Political/Minimal at Kunst Werke, Berlin

xurban_collective is participating to a group show called ‘Political/Minimal’ at Kunst Werke, Berlin. In addition to the installation, we produced a poster/brochure to be circulated freely during the course of the exhibition. To download, click: The Containment Contained, 2003-2007

Dates: November 30, 2008 – January 25, 2009

The exhibition Political/Minimal presents art works from the past forty years that are minimal in form and political in content.

The works reference Minimalism and formally delineate themselves with it. They are characterized by two- or three-dimensional shapes such as circle, square, sphere, or cube. However, the focus of these works lies not on geometrical abstraction or pure aesthetics. On the contrary, ecological, social, economic, and ethical statements are their conceptual framework. The works’ titles, materials, or context of production refer to larger narratives.Political/Minimal finds its points of departure from the tension between the self-referential aesthetics of Minimalism and the often outspokenly critical nature of artistic practice.
ADEL ABDESSEMED
FRANCIS ALYS
MONICA BONVICINI
TOM BURR
ANNABEL DAOU
EDITH DEKYNDT
FELIX GONZALEZ-TORRES
HANS HAACKE
MONA HATOUM
DAMIEN HIRST
ALFREDO JAAR
DEREK JARMAN
TERENCE KOH
KITTY KRAUS
KLARA LIDEN
TERESA MARGOLLES
KRIS MARTIN
COREY MCCORKLE
HELEN MIRRA
MUCHEN & SHAO YINONG
SARAH ORTMEYER
SETH PRICE
GREGOR SCHNEIDER
TINO SEHGAL
SANTIAGO SIERRA
TARYN SIMON
ROSEMARIE TROCKEL
XURBAN_COLLECTIVE
AARON YOUNG

Curated by Klaus Biesenbach

Accompanying to the exhibition, a catalogue will be published by Verlag für moderne Kunst Nürnberg, containing texts by Klaus Biesenbach, Michael Archer, and Jenny Schlenzka (ed. by Klaus Biesenbach, German/English, 23 x 23 cm, 145 pages, 44 color ills., 28 b/w ills., 29 Euro, ISBN: 978-3-941185-07-4).

KW Institute for Contemporary Art
Auguststr. 69
D-10117 Berlin
www.kw-berlin.de   www.berlinbiennale.de

Weitere Informationen / Further information:
Denhart v. Harling . T +49. 30. 243459. 42 . presse@kw-berlin.de

Istanbul’u Terketin!

İSTANBUL’U TERKEDİN!
Ahmet Atif Akin, Gokce Taskan, Ali M. Demirel

Yama ekranı için geliştirilen proje, Anadoludaki deprem sensörlerinden gelen verileri gerçek zamanlı bir biçimde grafiklerle şehire sunuyor ve sismik aktivitenin olduu anda, şimdi, izlenmesine imkan veriyor.
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Art Work

A small temporary public art work placed in Berlin Biennial sculpture garden. The space is defined by an other art work made out of same type of material.

Networked Cultures – The Dialogues (May to December 2008)

xurban_collective contributed to a book project “Networked Cultures: Parallel Architectures and the Politics of Space“  co-edited by Peter Mörtenböck and Helge Mooshammer.

It includes essays by Adrian Blackwell, Marina Grzinic, Irit Rogoff and AbdouMaliq Simone, and conversations with Özge Açıkkol, Azra Aksamija, Ayreen Anastas, Ricardo Basbaum, Jochen Becker, Matei Bejenaru, Ursula Biemann, Sylvie Blocher, Stefano Boeri, Katherine Carl, Sarah Carrington, Branka Curcic, François Daune, Igor Dobricic, Ana Dzokic, Joan Escofet, Jesko Fezer, Asya Filippova, Rene Gabri, Iacopo Gallico, Sophie Hope, Natasa Ilic, Guven Incirlioglu, Katrin Klingan, Vasıf Kortun, Erden Kosova, Olga Lopoukhova, Margarethe Makovec, Marc Neelen, Philipp Oswalt, Kyong Park, Marta Paz, Constantin Petcou, Tadej Pogacar, Poka-Yio, Marjetica Potrc, Gerald Raunig, Oliver Ressler, Josep Saldaña, Marko Sancanin, Günes Savas, Florian Schneider, Despoina Sevasti, Pablo de Soto, Srdjan J. Weiss, Eyal Weizman, Seçil Yersel and Claudia Zanfi.

The book, accompanied by a DVD with audiovisual reports, offers a highly comprehensive overview of the project.

Publisher: NAi Publishers, Rotterdam
Design: Thonik, Amsterdam
Format: 17 x 24 cm, 320 pages
ISBN 978-90-5662-059-2

CONTACT:
Peter Mörtenböck & Helge Mooshammer
info@networkedcultures.org

There are some related launch events next couple of months;

1 May 2008 – Netherlands Architecture Institute, Rotterdam
7 May 2008 – Toronto Free Gallery, Toronto
15 May 2008 – Storefront for Art and Architecture, New York
27 May 2008 – Trafó Gallery, Budapest
31 May to 27 June 2008 – The Israeli Center for Digital Art, Holon
5 June 2008 – Proekt Fabrika, Moscow
10 June 2008 – Pro qm, Berlin
25 June 2008 – santralistanbul, Istanbul
10 October to 9 November 2008 – Open Space, Zentrum für Kunstprojekte, Vienna
16 October 2008 – Whitechapel Gallery, London

For detailed information please refer to the venues’ websites.
For a complete listing of events see: http://www.networkedcultures.org

Live contributions by Asu Aksoy, Lucia Babina, Gulsen Bal, Jochen Becker, Adrian Blackwell, Eric Cazdyn, Sudeep Dasgupta, Igor Dobricic, Nikolett Eröss, Asya Filippova, Iacopo Gallico, Emiliano Gandolfi, Cordula Gdaniec, Joseph Grima, Gita Hashemi, Guven Icirlioglu, Luis Jacob, Catherine Karl, Erden Kosova, Marc Neelen, Poka-Yio, Irit Rogoff, Despoina Sevasti, Christine Shaw, Samu Szemerei, Hakan Topal, Srdjan J. Weiss, Franciska Zólyom, and many others.

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Radikal Sanat Etkinligi

Radikal Gazetesinin organize etmis oldugu kamusal sanat projesine “Imam Bayildi” isimli bir proje ile katildik. Proje detaylarini ve katilimcilarin islerini bu linkten bulabilirsiniz>>> Radikal Gazetesi

Sangay Bienali’nden bir iki ciziktirme

Yabanci yatirimlar sehre akadursun, ve basta da Cinliler en cok bu ise sasiyor olsun, Asya’nin incisi ya da eski deyimiyle “fahisesi,” ulkesinin ekonomik vitrini Sangay, gecen hafta sanat dunyasinin uyelerini bir araya getirdi. Agustos’un basina kadar hala basin bultenini cikaramamis Sangay Bienali, cesitli sikintilar sonunda nihayet acildi.

Bu sene onuncusu duzenlenen bienalin kisaca tarihine bakacak olursak organizasyon 1996 yilinda, 4 Haziran yani Tianmen olaylarinin tam yedi sene ardindan Sangay Belediyesi ve Sanat Muzesi tarafindan kuruluyor. Acik Alan adini verdikleri ilk bienalde, Cin yagli boya tablolarina iliskin bir tarama sunuluyor, ikinci Bienal milli resim olarak bilen murekkep resme adaniyor. Ucuncu biennal, Istanbul 10. bienal kuratoru, Cinli sanatcilari dunya capinda pazarlamasiyla bilinen Hou Honru tarafindan duzenleniyor, Sangay Ruhu ismindeki 2000 Sangay Bienali, kimilerine gore ilk uluslarasi bienal sayiliyor. Boylece, ilk kez yabanci sanatcilara aciliyor program. 2002 Sangay Bienali, sehirlesme, 2004 Sangay Bienali, sanat, bilim, teknoloji Bermuda ucgenine odaklaniyor,

Tematik moddan kurtalamamis, bu seneki bienalin konsepti Hiper Tasarim. Sanat ile fonksiyon amacli tasarim arasindaki gorece ve girift iliskiyi giderme amacli sergi uc ana bolume ayriliyor 1) tasarim ve imajinasyon 2) gundelik hayatta tasarim ve 3)gelecek ve tarih. Kuratoryel ekip ise alti isimden olusuyor. Muze Yardimci muduru Zhang Qing, Huang Du, Shu-Min Lin, Wonil Rhee, Gianfranco Maraniello, Ikon Galerisi yonetmeni Jonathan Watkins. Gercekten de burokratik ve bol kuratorlu bu yapilanmanin sikintilari mekandaki diyalogsuzluga sebep vermis gibi.

Sangay gercekten ozel bir sehir ve sanatcilari bunun farkinda. Ancak bienal, sanatcilarin ya da kuratorlerin ne urettiginin tartisilmasindan cok, sergilerin parasal degerinin konusuldugu bir ortam sunuyor bu sene. Cin guncel sanat pazari muzayedelerle sisedursun, ticari deger akademik ve entellektuel deger anlamina gelmiyor tabii ki. Ancak entellektuel degeri yoksa, uzun vadede pazar degeri de kalmiyor hic bir isin. Serginin en cok sasirtan taraflarindan biri, bienalde bir iki is disinda globalizasyon ya da tuketim kulturune hedefli is hic yok gibi, tam tersine kapitalizmin olanaklarini degerlendiren isler yogunlukta. Ote yandan, Cin’den beklenen tersine, Mao Zedong ya da Tiananmen Olaylarina atifli tek bir is bile yok. Derinden devrim amacli 90larin sanati bu temalari cok islemis oldugundan mi olsa gerek, simdi yerini guncel sorunlari reddetmeye vermis. Unlu arastirmaci Karen Smith’in dedigi gibi “simdilerde belki de hukumet sanatcilardan daha cesur.”

Atelier von Lieshout’un yatak/bilgisayar masasi unitesi, Cinli sanatci Yan Jun’un Tesisat borulari ile tasarlanmis mobilya seti ile Liu Jianhua’nin plastikle tasan konteyneri gundelik hayat ve ekonomi ile cebellesirken, Guney Koreli Lee Kyung-Ho’nun dort duvari projecksiyon kapli mekani doldurdugu uzaktan kumandali oyuncak arabalari aslen Kore’ye Cin’den ihrac edilmis. Sanatci Kore’den geri getirdigi kamyonetciklere Cin’de yeniden hayat veriyor. Son 6 ayda uc kez karsilastigim Zhou Wu’nun “Elislerine Saygi” isimli enstallasyonu hala kendini tuketmeyen islerden, mumyalanmis gibi gozuken beyaz seramik objeler kucuk bir odanin duvarlarini kapliyor. Qiu Anxiong’un William Kentridge vari mitolojik animasyonu da ilgi ceken isler arasinda. Julian Opie’nin LED kutulari tum sergi boyunca yerlestirilmis. Ayni sekilde, Ceal Floyer’un seloteyplerden gerceklestirilmis “sprituel” duvarlarina, fircasi fotorealizm ve karikatur arasinda gidip gelen Kristian Ryokan’in gundelik esyalari barindiran yagli boya resimlerine ve Nara Yashitomo’nun unlu karakter calismalarina da sergi boyunca rastlanabiliyor. Matthew Barney gibi unlu ya da John Armleder ile Tomma Abts gibi kavramsal isimlerin arasinda yine de bu bienal guncel sanata ne ekliyor, sanat tarihine ne birakacak sorularini sormaktan kendini alamiyor insan. Bu sorularin cevabi ise, nedense donup dolasip kendini pazar dinamikleri sorusuna teslim ediyor.

Diger Bienaller
Singapur ve Kore’deki Gwangju Bienali, Sangay Bienali ile turizm ucgeni yaratmis olsa da arada bahsetmekte yarar goruyorum, beklenen uzerinde alternatif bienal vardi Sangay’da. Sangay Muzesi’ndeki ahlaki hokkabazliklardan bunalmis iki adet muze ve bir adet hirsli galeri kendi bienallerini ilan ettiler. Tum bu hareketlenmenin ana sebebi Sangay Sanat Muzesi’nin tekelinden usanmislarin alternatif kanallar arama istedigi. Cin guncel sanatini son 20 yilda koleksiyonunda toparlamis olan Isvicreli koleksiyoner Uli Sigg’in ortak kuratorlugunu yaptigi Victoria Lu sanat yonetmenligindeki bienal, Sangay Muzesi’nin dibindeki Sangay Guncel Sanat Muzesinde acildi. Kendi sahasinda nedense pek sayilmayan bu muzenin boyle buyuk bir ise kalkismasi kimileri tarafindan takdirle karsilanirken, kimileri rakip muze Duolun ve Zendai Muzelerine uzanmayi tercih etti. Nitekim, bu iki muze de kendi festivallerini sundular. Tasarim Bienali ise bir Hong Kong emlak kralinin kizi Pearl Lam liderliginde gerceklesti. Kitch’in nefis performansi diyebilecegimiz bu sergide tasarimcilar sanatci oldu, sanatcilar ise tasarimci.

Amerika sanat dunyasi kendi icinde heyecanlana ve gittikce egzotiklese dursun, malum Avrupa da ote yandan hem sanatsal hem ekonomik anlamda kan ve ivme kaybediyor. En cok merak ettigim, Cin’in nedense hala Amerika ve Japonya disinda ortaklasa uluslarasi projelere sanat bunyesinde kapali oldugu. Ipek Yolu ile ilgili daha hicbir proje gelisememis. Sangay’da uc dort aydir bulunmama ragmen Cin-Orta Asya-Turkiye rotasi yeni nefesli projeler arayanlar icin icin olumlu bir oksijen hatti olusturacaga benzer. Sangay’da yasayan, Uygur kardeslerimizle yahsi yahsi dil uzerinden taramalar yapmak, yeni acilan kapilarla eski gocebe kulturlere bakma, Sufi hat uzerinde dervis tarihine ve su anda siyasi aktivizmin yerini almis guncel sanat hatlarinda gezinmek gercekten de enteresan olabilir. Ne de olsa, Islamiyet icin onemli noktalar, simdiler de sanatin da yeni oksijen buldugu ulkeler.

Cin Halk Cumhuriyeti, Rusya Federasyonu, Hindistan, Kirgizistan ve Tacikistan’?n olu?turdu?u Sangay Beslisi ekonomik birligi demokratik acilimlara merakli olmasa da sanatsal projelere de belki biraz yon verebilir. Turkiye’de milliyetcilik artadursun belki biz de bu sayede harflerimizi, seslerimizi, renklerimizi gorebilecegiz. Yon sadece Balkanlar’da ve Orta Dogu’da olmamali, Orta Asya uzerinden Cin kapilarini da zorlamali!

Deep Depression: An Introduction

The labor power of creative industries, cultural producers of new economy, art laborers, artists, designers, architects, writers and so on, are constantly complaining about their working conditions, their bosses, their institutions, their universities, their social networks. It seems that being in a buffer zone (like in creative industries) does not leave any option for actualized creative potential, but only tight managerial constraints that leave marks of frustrations on daily life. It is quiet depressive to know that there is no easy escape from this hell as spectacle have to be extremely conservative in order to be a successful spectacle.

How does this machinery work really? Non-profits, artists’ communities, and new media clans, and ordinary (rich) people who really are passionate about art, and ambitious curators who knows about the cutting edge art, and public lectures and symposiums and discussions and educational initiatives and the family days and everything related to this art business. All of them seems to be together so smoothly! In fact my concerns are boringly ‘modern’, a bit outdated. What I am trying to say that anti-positions (like mine) that does not need to be addressed in terms of their own particularities, i.e. after all art world is no particular place!

I was, for a long time, thinking that, as cultural producers, we had to develop a precise antagonistic position against this constantly collecting, commercial machinery and save ‘art’ from its ties form capitalist mode of production therefore circulation and blah blah, blah blah… This was obviously a very naive attempt tested by first and second and third wave of avant-gardists. Now, as a grown up, knowing that there is no safe heavan, to me the only route is to investigate more at the periphery of the ’social’ (as opposed to periphery of the [traumatic] individual and art).

We are living under a constant siege, as our bodies immersed to images, like tattoo of the times, usually overlapping on to each other, makes it hard to separate one from the other and impossible to erase them as they leave permanent traces, like of scars. This everyday condition is suffocating all possibilities, limiting movement, paralyzing thinking, moving us in to similar directions (i.e hipsterity of intellectual production). Therefore the very strategy need be the one against to the society itself, against common sense (culture?, civilization?) that bounds us together. Following Artaud’s diagnoses, it is true that the sickness is immersed to every level of society, therefore artistic work can only be effective when it operates against to very foundation of this social fabric, including one’s own body. This fabric that makes the ‘institutional’ possible, like a structural framework. A total dissolution is needed.( Ok I am still naive!)

Let’s go back to the ‘art institutions’; trustee network , collectors, philanthropists of this new economy (like bill gates and his variants), I precisely mean the very good people who donate lots of money to the arts, the very people who need to deduct those cash form their taxes and guide political agenda into a conservative catastrophe. Of course, come on, all these can functions only with those people who are the support network, the servants of the wealthy ones, the directors, and the development people and the marketing gurus and et cetera. It is funny, let’s face it, this is the theater. Now, I can think sociologically…

Dansistan

Visit our friend Gurur Ertem’s performance art blog;

http://www.dansistan.org/

“Dansistan is a “place” dedicated exclusively to reviews, articles, essays, commentaries, debates, reflections, stories, histories, and possible itineraries on/of contemporary dance and performance art - as well as other related creative forms. It is international in scope, although the blogger is mostly based in Istanbul and New York. Some of the materials posted are copy-righted, while others may be enjoyed as “copy-left” information. Commentaries can be posted either in English or Turkish.”

Sent by: Emily Jacir thru Shobak

To: shobak@idash.org

Today’s Shobak includes a series of links to Qana
killings, sent by New York/Ramallah based Palestinian
artist Emily Jacir.

I really have no notes to add today….

In Bengali there is a phrase:
“Olpo shok e kathor
Odhik shok e pathor”
[With some sorrow you writhe in pain
When sorrow is too much, you turn to stone]

That is possibly the condition of people witnessing
the continuing obliteration of the Middle East

Naeem Mohaiemen
http://www.shobak.org
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Emily Jacir writes: From my friend Tony in Beirut
which he sent today:
I’ve got my own little Hiroshima right here in my
pocket. sometimes i take it out, i put it on the
table, and ponder. it will take us countless years
and several generations to grasp the immensity of the
catastrophe that has (and is) struck us- and these
women who now wear black, and who become more and more
numerous with each passing day- these women are not
only mourning their loved ones, but they are mourning
hope itself. Where are God’s angels when you need
them? I just want one of them to whisper in my ear
that things are going to be ok, maybe then i can
breathe again.
Tony

Shahid Alam:
Imagine waking up tomorrow in an upside-down world,
one in which the history of America�s relations with
the Arabs is inverted. Iraq is now the global hegemon,
the world�s richest democracy, a beacon of freedom;
Iraq and the Arab democracies dominate the world and
what was once the USA. Imagine that the Arabs have
used their power to replace a United States of America
with forty-four nominally independent states….What
would the Americans, now split, divided, corralled
into forty-six racial, ethnic and sectarian states do
if they found themselves in such a world? Would they
resent the surrogate despotisms that ruled over them
with Iraqi arms and money? Would some of their young
men, faced with overwhelming Iraqi power, resort to
suicidal attacks within Iraq itself?

Vatican Seeks Modern Art

07.18.06 - The Vatican Museums, half a millennium old and home to works by Michelangelo, Raphael, Leonardo, and Caravaggio, are looking for modern art, reports the New York Times’ Lawrence Van Gelder. Francesco Buranelli, director of the museums, told the newspaper La Stampa that he “would like very much to have a Picasso” and plans acquisitions “above all in sectors like contemporary art….”