[Oberlist] EE* evnt/semr: Translocal Express. Golden Age on March 26-27, 2009

[US Vladimir]

Vladimir Us
artist & curator
http://www.oberliht.org.md



> Date: Thu, 19 Mar 2009 13:41:14 +0200
> Subject: Translocal Express. Golden Age on March 26--27, 2009
> From: rael la publicpreparation.org
> To: pp la publicpreparation.org
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Translocal Express. Golden Age
> 
> Date: March 26--27, 2009
> Venue: Kumu Art Museum, Weizenbergi 34 / Valge 1, Tallinn
> Info: www.publicpreparation.org, www.ekm.ee/kumu
> 
> 
> The annual international seminar Translocal Express. Golden Age, a part of
> the series Public Preparation, examines the role of collective memory and
> history writing in the dominant nationalist discourse and its
> articulations in contemporary art.
> 
> Translocal Express continues the agenda of the Public Preparation project,
> which attempts to deal critically with the growing tendencies of
> nationalism in contemporary Europe and nationalism's reflections and
> articulations in contemporary art practice. In the project, the issue of
> nationalism is split into thematic sequences that all focus on different
> aspects of the phenomenon. So far, the following points have been
> addressed -- in February 2008 Translocal Express. Jubilee Edition (in
> collaboration with Airi Triisberg) dealt with the nation-state and its
> alternatives, and in July 2008 Symptoms of Nationalism and Critique of
> Nationalism in the Practice of Contemporary Art concentrated on diverse
> nationalisms in different places in Europe. The next Public Preparation
> event, now planned to take place in August 2009, Nationalism meets
> Capitalism (in collaboration with Ivana Marjanovic), will examine the
> relations between nationalist ideology and capitalist world order. The
> current edition of the project is being held in collaboration with the
> Kumu Art Museum and addresses the paradoxes of national history in
> relation to contemporary nationalism.
> 
> Translocal Express, subtitled Golden Age, examines the role of collective
> memory and history writing in the dominant nationalist discourse and its
> articulations in contemporary art. During the process of developing the
> concept for the seminar, I encountered controversial opinions on linking
> history-writing and formations of collective memory to current nationalist
> mentality. Some critical circles are truly exhausted by the still ongoing
> "memory boom", initiated mostly by Pierre Nora and his co-thinkers decades
> ago, while some are excited about observing the relations between
> different embodiments of collective memory and nationalist rhetoric, which
> is also not a new approach. Eric Hobsbawn has described a situation in
> which political institutions and ideological movements -- not least
> nationalism -- were so unprecedented that even historical continuity had
> to be invented. Traditions had to be invented, and all sorts of new
> devices and symbols were taken into usage, for example national anthems
> and flags. So one should be critical towards the narratives of national
> history and publicly promoted knowledge inherited from the past, but also
> keep in mind that history is not a fixed and finished story; rather, it is
> constantly being re-written from the perspective of the present.
> 
> The key concept of this particular gathering is "golden age". Although the
> term originates in classical mythology and indicates a prehistoric period
> of peace and prosperity, in the context of contemporary national history
> writing in Eastern Europe the golden age might instead be seen as a
> successfully implemented nation-state in the recent past which has been
> miserably lost or has suffered heavily. In a golden age notion, two
> contradictory characteristics meet: an extremely successful and glorious
> period in the history of a nation, and its decline and demolition. In the
> collective consciousness of a nation, the first characteristic is
> accompanied by a nostalgic longing for the good old days, and the latter
> by collective frustration and sorrow. So the dominant discourse of
> national history in some former Soviet states idealizes the era between
> the two world wars, the discourse in some states refers back to imperial
> times, and the discourse in other states commemorates and celebrates the
> victory over fascism. One also should not forget that many nations in
> Eastern Europe were "invented" during the 19th century, so the nations in
> this part of the world might be treated as purely modernist phenomena.
> 
> There is one more significant aspect that accompanies a golden age -- the
> story of a destroyed state or national suffering is often instrumentalized
> as a self-evident argument in the service of contemporary nationalism. The
> ideology producing a national identity has set the unfairness of the loss
> of a historical period as an aim and example, and the traumas lived
> through by the nation have been used as a justification for
> re-establishing nostalgic ideals. The era idealized in national history
> writing frames the main mechanisms of reproducing nationalism: defining,
> fixing and conserving national values, promoting a traditional life-style
> and culture, and supporting conservative policies toward family, religion
> and foreigners. Surely there are other arguments for advocating
> nationalist policies, but relying on the history constructed, shared and
> passed on by a national community is a cornerstone of nationalist
> ideology.
> 
> The current seminar raises two major questions: How can one consider
> history and collective memory in the present day? And how does an artist
> deal with the contradictory narratives of history and with the problems of
> collective memory (or amnesia)? The starting point for both parts of the
> event is artistic practice -- the work of Kristina Norman, which deals
> mostly with a controversial understanding of the Soviet past, and Martin
> Krenn's work, which discusses the issue of commemoration of the Nazi past.
> Other presentations approach these and related themes from different
> angles: How is national history written and re-written? How do artists
> position themselves in addressing the intriguing details of collective
> memory and amnesia? How do artists work with history in gallery spaces, as
> well as in the public space? How is the past politicized and
> instrumentalized for the sake of the present day? These are just a few
> questions to be discussed during the upcoming seminar.
> 
> Videoscreening Foreigners in their Homeland, curated and commented by
> Kamil Malinowski. The following video works will be presented: Yael
> Bartana, Mary Koszmary (2007); Wojciech Doroszuk, Reisefieber -- Sümela
> Restaurant (2007); Anna Konik, Transparency (Mija) (2004); Tomek Kozak,
> Inversus Monastery (2003); Joanna Rajkowska, Upwards! (2006); Krystyna
> Piotrowska, Yoga 1, Yoga 2 (2006); and Artur Zmijewski, Lisa (2003).
> 
> Speakers in the seminar: Eva Fotiadi (Amsterdam), Siobhan Kattago
> (Tallinn) Martin Krenn (Vienna), Kamil Malinowski (Warsaw), Kristina
> Norman (Tallinn), Alexei Penzin (Moscow) and Katarzyna Ruchel-Stockmans
> (Leuven).
> 
> The seminar language is English. Please register at
> info(at)publicpreparation.org
> 
> Translocal Express. Golden Age has been kindly supported by the Estonian
> Cultural Endowment, and the Embassy of the Republic of Poland, Tallinn.
> 
> 
> For further information please contact:
> Rael Artel: rael(at)publicpreparation.org, +37256229213
> Maria-Kristiina Soomre: maria-kristiina.soomre(at)ekm.ee, +37253307719
> 
> 
> Links:
> Bios of the speakers:  
> http://publicpreparation.org/failid/ppsc2/tle3_biod.pdf
> Abstracts of the presentations:  
> http://publicpreparation.org/failid/ppsc2/tle3_abstraktid.pdf
> Programme:   http://publicpreparation.org/failid/ppsc2/tle3_programme.PDF
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ------------------------
> Forever Yours,
> Rael Artel
> gsm: + 372 56 229 213
> email: rael la publicpreparation.org
> msn: moskva80 la hotmail.com
> skype: raelartel
> www.publicpreparation.org
> 

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