Platforms Project 2018 – day 4

May 20, 2018

After a walk in the park I joined Platforms Project again to finish our project. On this day a lot of performances took place of which I missed some, but I think I caught the most of it. Here’s an account of the last day:

 

The park near Syntagma was beautiful with the purple flowers falling

All of a sudden I was pointed at the Republic of Banania that was cutting a litttle book of mine to have a passport photo. Now someone is having a passport with a painting of Ezra Pound!

Across, around the corner someone installed this piece at the 24 hours project

This also is a nice casual intallation at Ormston House, from Ireland

From Canada AKA & UAS presented Walter Scott with great contemporary drawing.

Of course Guillaume Krick was present again, his platform Bureau d’Art et de Recherche presented his 3D work and that of Clara Juliane Glauert. Here Guillaume performs inspired by his sculpture!

The great Linda Weiss shows her work with Scotty from Berlin

And of course our friends from the Bcademie had their ways of making fun again, they organized a lottery: for € 2,- one could buy one of the obects on the floor. If it had a sticker on the back, you could take your pick…

out of these art works. I tried several times but was not lucky, though I would have liked very much to pick…

this V&B-piece,

This tongue in cheek work by Daan den Houter

or this great drawing by Lisa Blauwbroek

One of these by Tjalling Mulder would have been nice too, but alas….

Our friends of the Milena Project were present again

with this Utopia-project

and this example of “Belgicisme” that I liked a lot: pins sticking in the sleeves, letters as an invitation to shake hands by reading…

In the end I completed the Athens Diary, which makes for a fine set of drawings

The public wouldn’t stop gluing

And still some performances were due, here three ladies entered singing orthodox song while a performer creeped to the exit in sheets

like a snail trying to get out…

After Hours: I forgot to take a picture of the great piece of Gianin Conrad at Diensgebäude, probably because we saw it all the time

And I liked it every time!

Of Course Rosa Lux was also present with work by Tony Domingos

And this project was also worth wile: Danae Stratou at Vital Space created this beautiful site-specific installation of which documentation was presented.

The Milena Project showed this last minute performance by this classical dancer

Next to us was an installation by Angela Brisnovali at LaLa Artgroup from Greece that I liked more and more

Especially this work on paper

And finally our last collage was taken off the wall

And put into the pool

After which everything was displayed

The day and Platforms Project 2018 ended in music and dance, next morning early I would return home!

Platforms Project

EX-MÊKH

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Platforms Project- Beton Radio – day 3

May 19, 2018

Today I visited some of the stands at Platforms Project 2018 to check out what they were doïng, here are some things I liked:

 

But first I put up my third drawing from the Athens Diaries at the EX-MÊKH booth

Pantelis Vitaliotis at Space 52 from Greece

Happy Water by Daniela Domingues at Alisn from London: a video of an old aquaduct in Rome where they put a tenniscourt right next to it. In front are sculptures with a tennisball-imprint

I like those as a sculpture

The representative of Alisn was happy to participate at the EX-MÊKH booth

From our Home-town Den Haag: Elders! A flatiron and a wide open handbag are sweeping through space

Democracy in visual arts: the public can change the images

Our neighbours from Sweden are nice guys, this is made by Peter Westman of Daily Temporary. The material is sunken wood that has been taken from the water

Ed’s video from Canada had nice pieces like this Mountainview by Xiaojing Yan

made from anise stars

it is being echoed by this piece by Juliane Foronda

IDI Gallery had some nice pieces like these

I thought I heard the sound of a didgeridoo, but it was the vynil recording of a human voice. Very interesting sound and letter experiments at Random from Italy

Sandra Gea made a beautiful autobiografical collage and shows it at Binary Art Group from Malta

As is this beautifull weaving

IS-projects is a very interesting platform from Leiden (NL). International abstract art in wonderful presentations, an oasis in this fair, curated by Richard van der Aa!

Das Esszimmer from Bonn (G) is an interesting platform too, here with the work of Geneviève Morin

Which I really like for the painterly quality

Meanwhile an avantgarde jam-session is taking place at Daily Temporary. Exhibiting artist Lars Asling bought an old guitar and invites people to come play with him

The Wonderful MUU from Helsinki has a number of video’s to show amongst which Jukka Sillokunas stood out with this video about vanishing toy-pets. MUU also showed a really interesting educational project with kid-curators showing their choice of art.

Come alone, don’t call cops (what a name, by the way!) where the performance “Concrete execution” by Adrien Chevrier took place: a concrete mixer was mistreated

and misused while it was turning

Everything was out of context, out of sequence, out of measurements

And eventually the beast was killed, it stopped turning

Meanwhile Ellen was still trying to get a passport and she was send from the cupboard to the wall as we say in Holland

People kept coming in to cut and paste the collages of EX-MÊKH

Which turned out like this today

And this is the Athens Diary up to now!

There were a lot of side shows, open studios in art school but also “Giving”, this benefit for the blind. 210 artists participated in this.

After having dinner in the hip area near the Keramikos subwaystation we went to Beton 7  which hosts an international  show by IS-projects from Leiden (NL) under the name “RNOP – HELLENIKON” and “Doldrums”, a video installation by Jenn E. Norton.

The first space was occupied by a very effective installation-piece by Daniel Gottin which gave the place a structure to be used by the artist of the show

This is the work of Richard van der Aa who curated the IS presentation at Platforms Project.

Next to his are the works of Kyle Jenkins (AU) and Peter Holm (DK)

This is the work of IS-initiator Iemke van Dijk (NL)

And this is the work of the second IS-initiator Guido Winkler (NL)

This is the work of Billy Gruner (AUS), the curator of this show.

In the other space we could see the work of Jenn E. Norton. Doldrums is a video-installation in which light-reflection on refelective surfaces transmitting information through light.

It’s supposed to be seen with 3D glasses which causes a rather trancy atmosphere, which is enhanced by the slowly undulating waves and the music being played

Platforms Project 2018

Platforms Project – day 2

May 18, 2018

On this second day I had the opportunity to see some things in Athens, so I decided to go to the Byzantine Museum to try and understand somthing of the history of this region and, having some time left, to visit the cradle of democracy on the Philopappos hill which itself is called the Mouseion, the hill of the muses. After this I went back to the ASFA to take part in our project for Platforms Project.

A replica of the Byzantine mosaïc of emperor Justinian from Ravenna. This emperor tried to restore power of the Roman empire from Constantinople where he ruled Byzantium. He built the Hagia Sophia which was later turned into a mosque after the Ottomans conquered Constantinople.

Cotton liturgical vestment with the image of a female saint flanked by forty other female saints. – 18th – 19th century

Part of a silk vestment embroidered with silk and metallic threads

Part of a wall-painiting depicting deesis (upper zone) with hierarchs performing the liturgy together and melismos (lower zone). From the conch of the north aisle of the twin church of Hagios Giorgios and Nikolaus in Lathrina, Naxos – Late 13th century

Icon of St. George “Kefalopharos” (head-bearer) – 16th century. It made me think of the description from the Divina Commedia of Bertran de Born, the mediëval troubadour from France.

Greek architecture “under construction” along the way

The “bêma” (orators spot) on the Pnyx where democracy started in 508 BC. Around it the people would sit in a circle on rocks and later wooden benches to listen to orators like Pericles, Demosthenes and Themistocles.

This is left of the ancient stoa behind the pnyx

The wall of an ancient Byzantine church on the hill, St. Demetrios Lampardiaris – 12th century

The Mouseion, hill of the muses.

On top of that hill the monument of Philopappos, a Roman born in Syria

From here the view on the Akropolis is stunning

Back at the Platforms Project a new collage is growing

We had two girls from a Turkish gallery participating on the project

Which they did with enthousiasm

Across the aisle there was a constant playing of communist marching songs which drove everybody mad. Ellen tried to get a passport there from the republic of Banania, but she got stuck in Bureaucracy: it was a perfect piece of absurd theatre from the collective Future Scenario’s from Greece with Dutch artist Maaike Stutterheim participating

Our new collage ended up in the pool…

And after a very late night dinner I enjoyed the beautiful view on Pireus for some time

Platforms Project 2018

Byzantine and Christian Museum Athens

Philopappos Hill

Platforms Project – day 1

17 mei 2018

Today Platforms Project in Athens will start. Due to teaching obligations I could not come sooner, but my EX-MÊKH Buddies took care of everything. The project we want to realise is “Shifting Realities” in which we expect the public to participate in making collages from newspapers from the Eastern Mediteranean region. The newspapers will be bought anew every day. and they will contain the news of the day. We will contribute also, but we don’t read Greek, Turkish, Georgian, Azerbeidjani, Russian a.s. In this way we will create another “Cadavre exquis” in which text and image will be juxtaposed in unexpected ways. We also want the public to act as artist, that is: to be co-author of the collages we will make each day.
As a note to all this I will make five Athens-Diary drawings during the Fair in which I will note my personal experience as a contrast to all the stuff from the news.

Our invitation card shows a picture from a holiday we had together with our children. The plastic pool looks lake a perfect frame.

Ellen Rodenberg is arranging her electronic stuff

The venue where Platforms Project is helt is an exhibitionspace in the local artschool. Last year it housed part of the Athens edition of Documenta. Here everybody is building up!

And before the opening we start our first collage

Our stand before the opening

With my first Diary page from May 16. We put the collage paper in the pool without fastening it.

Soon the public starts cutting and pasting the material.

During the opening it got busier and busier

and all kinds of things were happening. This performance is done by an artist who put a floor-piece over his head to go walking in a very solemn way

This is just the beginning of the opening which was a great succes!

The collages met with great enthousiasm

And in the end I added . Diary-page of May 17 on the side

And the first collage was taken from the wall…

And it was put into the pool

Platforms Project

EX-MÊKH

#7: Athens – Platforms Project 2017 – Beton 7 Radio

May 26, 2017

Today is the last day of the Platforms Project. I had an option on my drawing which I sold definitely today. After 15.00 h we cleared out. We decided to visit the Acropolis and to have dinner in the Plaka, it seems obligatory for the ones who came in yesterday. After dinner we are invited at an opening at Beton 7 Radio, together with a Jazz concert by the Blue Note Trio: Jazz Archeology that is! It got to be a nice and relaxed day with another unexpected number of visitors at the fair.

The walk to the venue of Platforms Project is great, with a fantastic view from the hill behind it.

On the way you see a lot of Grafitti that I like

This is a great piece!

On the Spot Stéphan Guéneau and Louise Crawford are working on yet another piece

Which turned out really fine!

and a great poster on the side!

Marian Wijnvoord added a beautiful series of little landscapes

This is the drawing that I sold

Another walk took me upstairs to IFAC arts with this original appropriation

ALISN from Brasil with great music videos

and posters

Geeta Rooparine at Lubimirov/Angus Hughes

and a great teacher from England, St. Martin’s,  whose name I couldn’t find back, the drawings are wiped right after he fisnishes and he goes on forever!

Tiny Domingos is getting sentimental about clearing the booth

But EX-MÊKH is it’s usual self about it

KRAATZ is just continuïng to experiment, wonder when they left?

On the Acropolis the light was magnificent

The sun set behind the Parthenon, or the Erechteïon really

A beautiful evening

View on the Acropolis and the tower of the winds at night

Off to Beton 7 Art Radio which appeared to be a rather fashionable place

At Beton 7 Art Radio the show was worth while with work by Mathieu Valade who put well known art manifestos in a Star Wars context

 

Julie René de Cotret sew hats together, it looks technical all of a sudden, well, soft technics!

Artemis Potamianou is also an artist and this is her work

The stuff you gather,,,

The crowd was all over the place, like in the bar

Or in the concert by the Blue note Trio

Platforms Project

Beton 7 Art Radio

#6: Athens – Documenta 14@Benaki Museum Pireos street

May 24, 2017

Today EX-MÊKH’s fans from Holland arrived at the fair. We took the opportunity in the morning to visit another Documenta site and after the fair Artemis had arranged for everybody in the fair to have drinks and a meal together in Petralona, a busy neighbourhood with lots of bars and restaurants.
So in the morning we went to the Benaki annexe in Pireos street, another beautiful new building that normally houses modern Greek art. Now, Documenta occupies the ground floor with, to my opinion, the best part of Documenta in Athens.

The Benaki Museum Pireos Street Annexe

Hiwa K: One Room Appartment – 2017

Roee Rosen: Live and Die as Eva Braun – 1995-1997

A series of beautiful graphic art, drowned in German culture

The banners in the room show a monologue of Eva Braun and her love for Adolf Hitler

and how they commit suicide together

A great work of art, from collections in Israél

Nilima Sheikh has a number of painted canvases hanging from the ceiling under the title: “Each night put Kashmir in your dreams” – 2003-2014

On the back classical Hindu texts are printed

In the space it looks impressive

Aarin Rungjan: And then there were none, (Tomorrow we will become Thailand) – 2016 In this video a classical singer elegantly sings of horrible things, accompanied by a beautiful istrument of bamboe sticks

In the video and the accompanying paintings the artist juxtaposes two events: the Thammasat university Uprising in 1973 and the Polytechnic university uprising in Athens in 1973 Oral history in the video’s witness the happenings of the time.

Return to Khodurciur, Armenian Diary – 1974 Again Oral history about the happenings in Armenia: the father reads his diary from that time.

Congolese history by Tshimumba Kanda Matulu

It is a room filled with Congolese history, from the beginning until now

El Hadji Sy: la nouvelle Muséologie

André Pierre: Grand Bois

Myriam Cahn: ertasted (e.-arb)(touched – may 16, 1992)

R.H. Quaitman: Parthian Shot

R.H. Quaitman: Parthian Shot

Myriam Cahn

Myriam Kahn

Back on the fair we had a quick look at our work

and Geeta Rooparine came by with presents. She liked my textile texts, I got some beautiful silk threads from her and she showed me what she made of them!

KRAATZ changed their booth again, and this time their collaborators Stéphan Guéneau and Louise Crawford had arrived and immediately they added new work: a textwork

and these pictures (with the & from Isolde Nagel)

The pictures close up

And today again we couldn’t complain about the visitors

I took another round in the cellars, here with the VSVSVS

and the 24 hours project, completely different again!

At night we had a great dinner, because the next day would be the last day of the fair

Constantinos is very sure about something!

The Extra Muros crew rocks!

Shooting back at Artemis

Der Deutsch-Holländischer Tisch

And once more shooting back at Guillaume

Documenta 14

#4: Athens – Platforms Project 2017

May 22, 2017

Today was my birthday, so we decided to go and have a swim in the Mediterranian and to have lunch on the beach. At the fair there appeared to be much more public then the day before and in between we celebrated with cake, beer and wine. It was a joyful day for everyone!

Our German neighbours from Berlin bought me a delicious Citronentorte

which was thouroughly enjoyed by everyone, including Petri from Kallio Kunsthalle

Meanwhile the conference had started about the situation of the cultural sector in Greece, lots of local heavy’s present

It was opened by Artemis Potamianou, who miraculously organised Platforms Project 2017 within two months after beïng kicked out of Art Athina for dubious reasons.

KRAATZ in the meanwhile changed their booth again

with a nice intimate wall on the side

Which combines beautifully with Ellen Rodenberg’s work at the EX-MÊKH booth

My own installation also has its merits in the details

and Greeks are particularly enthousiastic about Malieveld, probably because the atmosphere is exotic to them

Ellen Rodenberg, our “communications manager” had a lot of work today

And this poster of the guerilla girls that I missed at the entrance shows engagement on a different level!

Platforms Project 2017