Muziotopia (Chişinău / Iasi) 2008.

Muziotopia (Chişinău / Iasi) 2008.


The project, which I was working on during the summer 2008, resulted in an investigation and documentation, regarding the forms of archiving and representing recent history in the public sphere.

My research consisted of photographing the on display collections and juxtaposing them with found footage from archives of those museums. Furthermore I searched for written information, which could shed light on the changes that those institutes were going through after 1989.
In the scope of my research I photographed in the following museums: The National Museum of Ethnography and Natural History, the National museum of history and Archeology, The National Museum of Fine Arts, The Pedagogical Museum, The Military Museum, The Union of the Writers museum, The Union of the public transport workers museum.
I photographed as well in the former buildings where some other museums connected directly to the former regime were located. Obviously those institutes ceased to exist after Moldavian independence in 1991.

As a result of my research, a clear and disturbing reflection evolved: I traced the process of omitting recent history that is present in those public institutes. Each institute tried to re-create its own concept and strategy of re-presenting the continuity and existence of the Moldavian state. Artifacts related to ancient history of the state where re-contextualized, while the artifacts and other archaeological exhibits dealing with recent history of XXI-XX century where removed and replaced with the other artifacts which support the new national discourse.
Reflecting on the idea of the museum as a cultural machine that produces the content for the group identity, a thought-provoking question emerged: how does national identity can be formed if the different presented narratives do not correspond one with each other?

To get a glimpse over the situation in Moldova at the Romanian side, I traveled to Iasi to photograph institutes alike. The three main museums for History, Art and Science - The Palace of Culture in Iasi were closed for renovations and I managed to photograph five houses of writers, the Museum of natural History and The Kogelnecanau House. Analyzing the situation in Iasi, led me to similar conclusions regarding the role of their museums in re-presenting and re-creating the national discourse.

Through this process, I wish to initiate question marks regarding the political truths that were shifting the Moldavia region in the last decades. A question is being raised to the extent of the national trauma that might be causing the Moldavian society to erase and reject any objective reference to the cultural and social atmosphere of the Soviet era. The role and responsibilities of cultural heritage institutions like the museums seems ambiguous in the light of the denial ideology they present to the public. Finally, a more general discussion is opened regarding the intersection of politics, history, culture and social participation in a period of rapid changes.

EXHIBITION
RO-MD/Moldova in Two Scenarios

21 of October - 10 of November 2008 (10.00-17.00)
Locations: The National Museum of Ethnography and Natural History (str. Kogalniceanu 82)
The Museum of Romanian Language M.Kogalniceanu (str. 31 August - 98).

Opening: 21 of October, 16.00, The National Museum of Ethnography and Natural History
Press conference: 21 of October,14.00, The National Museum of Ethnography and Natural History

The exhibition presents visual art projects as a result of interaction
between artist and experts (sociologists, historians, political
annalists) involved in this interdisciplinary project. The
participants investigated by juxtaposing the current cultural, social
and political situation in two Moldova regions (Moldova region from
Romania and the Republic of Moldova). The main project installation is
located in the National Museum of Ethnography and Natural History,
while the other projects are exhibited in The Museum of Romanian
Language M.Kogalniceanu. Along with the visual art projects will be
presented the video documentation of the colloquium from Iasi and the
audio files with the experts contributions. The participants analysed
and commented upon the former and current conditions of two patterns:
post-socialist and post-soviet of two societies, decades after the
collapse of eastern block and dismantling of Soviet Union. In the same
time the artists and experts looked closely in to the future scenarios
of the society's in question.

Participants:

The artists:

Dan Acostioaei/ Iasi

Denis Bartenev/ Chisinau
Bik van der Pol (Liesbeth Bik and Jos van der Pol)/Amsterdam
Maxim Cuzmenco/ Chisinau
Veaceslav Druta/ Chisinau
Tatiana Fiodorova/ Chisinau
Lavinia German/ Iasi
Alex Grigoras/ Iasi

Violeta Ionita/ Iasi

Gulsun Karamustafa/Istambul
Iratxe Jaio and Klaas van Gorkum/Amsterdam
Lucia Macari/Amsterdam-Chisinau
Tilmann Meyer-Faje/Amsterdam
Aurelia Mihai/ Bucharest-Hamburg
Dumitru Oboroc/ Iasi
Ghenadie Popescu/ Chisinau

Ilya Rabinovich/Amsterdam
Igor Scerbina/ Chisinau
Vadim Tiganas/ Chisinau
Vladimir Us/ Chisinau

The experts:

Igor Casu, Chisinau (historian)
Sorin Bocancea, Iasi (political analist)
Petru Negura, Chisinau (culturologists and sociologist)
Flavius Solomon, Iasi (historian)
Mihai Ursu, Chisinau (muzeum curator)

Curator: Stefan Rusu

Partners: The National Museum of Ethnography and Natural History, The Museum of Romanian Language M.Kogalniceanu,

National Museum of History and Archeology, Art College A.Plamadeala.

Media partners: magazine "Stare de Urgenta", magazine Contrafort

RO-MD/Moldova in Two Scenarios is a project organized by Contemporary
Art Center, Chisinau in partnership with VECTOR Association, Iasi that
consist in a series of interdisciplinary workshops, production of 3
documentary films ( 1 film produced by VECTOR Association and 2 others
by KSAK Center ), colloquium and seminars that took place in Iasi and
Chisinau, a project publication and final exhibition produced by KSAK
Center in Chisinau. The RO-MD/Moldova in Two Scenarios project
components - the films by Veaceslav Druta and Aurelia Mihai, also a
video documentation of the colloquium from Iasi were presented in the
frame of 8 Periferic Biennale (Art as Gift, 3-18 of October).

The project is supported by the Romanian Cultural Institute through
the CANTEMIR Program, Bucharest; PATTERNS Program /ERSTE Foundation,
Vienna and MONDRIAAN Stichting, Amsterdam.

*Center for Contemporary Art-[KSA:K] is a non-profit, independent
institution registered in the year 2000. The new strategy of the
Center is the development of cultural forms and art practices, which
would reflect the dynamic of the social, political and economic
transformations of the society. Center supports the advocacy
activities in promoting of cultural policies suitable for the defining
and the consolidation of artist position and contemporary art
practices in the society. (www.art.md)

* Vector> Association is a non-profit cultural association that
provides the production of exhibition and educational programs,
research and editing activities, analyzes of the relations between the
art practices and visual culture in socio-political context. Vector>
supports those practices related to social re-articulation, political
consciousness and economical transformation that brings critical
analyses that could offer reinterpretations of the attitudes and
behavior from the perspective of cultural action. (www.periferic.org)


Stefan Rusu – visual artist/curator
RO-MD/Moldova in two scenarios project curator

Details about the project:
Centrul pentru Artă Contemporană, Chişinău [KSA:K]
str. Independenţei 1,
tel. + 373 22 772507
tel./fax + 373 22 573395
http://www.art.md

This project was made possible with the support of THE NETHERLANDS FOUNDATION FOR VISUAL ARTS,DESIGN AND ARCHITECTURE

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Rear Window installation, Be(com)ing Dutch Van Abbe Museum Eindhoven 2008

images used for the installation




Installation view
exhibition

Be[com]ing Dutch

The Exhibition

24/05/2008 - 14/09/2008

Location: Van Abbemuseum
Curators: Annie Fletcher,Charles Esche
The exhibition Be(com)ing Dutch is part of a large scale project that has been in progress for two years. During that time, the museum has focused on what have become sensitive issues for the Netherlands, such as identity, nationality, citizenship and social cohesion. In those two years artists, intellectuals, politicians and the people of Eindhoven were invited to find possible answers to awkward questions. What does ‘Being Dutch' or ‘Becoming Dutch’ mean in the 21st Century? Who are ‘the Dutch’ anyway and how do we want to be seen by ourselves and others? The outcome of this whole process is being shown in an exhibition of artists’ works in the museum and throughout the city of Eindhoven.

Be(com)ing Dutch is unusual in the Netherlands because it takes on an outright political and social subject and translates it into artistic terms. Since 2006, when the Van Abbemuseum was awarded a prize that made it possible to turn our existing ideas into reality, the discussion in the Netherlands about who we are, where we come from, where we are heading and about our norms and values in a globalising world has become even more topical and urgent. The long term planning allowed the museum to talk with people at length and to organise major public discussions such as the Eindhoven Caucus. Now it is the turn of artists, many of whom have participated in all the stages of Be(com)ing Dutch, to show you what they have found. Twenty one of the thirty seven artists have conceived new works for the exhibition, guided by three broad directional themes: ‘Imaginary Past’, ‘ Imaginary Present’ and ‘Imaginary Future’. Look for more information about the complete Be(com)ing Dutch project at www.becomingdutch.com.

Charles Esche & Annie Fletcher

Be(com)ing Dutch activities & Art beyond the walls

The Question Paintings March
Saturday 24 May from 15:15 h.

Arabic course
25 May, 7, 21 and 28 June, 6 and 13 September

Johan van der Keuken - Amsterdam Global Village, 1996
28 and 29 June, 26 and 27 July, 30 and 31 August and 13 and 14 September at 12:00 hours

Phil Collins – Free fotolab (Eindhoven)
24 May until 28 July 2008

Libia Castro & Ólafur Ólafsson - Avant-garde Citizens
24 May until 14 September 2008

Erwin van Doorn - A Stop for the Crowd/ Halte voor de Menigte
24 May until 14 September 2008

The State of Translocality - Series in the State of Translocality
5 until 11 July 2008

Petra Bauer & Annette Krauss - Read the masks. Tradition is not given
30 August 2008

Ronen Eidelman - Means of survival
From 12 September 2008

Bik Van der Pol - Close Encounters
14 September 2008

With the artists:

Petra Bauer
Abdellatif Benfaidoul
Michael Blum
Libia Castro & Ólafur Ólafsson
Phil Collins
Carla Cruz
Gerrit Dekker
Erwin van Doorn
Ronen Eidelman
Ed van der Elsken
Hadassah Emmerich
Alexandra Ferreira
Daan van Golden
Rana Hamadeh
Nicoline van Harskamp
Alicia Herrero
Hans van Houwelingen
Johan van der Keuken Annette Krauss
Agung Kurniawan
Surasi Kusolwong
Toos Nijssen
Ahmet Öğüt
Wendelien van Oldenborgh
Bik Van der Pol
Ilya Rabinovich
Mario Rizzi
Mounira Al Solh
Fiona Tan
Alite Thijsen
Lidwien van de Ven
Tintin Wulia
Bettina Wind
Stephen Willats

The Mondriaan Foundation awarded its 2006 Development Prize for Cultural Diversity to the Van Abbemuseum for the Be(com)ing Dutch project. Within this project’s framework, the museum has organized a diversity of gatherings over the last two years resulting in The Be(com)ing Dutch exhibition.

A comprehensive catalogue will be published in spring 2009.

My contribution for the exhibtion:

'Rear Window ' - installation
Background :

Since my immigration to Amsterdam in 1998, I was always curious about the locals’ daily lives, which have been the subject for many conversations with international artists participants in the program of the Rijksakademie Van Beeldende Kunsten

I developed a fascination for the 'open curtains' phenomena, where one can easily view the private interior of people’s homes from the street level. In social conversations this served to present the locals as an example for how open minded the Dutch people living in Amsterdam are. A 'we have nothing to hide' attitude that proved to be restricted and limited in what I could actually observe when I tried to focus on it. At times, I could get a glance on small 'idyllic' scenes, mostly ones that I would associate with a music box scene: sweet, perfectly orchestrated and mechanical.

It was hard for me to accept that my looking into apartments and viewing private rooms was part of the norm. This relationship of the private space and the public sphere is one of the phenomena that distinguish Amsterdam from other European cities.

More recently I started 'peeping' with a telephoto-lens into some of these rooms and taking photographs of the scenes I find. On these occasions I do not stand in the street but rather ask acquaintances for a permission to use their windows in order to look into their neighbor's apartments. The results are ‘Rear Window Photographs’, the title of which references Alfred Hitchcock’s film. I am currently taking photographs for this project, and in April 2008 I will print them in Grafisch Atelier Daglicht (http://www.grafisch-atelier- daglicht.nl ) as silkscreen images on news print paper.
The Installation
For the exhibition 'Becoming Dutch', I made the following installation:
Upon entering the space, visitors received a small light with which they initiated a search and discovery of the installation. A large number of Rear Window Photographs in various sizes were spread around the space, waiting to be spotted, realized, and contemplated by the drifting visitor.

Coming across more and more images unwrapped the initial uneasiness caused by the dark, turning the search into a playful experience in which visitors became active participants. The photographs were printed using a silk-screen technique, a particular aesthetic that created a layer of unresolved tension throughout the viewing experience. An image that seemed sharp enough from a distance
became obscure on a closer look. In the accumulative process of encountering
new photographs and realizing their collective nature as 'rear window peeping
photographs', the participant was faced with an essential theme of the installation: the reflexive notion of voyeurism and its relation to the other.
Our capacity to look and to see ourselves through the eyes of others is at the core of our psychological formation. Social sanctions against "staring" or being "nosy" reflect deeply rooted cultural taboos which forbid looking too closely. An exception is made when, within the safety of a darkened auditorium and in the company of others, our urge to peep may be indulged and we may temporarily escape and forget who we are as we become involved in searching images in the space.