Martina Miholić - Ambitious Toys

lanjem se postiže dojam opčinjenosti i nelagode. Nelagoda može proisteći iz pitanja jednosmjernosti pretvaranja djeteta u odraslu osobu. Dakako, puno je nijansi ružičaste, a i samo inzistiranje da navedeni stereotipi postoje zapravo je – anakrono. Ili bi barem trebalo biti. Ostaje otvoren zaključak u kojoj se mjeri zadržava i kanalizira infantilnost te koliko ona štiti pojedinca stvarajući mu utočište od strogosti koja prevladava u društvenoj interakciji odraslih. Neosvještena infantilnost, napokon, postaje neka vrsta samocenzure, omogućavanja daljnje manipulacije i ukalupljivanja u stereotipe i nametnute identitete. Vraćanjem na mjesto gdje je sve počelo, u šarene dječje odaje u kojima se prepuštamo igri, otvara se put svakom ponaosob da prebire po vlastitim gorkim i slatkim sjećanjima, ali i da uživa u samoj igri kao takvoj i u – kolačima.

Barbara Vujanović

tious toys”, a sensation of infatuation and discomfort is achieved by stacking up these toys. Discomfort could be a result of a unintentional way of transforming a child into an adult. Of course, there are a lot of shades of pink - a fact of insisting that those stereotypes exist, is actually anachronistic. Or at least it should be. And then there is an open conclusion; to what extent is childish behaviour reserved and channeled? Does it protect an individual by creating a shelter from the strictness which prevails in the social interaction of the adults? Unconscious infatilism, at last, becomes a type of self-censorship, enabling further manipulation and casting into stereotypes imposed identities. By going back to the place where everything began, into those colorful children’s chambers in which we give ourselves over to play, a path is opened for everybody individually, to pluck our own bitter and sweet memories, but also to enjoy in ourselves a play as it is and that is also in cakes.

MArtina MihOlIĆ Ambitious Toys Otvorenje izložbe održat će se 18. rujna 2014. u 19 sati | Opening of the exhibition on 18th of September2014 at 7 pm Galerija Karas | 18. rujna - 26. rujna 2014.

Karas Gallery | September 18 - September 26, 2014

Barbara Vujanović

Hrvatsko društvo likovnih umjetnika | Croatian Association of Artists Galerija Karas | Karas Gallery Praška 4, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia | www.hdlu.hr Radno vrijeme: utorak - petak 11 - 19 h, subota i nedjelja 10 - 14 h; zatvoreno ponedjeljkom i blagdanom.

Working hours: Tuesday - Friday 11 am – 7 pm, Saturday and Sunday 10 am - 2 pm; closed on Mondays and holidays

Ambitious Toys, detalj, 2014.

IMPRESUM | Nakladnik / Publisher | Hrvatsko društvo likovnih umjetnika / Croatian Association of Fine Artists, Trg žrtava fašizma 16, 10 000 Zagreb, hdlu@hdlu.hr, www.hdlu.hr | Za nakladnika / For the publisher Josip Zanki | Upravni odbor HDLU / Executive board of HDLU Josip Zanki (predsjednik / president), Tomislav Buntak (zamjenik predsjednika / vicepresident), Fedor Vučemilović (zamjenik predsjednika / vicepresident), Gordana Bakić, Ivan Fijolić, Koraljka Kovač Dugandžić, Anita Kuharić Smrekar | Umjetnički savjet Galerije Karas / Artistic board of Karas Gallery Branka Benčić, Martina Mezak, Sara Čičić, Ivana Vukšić | Ravnateljica / Director Ivana Andabaka | Stručna suradnica / Associate Mia Orsag | Predgovor / Preface Barbara Vujanović | Grafičko oblikovanje kataloga / Catalogue Design Zdravko Horvat | Fotografija / Photography Juraj Vuglač | Prijevod / Translation Dražen Dalić | Lektura/proofreading Ines Kotarac | Tisak / Printed by Cerovski | Naklada / Copies 200 Izložba je realizirana uz financijsku potporu Gradskog ureda za kulturu, obrazovanje i sport Grada Zageba / The exhibition is financially supported by the City Office for Culture, Education and Sports Zagreb.

SPONZORI

„A sweet reminder In the ice-blue nursery Of a childish murder Of hidden luster And she cries ‘Trick or Treat’ ‘Trick or Treat’ The bitter and the sweet“

„A sweet reminder In the ice-blue nursery Of a childish murder Of hidden luster And she cries ‘Trick or Treat’ ‘Trick or Treat’ The bitter and the sweet“

Halloween, Siouxie and the Banshees

Halloween, Siouxie and the Banshees

„Mi jedemo kolače. A vi?“ Prihvaćanjem poziva Martine Miholić da zagrizemo u ponuđeni kolačić, odnosno da odgovorimo na pitanje koje nikako nije jednoznačno i nevino kako se, možda, na prvi pogled čini, poput Alice upadamo u zemlju

“We eat cakes. Will you? “ Accepting Martina Miholic call to bite a cookie, or by answering ambiguously and not at all innocent question. It might look at first glance, like Alice, we are falling into Wonderland. It’s a psychedelic, satura-

čudesa. Ona je psihodelična, (pre)napučena svim nijansama ružičaste i – igračkama. Ulazimo u igraonicu, predimenzioniranu dječju sobu, a možda i u samu kuću lutaka. U tom slučaju otvara se mogućnost da zapravo nismo igrači, već da se s nama netko poigrava. Martina je sklona obrtanju očekivanoga redoslijeda radnji, tako da su sve opcije otvorene.1 Nudi nam se da jedemo, stoga, prvo kročimo u kuhinju/blagovaonicu u kojoj male vrijedne kuharice priređuju hranu.

Potom se uspinjemo do odmorišta gdje su postavljeni uzdignuti mačevi dječaka ratnika. Ratnici su ili pobjednici ili gubitnici, na što podsjeća izvikivanje raznih naziva i imena kojima ovjenčavamo prve ili kudimo druge. Konačno, na vrhu se nalazi spavaća soba, u kojoj se djevojčice uljepšavaju, a dječaci u svojoj kućici promatraju džunglu koja se proširila po zidovima sobe. Utapanje promatrača u samorazumljivoj stereotipnosti (temi kojoj se umjetnica često posvećuje u svojim radovima), vizualnoj pretjeranosti kičastoga izgleda i začudnosti kojom igračke na gotovo perverzan način repliciraju stvarne predmete (ili vice versa?), mjestimično prekida šok neočekivanoga. Šokirani smo s provokativnim sadržajima za koje ne bismo vjerovali da ih je moguće naći u dječjoj sobi, no koji se ipak suviše lako preklapaju i nadopunjuju s igračkama. Suočeni smo također s porukama s kojima bi se dijete u svojem izrastanju u zrelu osobu trebalo 1 U radu Katalog, na primjer, učinila je inverziju, izlažući knjigu u kojoj su umjesto prikaza djela sabrane reakcije i tumačenja povjesničara umjetnosti, kolega umjetnika, njezinih učenika, prijatelja i poznanika koji se ne moraju nužno razumjeti u umjetnost. Izložba Projekt 6: Naputak za približavanje, Galerija VN, Zagreb, 25. 02. - 15. 03. 2010.

ted pink, shaded land, covered in toys. We are entering the playroom, an oversized child’s room. maybe even a dollhouse. There is a chance that we’re not players, but pawns in someone’s game. Martina is reversing the expected order of activities, making all options open.1 We are offered to eat. We first step into the kitchen, where little cooks prepared us food. Afterwards we climb to the mezzanine. Here a set of children’s warrior swords are erected on the wall. Warriors are either winners or losers. Martina’s sound work reminds us of various titles and names we use to crown or scold someone. Finally at the top gallery level there is a bedroom. A girls area reserved for beautification Meanwhile the boys can observe jungle, spreading around gallery’s walls, from their tree house bed.

The observer, drowned into self-explanatory stereotypes (subject usually present in Martina’s work), is visually saturated with kitschy objects and toys. In a perverse way way we replicate real objects and vice versa. It is occasionally interrupted by the suprise of the unexpected. We are shocked by the provocative content which is not expected in a child’s room, but it is still gently overlapping and complementing with each other. Due to unnecessary taboo’s in society some of the messages children are given while 1 In her work ‘Catalog’ , for example, Martina has made an inversion. Iinstead of showing actual work, she has gathered and printed in a form of artist book, various reactions and interpretations from art historians her students , friends and acquaintances. Exhibition, Project 6: ‘An Instruction For Reapproachment’, VN Gallery, Zagreb, 25 February – 15 March 2010

sresti, no koje su zbog nepotrebne tabuiziranosti u društvu nedostupne.

growing up are unavailable to them. In Martina’s work we are facing some of them.

Ima li slađega podsjetnika na djetinjstvo od igračke? Što je primamljivije od te zavodljive stvari, šarenoga predmeta želja koji budi maštu, ali i jača potrebu za posjedovanjem. Roditelji opremaju sobe za djecu, ispunjavaju ih raznoraznim igračkama, koje potom, tako se barem vjeruje, izgrađuju osobnost njihove djece. Pripremaju ih za njihove odrasle zadaće, kao što iz odabranih igračaka slijedi – djevojčice primjerice vježbaju kuhati, a dječaci usvajaju ratničke vještine ili se uživljavaju u ulogu istraživača. Upravo u načinima i razlozima raznolikih uživljavanja u određene uloge, a što omogućuju igračke, leži ona gorka strana stvarnosti. Hrana koju djevojčice spremaju, poput slatkiša ili kokica, smatra se uglavnom nezdravomi nedostatnom za razvoj. Dječake se potiče na agresivnost i kompetitivnost koja počiva na fizičkoj snazi. Sugeriraju se spolni stereotipi – curice se sređuju u budoarima te ih se upućuje da njeguju ljepotu kao važan preduvjet uspjeha.

Is there any sweeter reminder of our childhood than a toy?

What’s more alluring than the idea of a toy? A colorful, imagination-tickling object of desire which also strengthens the need to possess. Parents pack kids rooms, fill them with all kinds of toys that should build up their kids personality. These toys should prepare children for their upcoming, grown-up tasks. Such as cooking for little girls or adapting warrior and explorer skills for little boys. Of course those tasks sound like a normal or innocent type of activity for a child but that’s when bitter reality hits us. We realise that the food little girls pretend to make, such as candy or pop corn, are mostly unhealthy and insufficient for child’s organism development, just as little boys are encouraged to be aggressive and competitive based on physical strength. Sexual stereotypes are also suggested; little girls are prettifying themselves in their little private boudoirs, encouraged to cherish their beauty as an important precondition of success.

U intervjuu u kojem je objašnjavao projekt Metropolis II (2011.), golemu kinetičku skulpturu koja na grandiozan način tematizira utrke autića, američki umjetnik Chris Burden, koji nerijetko poseže za igračkama, izjavio je da ga one fasciniraju kao oruđe kojim se djeca pretvaraju u odrasle, odnosno, one su odraz društva.2 Kao i kod Ambicioznih igračaka, gomi2 How Chris Burden Created Metropolis II, A Tiny City Where 1,100 Toy Cars Zoom, http://www.fastcodesign.com/1664409/how-chrisburden-created-metropolis-ii-a-tiny-city-where-1100-toy-carszoom, pregledano 15. rujna 2014.

Chris Burden, the American artist, often reaches for toys in his work. In the project “Metropolis II” (2011.) he uses a giant kinetic sculpture which, in a grandiose way, mimics cars. He says that they fascinate him as a weapon that turns children into adults, making toys a reflection of a society.2 Just as in “Ambi2 How Chris Burden Created Metropolis II, A Tiny City Where 1,100 Toy Cars Zoom, http://www.fastcodesign.com/1664409/how-chrisburden-created-metropolis-ii-a-tiny-city-where-1100-toy-cars-zoom, 15. September 2014.