect of the work. The fact that others enjoy the work too is an added bonus and a confirmation that I’m on the right track. More often than not, I get bored with the actual physical building of the installation. The only reason why I complete it is to experience the final product.

Gossamer, was installed on Hilton Head Island in South Carolina was a completely different experience from Support and Seizure, which was built only two weeks earlier. Gossamer was constructed for the 2nd biennial public art exhibition presented by the Community Founda-tion of the Lowcountry at the Costal Discovery Museum. This sculptural drawing was intended to present the audience with a kinesthetic experience by allowing them to enter and become surrounded by the artwork. Feedback from my audience isn’t necessary. I enjoy being incognito when experiencing their reactions because I can get a sense of what they

Gossamer, Installation, (photo by Adam Trevillian) Cassandra Hanks 68

Megan C. Mosholder

ARTiculAction

A Tale of Two Bridges, Savannah, GA, 2012. (Photo by Steve Moraco)

Your works have been exhibited in many cultural events and exhibitions and moreover you have been in several occasions... It goes without saying that feedbacks and especially awards are capable of supporting an artist: I was just wondering if an award -or better, the expectation of an award- could even influence the process of an artist... By the way, how much important is for you the feedback of your audience? Do you ever think to whom will enjoy your Art when you conceive your pieces? I sometimes wonder if it could ever exist a genuine relationship between business and Art...

installations – one in New York and one in Atlanta – as well as two significant artist residencies and I don’t yet possess the funds to build or attend them. I spend a large portion of my time searching for the money that will enable me to move forward in my career. It is very difficult… being an artist is not for the feint of heart. Thanks a lot for your time and your thoughts, Megan. My last question deals with your future plans: what's next for you? Anything coming up for you professionally that you would like readers to be aware of?

You’re welcome! I have several exciting opportunities in the near future. In April, I will be attending Corte Moronati (http://cortemoronatiair.org/), an artist residency in Brescia, Italy. The month of May I will be installing in the Goat Farm Art Center for the Hambidge Art Auction + Performance Gala, in Atlanta, GA.

Does an award influence my process… I suppose in some ways it does. I am often consumed with trying to discover ways in which I can become self-sustainable on my work alone. Making work is about survival of the fittest and everything feels like its rigged: in order to secure a gallery you have to exhibit; exhibition invitations depend upon a strong professional network; securing good relationships with connected colleagues requires residency attendance; the ability to attend residencies requires time, which means quitting your job, right? So how do you afford to make new artwork? Therefore the stipend, grant, residency, award can in some ways make me or break me. Currently I have two major future Jolanta Gmur

In June, I will be installing work in The Wassaic Project’s Summer Festival Exhibition. Finally, I have recently been awarded a Distinguished Artist Scholarship for attendance to the Art Students League of New York Residency in Sparkill, New York. An interview by articulaction@post.com

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Florian Tuercke (Germany) an artistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s statement

My artistic work is based in public space and around the idea of public space. In the recent years i have realized projects on an international level, whereas I am working as well in my own projects, as in collaborations and networks with other artists, architects, musicians and choreographers. With my projects I try to question the general understanding of public space as an anonymous, nonprivate and un-personal territory. Public space is traditionally considered to be the physical and conceptual opposite of private space. With the evolution of global media and social networks, and with the development in global politics, the line between the concepts of privacy and publicity progressively fades, which leads to new questions and challenges for everybody. The traditional picture of public space as a space - in all connotations - that is detached from the individual, whilst being created by the "public" - which is often understood as an organizing structure or entity on which the individual has no, or only limited influence - is out-dated. Or to put it more simple: We have to understand ourselves no longer as users, but as creators of public space. I consider my artworks as tools to support the process of re-thinking and revalidating public space.

Florian Tuercke

Urban Audio

Krista Nassi

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Gold, (background detail) Mixed Media on canvas, 2012

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Florian Tuercke

An interview with

Florian Tuercke Hello Florian, and welcome to ARTiculAction. I would start this interview with my usual introductory question: what in your opinion defines a work of Art? And moreover, what could be the features that mark the contemporariness of an artwork?

I consider art as a kind of language that communicates on a (in most cases) nonverbal level and that addresses our sensorial, emotional and intellectual perception of the world, and ourselves within it. When looking at the word con-tempo-rary, it is evident that it contains “with” and “time”. Hereby a piece of art would be contemporary, when it is “with” (its) “time”, whereas “time” is understood as presence. The “with” again, is a matter of interpretation, whereas it can be understood to be refering to topic, idea, concept, production and medium. Florian Tuercke

I think that both questions – about art and about contemporariness - are matter of a constant negotiation process between creator and recipient. But it is exactly this communication that makes art. In the end, art is what unfolds in our heads.

opening speech. When i introduced him to my first URBAN AUDIO instruments - he had asked me in his quiet and astute way "i see invention and engineering, but where is the art?". Back then I was baffled by his question - but instinctively I knew I was on the right track.

Would you like to tell us something about your background? Are there any experiences that particularly impacted on the way you produce your art nowadays? In particular, you hold a postgraduate diploma in мart and public space・that you have received about six years ago from AdBK, Nunberg (Germany): I would like to ask your point about formal training... Sometimes I ask to myself if a certain kind of training could even stifle an artist's creativity...

In the following i intensified my research on sonic transformation and decided to learn more about public space by starting postgraduate studies in the faculty of "art and public space" in which Georg Winter was the professor in charge who approached the concept of art in public space from an investigative and philosophical view. The faculty was mainly dealing with experimental research on the impact of different methods and strategies of art-production in public space and urban environments, while the idea of public space being a huge

After finishing my studies in the class of Diet Sayler at the Nürnberg Academy of Arts, i had a solo-show in a small Museum, for which i had asked Diet Sayler – whose background lies in concrete art and who is a brilliant thinker and theorist - to hold the

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and emotional perception of the world. Nevertheless, it is not necessarily the sound itself, but rather its creation, its transformation and its interaction that I am interested in. I consider my artworks as tools for an alternative perception – mostly – of public space. The term “tool” hereby means as well the project or experiment as the instruments and setups that I use for it. For me, the process of creating an art-work starts with thinking and researching. First I focus on what I want and with which tools I can achieve it. The next step is to prepare and build the instruments and set-ups that I decided to use. Usually I develop all the blueprints beforehand in my head and alter them throughout the process of building. Once my setup is complete and fully functional, the project part of the process takes place. During this phase, the tools or setups are serving their whatsoever purpose. Several of my works don't end with the project phase, but rather utilize it for the accumulation of audiovisual data. In this case, post-production is a significant part of the process. To give an example for the amount of time and effort during the creation of an art-work, I want

out-door gallery for drop-sculptures was overcome. I have to say, that this type of research-based studies was not stifling at all; far from it. It was rather liberating. Before starting to elaborate about your production, would you like to tell to our readers something about your process and set up for making your artworks? In particular, what technical aspects do you mainly focus on your work? And how much preparation and time do you put in before and during the process of creating a piece?

My artistic practice is focused a lot on sound. This is due to different reasons, but mainly because our sense of hearing operates permanently and gives us a 360-degrees “view” of our surrounding, while being a direct link to our unconscious, instinctive

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Urban Audio, AmericanSoundsTour, 2008/9, New York

Urban Audio, AmericanSoundsTour, 2008/9, New York process when starting this stimulating project?

to mention a rather extreme example: My work â&#x20AC;&#x153;BigAmericanDroneâ&#x20AC;? is a 10 minutes audio-piece that I created in 2008. It consists of 26 single recordings of sonic transformation of urban noise from 26 cities all across the USA. To come to this result I had to make a 9700 miles trip and prior to this design and build the instrument that I was using. The 3-weeks trip could be followed on the internet as I continuously published recordings throughout the time of the project: http://urban-audio.org/ast.html

Before i started to work on the concept of URBAN AUDIO, i had worked with string-based indoor sound-installations that I used as musical instruments for performances. (www.bassbediener.com). While working with musical performances and concerts, it became evident to me that composition had to play a certain role. Although music is an important part of my life (I learnt to play the guitar when I was 10) i understood that I didn't want to write music. While the concerts with the sound-installations were mostly based on structured improvisation, i started to think about the topic of composition in general and about how I could achieve a profound composi-tional concept without actually writing music. During an investigation of an inner-city traffic hotspot for another project, an idea started to form in my head: I started to understand that a

Now let's focus on your artworks: I would like to start with URBAN AUDIO, an interesting sound-art project in public space that our readers have started to get to know in the introductory pages of this article, and I would suggest to visit your website directly at http://www.floriantuercke.net/urbanaudio.html in order to get a wider idea of it... in the meanwhile, could you take us through your creative 74

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in the environment we live in, so we need -in a way- to decipher them. Maybe that one of the roles of an artist could be to reveal unexpected sides of Nature, especially of our inner Nature... what's your point about this?

composition not necessarily needs one single author. Also it does not necessarily require the intention to compose. The literal meaning of "composition" (lat.: compositio) only says that something is placed together. The more i was thinking about public space - with traffic as my main focus point - the more I understood that any traffic situation is a composition which is instantaneously and unconsciously created by a countless number of participants with all their personal moods, decisions and interactions. So the next step was to find an adequate method for translating the seemingly chaotic acoustic output of a traffic situation into the language of music. As I wanted to achieve a direct translation I decided to work in an analogue scale instead of using the indirect, digital way. I found that the musical properties or tuned strings (piano-wire, guitar- or bass-strings) with their richness in overtones (harmonics) are a perfect medium for an analogue noise-to-sound translation. This was the birth of URBAN AUDIO.

One â&#x20AC;&#x201C; more or less hidden - aim of the project URBAN AUDIO is to find a glimpse of beauty within a situation that is commonly not considered as remarkably beautiful. This might sound even more naif, but to fully understand it, you have to experience URBAN AUDIO live on site. Nevertheless i want to try to explain the URBAN AUDIO experience: When the whole URBAN AUDIO setup is in place - after a time-consuming process of preparation that involves the

At first i was working with single instruments that varied in number and tuning of the contained strings. But soon i noticed that if i wanted to translate the entire complexity of a traffic situation, i would need more instruments and i would need to distribute them over the whole terrain of a traffic hotspot. As result of these thoughts i built a series of identical instruments with different tuning ("drone-units") and equipped a van with these instruments, wireless signal transmission systems, and a mobile recording studio. I initially built this setup for the GermanTour-project, but I still use it today with all its extensions and new instruments that I added throughout the years. By the way, the idea underlying this work is to unfold a compositional potential in the seemingly random and chaotic structure of traffic... Even though I'm aware that this might sound a bit naif, I'm wondering if one of the hidden aims of your Art could be to search the missing significance to a nonplace... I'm sort of convinced that some informations & ideas are hidden, or even encrypted

Gold, (background detail) Urban Audio, Zaragoza (ESP), Z-Unit, 2013 Mixed Media on canvas, 2012

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Florian Tuercke

tuning and the distribution of the instruments spectators find foldable chairs and headphones at the van and are invited to sit down and listen live to the musical translation. The sound on the headphones is a stereo-mix of all the (up to 8) single tracks from the instruments. The sound that a spectator experiences is rather calming - and is often described as "meditative" or "contemplative" by people who experience it. This impression is due to the natural reaction of our brain to harmonic sounds â&#x20AC;&#x201C; sounds that consists of frequencies that have hormonic (full-number-ratio) relations with each other. As against the impact of noise - especially when it contains very low frequencies and sub-sonic sounds - releases stress in the brian. This is a relic from our evolutionary history. Until the age of industrialization loud noise - and especially subsonic noise - was an indication for a massive natural force unfolding. This could be earthquakes, avalanches, thunderstorms, volcanic eruptions, etc. As it was essential for survival to be alarmed when such events happened, our brain had learned to release stress-hormones. This ancient mechanism of survival, that was developed throughout the evolutionary process, still works today, even when we have intellectually adapted to our modern environments. Most often we don't consciously notice how noise affects us. Indeed, a traffichotspot still is a dangerous situation. Although traffic rules and our awareness and experience let us feel safe, our brain still reacts with stress.

Urban Audio, Zaragoza (ESP), Plaza Europa, 2013

ges. Simply spoken, you start to feel yourself discconnected from the situation and you start to perceive your environment similar to watching a movie. And exactly this is the "hidden" purpose of URBAN AUDIO. To offer a temporary detachment from an every-day situation - whilst still being in it - in order to open up for a new perception of it and to hereby find oneself in a good starting position for re-thinking and revalidating public space and ones own contribution to it. The idea of the traffic situation being a composition that continuously unfolds and is created unconsciously by all its constantly changing participants - such as oneself when participating in an alike situation - is the vehicle that i offer for the "intellectual use" of this work, whilst the vehicle for the enjoyment of URBAN AUDIO is the simple sensation of finding an unexpected moment of relaxation in the middle of an expectedly stressful situation in public space.

When experiencing URBAN AUDIO live - so, when sitting in a comfortable chair on the sidewalk of a busy traffic hotspot and listening to the harmonic transformation of the surrounding - the acoustic information that reaches the brain does not trigger any stress hormones. In contrast, supposedly Dopamine is released (which is the proven chemical reaction of human brains to harmonic sound). This sensation of finding the visual and the acoustic information being dramatically detached from each other leads to an interesting state of mind. Mental relaxation occurs and due to the detachment from the expected acoustic information, the connotation of the visual information chan-

To answer the question of "ideas and information being encrypted in our environment" i want to propose that i am sort of convinced that what we experience as reality is comparable to an endlessly complex interwoven fabric which consists of all existing information of which we perceive and understand only the smallest bit while most lies far outside our capabilities of perception and understanding.

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audio_bikes 3.0, 2012, object / instrument

Another interesting piece of yours on which I would like to spend some words is audio_bikes 3.0 and since I have a scientific background I cannot do without asking you what's your point about the relationship between Art and Technology: I personally would go as far as long as to state that these days Art and Science are going to assimilate each others...

I think that the variety of available techniques and media makes artists nowadays very aware of the connection between idea and medium and of the choice of medium being an essential artistic decisions. But let my try to approach an answer to the question about the supposed mutual assimilation of art and science by looking into history. For example, Da Vinci was very interested in the technology of his days and practiced as artist and engineer. Or, to mention an even earlier example, Pythagoras who is mainly known to us for his mathematic ideas, was researching about musical harmonies and their relation to the configuration of the universe, which he thought to have discovered within the world of numbers. He was not so

First of all, nowadays technology is part of our daily lives. As such, technology can be as well topic as medium for art and art production; whereas, as means of art production, technology or "new" media is just one of many possible techniques, and is in the end not much different from a painters brush. 77

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4‘33“ flashmob, 2012 performance in public space Alexanderplatz, Berlin

much a creator, but his philosophical questions about aesthetics was blending what we now consider scientific and artistic ideas, whereas in his days the distinction between art and science was not relevant.

ability to question the world and the self within it. If I have been asked to choose an adjective that could sum up in a single word your art, I would say that it's "kaleidoscopic": in fact, as our readers can view at your website http://www.floriantuercke.net/works.html your Art practice ranges from video as bridge_portraits to technological artworks, to "actions" as the recent 4'3'' flashmob that has particularly impressed me... while crossing the borders of different artistic fields have you ever happened to realize that a synergy between different disciplines is the only way to achieve some results, to express some concepts?

When thinking about the ancient greek concept of the nine muses you will find that artistic (drama, dance, music) and scientific (astronomy, philosophy) formats are regarded as equal and to spring from the same source. Namely in the muse "Kalliope" unites attributes of art and science, as she was considered responsible for literature, elocution, philosophy and science. Throughout the 20th century, along with the exponential growth in influence of technology on society, we find a numerous examples of technology being topic or medium to art: from the futurists all the way to contemporary media art. But science does not only mean technology. Notably Psychology, Sociology and Anthropology – and also other scientific disciplines – have a constant influence on art.

For me, the combination of different disciplines in order to achieve a specific result is a very natural way of working. I regard disciplines and media as a tool-box from which i can freely choose according to the idea that i want to realize. Very often, one discipline or one tool alone is not sufficient for what i intend. Certainly i have favoured tools, but I would not exclude any. So i try to keep my mind open for finding the most suitable media or combination of media for the

I think in the end, both - art and science - (but also religion) are consequences from the human

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4â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;33â&#x20AC;&#x153; for Mariachi, 2012 performance in public space / video-installation Mexico City (MX)

The setting of the piece was that i was working with a Mariachi band whom i hired to perform the three movements of John Cages composition at three different locations in public space in Mexico City, while I filmed them during their performance. The recording-setup which contained two video-cameras, a photo-camera and a soundrecorder was part of the entire situation.

With the 4'33'' flashmob i used another strategy to create this moment of focus in public space. I had called for a flashmob to perform 4'33'' that was followed by approximately 50 participants. Tomomi Adachi (composer, sound-artist, conductor, JP) was conducting the piece, which made him the center of attention for both, the performers and the random spectators. While he was lifting and lowering his baton to indicate the three movements, the tension of the performers changed, which again influenced the reaction of the audience anticipating something to happen. The recording-gear to capture the scene was reduced to a minimum: mostly it was recorded with hand-held devises (one DSLR camera and two smartphones) in order to keep the focus of attention on Tomomi Adachi who was standing on a footstool with a music stand in front of him that was holding a copy of the original score of John Cages composition, while the performers and the audience stood in a half circle around him.

The presence of the cameras generated an atmosphere of attention towards the band and created a virtual stage by forming a triangle between the band and the recording gear which was respected by pedestrians. Random spectators watching the scene would not quite figure out what was going on, but what they experienced was the highly concentrated atmosphere that happened within this virtual triangle. Whilst the band was performing the piece (standing still with their instruments in the hands while being concentrated on "not playing" them), no spectator dared to approach the band or me (i was concentrated on recording) to ask questions. Even security officers or the police respected the situation as long as the created tension was up.

I like the term kaleidoscopic. The constant Gold, (background detail) changing of the fragmented image that you see

Mixed Media on canvas, 2012

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Florian Tuercke

hEAR TOuch LISTEN, installation / instrument / performance in collaboration with: RenĂŠ Rissland, Eli Fieldsteel

when turning a kaleidoscope - while what lies beneath the mirror-level remains consistent - suits quite well for the relationship between productionmethod and idea.

bes. My experience is that the more different the practices are, the more potential it holds for surprising results. This is due to the different views and attitudes that go along with the different practices and backgrounds and the need to find a common ground by negotiation. And again, this negotiation is more exiting and enriching, the less common ground is there in the beginning. At the other hand, a common goal is necessary as well as the willingness to open up for ideas, philosophies and concepts that differ from the own.

I personally find absolutely fascinating the collaborations that artists can established together as you did in hEAR TOuch LISTEN with RenĂŠ Rissland and Eli Fieldsteel... especially because this often reveals a symbiosis between apparently different approaches to art... and I can't help without mention Peter Tabor who once said that "collaboration is working together with another to create something as a synthesis of two practices, that alone one could not": what's your point about this? Can you explain how your work demonstrates communication between two artists?

My collaboration with RenĂŠ Rissland (D) who is a trained and practicing architect is based on such conditions. The differences - in background, practice, attitude and also mindset - create a certain tension, which again is the driving force that allows us to come up with - for both of us surprising ideas and results. But without the common goal to create something that is new and

I enjoy working in collaboration for different reasons. One certainly is what Peter Tabor descri-

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ALL, 2012, installation / participative video-project / video Kuntsi, Vaasa (FIN)

exiting for both of us, the friction would probably consume all energy that we put in. Its is that common goal that enables us to use the energy from that friction to drive the collaboration forward.

intellectual level. Art that has a more tangible, interactive or participative nature utilizes the involvement of the recipient as a vehicle or guide-way to an emotional or intellectual level. Also I think that art always is about experience. The essential experience about art certainly is the experience of our own inner motions and how they are provoked or altered in communication or confrontation to a piece of art. However, art-production in public space, is different from art-production in or for exhibitionplaces like art-spaces, galleries and museums. Everything that happens in an exhibition place is suspected – and mostly accepted – to be art at the first place. Public space does not offer this comfort of pre-assumption and predefinition. Neither is there any guideline for what is art and if so, how to deal with it. Exactly this is what makes artistic production in public space so exiting for me. The absence of any predefinition offers an enormous freedom for artistic experiments, while it requires to be very aware about the own actions and concepts at the same time. The – mostly random – audience of public-spaceart meets art with a different mindset from the

Most of your works as ALL, establish a deep involvement with the audience, both on intellectual side and on a physical aspect... So I would like to ask you if in your opinion personal experience is an absolutely indespensable part of a creative process, both for conceiving an artwork and in order to enjoy it... Do you think that a creative process could be disconnected from direct experience? By the way, how much important is for you the feedback of your audience? Do you ever think to whom will enjoy your Art when you conceive your pieces?

I think that there are various different ways, how art can make contact with the recipient and vice versa. Meeting art is like a communication, whereas who starts the conversation depends on the individual art-piece and its hermetic or open nature. The reception of art always is an active process. It basically happens on an sensorial, emotional and 81

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ALL, 2012 installation / participative video-project / video Kuntsi, Vaasa (FIN)

one of gallery- or museum-visitors. I have experienced that the approach of people toward my projects is more open and direct when they are not pre-programmed to meet art. Especially with URBAN AUDIO I noticed how people are much more willing to engage themselves in understanding the what and the why, then if they would approach it with the preset - unfortunately common – mindset of art being something that “can not be understood”. At one recording session during the GermanTour I had a remarkable conversation with one visitor. After listening to the headphones for a while he addressed me: “this is like art”. I responded that this actually is an art-project and he replied “if I had known before that this is about art I would not have come to listen”.

ALL, studio

s, migration background, travel experience, etc. The questions were taken from the official finish citizen declaration form and the Schengen integration form. Background of this work was the communal elections that were about to occur and in which the Perussuomalaiset party (True Finsh a populistic nationalistic party that amongst other questionable postulations also claims pre-modernistic art to be the only art to be shown in state-substituted art institutions) was expected to gain significant amount of votes.

ALL was a bit different. The lobby of a municipal museum has only limited qualities of public space. The atmosphere there is less anonymous and holds an interesting mixture of sanctity and privacy. But it was exactly the right spot for the work that was in my head: a video of the faces of finish- and swedish-speaking Fins (Finland is 5% swedish-speaking) interwoven in transparent layers while simultaneously answering yes-no questions in their mother tongue about their nationality, mother-tongue, secondary language

For the production of this video I installed a video-recording studio in the lobby of the municipal museum for modern art (Kuntsi) in Vaasa and asked the visitors during a ten days project for participation. When sitting on a chair (background detail) in the bright – almost Gold, stage-like – situation in Mixed Media on canvas, 2012

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Florian Tuercke

bridge_portraits 2012 audio-video project / video installation Linz (A)

front of the camera, the participants were hearing the series of questions via headphones and were supposed to answer them loud and clearly with yes or no while constantly looking straight into the camera. As nobody but the actual participant was hearing the questions, and as there was a few seconds break between the questions, the whole situation reminded much of a surrealistic stageplay.

So I rather not talk about them at this point.One project that is more concrete is a collaboration with the art-space arebyte in London (www.arebyte.com). In May 2014 we are planing a bigger project in public space that will involve the audience in the attempt to make the neighborhood of Hackney Wick (London) the area with the worlds highest density of public microphones.

Thank for your time and for sharing with us your thoughts, Florian. My last question deals with your future plans: what's next for you? Anything coming up for you professionally that you would like readers to be aware of?

As Arebyte is a non-profit organisation we are currently working with high pressure in finding the necessary support for the project. We have also launched a call for crowd-funding and hope to thereby achieve our goal.

Right now i am working on different ideas and projects, whereas their realization depends on finding sufficient fundings.

An interview by articulaction@post.com

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Manolis Hadjimanolis & Irene Zenonos The art installation by Manolis Hadjimanolis and Irene Zenonos was presented between the 29th of July and the 4th of August at Palio Xydadiko in Limassol. The work is a linear representation 3 meters long depicting clashes between protestors and the police, based on the recent riots that took place in Greece, typical of the impasse the country had been locked in. The composition and the form of the project refer to ancient fronts and more specifically the representations from the sarcophagus of Alexander from which it is inspired. The effect is created by projecting on a cloth plastic figures with the technique used in shadow theatre (row of lamps behind the cloth), and specifically Karagiozis, which constitutes the second major project reference that implies social commentary by transforming the figures of both sides (police and protestors) from potentially heroic into caricatures trapped in a vicious circle of subordination - revolution. Finally, processed sound with a mix of the musical theme of Karagiozis and sound samples from the demonstrations sharpens the contrast between drama and satire. As the two artists declare, they are primarily interested in reflecting the society and the world in their art, both its good and bad aspects, not conceptually but through an insightful use of the formal elements, based on the tradition and ethos of their country, without restricting the universality art should convey. The linear representation succeeds to express the massive character, the tension, the outside space and the continuous and continuing struggle between protestors and police. Commenting on their choice of employing the ancient Greek fronts, despite the linear form that they found suitable, it was key that the battles in these representations are characterized by an equilibrium between the parts, without suggesting superiority of one over the other, neither inclining identification with any of the two sides, or an attempt to perform justice, but leaving the audience to export its own conclusions. The shadow theatre and Karagiozis is an apparent reference to the tradition and identity of their homeland, but this could only be a first reading since the thematic of the installation allows for a second reading, that of the impasse, as it is stated in the work description. Karagkiozis, the Modern Greek antihero, with his anarchist spirit contrives ways to escape his poverty and misery, he beats and gets beaten up, he mocks the authority and its officers. However, despite his fighting spirit and wit, he always ends up accepting his fate and continues to bow before the Sultan.

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The Impasse, 2013 screen box 3 x 1.80 x 0.90 meters

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Manolis Hadjimanolis & Irene Zenonos

An interview with

Manolis Hadjimanolis & Irene Zenonos Hello Manolis & Irene, and a warm welcome to ARTiculAction. I would start this interview with my usual introductory question: what in your opinion defines a work of Art? By the way, what could be in your opinion the features that mark an artworks as a piece of Contemporary Art? Do you think that there's a dichotomy between tradition and contemporariness?

Hello and thanks for the warm welcome. We are glad to be hosted in your review and we appreciate the fact that you offer the possibility to young artists to present their work. A work of art must primarily have a quality in its formal elements; that is composition, rhythm, dynamics, tonal and colour harmonies and antitheses. In painting in particular, the synergy between the formal elements, the line, shape and colour is what makes a work alive. We find excellent examples of these values in classical Greek sculpture and painting in terms of composition, form and rhythm, the Byzantine painting that took its cue from Hellenistic painting, which developed an impressive ‘modernistic’ approach to painting already employing warm and cold colour contrasts (specifically during the Comnenian period), the writings and works of Wassily Kandinsky, the courageous studies of Cιzanne in analysing the form of, the lively and vibrant colours of Monet, the unutterable force of Van Gogh and the powerful, intricate and expressive streaming of the line in Japanese inks and prints.

function in the right context and only when the form and context of a work become and function as a unity the work will acquire a full potential of conveying its power and meaning. A work of art should speak out for itself and should not need conceptual backup. A possibility of a distance between form and context weakens a work of art. Pure conceptual art for example often becomes too cerebral loosing its physical

To make a clarification, by no means the above qualities should be taken in a strict academic man-ner, because as Kandinsky notes the work will be ‘dead’. The prerequisite is the ability to deploy these elements in order to express the artist’s true need for creation. It is also important that these elements nest and true to himself, the society and its era.

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We do not believe there is a strict line between tradition and contemporariness, and what makes this alleged dichotomy is the inability of one to put a work of art in its correct context and at the same time to transpose it chronically taking into consideration the changes in the historical becoming. For example it would be obsolete to paint the ancient Greek ideal in 2014, in a society very much unfamiliar to the customs and ethos of classical Greece. However you can borrow elements and employ those in the art practice in a relevant and in a sense ecumenical way that can fulfil contemporary demands. Tradition must be adjusted on contemporariness otherwise it becomes a relic, whereas contem-porariness should be based and fed on tradition; otherwise it will be legless, ignorant and ephemeral. Would you like to tell us something about your backgrounds? Are there any experiences that particularly impacted on the way you currently produce your artworks? By the way, since both of you hold academic degrees, I would pose a questions that I sometimes happen to pose to myself... I wonder if a certain kind of formal training could even stifle a young artist's creativity... what's your point?

Manolis: I did my Fine Art degree in Middlesex University in London and continued with an MA in Film and Visual Culture, a branch of art history. What defined my perception of art were the strong theoretical foundations I was given that supported and guided my creating force. Visual Culture encouraged an interdisciplinary study of the arts and all visual representations (music, architecture, film, graphics, and advertising) with no strict separation between fine art and more popular art production. The aim was to find the common language between all visual endeavours in human history, so for example the Parthenon marbles that depict the Athenians and their mythical ancestry, created a narrative with a certain socio-political effect both to the Athenians and the foreigners in the same way USSR social posters did. The form and style are different but the reasons and the starting point are similar. In other words, the image and its story-

being. Pure form on the other falls in the field of the applied arts. A contemporary work of art is that which achieves and maintains a genuine physical as well as spiritual connection with its time. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a work that can reflect and at the same time influence the society it comes from. To achieve that, the artist should be lucid, honest and true to himself, the society and its era.

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Manolis Hadjimanolis & Irene Zenonos

The Impasse, Installation, 2012

telling power had had central importance in the making of human history throughout the ages. A turning point in my approach to art, in the quest for an identity and reasons to place and dedicate my practice in relation to society and the world, was the shaking down of the Eurocentric idea of the avant guard through ‘postcolonial’ teachings.

through the art practice. Equally significant was my meeting with Irene who had a more profound knowledge and experience of the formal elements of painting which I acquired developed through our collaboration. Irene: I did my degree in Thessaloniki Greece. What was decisive was the fact that the entrance exams for the Greek Universities demanded a profound understanding and skill in drawing and painting.

The 20th century modernist certainty that all artistic production was held within a ‘closed European system’ was put into question. There have been excellent examples outside the Western European world that were either neglected as low quality because of the cultural differences or remained obscured and unknown.

Therefore before even going to university I had a long training in drawing and painting focusing on the form and the effect of light that reveals the sculptural beauty and the various planes of the objects. We were also asked to search and find a personal expressive style in our painting which would have been assessed. This I appreciate as an advantage in comparison to other art schools where drawing and painting is not a prerequisite.

It was extremely important to understand this fictitious superiority of Western Europe since South-eastern Europe and specifically Greece and Cyprus had suffered for centuries with an inferiority complex. Until now this mind-set restricts the majority of art production in a mimicry dependant on Western Europe which does not allow for a genuine and unique cultural proposal

During the first years of the art school (the degree is five years in total) we continued to develop these skills and at the same time study their em-

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convey techniques, theoretical support, problem solving, and ways of expression to their students. On the contrary if this is restrained either to an academic shape or to a closed mindset and personal taste of a teacher it can easily stifle young artistsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; art practice, to confuse them and intimidate them. In such a case one has to have a strong belief in their art to be able to avoid this oppression. Before starting to elaborate about your production, would you like to tell to our readers something about your process and set up for making your artworks? In particular, what technical aspects do you mainly focus on your work? And how much preparation and time do you put in before and during the process of creating a piece?

We believe that a project comes out slowly and organically. It begins with the need to express something that had had a strong impact on us and it usually takes us to unexplored paths opening up new potentials. Meanwhile what is at stake is to remain focused on the purpose and meaning of the work in order to maintain its core strong and alive. If this can be achieved naturally without contriving things then the work will have a glowing power to communicate efficiently.

ployment through art history. Throughout this I acquired the tools to my art practice and also a profound understanding of the notion of the form, the structural element made of shadow and light, which had been of central importance in art creation from ancient Greek painting, Byzantine painting and other contemporary Greek painters such as N. Lytras, Tsarouhis, Tetsis, Moralis etc as well as in modern European painting, mainly through the work and teachings of CÎšzanne, Kandinsky and Klee.

The technical aspects that we consider of major importance are primarily composition and dynamic interaction between the formal elements in the art-

Overall, what has been guiding me is that the understanding that form has an ontology and an autonomy in itself, which is not restricted in a realistic representation but it could be geometrical or even abstract and it is that which defines the power, the aesthetic and genre of a work of art. Formal training is at its best when you come across teachers that can honestly approach their students, associate with their creative needs and in that way help them to externalise their best qualities. We support formal training because it saves valuable time when teachers are able to

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The Impasse, 2012

work. A piece will be finalised very slowly and after all possibilities have been exploited in terms of representation, size, composition, colour, contrast, medium etc. We go through a process of experimenting with sketches, miniature models, etc until we find the appropriate medium/convention that will always be within the painting virtues.

Preparation time for a piece could easily take a year or two. It needs time to grow into us and mature. It also allows us to experiment in many directions. We are very happy with the result when it comes out organically reaching a level of completion, as it has hopefully taken in all the aspects and possibilities.

We had dozens of sketches, studies and miniatures done for our last project and also we had two versions of it. A large scale, almost life-size installation and a smaller shadow - theatre box as it is made traditionally. Although the first one had a more straightforward effect because of its size, the second one was able to evoke more because of its direct association to the traditional shadow theatre, allowing for further introspection in terms of ethos and identity.

Now let's focus on your art production: I would start from your art installation that our readers have already started to admire in the introductory pages of this article. Would you tell us something about the genesis of this stimulating project? What was your initial inspiration?

The project that we ended up naming â&#x20AC;&#x153;the Impasseâ&#x20AC;? was an attempt to primarily understand and in result represent the turmoil that

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begun in Greece in 2012. We experienced the turmoil in the summer of 2012 as outsiders, as Cypriots staying in Greece at the time.

Fortuitously on a short trip we had to Istanbul in the summer of 2012 and our visit to the archaeological museum, being away from the clashes and the turmoil in Greece, standing and admiring the representations on the so called ‘Alexander sarcophagus’ we were struck by the fact that the body to body battles it depicted had been happening in Greece at present, with slight differences but with the exact same form. What we admired most was the rhythm of its composition that vibrantly conveyed the sense of struggle.

The economical situation in Cyprus was stable and the IMF was not yet involved whereas in Greece the harsh austerity measures led to massive explosion against the government. Since we were not directly effected, not being citizens of Greece, we held a more neutral point of view. We did not take part in demonstrations, we had been spectators. Ironically the exact situation was repeated in Cyprus in March 2013 and had a more personal impact on us, especially with the ‘bail in’ decision and the signing of the memorandum. In this case we instinctively reacted, we took part in demonstrations, we tried to influence things, but with no major result.

Going back to Greece and continued being bombarded with pictures and videos as the media aimed on emphasising on the violence of the situation for reasons of feinting, we recalled the sarcophagus representations and had an apo91

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calyptic analogy; nothing had changed throughout the centuries but the medium and the ethos of the representation. The battles were then sculpted on marble whereas now they had been displayed on the television screen. And one of the reasons we used a screen to represent the battles was to simulate the becoming of a ‘spectacle’ as we received it from the media. Deploying the linear representation we succeeded to express the massive character, the tension, the outside space and the continuous and continuing struggle between the two sides, the protesters and the police. It was key that the battles in the classical and Hellenistic representations were characterized by equilibrium between the parts without glorifying one over the other. Neither inclining identification with any of the two sides, or an attempt to perform justice, but focusing on the notion of a clash, not between ‘evil and right’ but a clash from which deeper questions and problematic arose pointing at the deeper relation between the citizens and the system. To put it simply, the critical question was this: Why did the people massively react from 2010 and on, although the country had been going through corruption and depravity for decades? Why did they connive all those years? What took them so long? It proves that as long as they maintained their jobs and benefits they seemed to be very indifferent about what was happening to their co-citizens and the country in general. They had not been involved to improve things but with their pathetic stature and supporting vote they made way to the politicians and their parties to exploit the wealth and culture of the country. They only reacted when their personal rights were directly affected.

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We did not agree with that approach. Overall our view is more introspective than ‘political’. We believe that everyone had their blame in the situation and that true change happens first in oneself and it is then transmitted to the society By creating your work you seem to try to inspire people by the idea that art has the power to change the world and can help to reach other levels of thoughts: I can recognize such a socio political feature in it, and I'm sort of convinced that Art these days could play an effective role not only making aware public opinion, but I would go as far as to say that nowadays Art can steer people's behavior...

However this does not apply to everyone. There were protesters who had been seeing and criticizing the situation for years and of course the young generation had nothing to do with the corruption of the system. Some artists were quick to produce representations of the fights presenting the protestors as heroes and almost sanctified them by painting halos around their heads.

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chaos affecting the ethos and structures of the society then the result in the art production is a direct analogy. There are various examples of such periods in history, some of them being profound and others more obscured. We often find it ironic that what was named ‘medieval times’ or the ‘dark ages’ and has the blot of no artistic production, paradoxically had a high artistic expression even to the most remote villages, especially in Southeastern Europe. One can find excellent quality icons, murals and sculpted iconostases in churches in numerous villages in Cyprus and Greece quite a few of them being protected by UNESCO. These monuments had been usually funded by the community itself, especially from the wealthy which shows that there had been a common need for art. Some would argue that it was not exactly fine art but it was restrained to ‘ecclesiastical art’. We would argue back and say that it is false to separate ecclesiastical art from artistic production since at its time it was part of everyday life and expressed the ideas of their time like the classical sculptures had been in Athens during the rule of Pericles and a careful researcher finds in those much spiritual and artistic exuberance. Furthermore, the artistic values of a work of art cannot be categorized and judged superficially. It is relative to point out whether ecclesiastical art,

what's your point about this? Do you think that it's an exaggeration?

Art has always played a defining role in human history either through literature, sculpture, architecture, painting etc. When times allowed for high quality art to be produced, and those times we feel had to do with the level of truth and honesty a society could exist with, as well as its social unity, then people, no matter how much educated they may had been they instinctively had been undergoing a sharpening of their aesthetic values and they could slowly become aesthetically and culturally literate. On the contrary, if the people and the state sink into a

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renaissance art, bourgeois art or pop art had been more creative and artistic over others. Taking it further we are questioning our ‘democratic’ and ‘enlightened’ era which we find being far behind in producing high quality examples of art and that’s due to its individualistic and consumerist basis. It should have had an art gallery in every neighbourhood with great local works of art that would relate to its citizens if it was to prove its cultural superiority over previous periods. Only then it can claim an advancement and development. On the contrary the majority of the ‘monuments’ one comes across with are the bad taste villas and pompous corporate buildings that are emblematic of capitalism, individualism and social isolation. It is no exaggeration that art can steer up people’s behaviour as long as this art can meet people’s real expectations and needs. It is hard to find the golden section between the art practice and its social meaning. It is a two way equation and it depends on the good will of both, the artist and the people, as well as the structures of the society. Living in a self restrained, individualistic world where social interaction is at minimum and a common vision is nil, there is no fertile ground to develop a true relation between art and the people. What is at stake is a ‘common language’ between art and people. Although the conditions could be characterised as obscurantism, we are not pessi-mistic and we have a hope of a change. While new world order imposes a ‘dead’ digested aesthetic we believe that an artist’s mission is to sharpen people’s aesthetic and awaken their consciousness, posing a new scope and perspective on the world. And even though I'm a ware that this might sound a bit cliché, I cannot do without mentioning the nowadays situation of your country: many people alla round the world have been struck by the events that are happening during these years... so I would seize this occasion to read the opinion of an artist duo that is deeply involved in the matter...

Part of what has been happening to Greece and

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Studies for The Impasse, 2012

Cyprus is what has been going on in the 70s in Latin America. It’s an ‘economical war’ as they called it and the reason behind it is the exploitation of a country’s natural wealth and specifically petrol and gas along with the geo-political control of a region. Our blessing and curse is that we live in a neuralgic part of the world. Cyprus, as a postcolonial state has suffered years of unrest because of its strategic place and potential natural sources. The other side of the crisis is what happened in Iceland where the bankers allowed for a risky expansion of the banking sector bringing the country’s economy to its knees. All these happened with the blessings of the Central European Bank and the IMF.

This led to a disconnection between our identity and tradition. Imported products became fashionable and sought after and buying expen-sive cars, building villas with swimming pools and splashing money on eating sushi and international cuisine became an unquestionable must. Consumerism was peaking and the banks went off the ball borrowing and lending money without insurance. Local ‘golden boys’ were making thousands out of this. Money came from European banks, and specifically German and French banks that were profiting against Cypriot banks. Ironically the Central European Banks allowed for this to happen and when the system malformed they decided to take measures as if had no idea what was going on.

But we do not throw the blame entirely on others because we and our governments hold great responsibility. The Cypriot economy had been very good from the 90’s and on but unfortunately that had no positive effect on its culture. Being a ‘new rich’ became a lifestyle and because of the small size of the island it spread and affected everyone.

In March 2013, after the Eurogroup decision, the country collapsed. A memorandum was signed, that is an agreement that to a large extend cancels the democratic decisions of the parliament and allows sovereignty over to Troika, the 95

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Central European Bank and the IMF. Privatisations are enforced and the state gradually loses crucial industries like the harbours, water, electricity etc. The unemployment rate has risen dramatically, labour is gradually losing its benefits and the people started to react with demonstrations that sometimes lead to violence. We believe that the solution to this crisis is not a direct clash with the ‘system’ but a well prepared decision to step out of it. And that’s what we are in a way insinuating with our project. As one of the most important contemporary Greek philosophers, Christos Giannaras, states, ‘the core of the crisis is individualism’. He is very critical on how our contemporary societies exist. And when he talks about the society he does not refer to a ‘contrat social’, a utilitarian sense of coexistence, but a ‘true being’ that allows a person’s freedom to create collectively within the community. In other words people should start taking their lives in their hands and through collaboration begin to remodel the structures of society. There are still excellent examples of such ways of living in many villages in Greece and Cyprus but the greatest example is the island of Ikaria.

The Impasse, Installation, 2012

open to wider collaborations on the premise that there is common vision and belief. Art should not be something self restrained and self satisfying but a collective endeavour towards the truth of things. It is not accidental that some of the finest works of art had somehow been a result of common creation, like the ancient myths, classical sculpture workshops, the byzantine painting workshops, the traditional-demotic songs etc, not to forget the interaction and theoretical collaboration that was happening in modernist movement. To achieve higher qualities in art you need to set your ego aside and let inspiration flow, accept your mistakes and understand other aspects and opinions.

I personally find absolutely fascinating the collaborations that artists can established together as you did, especially because this often reveals a symbiosis between apparently different approaches to art... and I can't help without mention Peter Tabor who once said that "collaboration is working together with another to create something as a synthesis of two practices, that alone one could not": what's your point about this? Can you explain how your work demonstrates communication between two artists?

In the case of our work as time goes past we begin to acknowledge and deeply appreciate each other’s strong points. Being guided by instinct we begin to approach a project each one of us from its perspective. We do not have a ‘division of labour’ but somehow things find their way and each one of us undertakes an aspect of the work and begins to develop it. Meanwhile with common coordination we elaborate on each others result and apply feedback. Disagreements sometimes occur, but we do not see that as a negative as

It is a common verification to both of us that throughout our meeting and collaboration our art practice became broader and more intergraded. This ‘symbiosis between apparently different approaches to art’ that you have mentioned is something that we are aware of and we see as the key to a successful collaboration. One elaborates on the other and at its best one completes the other. We have to say that we are

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solutely indespensable part of a creative process... Do you think that a creative process could be disconnected from direct experience?

through that the results are put into a questioning and if they really value they will survive, otherwise the will be changed. What makes the way for a creative communication is the love of truth. If you are true, then the work will be true and truth is the highest value. Sometimes truth can be harsh when it shakes our certainty or when it questions our ego. We have to be brave to accept our shortcomings and try and improve them. And the best one to point this out to is the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Otherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. What holds us together is a common vision we have about things as well as what we aesthetically value in art.

The reference to the shadow theatre allowed us to approach common people reaching the psyche of the contemporary Greeks Karagiozis, the Modern Greek shadow theatre antihero, with his anarchist spirit that contrives ways to escape his poverty and misery, he beats and gets beaten up,

While the shadow theatre is an apparent reference to the tradition and identity of your homeland, one of the features that has mostly impacted on me of your work is that this is not limited to a restricted elite both on a cultural and a regional viewpoint: you seem to go beyond the usual dichotomy between popular Art and so-called "intellectual Art"... In fact, far from being static, your art practice is strictly connected to the chance of creating an interaction with your audience, establi-shing an intellectual and -I would daresay- a physical involvement as well: so I would like to ask you if in your opinion personal experience is an ab-

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he mocks the authority and its officers. However, despite his fighting spirit and wit, he always ends up accepting his fate and continues to bow before the Sultan. The average Modern Greek behaves like that, that is his mind-set. He sees and understands what is happening but he does not take the big decision to step out of it and change his life and in extend the society he lives in. As long as the authority keeps him fed he ignores reality. And even when things start to get worse, he spasmodically reacts with no clear vision of how to improve things. The essence of what we tried to show with our installation had been criticised via the satire of the shadow theatre in the past. That is why we believe in tradition, we draw inspiration from it and borrow artistic conventions not out of conservatism or nationalism, but for the simple reason that it provides us with a common language (which often functions on an unconscious level) to communicate with the people. And when something survives through the ages within the people it immediately proves its artistic value.

And we cannot truly understand ourselves separated from the society and the ‘Other’. It goes without saying that positive feedbacks and especially awards are capable of supporting an artist... I was just wondering if such expectation could even influence the process of an artist... By the way, how much important is for you the feedback of your audience? Do you ever think to whom will enjoy your Art when you conceive your pieces? I sometimes wonder if it could ever exist a genuine relationship between business and Art...

Positive feedback as well as an award when there is a real reciprocation it makes artists feel it worth’s working and publishing their work and more importantly to feel a useful part of society in which they can coexist and contribute and not to be marginalised. That can build up a relationship with the audience and society in extend, which makes an artist more responsible against it. On the other hand positive feedback and awarding should not be an end in itself although they could motivate and boost the art practice. Such an expectation could easily ensnare an artistic process and restrict it in mannerisms that are widely accepted and recognized. In such a case an artist is rather confused. An artist should work with free expression and the true need to communicate.

If we distinguish between intellectual art and popular art at the same time we distinguish between more advanced and less advanced people. We condemn the majority of people as unable to communicate with us or us unable to communicate with them. It is sad to think like that and lose your fate in people. We have to keep in mind that there have been times in history when all the people in a community enjoyed the same literature, music, theatre and visual arts. We believe that art can communicate with the people when functioning in many levels and on a common background.

Feedback from the audience is a kind of test that shows whether the artwork can have an impact or not, and if it can how strong it could be. Yet the artist must be cautious not to depend on the audience because as there are bad artists, there are cases of bad audiences. One should have the subtlety to distinct between good and bad audiences. In our last project we felt satisfaction when had a positive feedback, especially from people who have been involved in the demonstrations and had experienced the crisis in Greece. For them there was no ‘conceptual meaning’ in the work but a powerful reflection of the situation through artistic conventions. We felt the sense of achievement when we saw in their words and their faces that they had captured the essence of it. In the process of working our pieces we do not think of a particular audience or a particular way to ‘sell’ our work. However, through intuition we try to be as clear and as open to the audience as possible. When you are honest and clear the audience will associate. It is simple to say but hard to achieve.

Interaction with the audience is what we aim at. We try to work on our personal experience in a way that it can relate to the common personal experience. If art becomes fully disconnected from direct experience there is the danger of becoming autistic and self satisfactory, to become lost in extreme mannerism and otherworldly fantasies. This is not something we condemn but we believe that art should be entwined with real life. Direct experience and we would go further to say common direct experience is what defines and environs the world we live and act in. Art is a means for understanding the world (both physically and socially) and ourselves.

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Monument proposal for the Greek parliament, 2013 Business and art are naturally opposed. Business is after profit whereas art seeks to spiritually exalt and that is its true turnover. At periods they can meet, but that is always under the condition that society allows for good art to be produced. That’s why we do not believe in a capitalised art but, in a social based art, an art that derives from the collective understanding and being.

social being, solutions and alternatives can be drawn out. At the same time we will continue to critically reflect what we perceive from the world. We intend to maintain the linear form of representation because it allows for dynamic composition and also a more immediate and direct reading of a picture. Our next project will present gatherings, feasts, processes of traditional production that were full of creativity and away from alienation. As it has been stressed a lot throughout the interview, we believe that what makes our societies problematic is primarily the luck of collectiveness that applies not only in politics, but in social gatherings, in art and creation in general, even in entertainment. We find in our cultural background brilliant examples of the high accomplishments a group of people can achieve when living collectively. It would be no exaggeration to say that the high achievements of ancient Greek, Byzantine and traditional art are a direct result of a way of being based on collectiveness; and that is what we are seeking after.

Thanks a lot for your time and your thoughts, Manolis & Irene. My last question deals with your future plans: what's next for you?

Thank you for hosting us and for posing thought provoking questions that encouraged us to extensively express the essence of our art practice. It’s been a pleasure. Our next project, that we have already started working on, will be dealing the good aspects of social being. We are not pessimists and we do not merely focus on the bad aspects. Although we named our last project ‘The Impasse’ we do not believe in dead ends and we feel that by presenting the values of true