Work in progress

PUZZLE

Some thoughts on institutional critique.

*This image is only related to the text in that it was created at the same time.

Regardless of the good intentions or effective nature of an institution (whether they are an art festival/exhibition/biennial, school, corporation, nation-state, non-profit, et cetera), they should always be scrutinized and looked at with a critical eye. One should try to analyze reasons for every choice and decision made in an attempt to understand the strategy of that institution. Of course institutions are made up of individuals who may have very altruistic ideas but even the intentions of such persons can be corrupted by mechanisms which exert their pressure upon the institution, breaking down those intentions. Every institution is of course subject to a myriad of external forces however one which can cause it to swing back towards positive means is institutional critique. As I see it, the relationship between institution and individual participant or consumer is a game whereby the institution's public representation, funding, workers, context and fundamental ideology are its pieces which it can move as deems most appropriate and where the consumer/participant only has its critique and level of participation to counter the institution's moves.

Institutions inherently need consumers/participants but they also seek to use or exploit them as fuel for their machine. Skepticism of institutions therefor attempts to balance this relationship. Finding, highlighting, and exploiting flaws between what the institution says and its actions as well as their reasons for doing so is a responsibility of the participant/consumer in order to keep that institution working FOR its audience rather than for the forces which press upon the institution from the opposite direction.

Learning by Walking

After a long day of walking, Dr. Martins feel heavy on your feet. The sun has sinked from the highest point of the sky. As you walk a narrow street bright daylight and dark shadows alter between one another creating heavy contrasts that your eyes have trouble adjusting to. You pass several businesses, that have closed their doors. With your hands around the face, you peak in from the windows. Coffee beans, cezve, sugar dispensers and cutlery on a countertop of a restaurant that is filled with empty tables. Next door you see a hairdresser's chair that is designed for washing hair. Windows covered with graffiti and interior deteriorating, these spaces have been out of business for years now. It looks as if an emergency has swept over the city, leaving only a ghost down behind. 

The impressions quickly change as you continue the journey. You take a path  that follows the edge of a park with branches of blossoming trees bending to the sidewalk. Your gaze wanders in from the window of a basement apartment. A lazy cat is liking themselves on the windowsill, while a young woman is slouching on a bed and smoking a cigarette. 

Among buildings that are mostly from 1980’s /1990's, there are some that based on the influenced of  Bauhaus appear to be from the 1930’s. Their marble entrances and New York style front desks, give away that these used to be for the rich. Once an area for the high society, these buildings are now habited by families mostly with immigrant backgrounds. Because their apartments are small and crowded the outdoor air has its appeal. The streets are filled with playing children, while men sit in cafes and sip their expressos. A maple tree gives a pleasant shadow. Even though it looks out of place here because of the dry climate, it is able to grow thanks to the river that used to be here before it was filled on the requests of the citizens.

While relying on intuition as your guide, and not using a map, the overall picture of the city is fragmental. While there lacks a feeling that I know where each part of its body lies, these walks have produced knowledge of the city on a horizontal level. As I recognising bits and pieces, I am able to find threads that finally lead me back to the hotel.

Below are the following things you should know.

By now you've made a fortune and are thinking of buying an apartment or land in Greece which you've fallen in love with. Your fiance or wife is thrilled with the idea and even King Cobra and Arnold have made friends. What now? Looking for something to buy is much the same as looking to rent; however there are many more pitfalls and quite serious ones if you're not careful. 

By law, Anyone of any nationality can by property in Greece providing it's not on any insensitive areas, as the Greek govt. refers to them. For EU citizens this does not apply but for the rest of the world these areas are: eastern Aegean, Dodecanese islands, northern Greece, Crete, Rhodes, and Dorian's home in Athens. Of course these restrictions are old and take it all with a grain of sea salt. 

Notice that these areas are bordering Greece's mortal enemies: the Albanians, communists, and Tito's malevolent empire. No one has taken these laws off the books mainly because the govt. can't afford to hire anyone to find them. One has to slither through dusty, yellow old books in some forgotten cellar of some ministry. Now here's a job for our old friend King Cobra.

Ourhouse is a very very very fine house

With paperwork so grand  

And taxmen on our landÖÖ..

http://www.athensguide.com/dorian/buying-property.htm

looking for the body

i stand in the rain,

i cry under a ruined concrete construction,

i shake in anxiety, 

i hold my belly in menstruation pain,

i kiss a stranger,

i drink too much,

i squat in a puddle on a rooftop,
i hug wonderful people,

i don't feel my weight,

i let go in a rhythm

Questions (but no answers)

How do I position myself? 

What are my motifs?

How should I cope with the confusion?

Who exploits?

What are the power structures I build on?

Why do I feel like an alien?

What do my body gestures tell?

How should I cope with the frustration?

What is solidarity?

How should I cope with the insomnia?

What narratives should I follow?

These are the questions I have been dealing with during our second trip to Athens. It's good to be back, it's confusing to be back. 

Hills of Athens

I like to take long walks and today I took one to see the Acropolis. It costed 20€ to get in so I decided I would rather walk around the area. After a while, I ended up on the Hill of Muses. There were no people and it was very peaceful. While walking among old trees, colorful butterflies and beautiful views, my soul was at ease.

On the top of this sacred hill there is the Philopappos Monument built around 114-116 A.D which can be seen from all over the city, just like the Acropolis. I later learned that back then it was described as a monument built for a Syrian man.

Rooftop culture

Paris Legakis did it. Vasiliki and Claire from Yellow Brick did it. In February Maria and Skafte did it. They took us to the rooftop. Why? And why does it feel so damn good every time?

Spiral staircase, unstable ladder.

+ EFFORT / SECRET / EXCLUSIVITY / ADVENTURE / EXCITEMENT

Secret cubes surrounded by white walls or no walls or railings at all.

+ SAFETY / DANGER

Seeing up, down and to the infinity.

+ POWER POSITION / HOPE / SUBLIME / PERSPECTIVE / EMPOWERMENT

Hiding or exposing: podiums or nests.  

+ PUBLIC / PRIVATE / US / THE OTHERS / COMMUNITY / UNIVERSE

Silent, timeless. All the time in the world. Free time, free mind.  

+ FOCUS / MOMENT

=

Open air, open atmosphere. Easy talk, easy breathe, easy feel.

Take me high!

Pork lunch.

Rasheed Araeen, Shamiyaana–
Food for Thought: Thought for Change
Athens, 16-21.05. Kotzia Square, 1–2:30 pm and 3–4:30 pm

Under colorful canopies inspired by the shamiana (a traditional Pakistani wedding tent), Araeen Rasheed invites people to sit together and enjoy a meal based on recipes from around the Mediterranean, which have been cooked in collaboration with Organization Earth....The description of the project is inclusive and according to invigilators, everyone is able to participate (so long as they are not being hateful). Actually I should say that anyone is able to participate, so long as you are one of the first 100 to get tickets. The tickets are free but already that sets up an invisible barrier to the project; if someone cannot speak English or Greek then it is likely that they will assume that the tickets cost something or may just be inhibited based on the language barrier. Personally, I was sitting at a table with three Syrian refugees who did not speak English or Greek but only Arabic. Also at the table was one Kurdish man from the Ararat mountains in Turkey, one Greek man, and one Polish girl. The other tables seemed to mostly have middle class families as well as some older couples (mostly non-Greek, tourists, if I had to guess). We sat together under the custom, professionally made, expensive structure of the "tents" which were loosely encircled by security attendants. Water was brought to our table, then bread, followed by the main dish and after everyone had finished there was a sweet, cinnamon bread for dessert. The main dish was yellow rice, roasted pork, salad and tzatziki which was reasonably good. The food itself presented another barrier to the project, excluding half of our table from sharing the same meal as the pork could not be eaten by the three Syrians because of their religion and the one vegetarian, instead they were given everything else but no substitute for the pork. Thous I am personally not a vegetarian I had (wrongly) assumed that the food would be vegetarian for ease and inclusivity. The meal was nice enough with some small talk between the strangers in as much as we could communicate. I tried to ask everyone how they knew about the project that we all were participating in; The Greek man was friends with another man who was working there, the Syrians knew nothing of Documenta14 but instead thought it was a government subsidized program, Two of us knew about the Documenta14 program and unfortunately I did not find out how the Kurdish man knew about it but also seemed aware of Documenta as well as being well traveled so I suppose he was visiting some of the other events/exhibitions.  Overall it was a nice experience which provided the opportunity to sit with strangers for a meal but, like other Documenta14 programming, it seems to me that the outcome of this project was more focused on the appearance of making a political act rather than actually achieving results or achieving the best results possible.

The project itself presented a slew of positive and negative attributes: locked bathrooms, a perimeter of security guards, menu choices, language issues and a ticket kiosk all present invisible barriers to accessing the work for potential participants. The staff presenting the work were helpful and friendly, as far as I could tell. The actual structure that contained the work was way over built and that money could have been distributed in a more effective fashion. If coming alone or with one other person, it was so that you would sit and eat with a bunch of strangers, possibly from different backgrounds which was initially awkward, sometimes confusing, but overall nice while being at the same time too simple, trite and wasteful. 

Rasheed Araeen's Shamiyaana project was supported by the British Council

Worshop at the Athens School of Fine Arts

 You sit in an audience, legs crossed on a pillow, and look at the stage. Tall and lean woman with black curly hair is sitting with legs spread and elbows leaning on knees. On a chair next to her strongly built young man is casually leaning back. Gazing into the void both of them pretend to be oblivious to the looks of the audience. Poses change. The woman unbuttons her green shirt, and changes is against a yellow tee that her partner is wearing. Without making any physical contact slight flirtation between them can be detected. He is giving her a look, she turns away, his reacts by pretending not to care. She then makes initiative to reconnect . After the first session an audience members replaces one of them. Then there is a flow of people that step onto the stage and other that leave it, while the game continues. Clothes get changed, poses taken, looks given. Everyone on the stage looks art-school trendy, you feel like reaching for a camera. 

After a small break the task changes. Now people on the stage alter between scenes that depict pornography, violence and family photo. Every pose is directed towards the audience, scenes flow from one defined moment to the next. The ones that depict pornography and violence sometimes get intertwined. Partners do not always interpret each others motives. Family photos on the other had look like commercial fashion photographs. I feel like the only thing that is missing are lights and a photographer that captures it all. Otherwise, the setting is reminiscent to a performance of poses on a photo shoot. 

While initially it is easy to get mesmerised by the aesthetics of the setup, as the workshop evolves, the motives become questionable. Does it dismantle the beauty ideals and gender roles set up by media culture or does it play into them by reinforcing? What does the art contacts bring to the equation? Aestheticising violence, that has some sexual indications even becomes difficult to witness. 

Beauty VS Content

I don't think that beauty and content are mutually exclusive but does one need to balance the two; as one attempts to make something more aesthetically pleasing does it distract from the content? As one focuses more on one, do they have to focus less on the other? Does beauty become a facade to obscure substance? Does aesthetic value relate to how engaging something is? I don't want to create a post entirely of questions but I am finding the situation of super-produced art (as in examples seen during Documenta14) feeling like a theatrical production where image is the only goal and anything behind that feels like a lie. Beauty becomes misdirection, drawing one's attention away from meaning. I feel like this relates to the larger problem in the contemporary art world, now more than ever but certainly a growing problem in the past 2 or 3 decades, where celebrity and appearance is more valuable than what actually is, because that is what the market dictates.

The big picture

Altogether, the recent studies have shown that humans and aesthetics have histories that are deeply intertwined, and depend on each other for their own health and well-being as well as that of their environments. Although the researchers focused exclusively on human-aesthetic interactions, they expect that similar trends of codependency and symbiosis are universal among and between other groups, such as Archaea, fungi, plants, and animals.

Due to these symbiotic relationships, the academics here propose that the very definitions of an organism, an environment and a population have become blurred and should be reviewed. It may be, for instance, that humans are better viewed as host-sense ecosystems than as individuals.

In addition, the academics predict that the recent findings on human-aesthetics interactions will likely require artists to significantly alter their view of the fundamental nature of the entire cultural sphere. 

In the end, the academics hope that the results will promote more cross-disciplinary collaboration among artists, scientists and engineers from different fields to explore the new sensual frontier. They argue that these discoveries should revolutionize the way that art is taught from the high school level on up, by focusing more on the relationships between aesthetics, their human partners, and all other life forms.

https://phys.org/news/2013-02-bacterial-world-impacting-previously-thought.html

The Migrant, post colonialism and Europe in relation to Documenta 14 pt. 1

Art and politics, statements of the mentioned never mentioned

Documenta. When speaking of Athens. Now merely an excuse. Athens, Greece since TROIKA changed the discourse of Europe.

The school of fine arts Athens.

At the school of Fine arts in Athens; ASFA, has it’s origins in the Royal School of Arts established in 1836, in 1992 it was relocated to the former textile factory of the Sikiarides family in. When scouting the surface, you do not notice this hyped ”crisis” here,  but as a very present problem, scouting the surface is never enough and very often misleading.  Entering the open studios of the student’s and talking with people, gives a very different view. The students seem very aware and therefore very aware of politics, economics and the post-colonialist status of Europe. people are discussing politics in a a natural merge with their art as these clandestine dynamic spaces with wildgrowing graffiti, plants and art. They seem to have their very own opinion on both the debth-crisis and the relationship to Germany, (and German Documenta). ASFA is a Documenta venue, the first  space to engage in collaboration with Documenta, and since the fall of 2016, Arnisa Zeqo of aneducation (the public education program of Documenta 14) has led Elective Affinities, a seminar inviting students from various departments to engage with documenta 14 artists. Documenta displays an exhibition in the main exhibition space of the school, the Nikos Kessanlis hall, but the school in it self and the engaged students is as or if not more intriguing and present in its importance to the discussion of politics and arts.

When talking to the students at the ASFA I heard various oppinions but mainly a disengaged attitude constituting the superficial occupational program from the Documenta progam.  This is a shame I think as kept in mind that Documenta state that they have worked 4 years of the progress of establishing relationsships in Athens, how come you don’t see any events or workshops arranged but local students or professors? That is for the workshops, the next matter of subject is the main documenta exhibition at the ASFA:

Documenta is, to put it promptly, a political art event, by staging itself in Athens it has all ready claimed its agenda, commenting on a Europe of determisnitic crucial financial politics and the battle of etics in relation to migration and custom barriers.

Regarding the wholeness of the exhibition and the quality of many of the installation, I will not elaborate here, because one piece, the centre-piece of the exhibition is so strong that it justifies Bouchra Khalili “the tempest society“. This movie is the strongest piece of art, I have seen, -commenting on the state of Europe and it’s ethics and lack of same, implemented as a consequence of protectionist financial politics, in perspective to immigrants coming to Greece -their personal stories, becoming the new Epos of a Europe.

We heard later in the evening an amazing talk from the programme of Documenta:  “Black Athens” with Indian professor Ranabir Samaddar and comments from Rwandian philosopher Isaïe Nzymana titled:”

Debt and Migration in the Postcolony. An Enquiry into Greece’s Crisis”.

( I will return to the talk in pt2.) 

Ranabir Samaddar was, with wit and a sharp metaphorism and economical knowledge, giving an analysis regarding capitalsms' reduction of labour to a fluctatious commodity that has no permanent rights. 

-->To return to the video, explanation would fill various pages or not do justice to the elaborate research, proximity and inevitable points of the piece. It was concerning Europe and refugees, and the state of the migrant within EU. The nature of borders in Europe where the nationalist state and borders are at the commands of neo-liberalist politics. I cannot do justice with my own words to describe this piece so I  show stills from the movie, and encourage everyone to see this piece of art. It will make us all more human.

Day 1 in 4 points

1) A workshop that irritated me

2) A video that moved me

3) A lecture that puzzled me

4) A city that heartened me



Its good to be back. 

Is it possible to be true on the stage?
Is it possible to be true in politics?
...true with other people with respect and acceptance for who they are, regardless of the race, social status, nationality, wealth, beauty, coolness or whatever drives the world around. Listen, communicate in being true?

Go fight your fear, be angry, be disappointed, depressed, anxious... be, towards others.

Quoting the singer from Bouchra Khalili's movie: "Sometimes laughter, sometimes tears; Oh my Heart, please be patient; Oh my Heart, have mercy"

Have mercy and be true.

aneducation: from serious reflection and beyond

Post-reflections on 'The School of Gestures'

What was described as...

Gestures include a wide spectrum of codified behaviors and communication—from the simple and unintentional to the complex and mimetic. Together with students from various institutions and over a period of one week in May 2017, the School of Gesture introduces specific histories of the body and examines how power is inscribed on it. Participants engage in a series of gestural exercises, read texts, and take part in both conversations about the archeology of gestures with contributors to documenta 14 and guests.

...quickly descended into a mass of bodies, partially participant driven and partially directed by the artist. Loftily written but,what was in actuality a superficial experience with the apparent end goal of producing beautiful documentation of bodies undulating, isolated, interacting, en masse and very often hyper sexualized. The humanity of the situation was very limited as self assured individuals got up to be photographed and perform as one would in something more closely aligned with high-fashion, with few traces of self consciousness. Reminding of an elaborate Instagram shoot where attractive and relatively homogeneous amateurs become models and the end product was more important than the process. Organizers introduced the "workshop" by talking about the "tasteful" end documentation and that participants should be "present in the moment" and not take any photos but the subtext I gathered from this was that this emphasis on the final documentation and the participants inability to participate its co-creation therefor placed total ownership of final documentation on the organizers. What could have been a participatory, relational, empowering event was reduced to a staged, pseudo-fashion shoot where participants could embrace their inner narcissists as they performed in front of an audience as well as the camera, ultimately to be exploited by the artist/organizer(s) for their future gains.

Inspired by Ahtens School of Fine Arts

One of the Documenta14 exhibitions was located in the Athens School of Fine Arts. Next to seeing the exhibition we had an opportunity to visit the school and their facilities.

Hunting for hope

Yesterday turned out to be a step forward when it comes to my hunt for the meaning of hope. I got one answer but also a bunch of new questions.

“Hope is the best word to understand international feelings.”

International? Feelings? In this context hope is approached as a medium to connect with each other.  But still what is the core of hope? And then, what is the relation between hope and emotions? Is international used in the sense of universal, profoundly human or is it referring to the communities around you? Making a divisions between us and the others and offering a bridge?

Some post-1st visit thoughts

Abject

Refugees, homeless people and concrete skeletons, victims of the crises as abjects; linked to taboos, no-zones

Crisis

Whose crisis is it? What does it mean to be in the state of crisis? Crisis of capitalism, crisis of democracy, personal crisis?

Daily encounters

Cats, cigarettes, construction sites, concrete skeletons, emptiness (possibility or failure, whose?), things in progress or under construction, people gathered around the fireplace in the dark, pieces of clothing in garbage bins, homelessness

To exoticize

When walking around the immigrant neighbourhood we – four English speaking girls - were the exotic ones, the ones not belonging here, those who are better to be kept at arm´s length.  People we encountered while walking the small alley kept a distance, took some side steps, avoided us. They expressed fear, not anger or curiosity. We were prepared to be the ones accused of exoticism. What and who is exotic and to whom? “Why are you here?”“What do you do here? Crisis tourism, the fear of exotisicism, object/subject

Graffiti

I found myself hesitating to call them graffiti. Texts or writings felt better. Why?  In Athens, it was about something else. To take over the public space? To shout in public? A claim for social change? If, who has a moral right to do so and where? Vandalism or political activism?

Hope

One thing repeated in the street writings was hope. Hope for what? Better future? What does it include? Could I collect dreams and only dreams? To forget the dystopian features? Collective dreaming? What are you dreaming of?

Justice

Shift from law to justice; value, principle, cultural, social?

Politics+art

Is there art without politics? Is art always mingling with politics?

Structural elements or dimensions

vertical/horizontal, top down/bottom-up, private/public structures, “heart structure”, the core of the city, insider/outsider, introvert/extrovert, people as structures, social borders

Truth

What is my truth, your truth? Our guests, politicians, media – all have their own truth. Whose truth is the prevailing truth? In the end, what is the difference between opinion and truth? What are the counter narratives?