Sculptural Narration
- Sculptural Narration
- 14/05/2010 - 31/07/2010
- Stewards:
- Denys Zacharopoulos
- PressAnnouncement:
- SCULPTURAL NARRATION - GLYPTIKES AFIGISIS
Museum Alex Mylona - Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens
Ag. Asomaton Sq. 5
GR - 10554 Athens
15.05. - 31.07.2010
Opening: 14.05.2010, 20.30
The intercultural exhibition-project entitled Sculptural Narration - Glyptikes Afigisis premiered in Munich in 2006, was repeated in Lithuania in 2007 and took place in Istanbul in the beginning of 2009. It gathers together ten changing international artists whose conception of art treats interaction with the artist's body as an integral part of the artwork. The exhibition covers a variety of approaches ranging from sculptural performance to interactive sculpture. It features photographs, video works, installations, objects and actions in which the performative strategy mobilised by the artist is either manifested in their own person or - e.g. in the case of objects - is displayed in the form of references to a past physical act by the artist. The artist enacts a sculpture, merging with the medium or appearing as a phenomenon exploring the dimension of space, producing or destroying his or her sculptures in front of a video (or still) camera.
Although the artists themselves are not the explicit subject of any of these works, and the element of self-perception or even mystification is not central to their purpose - as it might be in a traditional self-portrait - the incorporation of the artist's body in the artwork necessarily implies an investigation of the artist's relationship to themselves and their role as an individual and in society, with a strong focus on contextualisation.
This has been a continuous process ever since the 1960s and 70s, when occidental artists first discovered the possibility of using their own bodies as a creative medium (Bruce Nauman, Franz West, Helena Almeida, Valie Export), and performance and body art reflected the sweeping social and moral changes taking place at the time. The 1980s and 90s added further dimensions to this quest to elucidate the materiality of the human body and translate it into the world of experience. This period was marked by the questioning of national and ethnic identities, and a critical response to the issues raised by the new technology of genetic engineering and the obsession with physical fitness and beauty. In other words, ever since the latter half of the 20th century, perceptions of the body have been firmly anchored in international contemporary art. Each of these scenarios and influential factors has been taken up as a creative challenge by the numerous branches of performative art that range between live action and interactive sculpture. In particular, video and other digital media have changed the way the human body is displayed and interpreted by the artist and given rise to new forms of presentation.
The exhibition "Sculptural Narration" traces the evolution of contemporary art in this context, and illustrates how modern artists have appropriated the performative and experimental aspects of traditional action art and applied them to contemporary issues using new sculptural formulas. The project was initiated by Patricija Gilyte and Anne Wodtcke with the intention to show artistic positions within an expanding and transforming context.
(Text: Erika Waecker-Babnik)
www.skulpturalehandlungen.de
Participating Artists
Heike Dascher (
1967), Munich, Nezaket Ekici (
1970 Turkey), Berlin, Christian Engelmann (
1970), Munich, Patricija Gilyte (
1972 Lithuana), Munich, Isabel Haase (
1975 Austria), Munich, Kostas Sahpazis. (
1980), Athens, Vassiliea Stylianidou (
1967 Greece), Berlin , Stefan Wischnewski (
1974), Munich, Anne Wodtcke (
1954), Munich, Mary Zygouri (
1973), Athens
Curator
Dr. Erika Wacker-Babnik, Munich
In collaboration with Denys Zacharopoulos (Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art) and Alexios Papazacharias