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772000 815021

ISSN 2000815 5

ISSN 2000-8155

SUPER

MARKET

issu

e#2

S

UPER

MARKET

2012

Focus onPER FOR MAN

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SEK90 / £8

The Valuation and Devaluation of Art

Roadtripping the Balkans

Oleg Kulik Reich & Szyber

Special Feature: Tarkawian’s Drawings

SUPERMARKET issue#2 artist-run

art magazine

1%, 281%, 14

Will culture matter?

5. Editorial

9. WaitingfortheApocalypse

10. WhenProphecyFails

15. Money,SpectacleandSpirituality

26.RoadtrippingtheBalkans32. Amentalandphysicalartisticspace

35. Waitingforthelightstogogreen

37.OlegKulik44. FocusonPerformance

46. LittleFish.Reich+Szyber

49. MariuszTarkawian,214xSUPERMARKET

PontusRaud:IzabellaBorzecka:MikaelAskergren:IrenedeCraen:

Somethoughtsonthevaluationanddevaluationofart

PontusRaud:

SelmanTrtovac:

SubhankarDas:

InterviewbySUPERMARKET

InterviewbyAnnaTomaszewska

Allthevalueswehavebuiltupwillendoneday.Allsystemswillstopflashingredandshutdownonebyoneuntildarknessclosesinonus.Allthelaughter…Allshoutswillfadeintoaspaceofsilence…Afaintnoisemarkingwhatwecalleternity. SUPERMARKET2012goesunderthethemeofThe Waiting Room of Eternityandisratherlikeapoeticparaphraseonspaceandtime.Wearetoyingwiththeideathattheworldwillendin2012andthatvalueperspectiveswillbeslightlyshifted.Inthepasttheartworkplayedanimportantrolewithitspotentialtowithstandthetestoftimeandthusmaketheartisttimeless.Todayitseemsthatallthatartistswantistoconquerspaceandgetfifteenminutesinthespotlightsofthemedia.

Whatactuallyevaluatesanartist? Incontemporarysocietythemarketvalueandthehistoricalvalueareimportantindicatorsofartisticsuccess,butthesitehasalsobecomeanimportantfactor.IfyoulookatthewayinwhichArtfactsscoresartists,therearesomeplacesthataremoreimportantthanothers.ShouldtherebealternativewaysinwhichtoevaluateartiststhanthroughArtfacts?Andwhataboutthefactthattheroleoftheartistisbeinginstrumentalisedforthepurposeofagreatergood…isthisofanyvalue?Today,whencultureisbeingconsumedasneverbefore,governmentculturalbudgetsarebeinghalvedinseveralcountries.InSweden,aestheticsubjects,suchasartandmusic,arenolongercoresubjectsinhighschoolcurriculums,withtheeffectthatstudentsnolongerreceivegradesinthesesubjects. Whatisthepurposeofmarginalisingcultureatatimewhenitappearstobesosoughtafter?Istheculturalsectorsoexpensivethatitscostsactuallymakeadifferenceincentralgovernmentbudgetsorcouldtherebeotherreasons?Hasthegovernmentasinstitutionhaditsdayincontemporarysociety?Isthecapitalistsystemheadingtowardsafinalcrash?Haveweexhaustedtheresourcesoftheearthandistheworldgoingtowardsitsend? WhatishappeninginEurope?CenturiesofindustrialproductionshouldhavemadetheEuropeancontinentrich,withlotsofhighlyeducatedpeopleworkingefficientlyandconsumingcultureintheirsparetime.Howdidwesuddenlybecomesopoor?Whyshouldculturebemarginalisedandpaythepriceofacrisisthathasitsorigininacapitalistlinchpin–Greed?Allthewealthproducedbyworkershasflowedintothecoffersofasmallminority.Aminorityofrichpeoplethatwantmore? Listeningtocurrentfinancialstatementsbyeconomistsislikeexperiencingavirtualisationofreality,workingon

thepsycho-cognitiveleveloftheeconomy.Thearticleaboutcognitivedissonanceinthisissueseemstoreflecttoday’sfinancialcrisis.Imagineasmallgroupofpeopleinpowerdecidingwhattheworldshouldbe.Whenitbecomesclearthatitisallgoingtohell,theybecomeevenmoreconvincedthattheyareontherighttrack. Economicsappearinhumaneandruthlessastheyarenothumanandthereforehavenoguilt.Wearehumanbeings,ourfuturedependingonfluctuatingstockmarketsthatwedonotcontrolorfullyunderstand.Withintheculturalsectormarketmechanismshavebeenintroducedinordertomakepublicinstitutionsmoreefficient–NewPublicManagement. Integratingorderingandperformingmodels,internaldebitingsystemsanddelegatedbudgetresponsibilityintoinstitutionswillnotresultinmoreculture,butratherinmorejobsforeconomists.NowthattheresponsibilityforpartoftheculturalbudgetisbeingshiftedtotheregionsinSweden,Iwonderforhowmuchlongergovernmentfinancedculturewillexist.Studiesshowingtheimpactofcultureonastableandequalsocietydonotseemtoprovidetheeye-openerstheymighttopoliticsorbusiness.Short-termsolutionsseemtobethesinglemodeofcapitalism. Theartist-runartworldhasbeenlivingonthemarginsforalongtime,andis,asalways,workingDIY,i.e.DoItYourself.Therearegreatdifferencesbetweentheseartists’initiatives,dependingonwhereintheworldyouare.Thoselivingincitiesinthewesternworldarestrugglingtobevisibleatall.Proximitytoacentremakesithardtoacquireattention,whilethoselivingintheperipheriesfeelthattheyareisolated.Thedigitalisedandglobalworldthatwearelivinginhasprovidedthebasisforanexpansionoftheartist-runartworldanditsnetworks.SUPERMARKET–StockholmIndependentArtFairhasrapidlybecomeaplatformformeetingsbetweenartists,curatorsandaninterestedpublic.WearepleasedtohavereceivedgreatconfidencefromimportantinstitutionsinSwedenthisyear.Thishasleadtogoodworkingrelationshipsthatwehopewillcontinue.ThankstoSwedishInstitute,IASPIS(TheSwedishArtsGrantsCommittee’sInternationalProgrammeforVisualArtists),andSwedishTravellingExhibitions. Manythankstoallcolleagues,volunteersandpartnersworkingtomakethisuniqueartfairhappen! Finally…Youshouldtrytolivetodayandnotbeafraidoftomorrowbutif,againstallodds,theworldends,Iwillbethinking:–Isthisendthebeginningofsomethingnew?

PontusRaudEditorandCreativeDirector

Publishing details:Content:Editorial:Waiting for the ApocalypseWhen Prophecy FailsRoadtrippingthe BalkansSticky fingers

We are (almost) all the winners

Angie’s soft touch

Will Culture Matter?

Hans Ulrichat large

This town is not big enough for all of us

The Germanconnection

Digging his own Deitch?

Artists’ Choice

Third Belgradeas a mental and physical artistic space

A mental and physical artistic space

RemondeJong,“TremorLaquearia”,installationatArgumentVertoningsruimte,2011.

Twopeoplearestandingbyacountryroadarguing,whilewaitingforsomeonetheyareexpectingtoarrive.Whoisheandforhowlongwilltheyhavetowait?Thismys-teriouspersoniscalledGodotinSamuelBeckett’splay. Inthesamewayasthesetwoquarrel-lingpeople,waitinginvainbytheroad-sideforthearrivalofthenon-definable,peoplehavedevotedtheirtimeandfaithtovariouspropheciesaboutthedramaticendingoftheworld.Theword”apoca-lypse”,oftenusedtodefinethisphenome-non,hasitsoriginintheGreekwordfor”revelation”.Butthroughseveraldecon-structionswehavecometoknowthemeaningofthewordassomethingelse,namelytheendoftheworld. ThedescriptionoftheendoftheworldbyJohntheSeerinthelastpartoftheBibleisoneofthebestwellknowndepic-

tionsoftheworld’send,havinggiventailwindtoagreatnumberofdooms-dayprophecies.ThereturnofJesustoearthandthebeginningofaneweraaredramaticallyrevealed.Theheavensarewithdrawnlikeascroll,earthquakesshiftthelocationsandshapesofmountainsandislands,thestarsfallfromtheskiesintheprevailingturmoil,whileevilisbe-ingdefeatedandaneweracommences.Doesthisnotsoundsomewhatfamiliar? 2012istheyearmanyhavebeenwaitingfor,atleastthosewhobelieveindoomsdaypropheciesconnectedtotheMayancalendar.DuringtheclassicalperiodoftheMayancivilisation,endingapproximately1000yearsago(about250–900AD),the“LongCountCalendar”wasusedtocalculatelifecycles.Aspercontemporarycalculations,theendofoneoftheselifecycleshasbeenidentified

tooccuronthe21stofDecember2012.AccordingtotheMayans,afterthisanewtimecyclewillbegin.Thisisthegivendatefortheendoftheworld,accordingtoseveralNewAgemovements.Theworldasweknowitwillbeturnedupside-down,violentearthquakes,burningfireballs,solarstormswillhitearthandextinguishourcivilisation.IsthisnotarepetitionofJohn’srevelations? Perhapsthereiscauseforworryatatimewhentheworldeconomyiscollapsing,ourresourcesaredryingupandtheworldpopulationisaccelerating.Inwhatwaysmighttheconceptofapocalypseshapeourideasabouttheend?Arewealsostandingataroadsidedisagreeingabouttheexpectedarrivalofthenon-definable?Andifso,whatisthemeaningofartattheendoftime?

AlexandraBodea,“Visionofapassingby”,gessoandinkoncanvas,32x25cm,2011.

byIzabellaBorzecka





Hans Ulrichat large




Artists’ Choice



Some time in the beginning of the Cold War fifties, somewhere in the American Midwest, a bored housewife gets the idea that aliens from the planet Clarion are communicating with her on a regular basis.

For years she has taken an interest in the paranormal and has invested a lot of time and commitment in studying esotericism, Scientology and spiritualism. This commitment pays off when she discovers messages from distant solar systems sneaking into texts that she has started writing. She begins to take down everything that comes to her mind (what the Surrealists would have called automatic writings). The messages from the planet Clarion include sensational predictions about the future. To her great and sincere surprise, she is informed by the

Clarionians that the North American continent will, within a not too distant future, perish in a terrible flood. She is, however, consoled by the aliens, who claim that some earthlings – among them herself – will be rescued by a spaceship on the night before the catastrophe. She begins to talk about her extra-terrestrial contacts with like-minded esoterics among her acquaintances. Thus the reputation of her abilities is spread and eventually, through friends of friends, she is brought into contact with a small group of UFO fanatics who remain her

byMikaelAskergren





Hans Ulrichat large




Artists’ Choice



devote followers – to the bitter end. By chance, a group of social psychologists at a major American university come across the cult connected to her. In When Prophecy Fails, a book that they will later write about the woman and the UFO cult around her person, she is called Marian Keech, or simply Mrs. Keech (this is not her real name). The research team, a trio made up by Leon Festinger, Henry W. Riecken and Stanley Schachter, make a fast decision to infiltrate the UFO cult in order to observe it from within. Their ambition is to become full members so as to be able to make comprehensive observations. These observations prove to confirm and support the Theory of Cognitive Dissonance that the research team has been working on for some time. But there is not much time. They have barely three months to infiltrate the group and gain the trust of the group members as well as to make observations on the group dynamics. Despite the rush, the team succeed beyond expectation. They are received with open arms when they approach the cult from different directions.

Mr. Keech is a man with both feet on the ground, according to the authors of the book, who shows endless patience as well as carefree indifference with his wife’s esoteric claims. On the 20th of December, the night of the anticipated catastrophe, he goes to bed at nine o’clock as usual. Mr. Keech is fully aware that their house is full of people who are seriously and frightfully awaiting the end of the world and the arrival of a space ship. (However, neither Mr. nor Mrs. Keech is aware that some of Mrs Keech’s guests that night are scientist secretly studying the UFO cult at close proximity). According to Mrs. Keech, the Clarionians have announced that the spaceship will land exactly at midnight on the night between the

20th and the 21st of December. The belief of the cult is depending on the fact that the spaceship will arrive and that it will be landing at that point in time. Several members of the group have severed all ties with the secular world, burnt their bridges, no longer have a place to live, have given away everything they owned and resigned from their work, or been dismissed. If the spaceship fails to arrive to rescue them, where will they go? How do you react in a situation when everything you believe in is lost, how do you react when prophecy fails?

The Theory of Cognitive Dissonance predicts, among other things, that when an individual or a group of individuals that have invested faith and commitment to a prophecy of some kind and this prophecy for some reason does not hold true, the faith initially – paradoxically – becomes enhanced (!) and the believer or believers in question become even more dedicated (!) to their cult. This is precisely what happens in the group around Mrs. Keech. No spaceship lands at midnight on the night between the 20th and the 21st of December.

No catastrophic flood arrives in the hours that follow. Hours pass and the cult members are grasping at straws in order to understand what went wrong.When Prophecy Fails gives an objective and distanced description of how the members of the cult seemed confused and despairing in the hours that followed the predicted spaceship landing, wandering to and fro, unable to clearly see what has happened (or, rather, not happened). However, at dawn an event takes place, rescuing the existence and self-confidence of the group. Mrs. Keech receives another message in automatic writing. This time, though, the message is not from the Claronians, but, lo and behold, from God himself. God has been touched by the strong faith among the cult members and by the light that their belief has spread across the world. As a reward he has decided to save the world from destruction.

All those present (especially Mrs. Keech herself, who believes as strongly in her own abilities as do the members of her cult) receive this new message from above with excitement and joy. With the exception of one person, who thus apparently has had enough and gets up and leaves, never to return. The re maining mem bers of the group grow more closely-knit, devoted and excited than ever in order to confirm each other in their faith: Not only have they done the right thing in joining the group and investing so much time and effort in preparing mentally for the end of the world as well as for a new existence on a distant planet, they have also managed to save the world from destruction. As expected, the research team get to observe the activity of members of the cult exploding, as a result of this confirmation of the righteousness of their common belief and intellectual invest-ment. Mrs. Keech, who has never previously

READ MORE INTHE PAPER ISSUE!

KimDottyHachmann,“RiseandFall”,photograph,2011.

As soon as the words ‘value’ and ‘art’ are uttered within the same sentence, the discussion soon to follow is that of how much money that rotten shark got sold for at auction.

Indeed, the ways in which we value art have changed considerably since the founding of art history and criticism. Nowadays, aesthetic judgment from an art critic – or anyone else for that matter – has little to nothing to do with the value a work of art acquires within the world. Previously, ‘art and economy were supposed to be separate realms with distinct value systems – one of them focusing on producing spiritual values, the other on generating monetary wealth. These previously hostile spheres seem to have merged into the hybrid structures of an economized culture and a culturalized economy.’ This merger of spheres has even gone as far as to result in artworks of which the price is in fact a constituent element of the artwork, and in the case of some artists – Damien Hirst being the obvious example – the price actually is the work. This state of affairs isn’t surprising at all, as art always has been a reflection of larger societal systems and ideologies. And by that rule; as long as society is defined by monetary values, so will art.

But although the market seems to presently rule the valuation process of art to a large

extent, there are still other factors at play in the valuations process of art. If only for the simple reason that one does not come out of nowhere and sell a diamond encrusted skull for £38 million more than its material costs. And with global financial crisis underway, and a worldwide revision of the capitalist system that supports the astronomical prices artworks were auctioned off for these last years, these monetary valuation systems will soon be on the decline and other systems will (have to) take its place.

So what are these other values? And will they, more likely than financial valuation, survive the current economic and political shifts and crisis? And what about those spiritual values of art? Do they still hold any currency?

In the past the significance of a work of art could be found in the context of other works by the same artist. Holding this work against the rest of the oeuvre could establish whether or not the artist in question has renewed him or herself, has gone a radical different direction, or completed a certain idea or vision prompted by earlier works. And just as artworks gain meaning and value against other works by the same artist, there are objects of art that have significant value because of their location in history: because they are the first to instigate a movement or change in thinking, or because they bring a movement or thought to its ultimate climax. These works of art maintain their relevance for a long period of time, even so long as to be considered ‘timeless’. But is it still possible for a work of art to be considered timeless? I doubt it. Because these process of valuation in context of oeuvre or history, have become more and more obsolete as art is becoming increasingly valued by its entertainment value and artists are being remembered because of a single crowd-pleasing work. This trend is mostly seen as being caused by the rise of biennials, triennials and other big exhibition platforms that are in themselves spectacles. Many of us will not remember exactly what we’ve seen a few biennales ago,

Money, Spectacle and Spirituality. Some thoughts on the valuation and devaluation of art.

Third Belgrade as a mental and physical artistic space

Somethoughtsonthevaluationanddevaluationofart.

JonasOhlsson,“BadArtistsShouldStayOutofGoodGalleries”,2007,courtesyFUCKAmsterdam.


InataxionthewaytoSarajevo.GusViseur’smelodiesconveyalittleofthemystiquethatcharacterisestravellingthroughtheBalkans.TheaccordionlivensupthedarknessinthebackseatoftheshabbyMercedesasitmakesitswaydownthewindingmountainroadtowardsMontenegro.

Weareonaquesttofindthevitalartist-runexhibitionspaces,togaugeandtakestockofthelocalcontemporaryartscenesandtoassessthecurrentsituationforartistsintheBalkans.

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Hans Ulrichat large




Artists’ Choice



Textandphoto:PontusRaud


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Is the business of traditional art fairs nearing its end? At least in Germany, it seems like it. Last summer, the manage ment of Art Forum Berlin announced that it planned a merger with rival art fair Art Berlin Contemporary. A few weeks later Art Forum Berlin decided to shut down its operations completely. The reason: disagreement between the management of the two art fairs on how to run a future combined art fair. But that is, of course, not the whole truth. Eva-Maria Häusler of Art Forum Berlin laments over the lost possibilities for galleries from outside Berlin to show their artists in the capital when Art Berlin Comtemporary is taking over the scene. Meanwhile, Cologne’s ‘Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger’ newspaper called the cancellation of Art Forum “an unrivalled act of self-destruction” and accused Messe Berlin, the organiser of Art Forum Berlin, of “capitulating to a powerful group of galleries, which had been attacking Art Forum for years”. Though insiders confirm the suspicion that

the management of Art Berlin Contemporary just considered Art Forum Berlin to be too

boring to be worth saving. But the main reason for the Berlin art fair turbulence may well be the

growing competition from others art fairs such as Frieze in London, FIAC in Paris and Art Basel. Mind

you, not only the Germans are in trouble. Many of the Swedish galleries that participated in last year’s Danish fair Art Copenhagen were so disappointed that they staged their own one-night “alternative” mini-fair in an off-beat building in the centre of Stockholm a few months later. The rumour is that the same galleries will make a bigger and more coordinated effort in autumn 2012. If that is true, the Berlin story may be repeated in Stockholm with the traditional art fair MARKET as the eventual loser. It has also been criticised by participants for lacking an innovative spirit and paying too much attention to internal power-struggling.

ONELUCIA,Stockholm2011.Onepiece,Onenight,Oneshow,Onelove.Photo:JanWatteus.





Hans Ulrichat large




Artists’ Choice



Dr. Odyoke

APPliCATiONS:1 AUGUST–15 SEPTEMBER

FOLLOW US ONwww.supermarketartfair.com

Artist-run galleries regularly staging public exhibitions in their own exhibition spaces and other artists’ initiatives are invited to exhibit at SUPERMARKET 2013.Single artists or artists’ groups founded only for applying to SUPERMARKET cannot apply.SUPERMARKET has a low participation fee and no application fee, so as to include interesting exhibitors who are non-profit or not yet established and unable to take on large financial obligations.

OLEG KULIKОлег Кулик

How has the concept of performance changed for you, since you started to today?

WhenIstartedtodoperformancesinMoscownobodyelsewasdoingit.Thatis,thosesocial,open,streetperformancesthatIhadimagined.TherewastheCollectiveActiongroupbuttheyhadaverynarrowrange,theydriftedoutoftown,theyweresemi-undergroundactivities.Sointhebeginningofstreetperformances,Iwasinvolvedandperhapsonlytwoorthreeotherpeople.Nowpractically

everyoneisengagedinstreetperfor-mances,streetactivism,streetart.ItisallsuchatotalperformanceinRussia.Thewholecountryhasturnedtoacountryofperformers–well,onsomesubjectivelevelofperception.Thisisverycoolandinteresting. Ididperformancenotasagenreofart,butforthesakeofsurvivalintermsofthespiritualandpsychological.AsanartistIamnotneededbyanyone.Whentherewasasituationofcollapsearound,oftotaldecline,thisgenreallowedmetomaintainmypositioninfieldsofinterest,influenceandunderstanding.

Itwassomewayofkeepingcompanyandcommunication.Throughscandal,hysteriaandaccidentIdrewattentiontomyselfsothatlifewouldnotfeelsocompletelylikelivinginsideagrave.Idon’tneedanyone–nooneisinneedofanyone.It[performance]wasanattempttoovercomeloneliness,failure,thefeelingofbeingthrown.It’slikeyellinginthewilderness.Andgradually,graduallyitwasgrowing,andmoreadmirerscamealong.Thegenreofperformanceartexpanded,newconceptscameup–politicalactivism,theatreperformance,actions.

SpatialLiturgy#3.TSUM,Moscow,September2009,photo:courtesyofOlegKulik.

OlegKulikinterviewedbySUPERMARKET,January4th,2012.InterlocutorMaximIlyukhin,translation:IzabellaBorzeckaandStuartMayes.


REICH+SZYBERLittle Fish

“TheHidden”,1986,attherecentlyshutdownpowerstationElverket,Stockholm,photo:B.Szyber.14

REICH+SZYBERLittle Fish

The film Seven gives a definition of the performance artist. The theme is Lust and two cops enter a leather work-shop, where the murderer has ordered a harness with a carving knife at the crotch. One of the cops asks the owner, somewhat indignantly: - Didn’t you ask yourself what he was going to use this for?The owner looks at them and answers:- No, I thought he was one of those performance artists… you know, some-body who gets up on stage… pisses in a cup and drinks it.

Bogdan Szyber recounts this Hollywood episode when I ask him what perfor-mance is. Bogdan and Carina Reich have worked as a duo for 30 years and are among Sweden’s most experienced performance artists. Having trained at the theatre, they wanted to break its conventions.

CR: We revolted against theatre by ignoring the concepts of time, space and production costs… We tried using other concepts… and ended up calling it performance art. Performance art no longer has any of the boundaries regarding content that it had in the 60s and 70s. It has dissolved. Performance takes place in the mouth of whoever wants to use the concept. 25 years ago performance art was underground and a way of distinguishing yourself… a bit sectarian.

BS: To us, it is a purely contextual ques-tion. You are defined by your audience and by where you exhibit. I read a book from the Research Se-ries about a Dominatrix who went in to a large space with hundreds of people. She entered the room with two of her slaves, a male and a female… and she ”Branded” them in front of the audi-ence… that is she burnt her mark into their bodies… I mean, here we have an audience… we have costumes… fantas-tic costumes! …leather, patent leather and latex… we have a choreography… we have parts… But this is definitely not performance art and it is not theatre… it is some kind of… sex. But if we had done this in a gallery space, it would have been performance art, since it has to do with the body, authenticity and pain. When we did our weird things with mice, chains, a lot of shouting and bod-ies in strange rooms in 1986, people from the Fluxus movement came to see us. They said: “We already did that in the 60s!” And we said: “Fuck off! Now we are doing it in our twenties!”


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Special Feature: Tarkawian’s Drawings

PetriSaarikko,“TakeOff”,dimensionsvariable,digitalmattepainting,2004.

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supermarket art magazine 2012 teaser

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