V V V V Vasiliki
3rd version
In this text I will discuss three works (fold and unfold, is not there & mushrooms). All are concerned with time as a material; how things become through physical interaction, memory and the structure of the organism itself.
“Fold and unfold”
In “Fold and Unfold” the viewer is invited into the space, through several invitations that are written in different parts of the space, to unfold and fold the fleeces and occupy the space if he desires.
“Fold and unfold” is composed by five fleeces, of different sizes in variations of white, grey and black, which have geometric shapes drawn on them. Some drawings are made with a silkscreen technique and others with mechanical embroidery. All drawings are made in a fleece fabric of a different texture of softness. The drawings depict an impossible space; they are optical illusions in which the foreground and the background of the object shift place. The fleeces on which these objects are drawn are folded and placed on a table. The viewer is invited to experiment with the objects by folding and unfolding them he occupies the space. All of these objects are a cross between sculpture and drawing. They keep their material essence as objects and the gesture of drawing is also apparent.
Folding and unfolding is an ordinary action that creates gestures – it can be experienced as a gentle conversation or even as an obsession for order. There are ways to fold something according to your intentions. It can be a private monologue or it can create a space between people. There is something mystical in it as in a silent conversation; the action of folding is often parts of rituals ceremonies. Perhaps it inhabits the space of a dialogue? The piece invites the viewer to reflect on these concepts of use, materiality, and interaction and to experience their transformation. All the fleeces are on a table. The installation is in constant flux, the viewer becomes performer and the mediator between the objects and the artistic intention by folding and unfolding or not the fleeces, allowing or not for the drawings to appear.
“Is not there”
“Is not there” is a wall piece comprising six objects and a text, the text is written below or besides the arrangement of the objects. With this piece as well I explore similar territory. In the same way that you deal with impossible drawings in “Fold and Unfold” in “Is not there” there is something unresolved about its reading and form? Both encounter the space between the viewers, the work and the maker.
The text speaks of an experience, and memory, of an incident that took place in a Dutch market where I saw six objects in a box. These objects triggered memories of a Dutch painting, the kind of painting in which mundane objects are commonly placed along with a ideal scenery. When I started to look for the particular paintings I realized that they it didn’t exist, I had constructed the paintings in my memory. The viewer is invited to follow a series of events with his/her mind. That seems to have a cinematic narrative. The piece arose from a strange collage of different memories. It’s like a dream, where you add up all the different memories to make a new story. During my first days in Holland, I had heightened awareness of the Dutch light. It was then obvious why people painted the way they did during the time of the Dutch Golden Age.
Both pieces, although conceived separately, relate to each other because they both play with our sense of everyday experience. They provide an invitation to play and engage with the space and with the objects. In both cases the works are becoming the medium. Both stay in the size of human scaled objects; something someone could carry or move in the space literal or not, but not so small could be hidden in a pocket and defiantly not so big that could make it unmanageable. In all three pieces, they depict geometric shapes but the geometry imperfect, the structure of the materials, interrupts their geometric perfection. They move from a geometric structure to an organic structure and back again. Could the materiality of six objects in a certain environment trigger a memory flash back and could they them selves became makers of a new experience? The appearance of the piece changes every time is showed; the first time the text was printed out in a small size in an A4 page and played the role of the title. The second time the text was hand written in the wall in one and a half lines (total length 4m), the reader could read the text only of he/she moved in space. The six objects were glued in the wall, in a “kanoniki”, arrangement, two rows of three, the rows were exactly one on top of each other. The objects had with the same distance between them. Another time all the piece was inside a rectangle of light, the six objects where at the top and the text was once again hand written but in an almost cantered alignment with the object, this time the reader would have to stand still and close to the work to read, sometimes he/she would block the light and interfere with the visibility of the text for themselves and others. Every single situation brought up different hierarchy of the elements of the work as well as a les or more personalised connection with the author. It seems impossible to decide the final hierarchy of the elements with out the space that they will be in. The desire for the position of the reader in the space seems to formulate the final presentation of its elements. In all the cases the readers seemed to be drawn to the text and not walk away from it. The shift between the roles of the elements, create a different mode for understanding, its materiality ¬– memory, gesture, storytelling, involvement of the reader – in all the cases the found objects worked as primers for the experience and the verisimilitude of the story. It makes me wonder of the possible spaces that the work could inhabit. What would be the case of involving a digital space of a more demanding participation of the reader?
Mushrooms
"Time seems to have an impact at objects that is not observed in the everyday notion. A common state is observed between objects and organisms that it leads to the transformation of the matte, in such understanding, time, as part of the, equation maybe finally be perceived as an object as well. Maybe the limits of describing entities or reality is somewhere between the meaning of space, world, self, others, possibility, matter, faction, meaning, time.”, (Process Philosophy” on line Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
Time seem to effect the form/status of the mushrooms, but not their existence. They keep on being, they continue their process independently as they go through different status. I grow mushrooms in my studio on different logs. What was interesting was their material properties and observing the way the funguses grow and found form. They were one organism, which had endless possibilities of evolving in an unpredictable form. They operate, as one large underground mechanism, which allows them to exist. They are a fungus, which seems to have the same survival mechanism as the mussels. They build on each other but grow independently. The work consists of a blog of mushrooms, a cube made from plexiglas of 51x51 cm that is missing 12 cm, in the bottom of one side. That opening was necessary for allowing the viewer to touch or even cut the mushrooms as well as creating the proper temperature conditions for them to grow. Along the objects is a non-sequential archive of images of different status of the mushrooms blogs, through their observation for four months. The ideal form of a cube transforms a natural object to a treasure object. The cube creates the distance between the viewer and the mushrooms and put the first one in the position of an observer of a object in a case in a museum. The ideal condition of the cube, is interrupted as much as from the form of the mushrooms and their the continuous transformation, as well as from the side opening and the possible engagement of the viewer. “Thus contemporary process philosophy not only holds out the promise of an integrated metaphysics that can join our common sense and scientific images of the world. It is also of interest as a platform upon which to build an intercultural philosophy and to facilitate interdisciplinary research on global knowledge representation”, “Philosophers analyse becoming and what is occurring as well as ways of occurring. (Process Philosophy” on line Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
If the object is the centre but the initial point are my questions? Where does it places me and the one that takes/receives it? Where are its links with the actual forms and where does it start to exist? Could it exist on each own? Does it exist in the links between the participants? Who has the lead? or is it a “dance” , a vivant tableau, that roles shift and inhabit different quality’s at all time?
Recently, I was thinking of the ocean, what is it? Is it the environment for all the creatures that need it? Is it the substance that determines the borders of the land? Does it has time or is includes in it? What could it be its shape? In the end is it important to have the answers? Or they are part of the process of questioning?
Did Odysseus ever made it to Ithaki?
Bibliography
Process Philosophy, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/process-philosophy/ Future Contingents http://plato.stanford.edu/future-contingents
Identity time, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/identity-time/
Manuel De Landa, DeLanda's lecture pon morphogenesis and art http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HSMTUZ64bY http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_De_Landa
Jane Benet, Artistry and Agency in a World of Vibrant Matter | The New School https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q607Ni23QjA&list=FLPOr9wdse7F-brw85alMjBg&index=7Armey Benet:
Augustine through the ages, An encyclopedia , general editor Allan D. Fitzgerald, O.S.A, foreword by Jaroslav Pelekan, paragraph 3, p.835
Hans Haacke, “Condensation Cube”, begun 1965, completed 2008, Plexiglas, water, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Haacke
Ricardo Basbaum, “Would you like to participate n an artistic experience?”, 1997 still going., http://www.nbp.pro.br/
2nd
In this text I will discuss three works (fold on fold, is not there & mushroom [untitled]). All are
concerned with time as a material; how things become through physical interaction, memory and the
structure of the organism itself.
Time seems to have an impact at objects that is not observed in the everyday notion. A common state
is observed between objects and organisms that it leads to the transformation of the matter, in such
understanding, time, as part of the equation maybe finally be perceived as an object as well. Maybe
the limits of describing entities or reality is somewhere between the meaning of space, world, self,
others, possibility, matter, faction, meaning, time. (“Process philosophy”,Stanford )
“Philosophers analyse becoming and what is occurring as well as ways of occurring.
The forms seem to have a sense of totality, which is a classical conception.
According to Aristotle, something is beautiful because we can comprehend its totality
but totality could be found in the parts that don’t necessarily form/belong to totality according to
Plotinus ****(to do)8****
Materials that have an asymmetrical structure interrupt the platonic purity of these forms.
Use of shapes could easily be read as part of an artistic language and tradition – cubes, shears and
rectangles. Again, I tried to play with these classic forms and play them against the materials they
were composed of, which do not readily comply with these clean, mathematical forms.
These forms have a sense of totality, which is a classical conception.
a strange intellectual game, but in a kindergarten environment. You play with objects but there is also
a limit to how you might engage with them.
Hopefully they will be able to get these things in a direct and playful way.
“Fold and unfold”
In “fold and Unfold” the viewer is invited into the space to unfold and fold the fleece and occupy the
space.
“Fold and unfold” is composed of four or five fleeces, of different sizes in variations of white, grey
and black, which have geometric shapes drawn on them. Some drawings are made with a silkscreen
technique and others with mechanical embroidery. All drawings are made in a fleece fabric of a
different texture.
The drawings depict an impossible space; they are optical illusions in which the foreground and the
background of the object shift place. The fleeces on which these objects are drawn are folded and
placed on a table. The viewer is invited to unfold the fabric and occupy the space. All of these objects
are a cross between sculpture and drawing. They keep their material essence as objects and the
gesture of drawing is also apparent.
Folding and unfolding is an ordinary action that creates gestures – it can be experienced as a gentle
conversation. There are ways to fold something according to your intentions. It can be a private
monologue or it can create a space between two people. The texture of softness is very different to
a sheet. There is something mystical in the silent conversation. Or perhaps it is a fight! Is it a strange
dialogue?
The piece invites the viewer to reflect on these concepts of use and materiality and to experience their
transformation. All the fleeces are on a table. The installation is in constant flux, the viewer becomes
performer and the mediator between the objects and the artistic intention by folding and unfolding the
fleeces, allowing or not for the drawings to appear.
What was behind the motivation of making it?
1.Warmth?I was cold that time
2.How can I break the geometry/structure? but keeps its calming feeling
3. Why not fold the fabrics?
4. I wanted the viewer to have private space/time with the object, sense its softness and smell (maybe
wash them before??)
5. Origami, Jesus clothes, tv. American movies triangle fold when someone is dead, riual of folding,
folding my bedsits by my own, memories of folding with others.
“Is not there” / What is its status?
Where are its edges? Could the materiality of six objects in a certain environment trigger a memory
flash back and could they them selves became a new experience?
“Is not there” is a wall piece comprising six objects and a text, the text is hand written and it is
presented below or besides an arrangement of the objects. With this piece as well I explore similar
territory. In the same way that you deal with impossible drawings in “Fold and Unfold” in “Is not there”
there is something unresolved about their scale?
The text speaks of an experience, and memory, of an incident that took place in a Dutch market
where I saw six objects in a box. These objects triggered memories of a Dutch painting, the kind of
painting in which mundane objects are commonly placed. When I started to look for the particular
paintings I realized that they it didn’t exist, I had constructed the painting in my memory.
The viewer is invited to follow a series of events with his mind. That seem to have a cinematic
narrative.
The piece arose from a strange collage of different memories. It’s like a dream where you add up
all the different memories to make a coherent form after you wake up. It was during my first days
in Holland after moving from my native Greece. I had heightened awareness of the Dutch light. I
understood why people painted the way they did during the time of the Dutch Golden Age.
Both pieces, although conceived separately, relate to each other because they both play with our
sense of everyday experience. They provide an invitation to play and engage with the space and with
the objects.
In both cases the works are becoming the medium, human scaled objects; something someone
can carry or move in the space but not so small as to carry in your pocket and not so big as to be
unmanageable. In all three pieces, they depict geometric shapes but the geometry is not perfect
because the structure of their materials, which they are made of, interrupts their geometric perfection.
They move from a geometric structure to an organic structure and back again.
At that time I was thinking of what could form something contemporary, which concepts is artist
invited or challenged to include in his her work? What are the main ingredients that form the question
you include in your work and form the final form??
Mushrooms
Still don’t have a title …
Intro
These forms were interrupted by the materiality of the objects, as time seems to have an impact at
objects that is not observed in the everyday notion.
OR ///////////Time seems t have an impact at objects that is not observed in the everyday notion. A
common state is observed between objects and organisms that it leads to the transformation of the
matte, in such understanding, time, as part of the, equation maybe finally be perceived as an object
as well. Maybe the limits of describing entities or reality is somewhere between the meaning of space,
world, self, others, possibility, matter, faction, meaning, time.
I decided to grow mushrooms in my studio on different logs that I bought in the market. What was
interesting was their material properties and observing the way the funguses grow and found form.
I kept them in a 51x51 cm cube made from plexiglas that was missing 12 cm in the bottom from the
one side. That allowed enough oxygen for the mushrooms to grow but also created the necessary
humidity.
A non-sequential archive of images of different stages of evolution of the mushrooms was mad out of
my observation for four months.
Time seem to effect the form/status of the mushrooms, but not their existence. (?)They on exist on
their own no mater what you do or if they are dried or not. They are one organism, which has endless
possibilities of evolving in a form that is unpredictable. What is important is their internal mechanism
that allows them to reproduce and appear. In nature mushrooms exist in a middle space. They are a
fungus, not a plant that seems to borrow the same logic as the mussels for developing. Mushrooms
size actually is much bigger from the one we see since part of it is their underground network.
Plotinus: Plotinus was a major philosopher of the ancient world. In his philosophy there are three principles: the
One, the Intellect, and the Soul. His teacher was Ammonius Saccas and he is of the Platonic tradition.
Everything flows: Heraclitus of Ephesus was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher
Thus contemporary process philosophy not only holds out the promise of an integrated metaphysics
that can join our common sense and scientific images of the world. It is also of interest as a platform
upon which to build an intercultural philosophy and to facilitate interdisciplinary research on global
knowledge representation
Philosophers analyze becoming and what is occurring as well as ways of occurring.
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/process-philosophy/
General Conclusion
Bibliography
Process Philosophy
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/process-philosophy/
Future Contingents
http://plato.stanford.edu/future-contingents
Identity time
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/identity-time/
Manuel De Landa
DeLanda's lecture pon morphogenesis and art
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HSMTUZ64bY
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_De_Landa
Jane Benet
Artistry and Agency in a World of Vibrant Matter | The New School
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q607Ni23QjA&list=FLPOr9wdse7F-brw85alMjBg&index=7Armey Benet:
Augustine on time