ISSUE # 5, Autumn 01

REPRODUCTIONS

new work by Stamatis Samakouris from 15/10-2/11 at ArtTower Galleries, Athens

The work of Samakouris relates to images without using a spoken narrative, rather,he describes them using other images. The resulting annotations cannot be devoid of the issues of form making. If his work is holding up a concept, it is developed by way of the dynamism of the line, revealing the birth of an authentic style, which, to a certain extent, grates against postmodernity's critique. What is worth noticing is not the stylistic autonomy of his work, but the positioning of his mark making against established interpretations of representations of reality. We can also see that his choice of painting as his dominant medium produces a logic of a technique which questions its own relationship to other image producing media. Samakouris does not appear to be flattered by the figment of some mannerism in the use of line, but insists on being critical towards the subtotals and qualities of the lines mimicries and refutations. With the triptychs the artist positions himself at the centre of the negotiations surrounding the technical production the image. In the context of a simultaneous correlation, can an x-ray be interrogated by painting and painting, in turn, by a photographic reproduction? The occasion is provided by a depiction of lungs. The matter at hand is not the existence of a painting, which insists on an introspective representation of the body, but rather a planned illustration of representations of matter. This was already apparent in the artist previous work, some of which we can see in this exhibition, where the body is released from its volume and formed out of the surface of the painting as an extending skin. Its dynamic expansion, or from another point of view, the gradual disappearance of the body into the rhythmic tensions of the line, secures a place for Samakouris work distinct from late expressionistic and realistic recordings of representations of the nude, by many of his contemporaries. The lines, constantly fluid within a discreet repetition, start off from some outlines which extend over the optical field. The canvas becomes a conceptual airfield, catching the movements of animate matter in a way, which is perhaps akin to the Body without Organs which Artaud once called for. Consequently, the triptychs carry in them the inscriptions of previous works, except that their thematic composition seeks an explicit reading of theme.

The brave step in these new works lies in the gathering together of competing image producing techniques (x-ray, photographic reproduction), coexisting within the matrix of the plurality of the visual which painting traditionally claims. It is a relation, which, in the tension over which medium will, in the end, judge which reinforces our request to encounter the image as a topos where thinking is being activated, not oblivion.

Text by Kostis Velonis

Translated by Grigorios Papazafeiriou

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M.K When speaking about the Venice Biennale, it is a fact that we are referring to a political arena of an international cultural status, where the artists are not the main and only key players. How would you describe the 49th Biennale of Venice according to your current participation in the event, and your personal experience?

I.P I think that it mainly resembles a foire. It is a manifestation that relates to money as investment, and the way it circulates. Central interests exist that require a certain representation. It is an offensive manifestation of art and this sort of offensiveness is mainly due to these sorts of correlations, which are obvious to one, whether that one is a viewer or a participant artist. A very important part of the event is the parties that take place. It is fairly important whether you will be getting an invitation, and who it will be from; it is important whether you will be sitting at the table or if you will just be another passer-by. This is the clear side of the market and this is how it is reflected in such an international event. I had the feeling, though that the actual work is of less interest and what is of more importance is the correlations that emerge around it. This is one of the main functions of art and how one actually confronts with it, remains an open subject The Venice Biennale is definitely not a manifestation of an experimental nature; it brings to the light power structures such as those of curators and museums. These factors inevitably affect artistic production.

M.K How do you define your position as a participating artist in such an event?

I.P My feeling was and is very complex. First of all I felt tremendous joy whenever a person who didn't know me attempted to meet me on the occasion of my work. I consider this unique, and it becomes very important to me especially if we take into consideration the fact that artists from countries like ours do not get the equivalent support that artists like Gober or Wallinger obviously have, for example. Consequently, whoever came along, under whichever attribute -gallerist, theorist or simple observer without the intention of collaboration- liked whatever he saw from your work. It is unbearably tough to be trying to respond at such a level; as a young artist who has worked mainly in Greece, I don't have, and I am not interested in gaining the conscience that a work of art might end up costing millions of dollars. All of a sudden you are confronted to be acting as if this is potentially what will happen to you. This situation was tough, and not particularly pleasant. All of a sudden you play the part of the producer (laughter). But as a whole the event is very exciting. For me it was very important that I participated and that I had the opportunity to produce, in my opinion, a work of art far above what I had been doing so far. It was from the start a great challenge, that mobilized me in a certain way.

M.K Is it for you then a form of recognition?

I.P No, not at all. We have to get rid of such characterizations. I think that artists are equally honoured, by the time they make their artistic statement. It is not at all an issue that has to do with prestige. It was for me the subject of a personal and substantial development. I have to tell you that in Venice I saw for the first time my work of art as the work of somebody else. I managed to distance myself from it. When some 3000 people see it during a short while, it ceases to be your own. It becomes something that stands there, sole and defenseless and you, the artist, begins to observe it and see it through the eyes of the people that come to see it. I find this of great importance. It filled me with new incentives and when I returned from Venice, I immediately started to work.

M.K Recently, you also followed, as a viewer this time, another biennale, the Biennale of Instanbul. What kind of comparisons can you say that arise at that level, according to your own experience?

I.P The two Biennales could have been completely different but they weren't and that was disappointing. But Istanbul offers a rather more comfortable environment for people -either artists or viewers- to discuss the matters around the actual event. It was possible to meet and discuss with artists. In Venice that was very difficult and the whole image was fairly discouraging; one came face to face with a situation in which, you could see for instance works of art -such as the one by Richter or Twombly- that were insured at a very high price, reaching almost the estimate of a whole nation. In Instanbul this wasn't the case, although a lot of younger superstar artists were participating in the show. The exhibition had a fairly stable character. It was difficult to discover new things and those that existed were not as interesting; yet the context - that of a superb, huge, chaotic city full of contradictions- and the fact that the actual event seemed less advantageous, in terms of organisation, made the whole situation very interesting.

M.K According to your opinion, was there in Venice a stronger feeling of patronising?

I.P Certainly. This, to some extent can be of a certain interest, it raises a lot of commentary and issues for debate. Yet it felt that it was so dominant, so there is not much you can do about it or in relation to it. I get the impression that I am not the only one adopting such a stance. I've met a lot of people who tend to think and position themselves in the same way. Also, what should be seized at some point is the curator's power and almighty.

M.K Are you referring to someone like Szeeman? In that case what would you counter-propose?

I.P More than one curators and further elaboration on such an issue. I think that Szeeman himself is not particularly at ease with this attribute of the 'good fairy' who chooses with the magic stick the good and the praiseworthy. The existence of a curator, having a word on anything, turns out into a rather mean situation. One is forced to abide with a strange situation; one has to remain alert in order to find the curator who might be just around the corner and in order to present one's work beforehand. Before somebody else does it.

M.K What is suggested in the Venice Biennale? Did you observe some sort of particularity, some new statements, which are in the process of development?

I.P What one observes everywhere in Venice, is an issue that preoccupies to a great extent each and every one of us, and that is the question of how the following day will be. How will it be in relation to the development of the ways we communicate today through technology and the various media. To what extent, that is, will the computer evolution influence the way we live. Art has a magical ability; it is part of metaphysics, and that is an issue of interest. I felt that in Venice everything referred to this in a way or another. Even a work of art by Serra -distant in a phenomenological way from that concept, likened a primeval place; it dealt with how we will be living tomorrow in relation to what we live today. This is something that interests me a lot, so I could acknowledge that element. I can see other artists around me concerned with this same issue and it will be a pity to fit this sort of investigation in a stuffy context. The firm logic of price and money, of the big museum or institution, of the collector, the cover and the façade of things should be reduced.

M.K So, finally do you believe that we should, primarily search and focus on the aesthetic dimension of art?

I.P We should bring again at the centre of attention, our own needs and this is definitely a position which deals with the issue of aesthetics. Needs are related to the reason for which we propose something and with the reason for which we propose it. The art market has its own role and place, which is interesting, yet its dimension is huge, and this sort of gigantism will not find support for very long. As far as the Venice Biennale is concerned, I believe that the issue of dialogue should exist dynamically. I believe, though, that events of this scale should gradually start to diminish. Projects that are developing on the spot, even if they are not completed in the end, or things that happen always in relation to their context, are of greater interest. In any case it is not an Olympic contest…

October 9-2001 Margarita Kataga

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WILLIAM KENTRIDGE

8/9-20/10 @ Galerie Marian Goodman , Paris

C’est la deuxième fois que William Kentridge expose à la galerie Marian Goodman à Paris. Ceux qui connaissent le travail de l’artiste peuvent se replonger dans un univers très particulier, nimbé d’une aura de mystère. Ce travail se présente comme un ensemble cohérent, dans lequel coexistent un vocabulaire formel foisonnant, et des techniques variées. Pour cet accrochage qui comprend des réalisations récentes, William Kentridge met en avant les principales articulations de son travail. Ainsi, nous pouvons apercevoir tour à tour, des dessins au fusain, un court-métrage d’animation, des gravures, un livre déplié sur lequel sont peints des personnages à l’encre, et deux grands planisphères tissées à la main.

William Kentridge est un artiste d’origine africaine, et son travail peut-être perçu, comme étant en étroite relation avec l’histoire de son pays natal. Même si il existe dans son ¦uvre, des références liées aux événements d’ Afrique du sud, l’activité politique de l’artiste, son engagement demeure implicite. Ces réalisations font preuve d’une telle richesse plastique qu’il est difficile de n’y voir qu’un travail politique et social. Le spectateur doit être actif, il a beaucoup à comprendre concernant, le secret de quelques procédés de réalisation, les processus qui semblent dévoilés, et la façon particulière qu’à l’artiste de travailler un médium avec un autre. L’espace de la galerie est divisé en trois partie, dans la première salle qui se situe au rez-de-chaussée, on peut découvrir des séries de dessins épinglés au mur, par groupe de deux, trois ou quatre.

Tout autour de nous, se dressent des images énigmatiques, dont il est difficile de savoir ce qui les rend si troublantes. Il y a dans ces dessins une noirceur qui envahit la rétine, et celle-ci semble confortée par des thèmes et des représentations inquiétantes. On peut voir des paysages désolés, des objets (le plus souvent des ustensiles de cuisine), une tête sans corps, un oiseau noir, un microscope en lévitation, etc. C’est en repérant ces éléments et quelques autres, que l’on peut découvrir une influence proprement Surréaliste. Cet accrochage, dans sa totalité, revêt la forme d’un assemblage complexe à la manière des objets surréalistes. Mais ce qui rend cet assemblage si particulier, c’est qu’il n’a rien de statique. Déjà dans les dessins, il y a les premiers indices du mouvement qui habite le travail de William Kentridge. Les représentations réalistes que nous voyons ont un caractère inachevé, elles semblent avoir fait l’objet d’effacements successifs avant d’avoir été abandonnées dans un état que l’on pourrait juger précaire. On peut voir un nombre important de traits à peine perceptibles, des coups de gomme, des traces du mouvement de la main, qui font naître sur le papier tout un nuancier de gris. Entre les dessins sur des feuilles à part, de même format, sont dessinées au fusain, des écritures. On peut lire des expressions comme : « every man is own football », « gold Fields to scavenge slimes dams », « for external use only », sortes de titres de journaux relatifs a des événements concernant l’Afrique du Sud. Ces mots ont le même statut que les images, l’artiste nous le fait comprendre en leur accordant une réalisation similaire.

L’écriture semble tenir une place importante dans ce travail, et l’accompagne à plusieurs niveaux. On peut retrouver des traces d’écriture sur le bord des dessins en haut à droite. Il s’agit de notes de gribouillages qui ne sauraient êtres expliqués qu’au regard de ce qui se trouve dans la deuxième salle, située au sous-sol de la galerie. On constate aussi la présence d’un livre, ainsi que les noms de villes que reprennent les deux cartes.

Dans la deuxième salle, est projeté un film d’animation qui dure cinq minutes et cinquante secondes. Les images qui apparaissent sont celles des dessins, qu’il nous faut considérer, comme des dessins préparatoires. La procédure de l’effacement visible sur les dessins exposés, s’explique. Un dessin peut-être utilisé plusieurs fois pour une séquence, il sera alors transformé à mesure que la séquence est enregistrée. Les petites marques repérées plus tôt correspondent à des repères principalement temporels, que l’artiste utilise pour passer de l’image fixe à l’image en mouvement. Le dessin concentre en une seule image, ce que le film développe. Le dessin serait la pierre, et le film les étapes de la formation de cette pierre, visible par tranches. L’artiste joue sur le mode de la disparition (quasi totale parfois) et de l’apparition, il enlève d’un côté pour remettre de l’autre. Ce processus pourrait rappeler d’une certaine manière, quelques-unes des histoires extraordinaires d’Edgar Poe, dans lesquelles il est question pour un artiste de peindre un portrait, qui ne peut parvenir à une ressemblance parfaite avec le modèle, sans prendre la vie du modèle. Pour projeter son film, Kentridge se sert de ce qu’il nomme des « écrans trouvés », ici il s’agit d’une boîte à pharmacie qui est à la base de la construction du film et des dessins. Les images sont donc toutes divisées en trois parties puisque Kentridge tient compte de l’existence des petites étagères à l’intérieur de la boîte. Ainsi, il peut dessiner des objets qui seront agencés et posés en tenant compte des étagères. Dans les premières secondes du film, un oiseau s’acharne désespérément à sortir de l’espace qui le retient prisonnier. Pourtant on ne saurait dire quel espace est concerné : celui de la feuille de papier, ou celui de la boîte à pharmacie, assimilable à une cage ?. Lorsque les fondus au noir apparaissent, il est possible de voir son visage se refléter sur l’écran, piégé par la duplicité du miroir, nous devenons nous-même une image. Comme les rêves, les miroirs nous emmènent à mi-chemin entre la réalité et l’illusion, la vérité et le mensonge.

Kentridge nous rappelle qu’il a différents savoir-faire à son actif, c’est quelqu’un qui côtoie l’univers du dessinateur, du cinéaste, du scénographe, du théâtre de marionnettes. Il sait créer l’illusion, et diriger le spectateur, qui se nourrit de tous ses temps hétérogènes rassemblés autour de lui.

Dans la troisième et dernière salle, sont réunies plusieurs réalisations de différents ordres, de nouveaux des dessins où sont d’avantage visible des traits de construction orangé, mais aussi des gravures qui me semblent liées aux spectacles (performances, théâtre de marionnettes), que réalisent l’artiste. Il s’agit en particulier de la création de « costumes » ou de systèmes liés au corps. On y voit par exemple des associations curieuses : toute la partie supérieure du corps peut-être remplacée par une cage, ou un téléphone. À côté des gravures, repose sur une sorte de table, un livre déplié, posé à la verticale. Ce livre à pour titre « la procession », il s’agit de personnages peints à l’encre qui recouvrent partiellement les pages d’écritures. Ces processions sont aussi filmées en silhouettes par l’artiste (« processions d’ombre »). Ces silhouettes se retrouvent aussi sur les deux grandes cartes. Inéluctablement, nous avons l’impression d’être poursuivi par cette horde d’êtres étranges, dans laquelle l’artiste se représente, à travers des autoportraits glissés çà et là. Des grains de matière échappée des dessins, nous avons l’impression qu’ils se déposent partout, jusqu’à ces cartes, d’où se détache un point en particulier, Johannesburg, là où tout à commencé.

Cécilia Becanovic

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----- Original Message -----

From: Mouchette

To: OMMA

Sent: Wednesday, October 31, 2001 1:29 AM

Subject: Somebody loves me, I don't know who

Dear OMMA,

I heard of someone who is in love with me, who follows me in the streets, takes pictures of me and made this whole website about me: http://www.ilovemouchette.hotvomit.com/ Could it be you, OMMA? I have been warned by someone who saw this site featured in a net.art exhibition as if it was a work of art! http://www.year01.com/plunder http://www.year01.com/index_flash5.html.

I am quite shocked and embarrassed about this website trying to compromise my privacy. I will never neither confirm or deny whether this young girl on the photos is really me. But was it you who made this website, OMMA? There is this long letter on the site where a reply from me is expected. http://www.ilovemouchette.hotvomit.com/love.html

Just write something, OMMA, and make believe I'm answering. --

*bisou*

Mouchette http://mouchette.org

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