Ewa Partum
dal 15/6/2006 al 16/8/2006
Segnalato da
15/6/2006
Ewa Partum
Wyspa Institute of Art, Gdansk
A retrospective of the work of the eminent Polish early conceptual and feminist artist, whose career started in 1965.The aim of the exhibition, publication, workshop and panel discussion is to undermine the historic and fragmented rhythm in the reception of her oeuvre and to reconstruct the most important, original and innovative plots in her art.
The Legality of Space
Curator: Aneta Szylak
Performance workshop curator: Berenika Partum
“The Legality of Space" is planned to be a non-typical, synchronic
retrospective of the work of Ewa Partum - the eminent Polish early
conceptual and feminist artist, whose career started in 1965.
The project
speaks from today’s perspective on the creative output of this legendary
figure who left Poland in the 1980s and, on the invitation of Wolf
Vostell, settled in Berlin. Her achievements still remain not sufficiently
examined in the critical reflection on conceptual art in this country and
not significantly represented in Polish art collections.
The aim of the
exhibition, publication, workshop and panel discussion is to undermine the
historically fragmented rhythm in the reception of her oeuvre and to
reconstruct the most important, original and innovative themes in her art.
In parallel, due to the specific nature of the subject, the project is
targeted toward the issue of the documentation of ephemeral art and it
asks about the role of recording and re-enactment and reache s for the
archival to broaden the field of reception of Ewa Partum’s art.
The project title originates from the conceptual installation made by
Partum in 1971 at Plac Wolnosci (Freedom Square) in Lodz. The phrase is
also being turned into a conceptual tool intended to ask the question
about the role of a female artist and a woman in the public discourse from
the 1960s up to now and to investigate the perception of feminist and
conceptual art as well as the impact of the public image of a female
artist on the reception of her art.
In order to achieve this, the
exhibition will feature several documentary recordings of her performances
and direct speeches by the artist as well as the films of 1970 and 1980
that tried to capture the phenomenon of Partum. Although its major content
refers to the earlier pieces, the exhibition will feature also a newly
developed project, showing a significant shift in the artist’s area of
interest - piercing criticism of economics and politics as well as
institutional critique.
From the impressive output of the artist, additional materials connected
with her creativity have been chosen which define the presence of a woman
in the public space and outline the artist’s personal space.
The
exhibition at Wyspa Institute of Art puts on display the most important
areas of Partum’s art and the specific relations between those spheres. It
will generate contextual relations both with conceptual tradition and its
musealisation as well as the specific location at Gdansk Shipyard.
The
exhibition also leaves behind the walls of Wyspa and encroaches into the
public space to confront her historic works with the new cultural and
political reality. New senses generated through this endeavour will
stimulate new perspectives in observing this still incredibly contemporary
work - work that asks essential questions.
The exhibition is accompanied by a workshop for young performance artists
"Reproducing the past" at Modelarnia, run by the artist’s
daughter, art historian Berenika Partum.
The workshop will analyse and
re-enact early performances by Ewa Partum and extrapolate them into the
new artistic, political and architectural context. For some part of the
workshop the artist will be present. The new versions of performances will
be presented to the public and documented on video and in photographs.
The book, “Ewa Partum", edited by Aneta Szylak, including texts by the
curator and Dorota Monkiewicz, Prof. Grzegorz Dziamski, Prof. Andrzej
Turowski, _ukasz Ronduda and Angelika Stepken, will be published during
the exhibition.
The role of the book is to bring together the variety of
positions in looking at and interpreting the art of Ewa Partum, to deliver
precise information on her output, especially its chronology and to
problematise the specific themes of her art. The publication is being
prepared, co-published and distributed in collaboration with Revolver
Archiv fur aktuelle Kunst in Frankfurt.
Organisation: Wyspa Progress Foundation, Buro Kopernikus, Foundation
Signum and Badischer Kunstverein in Karlsruhe.
For more information go to: http://www.wyspa.art.pl
Opening: June 17th, 7 pm
Wyspa Institute of Art
Ul. Doki 1, building #1- Gdansk