Palimpszeszt
Nominous – ez az a fogalom, mely már attól kezdve, hogy Rudolt Otto megalkotta, meghatározta a vallási tanulmányok tudományát, és melynek égisze alatt Mihai Ciplea műveinek sorozata elkészült. Ezek a munkák olyan művészi keresésről árulkodnak, mely tudatosan ellenszegül napjaink közhelyeinek, anélkül, hogy ettől kevésbé kortárs lenne. Ahogy a médium maga az üzenet formulája elvesztette eredeti relevanciáját azzal, hogy világszerte elfogadták, mi több, kiürült a túlzott ismétlés által, ugyanúgy az a gondolat is redundánssá vált, hogy kapcsolat állapítható meg a mű anyagszerűsége és tartalma között, aközött a módszer között, amellyel megteremtették, és a jelentése között. Mihai Cipleának sikerül újra rákérdezni ezekre a problémákra, nem újra kijelentve őket – ez már amúgy sem lenne lehetséges –, hanem a végső következtetések levonásával, melyek ezekből az igazságokból adódnak. Másképp szólva, és a fordított irányból kiindulva, a témától a technika felé: ha az, amit a művész tematizál, az az egészen Más (das ganz Andere), akkor mi az a technika, az az anyagszerűség, az a művészi gyakorlat, amely anélkül adhatná vissza a művészi intenciót, hogy elárulná azt? Mihai Ciplea a pasztellre teszi fel minden hitét, annak tisztaságára, pigmentáltságára, az áttevődések hiányára, a színekkel borított papír áttetszőségére. Amennyiben a természetfölöttivel való találkozás nem ismételhető meg bármikor és bármilyen körülmények között, Mihai Ciplea művei is megismételhetetlenek, újra-alkothatatlanok. A kézi merítésű papír pasztellel való elborítása csupán az első szakasza annak a folyamatnak, mely ugyanannak a rajznak a többszöri átjavítását, újrarajzolását jelenti, mint egy penitencia, melyben ugyanannak a formulának az írása és újraírása mágikus erőket szabadít fel. A folyamat végén Mihai Ciplea munkái paradox módon linómetszetnek tűnnek, mely bármikor újra nyomható, és megfosztható az egyediség aurájától, ahogy Walter Benjamin profétikusan jósolta A műalkotás a technológiai reprodukálhatóság korában című tanulmányában. Ez a vállalt szerénység egy olyan palimpszeszt egyediségét rejti, melynek egymásra következő rétegei lehetővé teszik az elmélyülő „olvasást”, méghozzá abban a mértékben, amelyben az olvasó/a néző szokva van azzal és nyitott arra, hogy saját interpretációját projektálja ott, ahol a mélységi rétegek visszavonhatatlanul kitörlődtek. A digitális fénykép mindenütt-jelenvalóságának korában, melynek a pixeláció jelensége a legkisebb gondja, Ciplea munkái leginkább az analogikus képek korszakából
származónak tűnnek, amikor a pillanatkép majd mindig elmozdult; a pillanatkép homályossága tanúskodik bármilyen esemény elkerülhetetlenül mulandó voltáról, és megelőlegezi azt az elködösülést, amellyel a memória még a legerősebb emlékeket is felöltözteti. Mihai Ciplea saját szótárat alakít ki a száraz pasztell technikái határainak tágításával egyidőben, és ezzel azt bizonyítja, hogy újra és saját számlára is lehet küzdeni a bálványrombolókkal. És azt is, hogy legyőzheti őket anélkül, hogy folyamatosan idéznie kellene a vallásos festészet keleti hagyományából, bár közben azzal is tisztában van, hogy ez a hagyomány mindig működik, hiszen mi, ortodoxok ebben a szimbolikus kultúrában növekedtünk, ebben formálódtunk. Dan Lazea Fordította Demény Péter
Palimpsest
Placed explicitly under a concept – Numinous – which, once launched by Rudolf Otto, has marked the birth of the scientific domain of religious studies, Mihai Ciplea’s most recent series of works reveals an artistic labour through which the artist takes a firm position against daily commonplaces, yet without losing its contemporary feel. Just as the phrase ‘the medium is the message’ has partly lost its original relevance since it started to be regarded as obvious, and what is more, it has even become devoid of content due to excessive repetition, the idea of the existence of a correlation between the materiality and content of artwork, between the way of production and the meaning of a piece of art has also become redundant. Mihai Ciplea has succeeded in adopting a new approach towards the problem not by contesting it, which is anyway impossible, but rather by extracting the utmost consequences from what is utterly unavoidable. In other words, if we approach this issue from a different direction, advancing from the theme towards the technique, supposing that the artist thematises the wholly other (das ganz Andere), what could be the proper technique, the materiality, the artistic practice that would be able to fully capture the artist’s intention without distorting it? Mihai Ciplea prefers the pastel technique due to the pure pigments used in it, the lack of binders and the evanescent air of the paper covered in colours. If it is true that the experience of the encounter with the extra-natural is never and under no circumstances repeatable, it is also true that Mihai Ciplea’s works are unique and irreproducible. Covering the surface – handmade paper – with a first layer of pastel is just the beginning of a process that involves a series of successive erasures and redrawings of (a variation of) the same drawing, like a penitence in which the act of writing and rewriting the same phrase activates a magic power. Paradoxically, at the end of the process, Mihai Ciplea’s works appear under the misleading guise of a linotype seemingly ready to be reproduced in series, lacking the aura of a unique work of art, as Walter Benjamin prophetically warns in his writing entitled The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. Yet, behind the modesty demonstrated by the artist lurks the uniqueness of a palimpsest where successive layers of text offer the possibility of in-depth reading for properly trained readers/viewers who are ready to project their own interpretation where the deep-lying layers have been irremediably erased.
In our time characterised by the ubiquity of digital photography, where the phenomenon of pixellation is of primary concern, Ciplea’s works seem to belong to the era of analogue images, when the instantaneous was usually captured with motion blur. The blurred images of the instantaneous emphasize the utterly ephemerous character of events in general, predicting the gradual fading away of even the strongest memories in one’s mind. Developing his own way of expression and extending the limits of the technique of dry pastel, Mihai Ciplea has proved that it is possible to fight – again, individually – with iconoclasts. And that he is able to defeat them without always having to quote from the eastern traditions of religious painting. He never forgets, however, that this tradition has continuously remained active since it was deposited in the repository of symbolic forms on which he grew up and formed. Dan Lazea Translated by: Kémenes Árpád
Palimpsest
Așezată în mod explicit sub un concept – Nominous – ce a marcat nașterea domeniului științific al studiilor religioase încă de la lansarea lui de către Rudolf Otto, seria lucrărilor lui Mihai Ciplea din ultimii ani dezvăluie un travaliu artistic ce se situează, conștient, împotriva locurilor comune ale zilei, fără a fi însă mai puțin contemporan. Așa cum formula mediul este mesajul și-a pierdut din relevanța originală odată cu acceptarea ei ca firească, ba mai mult, s-a golit de conținut prin repetare excesivă, tot așa a devenit redundantă ideea că există o corelație între materialitatea lucrării și conținutul ei, între modalitatea de producere și sensul operei. Mihai Ciplea reușește să chestioneze din nou toate acestea nu prin contestare, altminteri imposibilă, ci prin extragerea ultimelor consecințe din acest dat inconturnabil. Altfel spus, pornind în sens invers, dinspre temă spre tehnică, dacă ceea ce tematizează artistul este cu totul Altceva-ul (das ganz Andere), care ar fi tehnica, materialitatea, practica artistică care ar putea reda, fără să trădeze, intenția artistului? Mihai Ciplea pariază pe pastel pentru puritatea lui ca pigment, lipsa lianților, aerul evanescent al hârtiei acoperite cu culoare. Dacă experiența întâlnirii cu extra-naturalul nu e nici oricând și nici în orice condiții repetabilă, atunci lucrările lui Mihai Ciplea sunt și ele cu asupra de măsură unice, de ne-reprodus. Acoperirea cu pastel a suprafeței – hârtie manuală – cu un prim strat nu este decât începutul unui proces care presupune ștergerea și redesenarea succesivă a (unei variațiuni a) aceluiași desen, ca o penitență în care scrierea și rescrierea aceleași formule eliberează o putere magică. La finalul procesului lucrările lui Mihai Ciplea se prezintă, paradoxal, sub înșelătoarea aparență a unei linotipii, gata oricând să fie înseriată și lipsită de aura unicității, cum profetic avertiza Walter Benjamin în Opera de artă în epoca reproductibilității mecanice. Această modestie asumată ascunde unicitatea unui palimpsest ale cărui straturi succesive de text fac posibilă citirea în profunzime, în măsura în care lectorul/privitorul este antrenat și dispus să proiecteze propria interpretare acolo unde straturile de adâncime au fost iremediabil șterse. În epoca ubicuității fotografiei digitale a cărei ultimă grijă este fenomenul de pixelare, lucrările lui Ciplea par mai degrabă desprinse din epoca imaginilor analogice, când instantaneul era mai întotdeauna mișcat; neclaritatea instantaneului stă mărturie pentru caracterul inevitabil
efemer al oricărui eveniment și anticipează încețoșarea cu care memoria îmbracă chiar și cele mai puternice amintiri. Dezvoltându-și un vocabular propriu odată cu extinderea limitelor tehnice ale pastelului uscat, Mihai Ciplea dovedește că se poate lupta, din nou și pe cont propriu, cu iconoclaștii. Și că îi poate învinge fără a fi obligat să citeze masiv din tradiția orientală a picturii religioase, în același timp conștient că această tradiție este mereu activă odată depozitată în arhiva de forme simbolice cu care a crescut și în care s-a format. Dan Lazea
Önarckép csukott szemmel, 42 x 30 cm, száraz pasztell, papír, 2014
Önarckép csukott szemmel, 42 x 30 cm, száraz pasztell, papír, 2014
Önarckép csukott szemmel, 42 x 30 cm, száraz pasztell, papír, 2014
Cím nélkül, 70 x 50 cm, száraz pasztell, papír, 2017
Cím nélkül, 70 x 50 cm, száraz pasztell, papír, 2017
Cím nélkül, 30 x 42 cm, száraz pasztell, papír, 2016
Cím nélkül, 30 x 42 cm, száraz pasztell, papír, 2016
Cím nélkül, 30 x 42 cm, száraz pasztell, papír, 2016
Cím nélkül, 56 x 76 cm, száraz pasztell, papír, 2017
Cím nélkül, 70 x 50 cm, száraz pasztell, papír, 2017
Cím nélkül, 70 x 50 cm, száraz pasztell, papír, 2016 Cím nélkül, 70 x 50 cm, száraz pasztell, papír, 2016
Cím nélkül, 70 x 50 cm, száraz pasztell, papír, 2016
Cím nélkül, 70 x 50 cm, száraz pasztell, papír, 2017
Cím nélkül, 70 x 50 cm, száraz pasztell, papír, 2017
Cím nélkül, 54 x 39 cm, monotípia, papír, 2017
Cím nélkül, 54 x 39 cm, monotípia, papír, 2017
Cím nélkül, 58 x 44 cm, monotípia, papír, 2017
MIHAI CIPLEA
Born in 1984 - Baia Mare – Romania From 2015: PhD Candidate, West University of Timisoara, Faculty of Arts and Design 2007-2009: MA in Graphics, West University of Timisoara, Faculty of Arts and Design. 2003-2007: BA in Graphics, The Arts & Design University of Cluj-Napoca SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2011- Ecce Homo – Jecza Gallery – Timisoara – Romania 2016- Numinous – Atelier 030202 Contemporary Art Space – Bucuresti – Romania 2016- Numineux – Institut Francais – Timisoara - Romania GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2004 - International Small Engraving Salon Carbunari 2004 – Florean Museum - Baia Mare – Romania (Nominated) 2009 - About Bodies – Jecza Gallery –Timisoara – Romania 2009 - Jecza Gallery + Iulius Mall – Timisoara – Romania 2009 - The International Painting Salon Carbunari 2009 - Florean Museum – Baia Mare – Romania (Honorable Mention) 2011 - The International Camp of Visual Arts Baia Mare – Baia Mare – Romania 2012 - Romanian Graphic Art 2012 (GR12) – Bucuresti – Romania 2013 - The International Biennial of Pastel, Nowy Sacz – Nowy Sacz – Poland (Grand Prix) 2014 - Art Safari – Focus Art Gallery – Bucuresti – Romania 2014 - Contemporary Marks – Identity Series - Gold Plaza Gallery – Baia Mare - Romania
Cím nélkül, 40 x 20 cm, monotípia, papír, 2017
Lista lucrărilor
Autoportret cu ochii închiși, pastel uscat, hârtie, 42 X 30 cm / Self Portrait with Closed Eyes 42 X 30 cm, 2014
Fara titlu, pastel uscat, hârtie, 56 X 76 cm / Untitled, pastel on paper, 56 X 76 cm, 2017
Autoportret cu ochii închiși, pastel uscat, hârtie, 42 X 30 cm / Self Portrait with Closed Eyes 42 X 30 cm, 2014
Fara titlu, pastel uscat, hârtie, 56 X 76 cm / Untitled, pastel on paper, 56 X 76 cm, 2016
Autoportret cu ochii închiși, pastel uscat, hârtie, 42 X 30 cm / Self Portrait with Closed Eyes 42 X 30 cm, 2014
Fara titlu, pastel uscat, hârtie, 56 X 76 cm / Untitled, pastel on paper, 56 X 76 cm, 2016
Fara titlu, pastel uscat, hârtie, 70 X 50 cm / Untitled, pastel on paper, 70 X 50 cm, 2017
Fara titlu, pastel uscat, hârtie, 56 X 76 cm / Untitled, pastel on paper, 56 X 76 cm, 2017
Fara titlu, pastel uscat, hârtie, 70 X 50 cm / Untitled, pastel on paper, 70 X 50 cm, 2017
Fara titlu, pastel uscat, hârtie, 56 X 76 cm / Untitled, pastel on paper, 56 X 76 cm, 2017
Fara titlu, pastel uscat, hârtie, 30 X 42 cm / Untitled, pastel on paper, 30 X 42 cm, 2016
Fara titlu, monotipie, hârtie, 54 X 39 cm / Untitled, monotype on paper, 54 X 39 cm, 2017
Fara titlu, pastel uscat, hârtie, 30 X 42 cm / Untitled, pastel on paper, 30 X 42 cm, 2016
Fara titlu, monotipie, hârtie, 54 X 39 cm / Untitled, monotype on paper, 54 X 39 cm, 2017
Fara titlu, pastel uscat, hârtie, 30 X 42 cm / Untitled, pastel on paper, 30 X 42 cm, 2016
Fara titlu, monotipie, hârtie, 58 X 44 cm / Untitled, monotype on paper, 58 X 44 cm, 2017
Fara titlu, pastel uscat, hârtie, 56 X 76 cm / Untitled, pastel on paper, 56 X 76 cm, 2017
Fara titlu, monotipie, hârtie, 41 X 20 cm / Untitled, monotype on paper, 41 X 20 cm, 2017