Corpus indeterminata

Page 1

Zoran Srdić Janežič

CORPUS INDETERMINATA

CIIIIDplatnice.indd 1

13.1.2014 21:42:45


CIIIIDplatnice.indd 2

13.1.2014 21:42:52


1

CIIIID.indd 1

13.1.2014 23:29:07


vsebina / content Auctoris praefatio

3

Auctoris praefatio (eng)

5

Prologue

7

Lost & found I

8

Zoran Srdić Janežič: No room for pussies

10

Lost & found II

26

Petja Grafenauer

30

Petja Grafenauer (eng)

33

Corpus Indeterminata

34

Ana Grobler 38 Jana Putrle Srdić

40

Jana Putrle Srdić (eng)

44

In media res: Publicus determinatum

46

Miha Colner: Prašičja farma

50

Miha Colner: Pigs farm (eng)

55

Partitae II: Corpus Indeterminata 3D

58

Ida Hiršenfelder: Corpus Indeterminata IIID

76

Ida Hiršenfelder: Corpus Indeterminata IIID (eng)

89

Zoran Srdić: No room for pussies (eng)

102

Index

114

2

CIIIID.indd 2

13.1.2014 23:29:07


AUCTORIS PRAEFATIO Projekt Corpus Indeterminata 3D je bil v letošnjem letu 2013 poleg produkcijske faze zasnovan kot serija različnih 3D faz projekta s samostojnimi moduli umetniških dogodkov: od razstave, performansa, javnih predstavitev, delavnic in pogovorov, kjer se je projekt loteval razvoja 3D tehnologij kot so skeniranje, oblikovanje in printanje v umetniške namene. Nove tehnologije za razliko od tradicionalnih tehnik obdelave materialov npr. kamna, lesa, gline ipd. omogočajo lažje obvladovanje prostora ter materije. S tem postane ustvarjalno delo matrica, ki ji lahko sledi bolj ali manj masovna produkcija, pri čimer se začnejo porajati vprašanja o avtentičnosti umetnine oziroma njene avre ter kultne /razstavne vrednosti – kot to izpostavi že Walter Benjamin v Das Kunstwerk im Zeitalter seiner technischen Reproduzierbarkeit leta1936 – pa tudi vloge umetnine, kipa v visoko tehnološko podprtem procesu. Formalna izhodišča celotnega opusa so bolj ali manj očitna iz njegovega naslova: nedefinirano telo se nanaša na razmerja med figuro in telesom, na ponovno definiranje torza ter tudi neobičajno uporabo materialov in tehnik oblikovanja. Po drugi strani so vsebinska izhodišča razpršena. Polje figuralnih oz. telesnih reprezentacij ter povezave med telesom avtorja in brezimnega prašiča odpira neskončno mnogo interpretacij. V osnovnem konceptu umetniško delo relativistično premika meje v razmerju med vrednostjo in vrednoto umetniškega dela, kipa, živali, življenja itd.

Naslednji pomemben sklop idej v Corpus Indeterminata temelji na spominjanju in minevanju. »Zgodovina je predmet konstrukcije, katere mesto ni homogen in prazen čas, ampak mesto, izpolnjeno z zdajšnjim časom.« (Walter Benjamin, O pojmu zgodovine) Pri sentimentalni vrsti spominjanja pride do mitizacije dogodkov oz. ignorance ter izbrisa. V trenutni sedanjosti se tako predstavljajo ideje, ki se zdijo napredne, ujete v stereotipne vzorce in so del širših kulturnih politik. Umetnost, ki naj bi reflektirala ta razmerja ter odnose družbe do kolektivnega spomina in rekonstruiranja zgodovine, se je znašla v istem zaprtem krogu ignorance ter sentimenta. Celostnega pojasnila ali interpretacije projekta Corpus Indeterminata pa ne morem dati. Opus predstavlja surovo iztrganost kolektivnih občutkov tujosti, negotovosti, ekstimnosti in ignoriranih vsebin telesa kot sta bolečina in staranje – ter njihovo (vz)postavitev v osrediščeni pogled. Fokus se razprši z različnimi interpretacijami in dostikrat s formalno akompozicijsko postavitvijo, povišana baza (podstavek) pa dodatno učinkuje na gledalčevo občutje telesa v razstavnem prostoru. Glede vsebine in forme ter izrabe materialov lahko referenčne podobe v nastavkih projekta pripišem Beuysu, Goberju in Duchampu, v nadaljevanju pa Zoranu Todoroviću, Marcu Qiunnu, Orlan, Kiri O'Reilly itd. Večkrat omenjena neposredna referenca kipa, iz katere izhajajo razmisleki o prisotnosti telesa, je mala pozlačena portretna figurica iz srednjega veka, ki v rokah drži stekleno 3

CIIIID.indd 3

13.1.2014 23:29:07


cevko, v kateri je dlaka (artefakt hrani Städtische Galerie Liebieghaus, Frankfurt na Maini) – relikvarij donatorja ali duhovnika, ne večji od palca. V njej sem našel poseben občutek za detajl steklenega dela, na obeh straneh zaprt s kovinskim pokrovom, občutek drže oz. nošenja te posodice, vstavljene med dlani, ki je okvir za ohranitev telesa, dejansko ohranitev biološkega materiala v veri: Et expecto resurrectionem mortuorum, et vitam ventúri sæculi – je (s)pom(e)nik ter piedestal (pre) minulemu. Skoraj nikoli omenjena referenca, katere vpliva se sam morda v celoti niti ne zavedam, je delo Luja Vodopivca. V zadnjem letniku kiparstva leta 2002 sem povabil več kiparjev k sodelovanju v projektu,

kjer sem iskal skupni imenovalec njihovemu delu. Sodelujoči so dobili kos gline, ki so ga kiparsko obdelali. Dela, razstavljena na semestrski razstavi so po njej reciklirana nazaj v material, materia prima, ki se na akademiji uporablja za modeliranje – razen omenjenega dela. Vodopivec je recikliranje že v začetku onemogočil, ko je dopis in kos gline dal okviriti med steklene plošče kot spomin. Artefakt visokega standarda izdelave, konceptualne in formalne zasnove je bil dan kot nauk; morda je zdaj čas za njegovo umestitev med referenčna izhodišča opusa – kot novi angel, ki gleda v preteklost in s krili leti v prihodnost (Kleejev Angelus Novus v Benjaminovem eseju Über den Begriff der Geschichte, 1940).

4

CIIIID.indd 4

13.1.2014 23:29:09


Auctoris Praefatio In 2013 the project Corpus Indeterminata 3D not only saw its production phase, but was also conceived as a series of 3D phases with independent art events: from exhibitions, performances, public presentations, to workshops and discussions, in which the project dealt with the development of 3D technologies such as scanning, designing and printing for artistic purposes. Contrary to the traditional techniques of working materials e.g. stone, wood, clay, etc., the new technologies enable easier working of space and matter. With this the matrix becomes the creative work, and this can be followed by more or less mass production, at which certain issues as regards the authenticity of the artwork, its aura, and its cult /exhibition value start appearing – as exposed already in 1936 by Walter Benjamin in his Das Kunstwerk im Zeitalter seiner technischen Reproduzierbarkeit – as do questions as regards the role of sculpture and artwork in a highly technologically supported process. The formal starting points of the opus are more or less obvious from its title: undefined body applies to the ratios between the figure and the body, on the redefinition of the torso and the unusual use of materials and design techniques. On the other hand the content is rather dispersed. The bodily presentations and the connections between the body of the artist and the unnamed pig are open to endless interpretations. In its primary concept the artwork moves the borders in the relation of value and worth of an artwork, sculpture, animal, life, etc. The next important complex of ideas within Corpus Indeterminata is based on reminiscence

and passing. »History is the subject of a construction, whose site is not homogeneous, empty time, but time filled full by now-time [Jetztzeit].« (Walter Benjamin, On the concept of history). Events are mythologized through our sentimental or pathetic memories, through which we encounter ignorance and deletion. Ideas that seem advanced, captured within a stereotypical pattern and a part of the broader cultural policies are currently being presented. Art that should reflect these ratios and the relations between society, collective memory and the reconstruction of history has found itself in the same closed circle of ignorance and sentiment. I cannot offer a wholesome explanation or interpretation of the Corpus Indeterminata project. The opus is brutally torn from the collective feelings of alienation, insecurity, extimacy and ignored contents of the body such as pain and ageing that are placed into central view. The focus is dispersed with various interpretations and often with a formal a-compositional setting, while the raised base (pedestal) additionally influences the viewer’s cognition of the feeling of the body within the exhibition space. Taking into account the contents, form and the use of materials, the referential images that form the base of the project can be found amongst Beuys, Gober and Duchamp, as well as Zoran Todorović, Marc Qiunn, Orlan, Kiri O’Reilly, etc. The commonly mentioned direct reference that lead to the consideration of the presence of the body, can be found in the small medieval gilded figurine, that holds a glass tube with a hair in its hands (the artefact is exhibited at the Städtische Galerie Liebieghaus, Frankfurt on Main) – the reliquary of the donor or vicar, no bigger than a thumb. 5

CIIIID.indd 5

13.1.2014 23:29:09


Within this sculpture I found a special feeling for the detail of the glass vessel, closed on both sides with a metal lid, a feeling for carrying this vessel that represents a frame for preserving the body, the biological material in the belief: Et expecto resurrectionem mortuorum, et vitam ventúri sæculi this is a monument and pedestal to the (one who) passed. A work by Lujo Vodopivec represents an almost always neglected reference, an influence I might not be aware of in its entirety. In 2002, when I was in my final year of sculpture studies, I invited various sculptors to participate in a project in which I sought for the common denominator in their works as contemporary sculptors. The participants received a piece of clay from which they were to create their sculpture. Once the end of semester exhibition ended the works were recycled into materia prima, which is used at the Academy for modelling. All were recycled, with the sole exception of Vodopivec’s work, for he made it impossible to recycle his work as he framed the letter and a part of the clay in glass as a souvenir. The high production standard artefact with a conceptual and formal plan was given as an example; maybe the time has come to place it amongst the referential starting points of this opus – as a new angel, observing the past and flying into the future (Klee’s Angelus Novus in Benjamin’s essay Über den Begriff der Geschichte, 1940).

6

CIIIID.indd 6

13.1.2014 23:29:11


PROLOGUE

* Lost & found I * Lost & found II * 24 stunde Berlin 7

CIIIID.indd 7

13.1.2014 23:29:16


LOST & FOUND I

8

CIIIID.indd 8

13.1.2014 23:29:29


9

CIIIID.indd 9

13.1.2014 23:29:40

Lost & found, 2007, Galerija v izlo탑bi, Kranj


ZORAN SRDIĆ JANEŽIČ

No room for pussies

Tri uvodna izhodišča in njihovo presečišče (1) Če je taktilnost vezana na objekt iz vsakdanjega okolja in pri Duchampu povezana z dojemanjem »vsakdanjega« objekta v prostoru umetnosti, kar je nepričakovano v tedanjih konvencijah; (2) in če je taktilnost pri Goberju povezana z občutkom nečesa drugega, ki ga daje razstavljeni objekt, čeprav je podoben drugim konvencionalnim objektom; (3) in če je nazadnje taktilnost pri razstavljenih dlakah povezana z informacijo o prostoru, kjer so najdene; potem se skupno obravnavanje taktilnosti vedno veže na prepoznavanje objekta, točno takega kot je, brez dodane iluzije, vendar iztrganega iz običajnega okolja, kjer ga zaradi samoumevnosti ne bi niti zaznali. Iztrganost in s tem menjava njegovega topološkega in idejnega mesta povzroča novo nepričakovano percepcijo realnosti.

O skici Kar lahko izpostavim kot skupno pri razlagi taktilnega trikotnika in razmerij v njem med Duchampom, Goberjem in lastnim opusom Corpus Indeterminata (posebej v delih Lost & found) je uporaba pisoarjev v umetniških delih. Uporaba definira točke v prostoru. Drugo stičišče je namenoma povzročena motnja oziroma izkrivljenost miselne percepcije, ki izvira iz taktilnosti. Shematični prikaz obravnavanega taktilnega polja je navzdol obrnjen trikotnik, sestavljen iz dveh enakih pravokotnih trikotnikov. Polje trikotnika leži v presečišču dveh premic: mimetične (kjer ležita točki D in G) in fetišistične (kjer ležita točki ZSJ in ZSJ‘), na kateri leži zgornja daljica trikotnika. Ta je na polovici razdeljena na dva dela in v sredini tvori točko D, ki pripada Duchampu in zamenjavi taktilnega z mitom. Iz nje poteka daljica, ki se vpenja v spodnji kot trikotnika, točko G, ki je tudi kot navzdol obrnjenega enakostraničnega

10

CIIIID.indd 10

13.1.2014 23:29:41


trikotnika. Gober se nanaša na vmesno polje med mitom in realnostjo. Iz točke D gre daljica v obe smeri in tvori točki ZSJ ter preko točke D zrcalno ZSJ‘. Točki ZSJ in ZSJ‘ pripadata Srdićevi vrnitvi taktilnosti preko odnosa družbe do fetiša. Povezava točk ZSJ in ZSJ‘ s točko D je referenčna: navezuje se na pojav dejanskih pisoarjev v polju umetnosti. Povezava je realna, zato je točka D sečišče. Povezava točk ZSJ in ZSJ‘ s točko G je funkcijska: navezuje se na dejansko uporabo pisoarjev. Povezava je tudi simbolna, zato se točki ZSJ in ZSJ‘ s točko G povezuje z linijama.

Vprašanja namesto uvoda Bralcu se verjetno najprej postavi vprašanje: who the hell is Gober? In takoj zatem: kaj imajo Duchampovi, pa tudi Goberjevi pisoarji skupnega z Lost & found? Zakaj so pisoarji problematičen objekt v polju umetnosti? Bi bili to lahko tudi drugi objekti?

VPELJAVA MITA Kar mi je bilo vedno zanimivo pri Duchampu, poleg izbire pisoarja kot že industrijsko izdelanega objekta, je prefinjen način predstavitve readymade Fountain (1917), četudi je Duchamp zgolj intuitivno sledil celotnemu dogajanju. Ni gre zgolj za to, da je Fountain kot readymade zanimivo izhodišče za premislek o naravi dela: tako reflek-

CIIIID.indd 11

sije umetniškega in produkcijskega dela kot tudi vloge umetnosti in njene vrednosti. Ta izhodišča so izhajala iz širših polemik avantgardnih gibanj v Evropi in bila Duchampu znana vsaj iz njegovega poznavanja kubizma, nadrealizma in dade, morda pa niso bila nikoli toliko izostrena v samih delih kot pri raznih predhodnikih readymade, npr. papier colles (1912/13) Picassa in Braqua. V tem obdobju se je tudi Duchamp spraševal, ali je možno ustvariti umetniška dela, ki to niso. Prisotna formalna izhodišča niso bila neposredno povezana s Steinerjem in njegovo ideologijo razsrediščenega ega.1 Pri Fountain in ostalih readymadih iz obdobja Duchampovega bivanja v Ameriki je čutiti, da je osnovno zanimanje za že ustvarjene predmete iz življenja povezano z nacionalnim prostorom, kar lahko pripišemo Duchampovemu prepoznavanju zgolj tistih predmetov iz življenja v kozmopolitski Ameriki, ki so se po eni strani razlikovali od pariških, po drugi pa so jih proizvajalci pretirano poudarili in karikirali. Tako je In advance of the broken arm (1915), eden izmed prvih readymadov nastal iz Duchampovega navdušenja nad lopato za kidanje snega, izdelkom, ki ga v Franciji še ni videl. Približno s tem delom je Duchampu prišlo na misel poimenovanje del kot readymade, vsakdanjih 1 Steinerjeva ideologija je nedvomno vplivala na Duchampovo zavzemanje za spremenljivost jaza/umetnika ter slučajnost umetniškega dela. Neločljivost in prepuščanje določenih stvari naključju, predvsem v interpretaciji, ki jim Duchamp sicer nikoli ni oporekal, pa je posledično vplivalo na to, da so readymadi tako odprti za mnoštvo interpretacij o statusu umetnine. 11

13.1.2014 23:29:41


predmetov, ki jih s preimenovanjem in nefunkcionalno postavitvijo na novo definira misel – izbira naj ne bi bila pogojena z vizualno naslado, ampak osnovana na zvezi estetske nevtralnosti s popolno odsotnostjo dobrega ali slabega okusa.2 Če bi izpostavili taktilno branje pri Fountain in ostalih readymadih, je to – zaradi Duchampove namere zamenjati vizualno, ki vzbuja ugodje, z intelektualnim – po eni strani zabrisano, po drugi pa na nivoju forme preveč banalno. Ne toliko v 2 Po Duchampu so readymadi vizualno neopredeljeni objekti, ki imajo namen pobegniti tako umetnikovemu dotiku kot ideji dobrega ali slabega okusa. 12

CIIIID.indd 12

historičnem pogledu ali v obravnavi funkcionalnosti /nefunkcionalnosti objekta, kot v obravnavi statusa umetnine, ki vzpostavlja tako široko interpretativno polje. Če Duchampovi readymadi nosijo na sebi še nekaj drugega, nedefiniranega in zakritega, potem se interpretativno polje readymadov zoži.3 Če pogledamo In advance of the broken 3 »Še nekaj drugega« se navezuje na opis Georgie O‘Keefe v zvezi z Duchampovim delovnim prostorom. Na sredini sobe naj bi bilo še nekaj drugega z debelim nanosom prahu, zaradi katerega ji je postalo slabo in ga je nameravala očistiti. Ko jo je Stieglitz opozoril, da morda Duchamp s tem ne bo zadovoljen, je opustila zamisel. Duchamp je 1920 delal na projektu The Large Glass (The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even), na katerem se je moral nabirati prah v času

13.1.2014 23:29:58


CIIIID.indd 13

arm, je palica držala kvadratnega prereza in nefukcionalna za čiščenje snega. Objekt ni dejanski readymade, temveč je preoblikovan in daje iluzijo izdelka za vsakodnevno uporabo. Šele njegova raba bi odkrila nefunkcionalnost ter preko tega taktilni vpliv na telo uporabnika. Tudi drugi primeri readymadov so nefunkcionalni: ne le zaradi nenavadne lege, ampak tudi zaradi oblike: Comb ni uporaben kot za glavnik za človeka, ker so njegovi zobje premajhni, Trébuchet ima podaljšek zgornjih kavljev obrnjen navzdol tako, da nanj ne bi mogli obesiti oblek, podobno je tudi pri Hat rack, oblika sladkorčkov pri Why not sneeze Rose Selavy je narejena iz marmorja in ima drugačno težo kot bi jo pričakovali … Fountain je od vseh readymadov morda najmanj preoblikovana oziroma se – glede na izgubljeno prvo verzijo – kot taka kaže. Fountain nima zgornje skupine odprtin, ki tudi niso nakazane pri Duchampovem miniaturnem prenosnem muzeju Boite-en-Valise (1941), medtem ko jih kasnejše verzije imajo. Pomanjkanje gradiva ustvarja mit, vendar vprašanje o Duchampovem delu ostaja: ali je v slogu dade zgolj vzel predmet iz sveta resničnosti in ga vpeljal v svet umetnosti, se prepustil hipni akciji smešenja in rušenja pravil o tem, kaj je umetnost ali pa je vpeljeval razlike bolj prefinjeno – s spreminjanjem določene lastnosti izdelka.

ponovna kontekstualizacija lastnega dela, iz katere razberemo, da je imel čas slediti svojim občutkom, pustiti stvarem in idejam lasten razvoj, da jih je lahko kasneje rekontekstualiziral. Npr. če je ob In advance of the broken arm prvič prišlo do poimenovanja readymadov, je Duchamp v novi tehniki poimenoval tudi tri dela, ki jih je predhodno ustvaril.4 Rekontekstualizacija je pomembna tudi za rekonstrukcijo ter reproduciranje readymadov, hkrati pa kaže, da je njihova dejanska vrednost v idejni sferi. Duchamp namreč s tem, ko vzame readymade Fountain, naredi mimetično zanko. Če Platonovo idejo mimezisa razumemo kot hierarhično: ideja – posnetek ideje – posnetek posnetka ideje (ideja pisoarja – pisoar – odslikava pisoarja), potem Duchamp posnetek posnetka ideje zamenja s posnetkom ideje (odslikavo pisoarja s pisoarjem). Na nivoju koncepta se mimetična struktura zamakne iz tretjega mesta na drugo. Pri tem bi lahko govorili o utelešenju ideje v enem in istem objektu, čeprav bi ideja morala biti na strukturno različnih ter podrejenih nivojih realnosti. Zaznavanje dveh različnih realnosti v enem objektu se nanaša na izkušnjo različnih mest in kontekstov kjer bi ta objekt pričakovali – kar lahko povzroči nelagodje. Gledalec se mora na novo orientirati. Mimetična zanka tako z zamikom strukturnih mest izpostavlja idejo samo.

Kot pomemben faktor se pojavi Duchampova

Pisoarji so v Duchampovem času sodili v toaletne

4 oziroma 6 mesecev. Nabiranje prahu je vidno na fotografiji – skupnem projektu z Man Rayem Dust Breeding.

4 Roue de bicyclette (1913), Pharmacie (1914) in Portebouteilles (1914)

13

13.1.2014 23:29:58


prostore ali v trgovine oziroma v same proizvodne obrate, pisoar kot Fountain pa najde svoje mesto v galerijskem prostoru leta 1917. Nelagodje, ki bi ga v historičnem času lahko brali kot taktilno, je razlika med mestom objekta široke potrošnje ter mestom umetniškega objekta, ki kaže na spremenjen odnos do klasičnega pojmovanja umetnosti. Pisoar kot readymade ni vzet, da bi predstavljal imitacijo samega sebe, ampak je njegova umetniška podoba Fountain ista kot materialna pojavnost pisoarja. Nobena obrtniška tehnika ni uporabljena v procesu izdelave, s čimer umetnost ni več odvisna od ekspresivnih ročnih spretnosti. Govorimo o posnemanju brez posnemanja oziroma, tehnično natančneje, govorimo o postopku ponovitve brez kopiranja. Matrica in izdelek dejansko obstajata za sam predmet, vendar za postopek preimenovanja v readymade, ki obstaja v polju ideje, nista več pomembna.5 Objekt se tako reproducira v dejanju preimenovanja, torej v polju ideje, tja pa mora biti potisnjena sama predstavitev objekta.6 Da je Duchamp opozoril na idejno polje, je moral slediti še drugim postopkom ustvarjanja nelagod5 Nista pomembna v postopku ‚ustvarjanja‘ readymade kot umetniškega dela. Vsekakor pa se matrica in reproduciran produkt nanašata na patent in avtorske pravice. Readymade napada potrošniško kapitalsko logiko s kršenjem teh pravic, ko si jih prisvoji za svoje. 6 Tako se zgodi s tremi readymadi, ki so bili predstavljeni pred Fountain: Pharmacie (1914), ki je bila napačno interpretirana kot risba, ter In advance of broken arm in Treveller‘s foling item (oba 1916), ki sta bila razstavljena v garderobi in zato nista bila omenjena v razstavnem katalogu niti v recenziji razstave, gledalci pa so ju zamenjali za običajna objekta. 14

CIIIID.indd 14

ja. Izbor pisoarja je od vseh readymadov najbolj v povezavi s telesom, spolom ter kolektivnim spominom. Ravno zato menim, da Duchampu ne moremo očitati izbire pisoarja zgolj kot kontroverzne. Seveda je, vendar nima namena prekoračiti definicije readymada kot objekta. Pisoar, preden je postal Fountain, je predmet, ki ni estetsko interpretiran, niti nima simbolnih konotacij, ki bi ga izpostavile kot kontroverznega samega po sebi.7 Pisoar kot Fountain v času nastanka ni imel univerzalnih simbolnih konotacij, zgolj kolektivni spomin nelagodja. Funkcionalna uporaba pisoarjev je povezana z moškim izločanjem, ki je davno v človeški zgodovini imelo tudi druge pomene, a so se pozabili in postali neprijetni oziroma povzročajo nelagodje. Kljub temu da je Fountain en pisoar, preide v polje kolektivnega, ker njegova funkcija ponovitev ni individualna, še manj je za razliko od zaprtih stranišč intimna, povrhu je določena z moškim spolom. Če govorimo o simbolnih konotacijah so bile te za Duchampa nedvomno povezane z erotiko. Duchamp je industrijske objekte in masovno proizvedene predmete za vsakodnevno uporabo razumeval kot šifre za človekove nagone že s tem, ko je opisoval njihovo krožno gibanje kot onanistično. Readymade Fountain je bil najprej predstavljen kot izdelek masovne 7 Če bi npr. vzel sveto pismo, ki ga je ne samo po verskih pravilih prepovedano uničiti, ampak je tudi zakonsko nedotakljivo v javnosti, bi s preimenovanjem posegal v simbolno konotacijo objekta, v njegovo idejno polje, ki je že določeno ter tako ali drugače zaščiteno. Danes bi to lahko obravnavali kot širjenje nestrpnosti.

13.1.2014 23:29:58


proizvodnje: produkt je pred namensko uporabo, kjer je v vertikalni legi, postavljen na prodajno polico horizontalno. Horizontalno postavljen pisoar predstavlja zgolj kopijo produciranega potrošniškega blaga. Readymade ni zgubljen iz koncepta dela, zgolj prestavljen je iz ene trgovine v drugo (galerijo): iz Mercatorja ali Spara v Hest ali v Equrno. Readymade ni nikoli vzet iz osnovne funkcije, ker vanjo sploh nikoli ni bil postavljen. Fountain je pisoar, ki kot ostali pisoarji tistega časa na prodajnih policah čaka, da bo dobil funkcijo, za katero je ustvarjen, le da je kot umetniško delo ujet v tem

CIIIID.indd 15

čakanju. Kot tak izgubi svojo surovost, ki se v prvem trenutku kaže v grobi iztrganosti iz trgovine ter okornem podpisu R.Mutt1917. Je potrošniško blago, ki mu ne bo nikoli omogočena popolna uresničitev od izdelave do prodaje in postavitve v toaletni prostor. Ujet je v odlog potrošnikove želje.8 Vsako blago, preden ga potrošnik kupi, vzbuja 8 Najboljša izbira predmetov za readymade bi po Duchampu bili izdelki masovne potrošnje z nabito polnih prodajnih polic, čeprav tega nikoli ni neposredno izrekel. Kljub promociji izdelka, ki iz predmeta ustvarja dodano vrednost in določa uporabnikov življenjski slog ter s tem njegovo identiteto, pa so ravno predmeti široke potrošnje tisti, ki nimajo dodane vrednosti v smislu, da bi pripadali zgodovini in s tem že ne15

13.1.2014 23:30:14


željo po zadovoljitvi, užitku. Potrošnik se užitku s kupljenim blagom sicer približa vendar se, ko ga (po)užije, užitek prestavi.9 Želja sama ustvarja užitek, ne dejanska potešitev. Readymade v funkciji umetniškega dela ne more biti nikoli použit in je vedno ujet v odlog uporabe. S tem vrača potrošnikov pogled gledalcu umetniškega dela. Celoten proces predstavitve Fountain je zašel na konceptualen nivo, kar sicer morda ni bil načrten Duchampov namen, ni pa imel nič proti, a je iz dogodka črpal druga vodila, ki jih je kasneje uporabil. Da bi se delo vzpostavilo v polju ideje, ga je potrebno tja potisniti – torej ven iz običajnega predmetnega sveta. Ker so se readymade izgubili, je moral Duchamp narediti kopije, kar lahko vzamemo kot načrtovano gesto. Pomembna je ideja sama: konceptualna istovetnost z idejo objekta, ne predmetna stvarnost, ne njegova predmetna funkcionalnost, površina objekta ali notranji odnosi med oblikami. Če je Fountain eden ali pa jih je več v polju ideje res ni pomembno, ker je sama ideja matrica. Materialna stvarnost, ki je omogočala vpeljavo ideje, se mora izgubiti. V nasprotnem primeru objekt prevlada nad idejo in postane posredno nosili pomen. Izdelki široke potrošnje v (ob)toku so estetsko nevtralnejši od predmeta, ki je že bil uporabljen, saj ta pridobi ‘individualne’ lastnosti, izdelek široke potrošnje pa je zgolj eden izmed množice še neuporabljenih. Po drugi strani pa veliko bolje ustrezajo Duchampovi tezi primerjave readymada z barvami: readymadi naj bi podobno kot slikarjeve barve bili umetnikova sredstva oziroma material za izražanje. 9 Prestavi ga v iskanje vedno nove želje in nove zadovoljitve – tako subjekt ne more biti nikoli potešen. 16

CIIIID.indd 16

fetiš.10 Če objekta ni, potem od njega ostane ideja, ki postane mit. Sorodno mitiziranje objekta srečamo pri prvi predstavitvi Fountain. Lahko si mislimo, da se je od Duchampa pričakovalo kontroverzno avantgardno umetniško gesto11. Na razstavo društva neodvisnih umetnikov (Society of Independent Artists) – pri ustanovitvi in odboru je sam sodeloval – je Duchamp poslal Fountain, podpisan z drugim imenom, s čimer se je neposredno izognil osebni vpletenosti, kar mu je omogočilo tudi, da je lažje izstopil iz društva, ko je bilo delo izključeno iz razstave. Ob njenem zaključku je sprožil akcijo v podporo skrivnostnemu R.Muttu: prepričal Stieglitza, da je fotografiral Fountain in jo kasneje razstavil v svoji galeriji 291 ter objavil fotografijo in tematsko številko v podporo R.Muttu v avantgardnem časopisu The Blind Man, ki ga je Duchamp sourejal. Pismo podpore R.Muttu naj bi domnevno napisal slepi bralec, seveda pa je po predvidevanjih njegov avtor Duchamp ob pomoči sourednice Wood. Uvodnik izpostavlja, da ni pomembno ali je gospod Mutt fontano naredil sam ali ne – pomembno je, da jo je izbral in ji dal novo 10 Trenutek, ko je bila Fountain prvič predstavljena odboru za postavitev razstave, je tudi taktilen. Mdr. je Duchamp kopije skrbno izdelal, pri čimer nimajo več surovosti geste, R.Muttov1917 podpis v naslednikih postane oblikovan. 11 Po zaslugi na kubističnem neodvisnem salonu (Salon des Indepéndants, Pariz, 1912) zavrnjene in na razstavi Armory (Armory Show, New York, 1913) razstavljene slike Nu descendant un escalier n° 2 (1912), ki je bila v centru pozornosti kot najbolj kontroverzno delo. Duchamp se je zavedal, da ima zavrnitev dela lahko dober vpliv že iz zavrnitev Braqueovih slik na kubističnem salonu, ki so bile takoj razstavljene v drugih galerijah kot kontroverzne in s tem avantgardne.

13.1.2014 23:30:14


uporabnost s tem, da jo je postavil v drugačen položaj ter jo preimenoval. S tem je ustvaril novo misel za predmet oziroma, povedano drugače, karkoli je že naredil, njegova akcija je v miselnem idejnem polju. Podpora slepe osebe je pomemben del Duchampove akcije ustvarjanja readymada Fountain: slepi ne vidi readymade, torej ga doume v njegovem bistvu; za razliko od oseb, ki so Fountain zavrnile in bile slepe zanj, ker niso mogle v njem najti estetskega užitka v umetniškem delu. Duchampov readymade na sebi že zadržuje slepi pogled, kajti če se vzpostavlja na idejnem nivoju, je materialna stvarnost objekta zgolj pot k idejnemu nivoju. Verjetno je mnoge, ki so videli Fountain in ga niso bili pripravljeni sprejeti za umetniško delo, delo prestrašilo. V tistem trenutku je bila materialna stvarnost pisoarja kot Fountain največja, najbolj taktilna. Bila je čista in brez referenčnega polja, na katerega bi se navezovala in po vsebinski plati nosila interpretacije, ki bi povzročale nelagodje. Slepi pogled sicer povzroča nelagodje mimetične zanke, ko se je potrebno orientirati med dvema nivojema realnosti istega objekta iste ideje. To nelagodje je po formalni plati vsebinsko kot tudi taktilno. Ker se izpostavi ideja dela samega, na katero kaže to nelagodje in da se podoba vzpostavi v polju ideje, je materialna stvarnost odveč. Ideja se mora mitizirati, da obstane: od objekta – ko se prepozna v polju ideje – mora obstajati zgolj sled. Duchampova Fountain dejansko ni bila razstavljena, razen v zelo kratkem času v galeriji 291 ter v kontekstu

CIIIID.indd 17

mitiziranja, saj je s tem dobila mesto v galeriji kot zavrženo delo in s tem tudi pravico do obstoja kot umetniško delo. Duchamp sicer ni bil odgovoren za to, da Fountain ni bilo na razstavi društva neodvisnih umetnikov, verjetno pa je slutil možnost zavrnitve in jo uporabil kot taktično strateško pozicijo, pri kateri lahko deluje zgolj v polju ideje. Ostanek, Stieglitzova fotografija, omogoča slepi pogled na delo, ki ne obstaja več v materialnem svetu.12 Ponovitve readymadov Fountain podpirajo slepi pogled, saj se nanašajo na idejno polje. Kot njegove kopije so manj taktilne kot prva, ki je vzpostavila mit.13

MED MITOM IN STVARNOSTJO Serijo umivalnikov in pisoarjev je Gober delal med leti 1984 in 88. Za razliko od umivalnikov14, ki so v času prvih primerov smrti za AIDSom, bojazni pred okužbo in posledično povečano homofobijo, 12 Slepi pogled bi lahko primerjali tudi z Duchampovim zanosom glede izbire umetniškega dela, kar se navezuje na nezavedno in njegovo izbiro. Ker je nezavedno prisotno pri realni izbiri, se ta zgodi že pred zavestno odločitvijo. Nasprotno naj bi readymade izbral gledalca, pri čemer je umetnik zgolj mediator in ne vsiljuje svoje estetske izbire ter s tem deluje na nezavedno. 13 Edina taktilnost, ki se ponovitvam zgodi v časovno omejenih trenutkih, so poskusi raznih umetnikov da nanjo ali vanjo urinirajo ali jo preoblikujejo s kladivom: Pierre Pinoncelli (1993, 2006), Björn Kjelltoft (1999), Yuan Chai & Jian Jun Xi (1999). 14 Serija umivalnikov je poleg tega, da je bolj razvita in širša od pisoarjev, tudi idejno bolj zanimiva: umivalniki napeljujejo na ritual čiščenja oziroma očiščevanja, medtem ko odsotnost pip preči to uporabo in deluje travmatično. 17

13.1.2014 23:30:14


18

CIIIID.indd 18

13.1.2014 23:30:36


neposredno pripovedovali v očiščevanju, po drugi strani pa so njihove nefunkcionalne postavitve brez pritrjenih pip delovale kot izčiščene kiparske oblike – so pisoarji delovali dokaj naravno in neobremenjeno. Kakor je povedal Gober, je bilo logično, da je serijo umivalnikov nadaljeval s svojim prvim pisoarjem Urinal (1984). Kljub temu, da je predimenzioniran (76x50x50cm) in vertikalno pritrjen ob steno, se še čuti neposredna navezanost na Duchampovo Fountain.15 Da se je izognil povezavi, je z istim delom naredil novo postavitev Broom, Sink and Urinal. Navezavo je razbil tudi s tem, da je samostojne pisoarje delal iz pravokotnih oblik (Urinal, 1985), ali pa v paru (Two Urinals, 1986) oziroma v odvisnosti z drugimi objekti. Goberjev preprosti trik razkriva ne le, da lega Duchampove Fountain za povezanost z drugimi umetniškimi pisoarji ni toliko pomembna kot je oblika, ki je pogojno vezana na klasično zaobljeno – predvsem ni toliko pomembna kot je njena enost. Fountain je namreč kljub ponovitvam vedno ena. Če predstavlja določeno idejo, potem mora kot generični pojem za readymade obstajati kot eno. Če sta pisoarja dva, se ne navezujeta več tako močno na s pomeni preobremenjeno Fountain. Goberjevi kipi, osvobojeni neposrednih povezav, omogočajo vstop v drugo branje. Tako se tudi v polju vsebine odpirajo različne in15 Gober ni opredelil svoje povezave z Duchampovo Fountain. Rekel je le, da se mu zdi izvrsten kos, ki ne živi toliko v njegovi zavesti, kot v zavesti tistih interpretov, ki mu pripisujejo povezavo.

CIIIID.indd 19

terpretacije, povezane tako s spolno usmeritvijo kot s kontroverznostjo. Če za Duchampovo Fontain, postavljeno horizontalno, rečemo, da spominja na vulvo, potem lahko za Goberjeve Urinals povemo, da, pritjeni na steno, spominjajo na anus. Pri obeh je pogled usmerjen v odprtino. Fountain v horizontalni legi privablja pogled v odprtino ter spominja na nekaj, kar bi moški lahko polizal ali pa drugače uporabil za lastni spolni užitek. V povezavi z onaniranjem lahko spominja na držanje spolnega uda pri uriniranju v pisoar. Čigava je »Duchampova« vulva niti ni pomembno, seveda pa njena interpretacija lahko veča občutek nelagodja. Če pripada našim materam – glede na to, da bi podpis R.Mutt lahko prebrali kot Mutt./e/R – potem posegamo na simbolno področje incesta ali pa na področje nezavednega, ki pripada našim občutjem pred rojstvom, ki pozabljeni v nas čakajo na sprožitev sublimnega /ekstimnega. Če Duchampova Fountain predstavlja vulvo, bi ob Goberjevi homoseksualni erotiki lahko njegove objekte interpretirali kot moško zadnjico ali anus. Gober v svojih delih problematizira odnos družbe do problemov homoseksualnosti, kip Untitled (1990) pa je po obliki soroden moški zadnjici iz voska, človeških las in napisanih not preko ritnic. Ta torzo je prav tako pritrjen na steno – za razliko od drugih, ki ležijo na tleh – s čimer se pojavi še dodatna sorodnost. Kljub temu, da anus na kipu ni viden, torej odprtina, ki je v seksualnem pomenu bolj kot z reproduktivno funkcijo povezana z 19

13.1.2014 23:30:45


užitkom, vemo da obstaja. So pa zato odprtine na pisoarjih toliko bolj izražene in predstavljajo določeno polje fantazem – enako kot pri Duchampu, le da je objekt želje drugega spola. Po drugi strani lahko rečemo, da Urinals spominjajo na zadnjice k stenam obrnjenih oseb /torzov. Pisoarji so v vsakodnevni uporabi predmeti, ki nudijo olajšanje in občutenje telesa, po drugi strani so povezani s higieno in prehajanjem. Pri pisoarjih in umivalnikih je umazanija tisto, kar izgine iz vidnega polja in tudi iz zavesti, s tem pa metaforično označujejo prehod v nezavedno. Prisotnost umivalnikov in pisoarjev, oziroma njihovih odtokov, skozi katere prehajajo izločki, telesne tekočine in umazanija, označuje prisotnost nezavednega, ki naj bi ležalo na drugi strani. Prisotnost deluje kot nelagodje, ko nezavedno prehaja v zavedno. Gober se pri svojem delu dostikrat formalno navezuje na primere iz zgodovine umetnosti: nadrealizma, pop arta in minimalizma, poimensko pa poleg Johnsa in Judda predvsem na Duchampa; slednje je z instalacijami v devetdesetih postalo bolj zakrito. Navezovanje Gober verjetno uporablja, da ustvari širok pogled na delo, preden se gledalec opredeli do razstavljenih objektov, po drugi strani pa se Gober zaveda, da umetnosti ni izven mehanizmov sveta umetnosti: je množica definicij, interpretacij in kulturnih konvencij, zato za lažjo opredelitev dela v polju umetnosti uporablja reference iz njene zgodovine. Pri Goberjevih delih 20

CIIIID.indd 20

velja, da ne želi fiksirati gledalčeve pozornosti na eno stvar, ampak jo razprši. Pri tem je vsebinski del podrejen formalnemu in njegovi zaznavi: kaj in kako je nekaj narejeno se nanaša predvsem na izkrivljanje gledalčevega dojemanja, njegove tako čustvene kot psihične realnosti. Če so umivalniki in pisoarji vsakdanji predmeti, jih Gober naredi za neuporabne, nenavadne in tuje. Gledalca postavi pred dejstvo, da se mora na novo opredeliti tako do samih objektov – ki so narejeni iz žičnate konstrukcije, lesa, mavca in polprosojnega emajla – in njihove funkcije, kot tudi v odnosu lastnega telesa do njih.16 V hierarhiji mimezis je ločil podobo od ponovitve podobe, ki je ponovitev ideje in jo dodatno vezal na samo idejo. Izdelek, ki ga je ustvaril, je sam oblikoval, on je mojster obrtnik, njegov kip ni ponovitev, ampak samostojen izdelek, ki pa ima vlogo praznega označevalca. Gober je s hiper realističnim modelom podobe ustvaril duha.17 Ta predstavitveni model ima vlogo ma16 V zamenjavi določenega materiala z drugim vizualno sorodnim materialom z drugačnimi lastnostmi (npr. teža, trdnost …) se kaže sorodna povezava z Duchampovim Why not sneeze Rose Selavy. 17 Pri Goberju je zanimiva pozornost, ki jo nameni izdelavi pred vsebino. Obstoj umetniškega dela je vedno podrejen logiki makete – kljub temu, da Gober sam doma naredi krofe, ki bi jih lahko kupil v prvem McDonaldsu, je prav ta moment pomemben, ker vključuje njegovo telo. Na drugi strani je kot izdelek postavljen v idejno polje umetniškega dela in tam ohranja idejo. Gober ima tako soroden princip mitiziranja svojih del, le da je logika obratna od Duchampove. Duchamp, ki vzame narejen izdelek, se zaveda, da mora prvi izdelek izginiti, da se vzpostavi v polju ideje in mitizira. Gober izdelek sam naredi, vendar kot maketo, da ga na ta način vzpostavi v polju ideje. Izdelek ne sme biti funkcionalen. Naj bodo piso-

13.1.2014 23:30:46


kete18 in predstavlja idejo. Kot tak je ujet v predstavitev ene izmed mogočih realnosti, odvisne od mnogih dejavnikov, ki vplivajo na uporabo.

VRNITEV TAKTILNOSTI Serija Lost & found se v vsebinskem pogledu posredno navezuje na pisoarje, ki so našli mesto v zgodovini umetnosti.19 Zamišljena je bila kot razstava fotografij pisoarjev, ki so jim dodane na njih najdene dlake. Na razstavi je bilo predstavljenih devet digitalno obdelanih fotografij pisoarjev iz let 2006 in 2007, v trenutku preden sem pobral dlake z njih. Od tod tudi naslov Lost & found opozarja na dlake, ki so bile prej na telesu, so z njega odpadle, dokler jih nisem našel, fotografiral in položene v petrijevke umestil na posamezne fotografije.20 Na fotografiji sta vedno dve podobi arji ali pravi, mastni in slastni krofi ali velika cigara: osebna zgodba, ki meji na fetiš je v ozadju, trivialna in nepomembna: pisoarji morajo biti narejeni iz mavca in krhki; krofi morajo skozi zapleten proces konzerviranja, da postanejo trajni in ne zamastijo vrečke; podobno kot tobakovi listi skozi kemični proces. 18 Zavedanje, da pred gledalcem stoji maketa v merilu 1 : 1 in da je iz drugačnega materiala, kot jo je predhodno dojemal, je taktilno. 19 Aluzija na Duchampovo Fountain je poleg sorodne obravnave pisoarjev tudi na nivoju besedila, v katerem so readymade na začetku imenovali lost and found objects – izgubljene in najdene predmete. 20 Ideja za serijo Lost & found je povezana s fetišizacijo objekta. V Frankfurtu na Maini sem med obiskom muzeja Liebighaus opazil majhno bronasto skulpturico, neke vrste relikvarij, ki je predstavljal duhovnika. V drobnih rokah je držal zelo majhen in tanek stekleni valj, v katerem je bila dlaka. Fetišizacija objekta je ideološka in v osnovi sodi na področje kulturnega rasizma/orientalizma – dlaka, ki je pripadala

CIIIID.indd 21

– izbranega pisoarja in širšega pogleda na prostor, kjer je lahko tudi več pisoarjev. Fotografija kot medij ustvarja določeno razdaljo do obravnavanega objekta, njeno estetiziranje (oblikovanje) dodatno briše dokumentarni pogled nanj.21 Fotografije serije Lost & found niso estetsko nevtralne, delovale naj bi prijetno in pritegnile pogled; ravno tako tudi napisi na njih, katerih pomen niti ni bistven. Estetizirane fotografije so lahko karkoli: reklama za keramične ploščice, notranjo opremo, z njih bi težko razbrali, da so dokument neke performativne izjave ali zgolj fotografije pisoarjev v straniščih, na katere so se ujele dlake.22 Bistvo fotografije pri drugemu, je poistovetena s pojmom drugega, ki je postal objekt. V polju ideologije kulturnega rasizma/orientalizma (pri) dobi dlaka pozitiven oziroma negativen predznak, se sublimira oziroma ekstimizira. Povedano drugače, dlaka duhovnika ali znane osebe se preko kulturnega orientalizma sublimira, dlaka tujega telesa pa se ekstimizira preko kulturnega rasizma oziroma kulturne ksenofobije – v obeh primerih gre za fetišizacijo objekta. 21 Estetiziranje je lahko včasih prignano do take mere, da zgolj nakazuje določene prepoznavne simbole. Želim dati oseben primer. V pizzeriji pod vznožjem Šmarne gore imajo lepo urejene toaletne prostore. Na vratih sta v kovinsko ploščico izrezana stilizirana lika: krog in trapez, ki je enkrat širši spodaj, enkrat zgoraj. Po ogledu prvega lika sem zaključil, da to ni moško stranišče in šel naprej. Glede na lik je bila moja odločitev proti raznim drugim kodom – od tega, da je moško stranišče vedno bližje, do tega, da na drugem stranišču ni bilo pisoarjev, kar se mi je zdelo dokaj uglajeno. Ko sem si že umival roke, je v prostor vstopila dama, začudeno sva se spogledala, nakar je rekla, da je to žensko stranišče. Hotel sem ji pokazati oznako na vratih, ki je bila nekoliko širša spodaj, pri čemer sem se spomnil, zakaj se mi je trapez s širšim robom zgoraj zdel feminilen (simbol ženskega spolovila). 22 Tudi pri dobesednem oziroma dokumentarnem pogledu se je težko izogniti temu, da lahko celotna serija v marsikaterem pogledu meji na fetiš. Obstaja celo polje fetiša pisoarjev, kjer ljudje zbirajo podatke o uporabnosti pisoarjev skozi zgodovi21

13.1.2014 23:30:46


Umetnikovo vodilo ustvarjanja so razmerja med vrednostjo in vrednoto

Artist Credo is value-shifting 22

CIIIID.indd 22

13.1.2014 23:31:01


Lost & found je – poleg tega, da privabi pogled – predvsem informacija o nahajališču dlak, s čimer se jih vrne nazaj v občutek surovosti bivanja. Z razvojem civilizacije se vzpostavljajo potrebe po urejanju življenjskega prostora. Pri tem določene funkcije telesa prenehajo obstajati v svojem primarnem pomenu. Če je uriniranje davno imelo tudi funkcijo prepoznavanja telesnega stanja in označevanja teritorija, je ta funkcija z razvojem človeštva prešla, postala odtujena in nelagodna.23 Uriniranje je povezano s telesom in se, ko telo izloča, ne more vzpostaviti kot grozljivo. Odnos do lastnega izločanja ni enak kot do tujega, saj slednje vključuje neznano tuje telo.24 Gnusen je izloček, ko se že loči od telesa in ki takoj zatem v sodobnem stranišču izgine iz vidnega polja in s tem tudi iz zavesti.25 Ne glede na to, da so fotografije pisoarno in razpravljajo na forumih ter objavljajo fotografije pisoarjev vsakovrstnih oblik, starosti in geografskih raznolikosti: npr. http://www.urinal.net/ 23 Pri pojmu ekstimnega se miselna percepcija veže najprej na nekaj domačega, kar se s procesom potlačitve odtuji in se kasneje vrne kot grozljivo. 24 Zato je vulgarnost vedno pripisana nekomu drugemu. Pri vračanje lastnega bi bilo npr. gnusno to, da se nam pisoar zamaši in izloček ostane viden. 25 Dvomim, da se bo v prihodnje izločanje ozaveščalo oziroma kako drugače priklicevalo v zavest. Pri tem bistveno vlogo igra ravno posameznikovo telo. Če pogledamo nasprotni primer: okoljevarstveno ozaveščanje je možno, ker je posameznikovo telo izločeno, npr. ločevanje odpadkov in drugi vidni, a trivialni posameznikovi vplivi na okolje se kot ideologija lahko vršijo ravno zaradi dejstva, da telo v tem procesu ni prisotno. Telo postaja breme sodobne družbe, ki išče načine kako zamaskirati sledi njegove fizičnosti in propadanja. V tem kontekstu lahko razširimo trditev, da umetnosti ni izven jezika v to, da umetnosti ni izven izkušnje telesa – ta pa ni dokončna, ampak se spreminja glede na razvoj pomenov znotraj družb.

CIIIID.indd 23

jev Lost & found estetske in distancirane od gledalca, pa ne moremo mimo tega, da je celotno delo skatološko naravnano. Pri tem se zastavi vprašanje, ali pisoar kot objekt deluje skatološko. Duchampu se lahko kot največjo kontroverznost za Fountain pripiše nivo fekalnosti oziroma skatološkosti. Prostaška vulgarnost, povezana z izločanjem, je znak razlike med urejenostjo urbanih središč, ki svoj odnos do iztrebljanja zakriva, ter neurejenostjo ter brutalnostjo obrobnih krajev, kjer je morda odnos do iztrebljanja bolj odkrit, v obeh primerih pa je tabu, saj sega na področje intime moškega spola. Duchamp je verjetno slutil, da umetnost ni zgolj ustvarjeno delo, ampak določena oblika družbenega sporazuma, ki je zgodovinsko določen. Tako Fountain kot objekt, ki se dotika družbenih tabujev, neposredno označuje mesto oziroma postopek izločanja (zaradi česar je bil sploh narejen), vprašanje pa je, kaj označuje, če je vzet iz svoje funkcije. Razen na fotografijah iz Duchampovega studia je Fountain vedno postavljena horizontalno. Če vzamemo za primer Duchampovo litografijo Four Readymades (1964), pa lahko sledimo tako Duchampovemu poetičnemu povezovanju štirih readymadov s ciklom štirih letnih časov in opazimo formalno določitev odprtine za odtok, ki je na grafiki narisana na dnu pisoarja, v čimer bi lahko zasledili nakazano skatološkost. Vendar, če združimo (ne)funkcionalnost s časovno umeščenostjo, potem lahko za ležečo Fountain rečemo, da zgolj nakaže skatološki položaj, v katerega naj bi enkrat 23

13.1.2014 23:31:07


prešla, če ne bi vmes postala umetnost. Ni vzeta iz funkcije, ampak vanjo sploh še ni postavljena. Ni iztrgana iz konteksta, ampak je časovno umeščena pred njim, torej je v stanju nedolžnosti. Fountain je zgolj produkt, ki čaka na potrošnika, da ga kupi, pri čemer je potrošniško blago vedno v stanju sterilnosti. Nasprotno so Goberjevi Urinals bolj skatološki ker so, kljub nefunkcionalnosti, postavljeni v funkcionalno lego. Če je pri Duchampovi Fountain kaj nakazovalo osnovno uporabno funkcijo, je s prehodom v umetniško delo izginila tudi prisotnost vulgarnosti. Nasprotno pri Goberju ta prehod ni več možen, kljub temu, da so njegovi pisoarji že od vsega začetka nefunkcionalni in uporabljeni zgolj v polju umetniškega dela. Njihova postavitev daje občutek funkcionalnosti, s čimer poudari tudi uporabo. Če pri Duchampovi Fountain zanemarimo skatološkost in jo pri Goberjevih Urinals moramo upoštevati, pa pri Lost & found ne moremo mimo nje. To so javni pisoarji, umazani in s sledovi urina. Zaradi tega se formalna navezava na pisoarje iz sveta umetnosti kaže zgolj kot prazen označevalec. Če Duchamp in Gober ne bi nikoli uporabila oziroma izdelala pisoarjev, so le ti za Lost & found pomembni kot najbolj verjetno javno nahajališče dlak. Dlaka ni tujek na fotografijah stranišč, ampak bistvo umetniškega dela, pri čemer imajo fotografije pisoarjev funkcijo podajanja informacije o njihovem najdišču. S tem se zamenja hierarhija pomembnosti – dlake, ki so zaradi fotografij po24

CIIIID.indd 24

stale vidne, se izpostavijo kot bistven del. Dlake na pisoarjih niso pomembnejše od njihovega nahajališča, so pa bistven del Lost & found. So namreč objekt, skatološkost najdišč ima dejansko funkcijo taktilnosti, ko se gledalec zave, da so te dlake ne samo sled tujih teles, ampak tudi umazane in morda razstavljene v petrijevkah zato, da ne širijo možnih bolezni. Dlake same so sled našega in tujega telesa in so v kontekstu opravljanja osebne potrebe bolj gnusne kot zgolj dlake s kateregakoli konca telesa, ki pričajo o njegovem minevanju.26 Po drugi strani tudi same dlake minevajo. Ko odpadejo s telesa, se začnejo sušiti in manjšati. Najdene dlake na pisoarjih so sled nedavno prisotnega telesa. Če dlake vidimo v javnih prostorih, na pisoarjih, je to še predvidljivo, ko dlake preidejo v prostor umetnosti, pa delujejo kot tujek.27 Danes lahko dlake obravnavamo v polju dihotomije med naravo in kulturo. Predvidevamo lahko, da je bila naravna funkcija dlak zaščita kože pred zunanjimi vplivi kot sta mraz ali mehanske poškodbe. Zahteva po umetno ustvarjenem telesu brez dlak je v področju kulture vezana predvsem na žensko, posledično pa tudi na moško telo.28 Gladka koža brez dlak spo26 Minevanju se sodobna družba izogiba. Celotni reklamni imaginarij vzbuja željo po večni mladosti in dolgem življenju. 27 Fountain in Urinal se lahko zgolj interpretativno vežejo na nelagodje, ki ga sprožajo s prenosom pisoarjev v galerijske prostore, medtem ko Lost & found so posnetki pisoarjev, ki so v javni uporabi – strig realnosti, nelagodje, se v tem konceptu vedno zgodi v prenosu običajne prakse v galerijski prostor, kjer postane neobičajna/kontroverzna. 28 Pri razstavi Lost & found (2007, Galerija v izložbi, Kranj) so umetniška dela srečevala nepripravljene mimoidoče in jih

13.1.2014 23:31:07


minja na lepa mlada telesa: estetska in čista. Z odstranjevanjem dlak pa postane denaturalizirano in s tem izgubi eno izmed svojih identitet.29 Neobrito telo lahko deluje zanemarjeno oziroma brutalno. V primeru moških teles izgubljena in najdena dlaka priča o telesnosti, ki je sicer z družbenimi konvencijami oblačenja zakrita. Najdena dlaka se vceplja med področji tabuja telesa ter spola. Lost & found ni subverzivno delo zgolj v zamenjavi pogleda preko medija na dlake z dejanskim pogledom na dlake. Subverzivno je tudi v tem, da reflektirano vsebuje nasilje – postavi intimno prisotnost neznanih tujih teles v javni prostor. Ta se vsiljuje gledalcu, ki mora ozavestiti lastne predsodke.

naredila za obiskovalce razstave – kot odgovor sem dobil v izložbo potisnjene tri fotografije golega moškega telesa brez dlak. Fotografije so bile A4 formata in glede na datum izdelave iz vsiljivčevega arhiva. Pri drugem delu iz serije Lost & found (2010/11, Galerija Zavoda za kiparstvo) so bile dlake, vzete s pisorajev, umeščene na pozlačene novce. 29 Opuščanje britja lahko predstavlja zavzemanje za svojo identiteto, šele nato upor proti družbenim normam.

CIIIID.indd 25

English translation of the text is on the page 102

25

13.1.2014 23:31:07


V drugem delu serije Lost & found so bile s pisorjev pobrane dlake poloĹžene na pozlaÄ?ne medaljone

Galerija zavoda za kiparstvo, 2010, Ljubljana

Hairs from pisoars in the second part from the series Lost & found were put on gilded madalions

LOST & FOUND II 26

CIIIID.indd 26

13.1.2014 23:31:14


Na razstavi so predstavljeni pozlaÄ?eni novci iz serije Lost & found; nadaljevanje istoimenske serije iz leta 2007, ki vkljuÄ?uje najdene dlake s pisoarjev, poloĹžene na kovance pod akrilatno steklo. Ana Grobler

At the exhibition are also present 21 gold-plated coins from the series entitled Lost & found; a continuation of the homonymous series from 2007, including the found hairs from urinals, placed on coins under acrylic glass. Ana Grobler 27

CIIIID.indd 27

13.1.2014 23:31:16


Performans ni zgolj ideja izgraditi se mora v Ä?asu

Performance is not just an idea - it has to build up in time 28

CIIIID.indd 28

13.1.2014 23:31:16


Z razstava. Z otvoritvenim otvoritvenim performansom performansom se ... prične se prične razstava. Performans bo vseboval umetnikovo slačenje Performans bo vseboval umetnikovo slačenje srajce srajce filca. Ta je nastala ob performansu, iz filca.izTa je nastala ob performansu, izvedenem v izvedenem v času bivanja v umetniškem ateljejuza času bivanja v umetniškem ateljeju Ministrstva Ministrstva za kulturo v Berlinu junija 2010, kulturo v Berlinu junija 2010, v katerem si je vavtor katerem si jedlake avtors pinceto. 24 ur pulil dlake pinceto. 24 ur pulil Dlake sosbile naknadno, Dlake so bile naknadno, med procesom filcanja med procesom filcanja, sprijete v material iz katerega sprijete v material je nastala srajca. iz katerega je nastala srajca.

Ana Grobler Ana Grobler

opening the exhibition the TheThe opening of exhibition startsstarts withwith the perforperformance. The performance mance. The performance containedwill thecontain artist’s the artist’s taking off of a felt shirt. It was created taking off of a felt shirt. It was created during the during the performance carried out at the time performance carried out at the time in the art studio in the art studio of the Ministry in of the Ministry of Culture in Berlinof inCulture June 2010, Berlinu in Junewas 2010, when was pullwhen the author pulling outthe hisauthor hairs with ing out for later, 24 hours. pincers for his 24 hairs hours.with Thetweezers hairs were, in theThe hairs were, later, in the process of felt-production process of felt-production agglutinated into a matematerial the shirt has been rialagglutinated the shirt hasinto beena made from. made from. Ana Grobler Ana Grobler

Artist in Residence - Slovene ministry of culture, 2010, Berlin

24 STUNDE BERLIN

29

CIIIID.indd 29

13.1.2014 23:31:17


PETJA GRAFENAUER Corpus Indeterminata(*Nedefinirano telo) sestavlja več projektov, ki se na različne načine in prek različnih organskih materialov dotikajo vprašanja telesa, ki ga ni moč ujeti v prepoznavni vidni okvir. V Galeriji Zavoda za kiparstvo Srdić Janežič predstavlja dva projekta, ki ju povezuje materialnost človeških dlak. Velika bela srajca, ki jo spremlja sedem manjših prodajnih multiplov, je umetniško delo in hkrati dokumentacija za javnost nevidnega procesa, ki ga je umetnik izvedel v letošnjem letu. V štiriindvajsetih urah performansa si je umetnik s telesa s pinceto pulil dlake. S telesa precizno odstranjeni material je bil s postopkom filcanja kasneje združen z ovčjo volno, iz nje pa je bilo po umetnikovem naročilu skrojeno oblačilo. Ta objekt /dokument/ je v galeriji razstavljen tako, da v žepu skriva LCD ekran, ki gledalcu kaže proces pridobivanja materiala, iz katerega je nastal artefakt, ki je pred njim. Drugi predstavljeni projekt je nadaljevanje serije Lost & Found (2007). Srdić Janežičevo terensko delo zbiranja sramnih dlak, ki so se oprijemale sten pisoarjev, je umetnik natančno dokumentiral in ob najdenem artefaktu razstavil fotografsko dokumentacijo njegovega nahajališča. Tokrat so dlake naseljene na pozlačenih novcih in so relikvije tujih, nedefiniranih teles, so znak obstoja teles, ki jim ni moč pripisati natančne oblike. Ko je dlaka postavljena pred gledalca kot oblačilo, ki dlakavost navadno zakriva, ali ko postane vidna na pozlačenem piedestalu, se zdi gledalcu gnusna. Morda je sprva noče ali ne more povezati s tistim, kar je prinesel v galerijo pod svojimi pazduhami, v mednožju, pod popkom ali kolenom. Del človeške telesnosti, ki jo sodobna družba s svojo navidezno

»čistostjo« - bolj primeren izraz pa je gotovo »čistunstvo« - želi odstraniti in ustvariti videz, da so naša telesa idealno gladka in kar se da ločena od živalskega, je pred nami in hkrati del nas. Je tisti del nas, ki smo se ga naučili skrivati, zanikati, odstranjevati in sovražiti.

30

CIIIID.indd 30

13.1.2014 23:31:17


31

CIIIID.indd 31

13.1.2014 23:31:18


PETJA GRAFENAUER Corpus Indeterminata (*Undefined body) is an assemblage of projects that use different ways and a selection of organic materials to deal with the body that cannot be captured within a recognisable visible frame. In the Sculpture Association Gallery Srdić Janežič presented two projects connected by the human body hairs that were used as material. A large white shirt that was accompanied by seven smaller multiples on sale is a work of art as well as documentation of a process that the artist carried out earlier this year and was invisible to the general public. In a twenty-four hour performance the artist used a pair of tweezers to pull body hairs from his body. The cautiously removed body hair was felted and joined with sheep wool, and once the new material was obtained it was used to make the shirt in accordance to the artist’s instructions. This object/ document/ was exhibited in the gallery together with a LCD screen, hidden in the shirt pocket, that showed a film on the process of how the material for the artefact was obtained. The second project on display was a continuation of the Lost & Found series (2007). Srdić Janežič’s fieldwork of collecting pubic hair that clenched onto the sides of urinals was precisely documented and alongside the found artefact he exhibited photographic documentation of the location of discovery. In this project the pubic hairs that represent relics of foreign, undefined bodies were exhibited on gilded coins and presented as a sign of bodies that we know exist out there even though we cannot imagine their precise shapes. Once the body hair is set in front of the viewer as an article of clothing (which usually hides

the body hairs), or when it becomes visible on a gilded pedestal, it appears disgusting. At first the viewer might not want to or is incapable of connecting them to what he has brought into the gallery under his armpits, in his crotch, under his bellybutton or knee. A part of the human physicality, which the contemporary society with its seeming ‘pureness’ (even though it might be more appropriate to call it ‘prudery’) wishes to remove and create the appearance that our bodies are ideally smooth and as far removed from animal bodies as possible, lies in front of us and is at the same time also a part of us. It is the part of us that we have learned to hide, deny, remove and detest.

32

CIIIID.indd 32

13.1.2014 23:31:22


33

CIIIID.indd 33

13.1.2014 23:31:23

Galerija zavoda za kiparstvo, 2010, Ljubljana


PARTITA I

34

CIIIID.indd 34

CORPUS INDETERM 13.1.2014 23:31:23


CIIIID.indd 35

Galerija Alkatraz, 2010, Ljubljana

MINATA

35

13.1.2014 23:31:31


36

CIIIID.indd 36

13.1.2014 23:31:34


Ohranjanje kipa Ohranjanje kipa pri pri življenju življenju Preserving the Preserving the life lifeofofsculpture sculpture

Klasični postopki izdelave kalupov Klasični postopki izdelave Nekonvencionalen kiparskikalupov material Nekonvencionalen kiparski material Zmrznjena figura ulita v svinjsko mast Zmrznjena figura ulita v svinjsko mast Standard method of mould-making Non-conventional sculptural material A frozen frozen figure figuremoulded mouldedofofpig’s pig’slard lard 37

CIIIID.indd 37

13.1.2014 23:31:35


ANA GROBLER

ANA GROBLER

Kipar, vizualni umetnik, oblikovalec lutk zaposlen v Lutkovnem gledališču Ljubljana ter publicist na področju sodobne umetnosti Zoran Srdić Janežić, se bo v Galeriji Alkatraz predstavil z razstavo iz opusa Corpus Indeterminata (*Nedefinirano telo).

A sculptor, visual artist, puppet manufacturer employed at the Ljubljana Puppet Theatre as well as a publicist in the field of contemporary art, Zoran Srdić Janežić, will introduce himself at the Alkatraz Gallery with an exhibition from his opus entitledCorpus Indeterminata (*Non- determined Body). For the occasion of exhibition intentionally unheated Alkatraz Gallery – present a sculpture cast of his own body with a pig head, made from lard and cracklings. The exhibition questions the role of the artist as a creator that necessarily requires inspiration for its work, counterposing it the cast of the body, made from a mould. This is the way the artist states, among other things, that an artefact is not only a premeditated and inspired creation of physical objects, but (pointing out that) the context and critical engagement behind it are equally important. The author places lard, a food of various uses into a context arising repulse in the spectator. A hybrid of a man and an animal points to anthropocentrism of our society and announces the second part of the exhibition, where the artist will - from his own fat – make a pig body with a human head, created with the aid of 3D scans. This simple swaps of roles or the use of raw materials are so extensive and so easily taken for granted in our daily life that we have stopped questioning them, while we can here face them in an entirely new light, so we are forced to reevaluate their meaning and appearance.

V za ta namen neogrevani Galeriji Alkatraz bo umetnik predstavil skulpturo odlitka svojega telesa s prašičjo glavo, izdelano iz svinjske masti in ocvirkov. Razstava prevprašuje vlogo umetnika kot ustvarjalca, ki za svoje delo nujno potrebuje navdih in ji naproti postavlja odlitek telesa, narejen po kalupu. S tem avtor med drugim izjavlja, da umetniško delo ni zgolj premišljeno in navdahnjeno ustvarjanje fizičnih predmetov, pač pa da sta enako pomembna kontekst ter kritični aganžma, ki stojita za njim. Svinjsko mast, živilo uporabno na mnoge načine, avtor postavlja v kontekst, ki v opazovalcu ustvarja odpor. Hibrid človeka in živali opozarja na antropocentrizem naše družbe in napoveduje drugi del razstave, v kateri bo umetnik iz lastne maščobe ustvaril kip s prašičjim telesom in človeško glavo, narejen s pomočjo tridimenzionalnih skenov. Te enostavne zamenjave vlog oz. rabe surovin so v vsakdanjiku tako obsežne in samoumevne, da jih niti ne prevprašujemo več, tu pa jih zagledamo v povsem drugi luči, zato smo prisiljeni ponovno ovrednotiti njihov pomen in pojavnost.

38

CIIIID.indd 38

13.1.2014 23:31:36


39

CIIIID.indd 39

13.1.2014 23:31:36


JANA PUTRLE SRDIĆ Umetniška dela (kipe, performanse, objekte, video) iz cikla Nedefinirano telo povezuje tisto najbolj – za kiparstvo paradoksalno – neotipljivo: ideja, še ne povsem definirana misel, nevidno telo, ki se misli kot posvečeno, kot gnusno, ki se levi iz nenavadnega v pogojno privlačno, skozi množico različnih medijev, ki se jih umetnik poslužuje za svoj izraz. Tu ne gre za vztrajanje pri klasičnem kiparstvu ali za performativnost kot modno muho, sredstva služijo ideji, vendar pa se prvinska fascinacija nad materialom in postopkom

(ulita svinjska mast z ocvirki; skoraj nevidne dlake, sublimno filcane v srajco) prenaša z umetnika na gledalca. Zametku ideje se lahko sledi nazaj do navdušenja ob nekem malem kipcu iz muzeja umetnosti v Frankfurtu na Maini z začetka 19. stoletja. Duhovna oseba drži v stekleni posodici dlako, verjetno relikvijo svetnika. Če omenimo pramene las Elvisa Presleyja ali pramen las ljubice, ki so ga hranili vojaki, se približamo pojmu fetišizacije. Fetiši so med drugim estetizirani predmeti in fotografija je s svojo distanco do objekta primeren medij, ki že takoj določi estetski pogled, zato pa je neugodje – ko na njej prepoznamo dlako s pisoarja, isto dlako, ki je ob fotografiji tudi razstavljena in seveda pobrana z javnih moških stranišč – »brez filtra«. Estetsko funkcijo torej zamenja dokumentarna, spoznavna, bi lahko rekli. Če je Duchamp uporabni predmet naredil za umetniški in so Goberjevi pisoarji makete sanitarij, ki nimajo funkcije ter so kot zmodelirani objekti delo kiparja, pa Srdić Janežiča zanimajo sledi na uporabnem predmetu, ki pričajo o ohlajeni odsotnosti, telesu, ki je bilo in ga ni več, njegovih izločkih, »nečistosti«. In še preden omenimo krhkost in minevanje, povejmo, da je delu vedno dodan humorni element, ob katerem posumimo, da gre za šalo zafrkljivega umetnika. Človeška figura s prašičjo glavo iz svinjske masti in ocvirkov je ulita po telesu umetnika in glavi (anonimnega) prašiča s prašičje farme, medtem ko naj bi bil cikel v nadaljevanju dopolnjen z manjšo figuro prašiča z glavo umetnika iz umetnikovega sala (pridobljenega z liposukcijo), materiala je tu seveda precej manj, kalup telesa pa bo izdelan po

40

CIIIID.indd 40

13.1.2014 23:31:39


3D skenu prašiča ter umetnikove glave. Očitno se Srdić Janežič izogiba ekspresivnosti, ki se nam nujno vsiljuje ob modeliranih kipih. Ne gre mu za občutek, temveč za prenos resnične oblike, kalup je tu dobesedno prostor manjkajočega telesa, metoda postane strokovna, lahko bi bila serijska, kar umetnika zanima je percepcija celote se pravi materiala – svinjske in človeške masti – spojenega z obliko in vse konotacije, ki jih ta prinaša: živalske farme in prehrambena industrija, lepotna kirurgija in njeni »ostanki«, hrana transformirana v umetniški objekt (tu se lahko navežemo na pretekle umetnikove kipe iz kruha), oblika telesa kot njegova odsotnost, živost-neživost materiala. Za nekoliko bolj čutne posameznike (gurmane?) je material človeške figure s prašičjo glavo nekaj privlačnega (podkožna maščoba je v baroku – pa ne le tedaj – veljala za estetsko, erotično), za mnoge morda odbijajoč ali pa zgolj šala. In kje je telo, po katerem je ostala praznina, kip, dlake in srajca? Je to telo neznanca, ki vzbuja odpor ali umetnika, ki ga lahko povzdigujemo? Za sabo je pustilo sledi, a se je že izmaknilo, nedefinirano je, nanj lahko prilepimo poljubne fantazme, lahko ga napravimo za sublimnega ali grozljivega, za unheimliche, tisto »nekaj«, kar se nam vrača preoblikovano skozi grozljive sanje. Najprej je bila Beseda, lahko bi rekli Ideja in njen tem(p)elj je Telo.

41

CIIIID.indd 41

13.1.2014 23:31:40


42

CIIIID.indd 42

13.1.2014 23:32:15


43

CIIIID.indd 43

13.1.2014 23:32:37


JANA PUTRLE SRDIĆ The artworks (sculptures, performances, objects, videos) from the cycle entitled Undefined Body are linked by the most – paradoxically for sculpturing – intangible: the idea, not yet entirely defined thought, invisible body, that is thought as hallowed, as repulsive, that is sloughing from

the extraordinary into a conditionally attractive, through a multitude of various media, that the artist utilizes as his expression. This is no insistence at classical sculpturing or per formative ness as a fashionable trend; the means serve the idea, however, the primary fascination over the material

44

CIIIID.indd 44

13.1.2014 23:32:38


and procedure (the cast lard with cracklings; almost invisible hairs, sublimely felted into a shirt) turned over from the artist to the spectator. The conception of an idea can be traced back to enthusiasm over some small sculpture from the art museum in Frankfurt am Main from the beginning of the 19thcentury. A spiritual person holds – in a glass dish – a hair, probably a relic of a saint. When we mention the locks of Elvis Presley’s hair, or a lock of lover’s hair soldiers used to keep, we come close to the notion of fetishism. Fetishes are, amongst other things aestheticised objects and photography has, with its distance towards the object a suitable medium, instantly determining aesthetic view, hence the uneasiness when – in it - we recognize a hair from an urinal, the very same hair that is – next to the photograph – also exhibited, and of course picked from a public urinal – »without filter«. The aesthetic function is therefore replaced by a documentary, an exploring one, we could say. Had Duchamp turned / made a commodity into an artistic object and Gober’s urinals are models of public lavatories with no function and represent, as modelled objects the work of a sculptor, then Srdić Janežič is interested in the traces on the commodity that testify of cooled down absence, the body that once was but has gone, its excrement, »impurity«. Before we come to the fragility and diminishing, let us mention that added to the work there is always a touch of humour, when we can suspect it as a joke of a teasing artist. A human figure with a pig’s head made from lard and cracklings is cast upon the body of the artist and the head of an anonymous pig from a pig farm, while the series should – in its continuation – contain a smaller figure of a pig with the head

of the artist made from the artist’s fat (generated by liposuction). In the latter case there is far less material available. The body’s mould will be made according the 3D scan of a pig and the artist’s head. Srdić Janežič is obviously avoiding expressiveness that is inevitably been imposed on us in the case of modelled sculptures. He does not care for the feeling, but the transmission of the real form; the mould here literally representing the space of the missing body, the method becoming expertise; it could have been serial as the artist is interested in is the perception of the whole, i.e. the material – lard and human fat – amalgamated with the form and all the connotations it brings along: animal farms and food industry, beauty surgery and its »remnants«, food transformed into an artefact (here we can refer to the artist’s sculptures made from bread), the form of the body as its absence, animate-inanimate material. For some more sensual individuals (gourmands) the material of a human figure with a pig’s head represents something attractive (the subcutaneous fat was - in baroque, and not only then – considered aesthetic, even erotic), for many it may be repulsive, or just a joke. And where is the body after which the void, the sculpture, the hairs and the shirt remained? Is it a body of a stranger, arising disgust, or an artist that can be praised? It’s left many traces behind, but has yet slipped away; it is undefined, we can label it with various phantasms, we can make it sublime or horrifying, for the unheimliche, the »something«, that returns to us reshaped through horrifying dreams. First there was the Word, we may say the Idea and its temple is the Body.

45

CIIIID.indd 45

13.1.2014 23:32:38


IN MEDIAS RES

Publicus Determinatum 46

CIIIID.indd 46

13.1.2014 23:33:21


47

CIIIID.indd 47

13.1.2014 23:33:58

Odprta galerija Layerjeva hiša, 2013, Kranj


V letu 2012 je bil projekt Corporavi Indeterminata (sic) izbran za javno postavitev pred Gruberjevo palačo (Arhiv RS), ki ga je upravljal Zavod za kiparstvo. Glede na to, da se je začela recesija, pa tudi, ker je bilo mnenje Arhiva RS odločno proti gostinski dejavnosti, ki so jo v Zavodu za kiparstvo na omenjenem vrtu imeli z barom Kiparna, do realizacije ni prišlo. Naročene in izdelane so bile skice, makete, konstrukcijski načrti in načrti postavitve, kalupi, odlita serija kipov, ter napisano spremno besedilo. Zanimiva je serija betonskih kipov (Publicus Determinatum), del projekta, ki v formalnem pogledu kaže, da so bili modeli modelirani iz blaga ter drugih materialov, nakar so bili narejeni kalupi in pozitivi uliti v beton. Na ulitku se vidijo šivi pozitivov iz blaga. Kipi napovedujejo večjo razstavo Corpus Indeterminata 3D. Projekt je odvod omenjenega opusa saj sega na področje politične družbene refleksije.

48

CIIIID.indd 48

13.1.2014 23:34:28


In 2012, the project Corporavi Indeterminata (sic) ( sic )was waschosen chosenfor forpublic publicpresentation presentationininthe theopen open gallery space in the in front theof front Gruber of Gruber PalacePalace (Archive (Archive RS), which od Republic was managed Slovenia), by the which Zavod waszamanaged kiparstvo. Given by Association the reason forof sculpture. starting recession Given the and reason alsoofbecause startingitrecession was the opinion and alsoofbecause the Archives it wasofthe the Republic opinion of theofArchives Sloveniastrongly stronglyagainst againstoutdoor outdooractivities activitiesofofbar barKiparna Kiparnalead leadbybypreviously the Zavod za kiparstvo inassociation mentioned the same open in the gallery same space: open gallery the realization space: the didrealization not occur.did Commissioned not occur. Commisioned project had produced project had the produced drawings, drawings, models, models, construction construction plans and plans, layout moulds, plans,casted moulds series , molded of sculptures series of and sculptures and text. accompynying written the accompanying text . Therepart One is an of interesting whole project series is interesting of concreteseries sculptures of sculptures (Publicus Publicus Determinatum) Determinatum, , part ofpart a project of athat project in a formal that in context a formalshows context that shows the models that thewere models modeled were fabric made in and fabric otherand materials positives were then made casted in concrete. ​​molds and Seams positives from the casttextile in concrete. medels Onare the visible castings on the seams castings. are visible, The small whichpigs were are the on textilethe forthcoming model. larger These exhibitions statuesof are opus predicting Corpus aIndeterminata greater exhibition 3D. of the oeuvre of Corpus Indeterminata (3D). This project is the derivative of that oeuvre (because basically extends the scope of content / social reflection)

49

CIIIID.indd 49

13.1.2014 23:34:47


MIHA COLNER

Prašičja farma Protagonisti Živalske farme Georga Orwella so na koncu zgodbe dokončno podlegli nadoblasti pretkanih in častihlepnih prašičev, ki so novi svobodni svet kmalu prilagodili človeškim parametrom. Postali so elita novega proletariata, kar se tako pogosto dogaja ob spremembah političnega in družbenega ustroja. Z veliko mero frustracije, značilne za zatiranega, so postali enaki svojim nekdanjim rabljem – ljudjem. Morda so prašiči skozi zgodovino ravno zaradi svoje precejšnje sorodnosti človeku predstavljali atribute njegove nravi: požrešnosti in pohlepa; njihovo ime je postalo žaljivka, kadar je uporabljena v personificiranem pomenu. Ravno v tem pa se skriva obscenost te označbe. Prašič je pravzaprav ogledalo človeštva, refleksija ljudske mentalitete, projicirane na Drugega. Križanec prašiča in človeka je eden osrednjih motivov, ki ga Zoran Srdić Janežič raziskuje v preteklih nekaj letih z namenom postavljanja vprašanj o njegovem pomenu in simboliki. Če je motiv sprva navezoval na lastno telo (odlitku svojega golega telesa je na ramena pripel groteskno prašičjo glavo) in povsem intimno dojemanje sveta iz perspektive marginalizirane živali, simbola nečistosti in nemoralnosti, je nova inkarnacija modeliranega prašiča pravzaprav usmerjena v širše družbeno tkivo. Izhajajoč iz kritične analize javne plastike je tokrat ustvaril monumentalno skulpturo ležeče živali, ki v javnem prostoru pridobiva nove konotacije. Kljub velikim dimenzijam je kip pravzaprav namenjen pogledu od blizu ter vabi, da ga obiskovalec obkroži, zazna in prebavi številne detajle, ki so enako pomembni kot celostni vtis

oddaljenega pogleda. Sporočilo tega prostorskega posega namreč ni neposredno, pač pa zavito v plasti metaforične naracije, ki služi kot vzgib za razmišljanje o nekaterih ključnih segmentih sodobnega vsakdana. Podobno kot kip državnika ali spominski obelisk je vznak ležeča žival postavljena na sredino travnatega trga, pred pročelje reprezentativne baročne palače, v kateri danes domuje državni arhiv, z odprtim pogledom na mestno vpadnico. Sledeč klasicističnemu pojmovanju umestitve skulpture v urbano sredino, kjer je vizualna strateškost položaja izjemnega pomena, je takšna postavitev deloma zelo skladna z novo strukturo mesta. Prostor kiparne je namreč heterogen skupek urbanističnih intervencij iz različnih različnih obdobij – prometne žile, sprehajalnega nabrežja, pročelja baročne palače in monokromnega zidu sosednje hiše – in obenem področje potencialnih investicij in kapitalskih donosov. V omenjeni kontekst se odlično umešča tudi izmučen, polmrtev prašič kot vidni označevalec družbenih in političnih premikov. Ležeča žival postaja sinonim nove svetovne ureditve – usihajoče institucije države, ki izgublja svoj izvorni pomen. Predimenzionirana figura, zaznamovana s preprosto in zelo minimalistično modelacijo, po svoji formi namiguje na tridimenzionalno karikaturo, ki z izpostavljanjem specifičnih delov telesa – omaganim in praznim pogledom ali zajetenim životom – poudarja svoje pomenske atribute. Prašič je še vedno živ, a skoraj mrtev. V svoji skrajni izčrpanosti in brezmoči je izgubil še zadnjo trohico nagonske zaščite pred svojimi zajedalci. Popolnoma vdan v usodo moli vse štiri od sebe in pušča mehko sredico svojega trebuha popolnoma ranljivo. Tako nebogljen je skoraj slavnostno položen na pare, kjer ga njegovi mladiči

50

CIIIID.indd 50

13.1.2014 23:34:47


še vedno vztrajno in hlastno sesajo, vedoč da se za njimi vije vrsta novih kandidatov, ki bodo poskušali izpiti delček življenjske substance – dokler je še na voljo. Ta nekrofilski motiv pa v prenesenem pomenu zlahka postane alegorija trenutnega izčrpavanja okolja in družbe za izjemno kratkoročne cilje peščice priviligiranih posameznikov. Institucija države je (p)ostala sredstvo za doseganje teh ciljev. Avtor z apropriacijo postavitve reprezentativnega spomenika subvertira njegov običajni pomen. Namesto zaslužnega heroja, združitelja ali osamosvojitelja, se poigrava z idejo in metaforo države same, ki tokrat ni več subliminirana personifikacija ali abstrahirana kompozicija, ampak podoba prašiča z vsemi svojimi implikacijami. Pod vprašaj postavlja vloge in naloge države kot osnovne enote geopolitične razdelitve sveta, ki naj bi uravnavala interese različnih družbenih skupin, njihove potrebe in zahteve ter nasploh skrbela za splošno blaginjo

svojih prebivalcev, v zameno pa naj bi ji le-ti izkazovali spoštovanje ter jo po potrebi tudi branili. Njihovo vezivo so skupne kulturne vrednote in kolektivni zgodovinski spomin. A ravnotežje se je (ponovno) podrlo. Dandanes je prebivalec Slovenije (ter večine evropskih držav) še vedno (ali vse bolj) podvržen izrazitemu domoljubnemu diskurzu, ki skozi visoko in popularno kulturo načrtno utrjuje zavest o identiteti in gradi lastno, četudi vase zaprto in nereflektirano sceno. A vse to se zdi kot rjovenje težko ranjene živali. Institucija države kot krovna organizacija vseh svojih državljanov vztrajno izgublja stik s potrebami in željami ljudmi. Na drugi strani se številni posamezniki, kakor tudi mogočni gospodarski subjekti, čeprav bi s svojim presežkom morali napajati javno dobro, popolnoma zanašajo na državo, ki izmolzena pasivno čaka na boljše čase. Po krščanski analogiji tudi to institucijo sestavljajo in vodijo ljudje, ki so se očitno vdali v usodo t.i. »neizogibne 51

CIIIID.indd 51

13.1.2014 23:34:48


človeške narave«. Prav patriotsko nastrojeni ideologi s svojimi dejanji vztrajno dokazujejo, da ne verjamejo v suverenost in neodvisnost države, ki so jo ustvarili po svoji meri. Ob tem je koristno citirati ameriškega novinarja in pisca Chrisa Hedgesa, ki pravi, da je državna tvorba kot takšna pravzaprav ogrožena, saj ne poseduje več nobene moči. Novo elito namreč predstavlja globalna oligarhija, ki ni podvržena in lojalna nobeni državi, ravno zaradi tega pa je uspela potisniti obstoj srednjega razreda na rob propada. Vsesplošna kriza globalizma in trenutni nestabilni trenutek sta tako vseskozi prisotna v podtonih dela Srdić Janežiča, ki bolj kot o kritiki državne strukture razmišlja o njenem dejanskem pomenu in mogoči redefiniciji. Velika ležeča svinja prav s svojim odmerjeno satiričnim izrazom in preprostim likovnim jezikom podaja močno sporočilo v odnosu do trenutne globalne in posledično tudi lokalne brezizhodnosti, ki jo na svoji koži občuti vse več prebivalcev planeta. Sinonim države v podobi živali izhaja iz antičnega Rima, ko je nastala legenda o volkulji, ki je rešila in s svojim mlekom hranila posvečena pripadnika ljudstva, poklicana da vladata drugim. Mitologija je tako običajno zgrajena na predpostavki čaščenja in opevanja izbranih, večvrednih in posvečenih pripadnikov družbe, ki so zaradi fizičnih ali mentalnih karakteristik – po večini posledice prirojene superiornosti – postali vzor vsem ostalim. Klasična literarna dela pa so obenem s svojim velikim propagandnim potencialom skušala doseči zavest, po kateri je kolektivna skrb za družbeni red in moralo daleč najpomembnejša v življenju posameznika. Omenjena dvojna merila so se v dobršni meri ohranila in prenesla tudi v sodobnost. Ideja, da bi moral vsakdo biti pripravljen žrtvovati sebe in svoje najbližje v korist

države, je ključni del izobraževalnega procesa in kasnejšega ukalupljanja v socialne norme. Temu navkljub je bil v dominantno retoriko uveden stereotip, da je človek tekmovalno in individualno bitje, v katerega naravi je postavljanje zasebnega pred kolektivno. Tako se je tudi v domačem miljeju že pojavila peščica, ki je rojena z zavedanjem svoje superiornosti in nedotakljivosti – na račun preostanka ljudstva in seveda države kot skupnega dobrega. Eksplicitno razstavljena skulptura živali, ki bi lahko tako pripravljena romala v pečico, se s svojo fizično prezenco približuje profani podobi neakademske karikature, saj je celotna modelacija in izbira materiala podrejena ideji nestabilnosti aktualnega časa. Kip je namreč narejen iz lahkega materiala, ki ni ustvarjen za večnost, ampak predstavlja točno določen trenutek v zgodovini. Zoran Srdić Janežič je z namerno neposrednostjo, profanostjo modelacije in zavestnim ukinjanjem ekspresivnih učinkov posegel v korpus urbanega tkiva, ki je vselej bil prostor izjavljanja in sporočanja. Na takšen način gledalcu meče kost, da bi razmislil o trenutnem času in lastni vlogi v njem. Človeštvo, še zlasti nekdaj dominantni zahodni svet, se namreč nahaja v čudaškem krču nezadovoljstva in nenehnega pričakovanja sprememb. Sodobna umetnost, ki je že dolgo na okopih kritičnega diskurza, samo(p) oklicana da preizprašuje ustroje in strukture državnih in kapitalskih elit, se je ravno zaradi svoje elitnosti izkazala za dokaj neučinkovito v prepričevanju množic. Z zavedanjem slednjega se avtor ni pustil ujeti v vrtinec moraliziranja, pač pa s svojo izjavo kaže predvsem na pomembnost ohranjanja lastne integritete in intimnega upora, ki ju spodbujajo dela s cerebralnim potencialom. Tako bi tudi na Orwellovi Živalski farmi poslušne

52

CIIIID.indd 52

13.1.2014 23:35:19


živali ob zajetnejši količini osebne integritete, zgodovinskega spomina in kolektivnega čuta lažje pravočasno prepoznale slogan: Vse živali so enakopravne, a nekatere so enakopravnejše od drugih.

53

CIIIID.indd 53

13.1.2014 23:35:45


54

CIIIID.indd 54

13.1.2014 23:36:10


MIHA COLNER

Pig farm

At the end of the story the protagonists of George Orwell’s Animal farm irrevocably succumb to the dominance of the cunning and vain pigs, who were quick to adjust the new and free world to human parameters. They became the elite of the new proletariat, a cast that often accompanies the changes in political and social systems. With great frustration, characteristic of the oppressed, they became identical to their previous executioners – people. Maybe it is due to their similarity to human beings that pigs have, throughout history, represented the human attributes of gluttony and greed; thus, when used in a personified manner their name became an insult. This is where the obscenity of this designation lies. The pig holds up a mirror to mankind, it provides a reflection of human mentality projected upon the Other. Over the past few years the cross between pig and man represented one of the central motifs in the research in which Zoran Srdić Janežič questioned the meaning and symbolism of this cross. If the motif was at first connected to his own body (a cast of his naked body with a grotesque pig’s head on top of its shoulders) and an entirely intimate understanding of the world from the perspective of a marginalised animal, a symbol of impurity and immorality, the new incarnation of the modelled pig is aimed at the broader social fabric. Emerging from the critical analysis of the public sculpture he created a monumental sculpture of a lying animal that obtained new connotations in a public space. Regardless of its large dimensions one should take a closer look at the statue, for the statue invites the viewer to circle around it,

perceive it and digest the numerous details that are of equal importance as the first impression from a distance. The message of this spatial intervention is not direct, for it is wrapped in layers of metaphorical narration that serves the consideration of certain segments of contemporary everyday life. Similar to a statue of a statesman or a memorial obelisk, the animal lying on its back is positioned in the centre of a grass square, in front of a representative Baroque palace, which today houses the state archive, with an open view of a main road leading into town. Following the classicistic understanding of positioning the sculpture within an urban milieu, in which the strategic visual position is of extreme importance, the placement is to a certain extent harmonised with the new town structure. The Kiparna area is a heterogeneous entity of urbanistic interventions belonging to various periods – a transport artery, walking embankments, a Baroque palace and the monochromatic wall of the neighbouring house – as well as an area of potential investments and capital incomes. The exhausted, half dead pig is an excellent fit for this context in which it represents a visual marker of the social and political movements. The lying animal is a synonym for the new world order – the withering state institutions that are losing their original meaning. With its form the over dimensioned figure marked by a simple and extremely minimalist modulation implies a three dimensional caricature, which by exposing specific parts of the body – including its lifeless and empty gaze and its bulky body – emphasises its semantic attributes. The pig is still alive, but barely. In its extreme exhaustion and powerlessness it has lost its last smidgen of its instinctive protection from parasites. Utterly 55

CIIIID.indd 55

13.1.2014 23:36:25


resigned, with all four legs sticking from its body, it exposed its vulnerable soft belly. Helpless, it is almost ceremonially placed on the funerary bed, on which its offspring continue to persistently and greedily suck on it, fully aware that a line of new candidates is standing right behind them, waiting for their turn to suck a share of the remaining life substance. In a figurative sense this necrophilic motif could easily become an allegory for the current depletion of the environment and society in which the extremely short-term goals of a fistful of privileged individuals prevail. The state has become a means of achieving these goals. By appropriating the position of the representative monument the author subverted its usual meaning. Instead of the deserving hero, the unifier or liberator, he toys with the idea and metaphor of the state, which is no longer a sublime personification or an abstract composition, but an image of a pig with all its implications. It questions the roles and tasks of the state, the basic geopolitical unit, which should supposedly level out the various interests of the different social groups, their needs and demands and generally take care of the overall welfare of its inhabitants, while they, in turn, should respect it and defend it when necessary. They are bound together by the shared cultural values and the collective historic memory. However, once again the harmony was disrupted. Today the inhabitants of Slovenia (and most European countries) are still (or increasingly) subjected to a patriotic discourse that through high and popular culture intentionally keeps reinforcing identity awareness and builds its own, closed and non-reflected scene. However, all of this sounds merely like a roar of a mortally wounded animal. The state as an umbrella organisation of its citizens is continually

losing contact with the needs and desires of its people. On the other hand, even though numerous individuals and powerful economic subjects should ensure the general benefit with their surplus, they rely on the drained state that is passively awaiting better times. According to the Catholic analogy this institution is also comprised of and lead by people who have apparently given in to the faith of the so-called ‘unavoidable human nature’. With their actions the patriotically oriented ideologists persistently prove that they do not believe in the sovereignty and independence of the state that they have created to fit their interests. At this point one could agree with the American journalist and writer Chris Hedges, who stated that the state is endangered as it no longer holds any power. The new elite, represented by the global oligarchy, is no longer subjected or loyal to a state, which is why it has managed to push the existence of the middle classes to the very edge. The general global crisis and the current unstable moment are permanently present in the subtones of the works by Srdić Janežič, who, rather than criticising the state structure is more likely to consider its actual meaning and its possible redefinition. With its carefully measured satirical expression and simple art language the large lying pig gives a strong message as regards the current global and consequentially also local despair, which an increasing number of inhabitants of this planet are starting to feel. The synonym for the state in the form of an animal originates from Ancient Rome, and the legend of the shewolf who saved and suckled the two consecrated members of the people who were called upon to rule the others. The mythology is usually built on the assumption of worship and praise of the chosen, superior ones and the consecrated

56

CIIIID.indd 56

13.1.2014 23:36:26


members of society who are considered role models for others due to their physical or mental characteristics (which are usually a consequence of their natural superiority). The great propaganda potential found in the classic works of literature tried to reach an awareness according to which the collective care for social order and morals would become by far the most important thing in the lives of an individual. These double standards have more or less been preserved and transferred to the present day. The idea that everybody should be prepared to sacrifice himself and his loved ones for the benefit of the state is of key importance in the educational process and the later modelling of the social norms. However, the dominant rhetoric introduced the stereotype that man is a competitive and individual being in whose nature it is to place the private before the collective. Thus, a few have already appeared also in our milieu who were born with the knowledge of their superiority and untouchability – and are willing to enforce this on account of the others and, of course, the state as a common good. With its physical presence the explicitly exhibited sculpture of an animal that could easily stray into the oven is rather close to the profane image of a non-academic caricature, for its entire modulation and selection of materials is subdued to the idea of the current instability. The statue is created from a light material that is not meant to last an eternity, for it represents a precisely specified moment in time. With intentional directness, profane modulation and conscious abolition of expressive effects Zoran Srdić Janežič reached into the corpus of the urban tissue, which always represented a space of expression and communication. With this he made the viewer consider the current period and his role in it. Mankind, especially its formerly

dominant Western world, found itself in a strange spasm of dissatisfaction and constant expectation of changes. Due to its elitism, contemporary art, which has for a long time been on the trenches of critical discourse, self-appointed to question the systems and structures of the state and capital elites, has long ago been proven to be relatively inefficient in convincing the masses. By preserving his awareness of this fact the artist was not pulled into the vortex of moralisation, for he, with his statement, pointed to the importance of preserving one’s integrity and intimate rebellion, both of which are encouraged when working with cerebral potentials. Thus also the obedient animals in Orwell’s Animal Farm would find it easier to recognise the slogan All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others is they had more personal integrity, historic memory and collective sense.

57

CIIIID.indd 57

13.1.2014 23:36:26


PARTITAE II

58

CIIIID.indd 58

CORPUS INDETERM 13.1.2014 23:37:00


MINATA 3D

59

CIIIID.indd 59

13.1.2014 23:37:30


* Under construction * Der process * Deus benedixitque eis, dicens: Crescite, et multiplicamini, ad imaginem meam 60

CIIIID.indd 60

13.1.2014 23:37:31


Projekt - razdeljen na več modulov, se loteva razvoja v polju 3D tehnologij Projekt - razdeljen na več modulov, se loteva razvoja v polju 3D skeniranja, oblikovanja in printanja ter uporabe v umetniške namene. tehnologij skeniranja, oblikovanja in printanja ter uporabe v Konceptualno problematizira reproduktivnost v kiparstvu (referenca Walumetniške namene. ter Benjamin): nove tehnologije omogočajo večjo natančnost in masovno Konceptualno problematizira reproduktivnost v kiparstvu (refprodukcijo ter vprašanja o avtentičnosti ter vlogah kipa v visokotehnološko erenca Walter Benjamin): nove tehnologije omogočajo večjo podprtem procesu. natančnost in masovno produkcijo in porajajo o avtentičnosti ter vlogah kipa v visokem-tehnološko podprtem postopku.

Project - divided in different moduls, addresses the developProject partitioned onscanning differenttechnology, moduls, addresses the 3D dement in -the field of 3D design and velopment in the of for 3D artistic scanningpurposes. technology, design printing as well as field its use and 3D printsitand its use the for reproducibility artistic purposes. Conceptually questions of a sculpture Conceptualy it questions the reproducibility of the sculpture (refering to Walter Benjamin): new technologies allow greatto and Walter Benjamin): newand technologies allow greater(refering precision mass production raise the question of er precision and and the mass production and raises the question of authenticity role of a sculpture in a high-technologyauthenticity and the role of the statue in a high-technologyoriented process. oriented process. 61

CIIIID.indd 61

13.1.2014 23:37:32


62

CIIIID.indd 62

13.1.2014 23:38:55


63

CIIIID.indd 63

13.1.2014 23:40:18

Under construction; Hiperfasada - MKC Maribor: Kulturni inkubator, 2013, Maribor


64

CIIIID.indd 64

13.1.2014 23:41:04


65

CIIIID.indd 65

13.1.2014 23:41:37


66

CIIIID.indd 66

13.1.2014 23:41:39


67

CIIIID.indd 67

13.1.2014 23:41:40

Der process; Video veÄ?erja - MKC Maribor: Kulturni inkubator, 2013, Maribor


68

CIIIID.indd 68

13.1.2014 23:41:42


69

CIIIID.indd 69

13.1.2014 23:41:43


70

CIIIID.indd 70

13.1.2014 23:41:44


71

CIIIID.indd 71

13.1.2014 23:41:45


72

CIIIID.indd 72

13.1.2014 23:42:15


73

CIIIID.indd 73

13.1.2014 23:42:44


DEUS BENEDIXITQUE EIS, DICENS: CRE AD IMAGINEM MEAM

74

CIIIID.indd 74

13.1.2014 23:43:12


S: CRESCITE, ET MULTIPLICAMINI,

Škrlovec - Stolp intermedijske umetnosti, 2013, Kranj

Instalacije si želijo doseči nekaj neznanega v gledalcu

Razstave ponavadi prinesejo nekaj neznanega ljudem, ki jih gledajo Installations tend to bring something unknown out of people watching them Installations tend to bring something

unknown out of people watching them

75

CIIIID.indd 75

13.1.2014 23:43:30


IDA HIRĹ ENFELDER

Corpus Indeterminata III D (*Nedefinirano telo III D) Deus benedixitque eis, dicens: Crescite, et multiplicamini, ad imaginem meam

76

CIIIID.indd 76

13.1.2014 23:44:12


Čigavo je abjektno / abotno / manjkajoče / objektno telo?1 Druga faza projekta Corpus Indeterminata III D [*Nedefinirano telo III D] je vmesna postaja istoimenskega večletnega intermedijskega projekta Corpus indeterminata. Prvi del je avtor predstavil že ob koncu leta 2010 v Galeriji Alkatraz, ko je iz prašičje masti ulil kalup lastnega telesa s prašičjo glavo. Njegov končni cilj je napraviti invertno podobo: uliti kalup prašičjega telesa z lastno glavo iz svojega sala, da bi preveril, kako tovrstni obrat razkrinka navidezno družbeno avtonomijo umetniškega sistema in hkrati razgali kategorialni aparat, na katerem temelji vrednostni sistem z antropocentričnim pogledom na telo in njegove izvlečke. Srdić Janežič s temi dejanji razpira poglavja o vrednotenju originala, kopije in njenih multiplov, o investiciji telesa v performativnem dejanju, o razširjeni telesnosti s kirurškim posegom, ki hipotetično dopušča množico možnih uporab telesa brez podrejanja vnaprej zamišljenim funkcijam medicine, znanosti ali umetnosti. Druga faza projekta je bil nujen vmesni člen, ki je omogočal dosledno izvedbo postopka, za katerega je Srdić Janežič najprej skeniral svojo glavo in nato v okviru javnega dogodka junija 2013 v mariborskem Kulturnem inkubatorju še prašičje telo. S 3D skeniranjem je nastal pomanjšan kalup prašiča z umetnikovo glavo, ki ga je vzorčno ulil iz ledu in je bil razstavljen kot središčni del druge faze Corpus Indeterminata v Layerjevi hiši. Razlog za pomanjšavo je bistven za razumevanje konceptualnega obrata, čeprav je povsem praktične narave; kajti umetnik, ki bo nazadnje v kalup ulil lastno mast, razpolaga s količinsko omejenim materialom, medtem ko mast prašičev teče iz navidez neizčrpnega studenca. 1 Bog ju je blagoslovil in Bog jima je rekel: »Bodita rodovitna in množita se po moji podobi« 1 Mz 1,28

CIIIID.indd 77

Avtor je naslov dela zakoreninil v zahodnjaško tradicijo z uporabo latinščine in celo neposrednega citata iz Biblije, kajti ukvarja se s stalnim izločevanjem Drugega znotraj lastne rigorozne tradicije. Kaj je pravzaprav ta nedoločeni corpus, ki je pred nami? Nancyjeva raba izraza corpus pomeni tako telo, kakor tudi korpus v smislu zbirke listin, dokumentov iste discipline, vojaške enote, tudi zbirko fresk, slik ali v našem primeru nabor multipliciranih kipov. Nancyjev corpus je vse to in še marsikaj, saj je zanj »telo« nekaj v izhodišču pluralnega. Minimalna nancyjevska definicija corpusa bi se tako glasila: telo je corpus.2 Podnaslov razstave nas pravzaprav hudomušno zabava, kajti Srdić Janežič s prečrtanim podvomi v samoljubno in antropocentrično razumevanje pomnoževanja in vladanja živalskemu kraljestvu, ki ni nič manj prisoten v bioinženirskih laboratorijih kot v srednjeveških samostanih. Ravno zato tudi s projektom, ki zahteva hibridno in pluralno razumevanje živalskega kraljestva, poseže v nove tehnologije, da bi jih napravil dojemljive za razmerje med vrednostjo in vrednoto bodisi v umetniškem delu bodisi v znanosti. Z navideznim nesmislom in humorjem v kipih (tudi v multiplih dojenčkov s prašičjo masko) združuje napetost med vrednotenjem različnih vrst, pri čemer igra prašič z vidika človeka izključno uporabno vlogo. Te vloge, kot že povedano, ne izpodbija, temveč pripelje človeka na isto raven. Če sme razpolagati s telesom Drugega, sme razpolagati tudi z lastnim telesom. Mar ne? Menjam glavo za ocvirke ali možgane za odojka Corpus indeterminata je sodobno kompozitno mitološko bitje, himera iz človeka in prašiča, ki je izdelana dobesedno iz njunih teles. Mast kot

2 Nancy, Jean-Luc: Noli me tangere, Corpus, Rojstvo prsi, Koda, Ljubljana, 2011, str. 12

77

13.1.2014 23:44:29


kiparski material avtor uporablja iz podobnih vzgibov kot sta jo za vzpostavitev stika z naravnim / primarnim / animalnim uporabljala že Joseph Beuys ali Matthew Barney. Mast ponazarja materinstvo, rodnost, negovanje in hranilnost, na ravni materiala je dinamična, torej nasprotuje statičnim trdnim materialom; mast je podvržena toplotnim spremembam in pri razstavljanju zahteva nadzirano klimatsko okolje oziroma hladilne naprave. Vendar koncept ne obtiči v tej simbolni abstrakciji niti ni podvržen moralnim odločitvam glede vloge, ki jo ima telo oziroma mast prašičev v družbi, temveč reproducira družbena razmerja oziroma protislovja. Posamezne faze projekta, kljub rezultatu, ki se izrazi v povsem materialnem kipu, razumem kot performativna dejanja, kajti avtorjevo telo je neločljivo od procesa, v katerem delo nastaja. Smisel nastajajočega kompozitnega bitja pa se uresničuje skozi dogodek, ki mu avtor prireže krila resnega razmišljanja in ga potisne v polje nesmisla in humorja, ko vsakič znova priredi absurden in masten kulinarični dogodek s svinjino. Ob odprtju v Galeriji Alkatraz mrzlega decembra 2010 je tako postregel z ocvirki, na performansu 3D skeniranja prašiča v Kulturnem inkubatorju v Mariboru so po končanem delu spekli odojka, v Layerjevi hiši je na kruh namazal zaseko. Seveda, človekovemu ožilju ni nič bolj sovražnega kot svinjska mast. Ravno zaradi tovrstne uporabe prašičjega telesa in medsebojnega »ljubečega nesoglasja« gre umetnik enako daleč tudi s svojim lastnim telesom. Poleg elementov umetnostne in antropološke kritike projekt vsebuje naravnost rahloživ pristop, ki ne zapade moralizmu, temveč izziva razmislek o vlogah, ki se vzpostavljajo pri združevanju dveh bitij, pri katerih razlika med kategorijo človeka in kategorijo prašiča sproža dvom v vsebino in 78

CIIIID.indd 78

verodostojnost obeh kategorij. Avtor zavzame galerijo kot klavnico brez krvi, kjer so na ogled zgolj rezultati politike telesa in nobena smrt ni vidna. Privede nas v prizor iz Fassbinderjevega filma3, kjer pripovedovalec reče: »Njeno življenje je mnogo več vredno kot moje,« ko klavec prereže kravi vrat. Čeravno utegne ideja o uporabi človeške masti v umetniške namene zbujati gnus, ni človeški material tisti, ki je aboten, temveč je človekovo videnje svojega (genskega) materiala v primerjavi z drugimi kraljestvi življenja tisto, kar more po razmisleku zbuditi gnus. Ali kot pravi sam avtor: »Kar je za nekoga sublimno, je za drugega grozljivo«. Tudi navidezna krutost do živali ni surova, temveč vsakodnevna. V drugi fazi projekta, ki je bila od vseh najbolj prototipne narave in ni neposredno vsebovala masti kot kiparskega materiala, je Srdić Janežič začasno ulil kipec iz minljivega materiala ledu na podlagi »naredi sam« 3D skeniranja, da bi ga multipel iz mavca absorbiral, pri čemer so se še dodatno zabrisale meje med avtorjem in anonimnim prašičem. S ponovno izdelavo šestih multiplov razkosanega telesa (trebuha) v vosku je napovedal tudi dovršitev zamišljene podobe, kajti podobno kot se identiteta posameznika uresničuje preko dogodkov4, je telo korpus podob, ki se razteza od telesa do telesa. Umetnik z multiplikacijo telesa izziva idejo o individualnosti, ki ni nekaj enotnega, kar je moč predstaviti z vizualno upodobitvijo telesnosti, temveč je individualnost vedno raztelešena in neskladna. Obglavljena telesa in raztelešene glave so sublimat 3 Mislim na sceno v klavnici v filmu Rainer Werner Fassbinder: In einem Jahr mit 13 Monden / V letu s 13 lunami, 1978, (18:50 min), Elvira: “And her life is much more valuable than mine.” 4 prim. Alain Baidou: The Event in Deleuze, v Parrhesia, številka 2, 2007, stran 37-44.

13.1.2014 23:44:52


individualnosti, ki se dovršuje z živalskostjo ali človeškostjo, impulzivnostjo ali preudarnostjo. S podobno združitvijo se srečamo tudi pri rozetah z avtorjevo glavo ali pri dveh video projekcijah, na katerih je glava kričala svoj živalski »yawp«5. Pri izdelavi pomanjšanega prašička v programu Maya, ki se uporablja za pripravo »naredi sam« domačega tiskanja 3D objektov, sta nastali dve animirani video deli z virtualnim prašičema, ki sublimirata umetnikovo živalsko naravo, kajti nemo izgovarjata »yawp«, ki obtiči med telesom in nesnovnim 5 Koncept Walta Whitmana iz pesmi Leaves of Grass: »I sound my barbaric yawp over the roofs of the world«, ki izraža primarni naravni gon v človeku. V slovenskem prevodu Travnih bilk Petra Levca: »… in ženem svoj barbarski krik nad strehami sveta«; Mladinska Knjiga, Ljubljana, 1962

CIIIID.indd 79

zvokom ter je izven področja jezikovnega, pomenskega ali razumljivega. Z nesmislom se soočimo na enak način pri kipu umetnika s prašičjo glavo iz prašičje masti, kot pri kipu prašiča z umetnikovo glavo iz umetnikove masti, vendar niti prvega niti drugega ne moremo v celoti dojeti kot acefaličnega (brez glave), temveč kot dopolnjenega na neskladen način. Za razliko od mnogih body art gest, s katerimi so umetnice in umetniki spodbujali čustvene reakcije ob soočenju z bolečino, človeškimi tekočinami in izločki, Srdić Janežič na ravni konkretnih objektov odpravlja neravnovesje pri človekovem (diskriminatornem) odnosu do telesa drugih (živali). 79

13.1.2014 23:45:18


80

CIIIID.indd 80

13.1.2014 23:45:56


81

CIIIID.indd 81

13.1.2014 23:46:21


Njegova vprašanja je možno razumeti neposredno kot izzivanje civilizacijskih tabujev, bolj poglobljen vpogled pa razkriva metaforo za družbene odnose in razredni boj6, kakor tudi povsem nereflektiran odnos do vrednosti in vrednot v sodobni družbi, kajti v času, ko je vse podvrženo multipliciranju, se umetnik vpraša o morebitni končnosti materiala. Zdi se, da umetnik predlaga, da bi pri vsakršnem materialu preverili, do katere meje zdrži njegovo pomnoževanje ali masovna uporaba. Mast je material, ki trči ob svojo končnost, ko želimo razpolagati s človeško mastjo. V delu ni zaznati neposrednega ekološkega nagovora, pa vendar ne moremo mimo zgodovine civilizacij, ki so podobno kot naša slepo verjele, da je surovin na pretek, ne da bi uvidele, kako pospešeno hitijo proti svojemu padcu.7 Prepoznavanje razlike med seboj in prašičem je hkrati povsem epistemološke narave, ki me privede do razmisleka o morebitni istosti umetnika in prašiča, ki pa je družbene konvencije ne upoštevajo. Kitajski sodobni umetnik Xu Tan je leta 1997 postavil instalacijo, ki se vrača k problemu antične filozofije. Črpa iz zgodbe o Zhuang Zijevih sanjah, v katerih je metulj, in ko se zbudi, ne ve več, če ni morda metulj, ki sanja, da je Zhuang Zi. Xu Tan je ob instalacijo iz sto stiropornih škatel za hitro prehrano in prašiča v naravni velikosti pripisal: »Znanje je moč. Ali je moč moč? V mojih sanjah sem postal prašič s človeškimi možgani in organi in imel sem velikansko moč.« Čigavo je telo? Prašičje telo je dovoljeno gledati kot kos mesa, kot prehrambeni izdelek ali dodatek k jedem, kot 6 Več v tekstu Mihe Colnerja z naslovom Prašičja farma 7 Jared Diamond: Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed 82

CIIIID.indd 82

razkosano stvar. V islamu in judovstvu je tovrsten pogled prepovedan. Kulturne konvencije nam narekujejo, da človeškega telesa ni dovoljeno gledati kot kos mesa, ne sme se dezintegrirati, razkosati, razpršiti. Uporabo človeškega tkiva, morebitno odtujitev človeškega tkiva od nadzornih organov in vsakršno ravnanje s človeškim genskim materialom določajo številne uredbe, ki jih po posameznih primerih obravnava tudi Komisija Republike Slovenije za medicinsko etiko za presojo etičnosti raziskovalnega predloga na podlagi Zakona o kakovosti in varnosti človeških tkiv in celic, namenjenih za zdravljenje8 in Zakona o odvzemu in presaditvi delov človeškega telesa zaradi zdravljenja.9 Umetnikovo odločitev glede razpolaganja z lastnim materialom določajo številni pravilniki: o načinu vodenja evidenc opravljenih odvzemov in presaditev delov človeškega telesa; o pogojih za izdajo dovoljenja za opravljanje dejavnosti preskrbe s človeškimi tkivi in celicami; pravilnik o sprejemu, obdelavi, shranjevanju, sprostitvi in razdeljevanju človeških tkiv in celic; o sledljivosti človeških tkiv in celic ter izdelkov in materialov, ki prihajajo v stik s tkivi in celicami; o pogojih in postopku za uvoz in izvoz ter vnos in iznos človeških tkiv in celic10 in druga določila. Nedavne raziskave s področja procesiranja genetskih materialov so pokazale, da pridobivanje matičnih celic, ki naj bi jih v prihodnosti potencialno lahko uporabljali za zdravljenje genetskih in drugih sistemskih bolezni in motenj, ni omejeno zgolj na popkovnično kri, temveč jih je možno pridobivati tudi iz zadostne količine maščobnega tkiva.11 Ravnanje z maščob8 Uradni list Republike Slovenije, številka 61/2007 9 Uradni list Republike Slovenije, številka 12/2000 - 7. alinea, 22. člen 10 Prav tam. 11 Zvočni posnetek, arhiv avtorice besedila. Posnetek je nastal 19.2.2013, v Bio Banki, Trzin, v okviru simpozija Hum-

13.1.2014 23:46:22


nim tkivom je dokaj aktualna tema. Etične razprave na tem področju vodijo tudi v smer lastništva nad genskim materialom, kjer so telesa darovalcev (proletariata) razkosana in dopuščena za uporabo javnosti, medtem ko so izbrana telesa (buržuazije) privatizirana in shranjena v bio bankah za zasebno rabo. Umetnik si zastavi utopično vprašanje Čigavo je telo?, ki ga obravnava iz povsem eksistencialističnega vidika, šele potem trči ob regulative, ki mu »v njegovo lastno dobro« prepovedujejo uporabo svojega telesa, v kolikor ta uporaba ni v skladu z družbeno in znanstveno sprejetimi načini manipulacije s telesi. Lahko bi se vendar ozaljšal ali si z matičnimi celicami podaljšal življenje, ampak umetnik se odloči za lastni etični kodeks, ki je za nameček z vidika medicine popolnoma nesmiselen. Ni podredi se generičnim podobam osebnega izgleda, uvede svoje vrednote, ki izražajo nadvlado osebnega sistema vrednot nad dizajnersko lepoto v kapitalistični tovarni podob poznega kapitalizma. Absurdno je tudi, da naj bi mu izvedbo zadnje faze projekta omogočil lepotilni kirurški poseg, ki ravno tako nima nikakršnih zdravstvenih prednosti ali terapevtskega učinka. Morda ne gre spregledati, da bosta kirurginja ali kirurg, ki sta nujna sodelavca pri projektu, počela nekaj, s čimer bosta potencialno tvegala svoj profesionalni ugled, čeprav Srdić Janežič nikakor ne išče smisla svojega početja v tem, da bi šokiral, kot je to na primer v devetdesetih počel srbski body artist Zoran Todorović, ki je iz človeškega sala napravil jed (želatino) za obiskovalce galerije. Pri bodyartističnih praksah gre vedno za poškodovanje s kontekstom in razlogom. A ponovno opozarjam, da Srdić Janežič z dobro mero humorja, resnosti in dvoma briše razlike med Todorovićevo želatino in svojim kipom. Če bi se želel kdo spraševati o razlogih za njegovo procealga: Injektiranje avtoric Špele Petrič in Robertine Šebjanič.

CIIIID.indd 83

duro, je povsem dovolj povedna ali celo šokantna streznitev, ko trčimo ob celo paleto družbenih problemov, tabujev, regulacij, ko se ukvarjamo z odtujitvijo človeškega tkiva. Telo v delu Corpus indeterminata je abjektno, ker »moti družbeni razum – skupni konsenz, ki podpira družbeni red. Abjektno obstaja nekje med konceptom objekta in konceptom subjekta, predstavlja tabuizirane elemente svojskosti, ki se komaj ločijo v liminalnem prostoru.«12 Corpus indeterminata v tem kontekstu nosi tridelno spremembo, ki je zasnovana na ritualni dramaturgiji nastajanja nove identitete. Če v sodobnem času govorimno o liminoidnem ritualu, je njegov potek še vedno zavezan prehodu iz obreda ločitve v liminalno fazo postajanja, ki je pogojena tudi z izkušnjo bolečine, do postliminalne faze ali ponovne vključitve. Srdić Janežič »uporabi« naravoslovne strokovnjake v skladu z razširjanjem multidisciplinarnega delovanja. Tako kirurginja ali kirurg ne delujeta samo v funkciji zdravja niti v funkciji lepote, temveč tudi v funkciji umetnosti. V tem procesu je pomembna vloga posrednic in posrednikov, ki so avtorju omogočili kiparski material. Najprej je bila to anonimna mesarka, ki je zaklala prašiča in mu pripravila svinsko mast; v drugem delu postopka so mu računalniški programer Jan Sterniša in ekipa MKC Maribor - Kulturni inkubator, ki so vešči »naredi sam« 3D skeniranja, 3D tiskanja in 3D računalniške obdelave v programu Maya priskrbeli modul za končni prenos skale iz prašiča na človeka; v zadnji, tretji fazi projekta, pa mu bo lepotna kirurginja izsesala in priskrbela človeško mast, da bo umetnik lahko napravil sebe enakega prašiču, kakor tudi celotnemu živalskemu kraljestvu. 12 Prim. Julia Kristeva: Powers of Horror; An Essay on Abjection, Columbia University Press, 1982

83

13.1.2014 23:46:22


84

CIIIID.indd 84

13.1.2014 23:47:54


85

CIIIID.indd 85

13.1.2014 23:49:12


Kako naj potem prevedem idejo o eksperimentalnem umetniškem dejanju iz področja umetnosti v področje medicinske znanosti? Umetnik, ki je projekt zasnoval v veliki meri iz etičnih vzgibov nikakor ne more mimo etičnih kodeksov, ki jih je formulirala mednarodna skupnost v drugi polovici 20. stoletja, po tem, ko sta znanost in medicina v dobi evgenike globoko zabredli v množična morišča. Jane Goodall je v kratkem pregledu bodyartističnih praks namignila, da se problem »morda nahaja v kulturi znanstvenih eksperimentov, ki so neločljivi od lastnega nezaupanja in neprestane potrebe po etičnem nadzoru, da bi napredovali, brez da bi se spotaknili ob lastne patološke tendence.«13 Etični razmislek torej prvenstveno ni v domeni umetnosti, ki je v zgodovini veliko bolje ravnala z osebno odgovornostjo kot na primer medicina. Z vidika umetnosti ne dvomim, da bo umetnik s svojim genskim materialom ravnal skrajno previdno, kot tudi sicer kot kipar in lutkar ravna na primer z žlahtnim lesom ali kovinami. A morali mi boste verjeti na besedo. Nekateri umetniki, ki ponujajo pomembne vidike tolmačenja projekta Corpus indeterminata, tako z vidika zgodovine sodobne umetnosti, ki mu podarja kontekst in verifkacijo, kot z vidika vsebine, so se specifično ukvarjali s problemi zakonodaje in znanosti, da bi pokazali bolestne elemente v družbi na kar najbolj gnusen in šokanten način. Kitajski sodobni umetnik Zhu Yu (朱昱) je našel luknjo v zakonu, ki na nobenem mestu ne prepoveduje uživanja človeškega mesa, kar je v performansu Jesti ljudi leta 2000 tudi uresničil. Jedel je embrije splavljenih otrok. Ne iz lastnega užitka ali kanibalističnih nagnjenj, temveč, da bi pokazal vrednost 13 Jane Goodall: Whose Body? Ethics and Experiment in Art, in Artlink Vol. 17 No. 2, 1997, stran 8-15 86

CIIIID.indd 86

človeškega življenja v matični državi.14 Istega leta je lastno telo uporabil kot platno, ki ga je zašil na četrtino mrtvega prašiča. Kot sem omenila že na začetku v zvezi s hranilno vrednostjo masti, je tudi v kitajski tradiciji prašič bitje, ki podeljuje življenje, poleg tega je tudi bitje, ki simbolizira dom in ugodje. Ob koncu tega postopka za delo Presaditev kože so v galeriji razstavili fotografijo prašiča, ob kateri je stal umetnik z dvignjeno srajco, da bi razkazoval manjkajoči del svojega telesa kot dokaz za opravljeni kirurški poseg. Eden izmed argumentov, ki umetnikom dopušča tako drastične eksperimente in ki ga lahko uporabimo tudi pri delu Srdić Janežiča, je, da umetnik ni nič bolj lastnik lastnega telesa kot prašič. Umetnikova etična presoja temelji na posredovanju aktivnosti, ki sprožajo nasprotujoče si izjave in protislovne pogoje z ozirom na nesorazmerje in neenakost pri odnosu do moči nad lastnim telesom. Zakaj je umetnik izbral kot svoj bestialni odsev ravno prašiča? Odgovor najdemo že v njegovi seriji Lost & found iz leta 2007, v kateri je zbiral dlake z javnih pisoarjev ter jih razstavljal pod zaščitnim steklom ali kot dokumentarne fotografije najdene dlake. Nekaj let kasneje, junija 2010, si je v času bivanja v umetniškem ateljeju Ministrstva za kulturo v Berlinu 24 ur pulil dlake s pinceto. Nato je dlake s postopkom filcanja vtisnil v srajco, ki jo je performativno nosil ob otvoritvi prvega dela Corpus indeterminata v Galeriji Alkatraz. Ukvarjanje z dlakami je zelo tesno povezano z dojemanjem lastne človeškosti v razmerju do živali. Uporaba živali v umetniške namene se v zadnjem času pojavlja zlasti v novi zvrsti umetnosti bio art, pri kateri so osnovni gradniki umeniškega dela živi organizmi na celični in mikrobiološka ravni, vendar Srdić 14 Silvia Fok: Life and Death: Art and the Body in Contemporary China, Bristol and Chicago: Intellect, 2013

13.1.2014 23:49:13


Janežiča zanima predvsem taktilna, simbolna in psihološka raven soočenja z živalskim. Kot zapiše William lan Miller v Anatomiji gnusa, človek neprestano z grozo ugotavlja ne samo, da smo izenačljivi z živalmi, temveč da smo od njih celo šibkejši, kajti »vse, kar zmorejo naša telesa, zmorejo njihova še bolje, in sicer kar oblečena«. Mi imamo zaplate dlak, živali imajo krzno in perje, in tiste, ki niso oblečene tako, se nam hitreje zagnusijo, hitreje nas spomnijo na nas same. Zato se pogosto lažje primerjamo s črvi, mišmi, prašiči in oskubljenimi kokošmi kakor s tigri. Človeška telesa so dvojno prekleta. Gnus vzbujamo kot (slaba) živalska telesa in kot človeška telesa.”15 Virtualno telo V času fizične reprodukcije virtualnosti, ko se objekte s 3D skeniranjem zajema iz fizičnega v virtualno in pretvori nazaj v fizično, tovrstne prakse v umetnosti skladno s spreminjanjem kulture ne nastopajo samo proti ideji sveta kot stvaritve, proti umetniškemu geniju in sprožajo idejo sveta kot procesa, ki spodbuja sodelovanje in komunikacijo, temveč zabrišejo tudi meje med virtualnim in fizičnim, ki enakovredno tvorita celotno realnost. Multipli odlitki avtorjevega telesa so grobi materiali, ki obravnavajo kip zgolj kot skico, kot idejo za ilustracijo koncepta. Multipli so metoda za posredovanja pomenov, o katerih sem pisala zgoraj, kot tudi povsem nujna tehnična rešitev. Originalni umetniški objekt ni nek genialni kip, temveč je kip / multipl zgolj sredstvo za premeščanje ideje o pomenu individualnega genija. Življenje, ki ga na simbolni ravni bohotno napaja mast kot kiparski material, namreč izkusimo v lastnih telesih v fenomenološkem smislu, v sožitju z mediji, z načini reprezentacije in pojavnosti posamezniko15 William lan Miller: Anatomijo gnusa, Studia humanitatis, Ljubljana, 2006, stran 86.

CIIIID.indd 87

ve identitete, ki podaljšujejo telo. Kaj se zgodi z realnim mesenim telesom iz masti in krvi, ko se transponira v virtualno reprezentacijo človeka ali prašiča oziroma postane avatar? Njegova virtualna podoba ni nič manj realna ali odvisna od telesa kot sama ideja o fizičnem telesu. Video, ki je eden od vizualnih odvodov prenosa fizičnega telesa s 3D skeniranjem nazaj v virtualno in omogoča natančno pomanjšavo telesa, ni nič manj vezan na telo kot fizični odlitek telesa v prostoru. Srdić Janežiču je bistveno, da ne naredi približka telesa, temveč brez avtorskega »kreativnega« vdora napravi multipl, kajti vsaka stvar je pomembna točno taka kot je. Glava je na primer ena sama in svoja, čeprav pripada razredu glav. Z multiplikacijo teles avtor pokaže, da napačno dojemamo telo kot univerzalno telo, ne samo na nivoju jezika, temveč tudi povsem materialno. Umetnik s pomnoževanjem istega kalupa pokaže ravno nasprotno: ultimativno enkratnost. Njegovo delo trikrat obrne vprašanje originalnosti in enkratnosti okoli lastne osi. Če so mediji podaljški naših čutov (Marshal McLuhan), kaj je potem Srdićev medij? Podaljšek virtualnega telesa?

87

13.1.2014 23:49:13


88

CIIIID.indd 88

13.1.2014 23:49:56


IDA HIRŠENFELDER

Corpus Indeterminata III D (*Undefined body III D) Deus benedixitque eis, dicens: Crescite, et multiplicamini, ad imaginem meam 1

Whose is the abject / preposterous / missing / objectified body? The second stage of the project Corpus Indeterminata III D [*Undefined body III D] is a stopover point for the eponymous durational multi-media art project Corpus indeterminata. The first part was launched already at the end of the year 2010 at the Alkatraz Gallery in Ljubljana, where the author, Srdić Janežič, used pork fat to cast a mould of his own body with a pig’s head. His final goal is to produce an inverted image: to cast a mould of a pig’s body with his own head from his own leaf fat, in order to test how this kind of turn discloses the apparent social autonomy of the art system, and at the same time to uncover the categorical apparatus at the basis of the anthropocentric value system and its ideas of the body and its extracts. With these acts Srdić Janežič opens the discussion on valuing the original, the copy and its multiples, on the investment of the body in a performative act, and on the expanded corporeality of a surgical procedure, which hypothetically allows for a multitude of possible uses of the body without yielding to the conventional functions of medicine, science or art. The second phase of the project was an indispensable link enabling a

1 God blessed them, and God said to them, „Be fruitful and multiply, in my image.“ Genesis 1:28

CIIIID.indd 89

consistent implementation of the process in which Srdić Janežič first scanned his head, and then also scanned the body of a pig, as part of a public event in June 2013 at Kulturni inkubator in Maribor. The 3D scan created a miniaturised mould of a pig with the artist’s head, which was, as a sample, cast in ice and exhibited as a central part of the second stage of Corpus Indeterminata at Layer’s House in Kranj. The motive behind this miniaturisation is key for understanding this conceptual turn, although it is of an entirely practical nature: the artist, who will in the end pour his own body fat into a mould, has at his disposal only a limited quantity of this material, while the pig lard (supposedly) wells forth from seemingly inexhaustible sources. Srdić Janežič grounded the title of his work in the Western tradition by taking a recourse to Latin and even a direct Bible quote, which is not surprising considering he is critically engaged with the constant exclusion of the Other that is characteristic of his own rigorous tradition. What exactly is this indeterminate corpus which lies before us? Nancy’s use of the term corpus refers both to the body as well as to the corpus in the sense of a collection of documents pertaining to the same discipline, the corpus in the sense 89

13.1.2014 23:50:18


of a corps, or also in the sense of a collection of frescoes, paintings or (in our case) a series of multiplied sculptures. Nancy’s corpus is all of this and more, since for him the “body” is fundamentally something plural. The minimal Nancian definition of corpus is thus as follows: the body is corpus.2 The exhibition’s subtitle can actually be read as a playful jest, as Srdić Janežič turns it into a challenge to the self-centred and anthropocentric understanding of multiplication and dominion over the animal kingdom – a phenomenon no less present in the bioengineering laboratories of today as it was in the medieval monasteries of the Middle Ages. It is for this reason that the project, which calls for a hybrid and pluralistic conception of the animal realm, can be seen as adopting new technologies in order to make them more responsive to the relationship between worth and value, either in the work of art or in science. The apparent nonsense and humour of these sculptures (including multiples of babies with a pig’s mask) expose a tension between different kinds of valuation, whereby the pig assumes, from the human viewpoint, a solely instrumental role. As we have already suggested, the artist does not explicitly dispute this role, but rather brings the human to the same level. If he can freely use the body of the Other, he can also use his own body freely. Is that not so? I don’t mind exchanging a head for pork cracknels, or a brain for a roasted piglet Corpus indeterminata is a contemporary composite mythological creature, a chimera of human and pig, composed literally of their bodies. Fat as a sculpting material is used by the artist for reasons 2 Nancy, Jean-Luc: Noli me tangere, Corpus, Rojstvo prsi, Koda, Ljubljana, 2011, p. 12. 90

CIIIID.indd 90

similar to those that must have motivated Joseph Beuys or Matthew Barney – i.e. to establish contact with the natural / primeval / animalistic. Fat is usually associated with maternity, fertility, nurturance and nourishment, on the level of material it is dynamic and thus in opposition to solid static materials; it is subject to thermal change and, when exhibited, must be kept in a controlled climate environment, or in a cooler. However, the concept is not fixed to this symbolic abstraction and neither does it become subjugated to moral decisions regarding the role of the body or the pig fat in society; instead it reproduces social relations and contradictions. Since the artist’s body is inseparable from the process in which the work takes shape, the individual phases of the project can be viewed as performative acts, despite the result being manifested in a thoroughly material sculpture. The meaning of the unfolding composite being gets realized through the event.However, the artist takes steps to curtail overly serious thinking and pushes the project into the realms of nonsense and humour, once again organising an absurd and greasy culinary event that features pork. At the opening of the exhibition at the Gallery Alkatraz in the cold December 2010, he served pork cracknels; at Kulturni inkubator in Maribor where they performed the 3D scanning of a pig, they roasted a piglet after they finished work, while at Layer’s House the visitors were offered bread spread with minced lard. Of course there is nothing that the human cardiovascular system hates more than pig fat. It is precisely due to such use of the pig body and the mutual “loving discord” that the artist is willing to go just as far with his own body. In addition to the elements of artistic and

13.1.2014 23:50:18


anthropological critique, the project involves a downright cheerful approach that does not fall into moralism, but opens a debate on the roles which are established through the merging of two beings, and with which the difference between the category of human and the category of pig raises doubts about the content and validity of both categories. The artist occupies the gallery in order to turn it into a bloodless slaughterhouse, where we can observe only the results of the body politics and where no death is visible. He takes us into a scene from a Fassbinder’s film3, in which the narrator says “And her life is much more valuable than mine,” when the butcher cuts the cow’s throat. Although the idea of using human fat for artistic purposes may seem disgusting, what is truly preposterous is not the human material, but rather the human perception of her or his own (genetic) material when compared to other kingdoms of life – this is what can provoke disgust, at least after some reflection. As the artist himself claims: “What is considered sublime by someone seems horrible to someone else”. Cruelty towards animals is not crude, instead, it is an everyday occurrence. In the project’s second stage, which can be said to have the most prototypical character of all and which didn’t directly include fat as a sculpting material, Srdić Janežič cast a temporary sculpture out of ice, one of the most perishable materials one can use, on the basis of a do-it-yourself 3D scanning so that the multiple made of plaster would absorb it, which only added to the effect of blurring the distinction between the artist and 3 This is the slaughterhouse scene in the Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s film “In einem Jahr mit 13 Monden”, 1978, (18:50 min), Elvira: “And her life is much more valuable than mine.”

CIIIID.indd 91

the anonymous pig. By reproducing six multiples of a dismembered body (abdomen) in wax, he also announced the realization of the conceived image, because, just as an individual’s identity is actualised through events4, the body is a corpus of images that extends from one body to another. With a multiplication of the body, the artist questions the notion of individuality, which is not something uniform that can be depicted in the visual representation of corporeality – individuality is in fact always disembodied and inconsistent. Beheaded bodies and dissected heads are a sublimate of individuality, which is brought to completion with animality or humanity, impulsivity or prudence. A similar fusion can be noticed in rosettes with the artist’s head, or in two video projections in which the head screams its animal »yawp«�. The process of making a minimised piglet with the program Maya, which is used for preparing a do-it-yourself home scanning of 3D objects, also led to the creation of two animated video pieces featuring a virtual pig which sublimates the artist’s animal nature, as it silently utters a “yawp” – stuck between the body and the incorporeal sound, beyond the realms of the verbal, semantic or comprehensible. Both in the case of the sculpture of a human artist with a pig head made of pig fat, as well as the sculpture of a pig with the human artist’s head made of the human artist’s fat, we confront the absurd in the same way; however, neither the first nor the second can be wholly grasped as acephalic (headless), but must be seen as comple(men)ted in a discordant manner. In contrast to many body art gestures, with 4 Comp. Alain Baidou: “The Event in Deleuze”, in Parrhesia, No 2, 2007, pp. 37-44. 91

13.1.2014 23:50:18


92

CIIIID.indd 92

13.1.2014 23:50:20


which artists stimulated emotional responses to facing pain, human bodily fluids and excrements, Srdić Janežič eliminates the imbalance in the human (discriminatory) relationship to the bodies of others (non-human animals), at the level of concrete objects. At first glance, we can understand his questions as a direct provocation to the civilisational taboos, while a more in-depth view reveals a metaphor for social relationships in class struggle,5 as well as an unreflected relationship to the values of contemporary culture; in times when everything is subjected to multiplication, the artist is intrigued by the finitude of materials. It seems that the artist suggests we should check the limits of the multiplication or mass use of any material. Fat is a material that collides with its own finity when it is the human fat that we want to have at our disposal. Although the work is not a straightforward plea for environmental engagement, we cannot but note the history of civilizations similar to our own which blindly believed in the unlimited abundance of resources and failed to foresee their accelerated downfall.6 Recognising the difference between oneself and a pig is at the same time a wholly epistemological issue, which brings me to the consideration of a possible sameness of the artist and the pig, a notion that is left out of social conventions. In 1997, the contemporary Chinese artist Xu Tan ( 徐坦) set up an installation which took up one of the problems of ancient philosophy. It is inspired by the story of the Zhuangzi’s dream of dreaming that he is a butterfly, in which he, upon waking, 5 Comp. Miha Colner: Prašičja farma. 6 Jared Diamond: Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed

CIIIID.indd 93

cannot assure himself of not being a butterfly dreaming that he is Zhuangzi. Xu Tan added the following note to the installation, which was made of one hundred styrofoam takeaway boxes and a pig in natural size: »Knowledge is power. Is power power? In my dreams I become a pig with human brains and organs and I possess enormous power.« Whose is the body? The pig's body is in our culture allowed to be seen as a piece of meat, a food product or supplement to meals – a dismembered object (Islam and Judaism forbid such a view). Cultural conventions dictate that the human body must not be regarded as a piece of flesh and should not be disintegrated, taken apart, scattered. The use of human tissues, the possible alienation of human tissues from supervisory bodies, and any handling of the human genetic material are regulated by numerous specified rules, which are covered by individual cases also by The Commission of the Republic of Slovenia for Medical Ethics for the Assessment of the Ethics of a Research Proposal on the basis of the Act regulating the Quality and Security of Human Tissues and Cells Indicated for Treatment7 and the Act regulating the Removal and Transplantation of Human Body Parts for Treatment.8 The artist's decision regarding the use of his own material is determined by numerous regulations on: the method of keeping records of the performed removals and transplantations of human body parts; conditions for issuing a permit for the services of supplying human tissues and cells; a regulation concerning the reception, processing, storage, release and distribution of human tissues 7 Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, No 61/2007 8 Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, No 12/2000 – the seventh indent, Article 22 93

13.1.2014 23:50:21


94

CIIIID.indd 94

13.1.2014 23:50:58


95

CIIIID.indd 95

13.1.2014 23:51:24


and cells; traceability of human tissues and cells as well as products and materials that come into contact with tissues and cells; conditions and procedure for exportation, importation, entry and exit of human tissues and cells,9 in addition to numerous other provisions. Recent research in the field of genetic material processing has shown that extraction of stem cells, which are supposed to be used in the future for the treatment of genetic and other systemic diseases and disorders, is not limited solely to the umbilical cord blood, but can also be obtained from a sufficient quantity of fat tissue.10 The handling of fat tissue is thus a fairly topical subject. The ethical debates in this field are moving into the arena of the ownership of the genetic material, where the bodies of donors (the proletariat) are cut and available for public use, while the chosen bodies (the bourgeoisie) are privatised and preserved in biobanks for private use. The artist poses a utopian question Whose is the body?, and tackles it in a decidedly existentialist manner, only then is he faced with the regulations which, »for one's own good«, prohibit the use of one's own body insofar as that specific use does not accord with the socially and scientifically validated ways of manipulating the body. He could have beautified himself or made use of the stem cells to prolong his life, but the artist chooses his own ethical code, which is, to top it all, totally nonsensical from the medical point of view. He does not submit himself to the generic images of personal appearance, but instead introduces his own values, which express the supremacy of his personal value system that 9 Ibid. 10 An audio recording, the archive of the author of the text. The recording was made on 19.2.2013, at Bio Banka, Trzin, in the context of the symposium “Humalga: Injektiranje”, by Špela Petrič and Robertina Šebjanič. 96

CIIIID.indd 96

prevails over the designer beauty in the late capitalist factory of images. It could also seem absurd that the realisation of the later phase of the project will be enabled by a beauty surgery, which does not have any health advantages or therapeutic effects by itself. Maybe it also bears mentioning that the surgeon, an indispensable collaborator in the project, will do something that could potentially endanger his or her professional reputation, although Srdić Janežič by no means seeks to be shocking, as was, for example, in the 1990s the practice of the Serbian body artist Zoran Todorović, who used the human leaf fat to make snacks (gelatine) for the visitors of the gallery. Body art practices always have to do with a contextualised injury that is supported by a reason. However, again I want to emphasize that Srdić Janežič erases the differences between Todorović's gelatine and his sculpture with a good measure of humour, seriousness and doubt. For anyone wondering about the reasons for his procedure, it should be telling enough, or even shocking and sobering enough, to encounter a whole range of social problems, taboos and regulations as soon as we start discussing the alienation of human tissues. The body in the work Corpus indeterminata is abject because it »disturbs social reason - the communal consensus that underpins a social order. The »abject« exists accordingly somewhere between the concept of an object and the concept of the subject, representing taboo elements of the self barely separated off in a liminal space.«11 In this context, Corpus indeterminata is bringing a tripartite change based on the ritual dramaturgy of the becoming of a new identity. The course of the liminoid ritual in the present day world is still 11 Comp. Julia Kristeva: Powers of Horror; An Essay on Abjection, Columbia University Press, 1982

13.1.2014 23:51:24


committed to the passage from the separation ritual into the liminal stage of becoming, which is conditioned also by the experience of pain, and finally into the postliminal stage and reintegration. Srdić Janežič »uses« natural science experts in keeping with the multidisciplinary trends. The surgeon thus does not work only in the function of health or beauty, but also in the function of art. In this process, a significant role is played by the various intermediaries who helped the artist obtain the sculpting material. First, there was an anonymous butcheress who slaughtered the pig and prepared its fat; second, the artist received the assistance of the programmer Jan Sterniša and the team from the MKC Maribor Youth Culture Centre - Kulturni inkubator, who are skilled in do it youself 3D scanning and printing and the 3D data processing with the program Maya (they provided a module for the final transfer of scale from the pig to the human scale); third, in the last stage of the project, a plastic surgeon will suck out and supply human fat so that the artist will finally be able to make himself equal to the pig as well as to other animal species. How should I then translate the idea of an experimental art act from the field of art into the field of medical science? The artist, who conceived the project to a large extent for ethical reasons, cannot possibly not touch upon the codes of ethics that were formulated by the international community in the second half of the 20th century, after the science and medicine had already become deeply implicated in the mass killings of the age of eugenics. In her brief overview of body art practices, Jane Goodall speculated that »perhaps the culture of scientific experiment

CIIIID.indd 97

is intrinsically untrustworthy and needs the constant accompaniment of ethics in order to advance without tipping over into pathological tendencies.«12 Ethical examination is not primarily the domain of art, although, historically speaking, art treated personal responsibility much better than medicine, for example. From the standpoint of art, I have no doubts that the artist will handle his genetic material extremely cautiously, in the same manner as he in general, as a sculptor and puppet-maker, handles rare woods and metals. But you will have to give me the benefit of the doubt. Some artists whose work offers important aspects of interpreting the project Corpus indeterminata both from the perspective of the history of contemporary art (providing it with context and verification) as well as from the view of content, have been engaged specifically with problems in law and science, in order to reveal some of the morbid elements in our society as disgustingly and shockingly as possible. The contemporary Chinese artist Zhu Yu (朱昱) found a loophole in the law, which did not explicitly prohibit the consumption of human meat, and subsequently decided to eat embryos of aborted babies in his performance Eating People (2000). Not because he would have enjoyed the taste or due to any cannibalistic tendencies, but in order to indicate the value of human life in his homeland.13 In the same year, he used his own body as a canvas. He stitched a patch of his body to a fourth of a dead pig. As I have already mentioned in the beginning, in relation to the nutritional value of fat, the Chinese tradition also regards the pig as a creature that 12 Jane Goodall: “Whose Body? Ethics and Experiment in Art”, in Artlink Vol. 17 No. 2, 1997, pp. 8-15 13 Silvia Fok: Life and Death: Art and the Body in Contemporary China, Bristol and Chicago: Intellect, 2013

97

13.1.2014 23:51:24


98

CIIIID.indd 98

13.1.2014 23:52:07


bestows life, beside its connotations of home and comfort. At the end of the procedure for the work Skin Graf, the gallery put on display a photograph of the pig, while the artist stood beside it holding up his shirt to show the missing part of his body as evidence of the performed surgery. One of the arguments that allows artists to make such drastic experiments and which can be also applied to the work of Srdić Janežič, is the assertion that the artist owns his body in no truer sense than the pig owns its. The artist's ethical judgment is based on mediating activities that engender conflicting claims and paradoxical conditions in view of the disproportion and inequality characteristic of the relationship of power over one's own body. Why exactly did the artist choose the pig as his bestial reflection? The answer is suggested already in his series Lost & Found (2007): he was collecting hairs in public urinals to exhibit them under the protective glass or as documentary photographs of

»found hairs«. A few years later, in June 2010, while residing at the Ministry of Culture's art studio in Berlin, he was plucking his hairs with tweezers for 24 hours. These hairs were later on, through the procedure of felting, sewn into a shirt which he was performatively wearing at an opening of the first part of Corpus indeterminata at the Alkatraz Gallery. This preoccupation with hairs is closely linked to making sense of one's own humanity in relation to non-human animals. The inclusion of animals in art work has lately taken place especially in bioart, a new art genre that uses live organisms (at a cellular and microbiological level) as the basic building blocks of artwork; nevertheless, Srdić Janežič seems primarily interested in the tactile, symbolic and psychological levels of confronting the animal. As

CIIIID.indd 99

we can read in William lan Miller's The Anatomy of Disgust, we humans tend to dread that we may be assimilable to animals and even inferior to them, since “[t]heir bodies do anything ours can do better and they do it 'clothed'. We have patches of hair; they have fur and feathers; if they aren't so clothed we are more likely to find them disgusting, they are more likely to remind us of us. Thus it is often easier to compare ourselves to worms, mole rats, pigs, and plucked chickens than to tigers. Human bodies are doubly damned. We disgust as (bad) animal bodies and as human bodies.”14 The virtual body In times of the physical reproduction of virtuality (when objects are taken from the physical into the virtual and converted back into the physical with 3D scanning), such art practices, which are in snyc with the changing cultural landscapes, do not merely denounce the idea of the world as a Creation as well as the associated idea of artistic genius – or activate the idea of the world as a process, which encourages participation and communication –, but also blur the boundaries between the virtual and the physical, as two equal constituents of the whole of reality. Multiple casts of the artist's body are rough materials which treat the sculpture merely as a sketch, an idea for the illustration of the concept. Multiples are the method of mediating the meanings that I have described above, but they are also an absolutely necessary technical solution. The original art object is not some kind of a genius sculpture – the sculpture / multiple is only a means to displacing the notion of the significance of an individual genius. Life, which is at a symbolic 14 William lan Miller: The Anatomy of Disgust, Harvard University Press, 1998, p. 49.

99

13.1.2014 23:52:23


level exuberantly »fueled« by fat as a sculpting material, is experienced and lived in our own bodies in a phenomenological sense, in harmony with the media, modes of representation and manifestation of an individual's identity, which all work to extend the body. What happens to the real corporeal body made of fat and blood, when it is transposed into a virtual representation of a human or pig, or when it becomes an avatar? Its virtual mode of existence is no less real or dependent on the body than the idea of the physical body itself. Video, which enables an accurate minituarisation of the body and which is one of the visual derivatives of transferring the physical body back into the virtual realm by using 3D scanning, is no less bound to the body as the physical cast of a body in space. Srdić Janežič believes it essential to not produce an approximation of the body, but to make a multiple, without any authorial “creative” invasions, since every particular thing is significant just the way it is. A head is, for example, one and only and itself, though it can be classified into the category of heads. With the multiplication of bodies, Srdić Janežič demonstrates that we misunderstand the body as the universal body, not only at the level of language, but also in material terms. By multiplying the same cast, the artist points out the opposite: the definitive singularity. His work turns the question of originality and uniqueness thrice around its own axis. If the media serve as the extension of our senses (Marshal McLuhan), what is then Srdić's medium? An extension of the virtual body?

100

CIIIID.indd 100

13.1.2014 23:52:23


101

CIIIID.indd 101

13.1.2014 23:53:26


ZORAN SRDIĆ JANEŽIČ

No room for pussies

Three introductory starting points and their intersection (1) If tactility is connected to an everyday object and according to Duchamp connected to the understanding of the ‘everyday’ object within the art space, which is unexpected in the conventions of that period; (2) and if tactility according to Gober is connected to the feeling of something else that is given by the exhibited object, even though it is similar to other conventional objects; (3) and finally, if the tactility of the exhibited body hairs is connected to the information on the environment in which they were found then the common treatment of

tactility is always linked to recognising the object, just like it is, without an added illusion, yet torn from its usual environment, in which it would not be recognised due to its obviousness. The fact that it was torn from its surroundings and thus its topological and conceptual site was changed, leads to a new and unexpected perception of reality. About the sketch The common trait in the explanation of the tactile triangle between Duchamp, Gober and my own opus Corpus Indeterminata (especially in the Lost & found works) and the relations within this triangle is the use of urinals in works of art. Their use defines the points in space. The second intersection is the intentionally caused fault or the twisted thought perception that emerges from tactility. The schematic depiction of the treated tactile field is a downwards pointing triangle, made from two identical right-angled triangles. The triangle lies on the intersection of the two lines: mimetic (which includes points D and G) and fetishist (which includes points S and S’), which includes the upper segment of the triangle. This is split into two in the middle, where we find D, which belongs to Duchamp and the exchange of the tactile with the myth. From here a segment runs towards the lower corner of the triangle, G, which is also the corner of the downwards pointing equilateral triangle. Gober addresses the intermediate field between myth and reality. From D the segment leads in both directions and through D forms the mirrored S’ to S. S and S’ belong to Srdić’s return of tactility via the relation of the society towards the fetish. The connection of S and S’ with D is referential: it is linked to the appearance of actual urinals in the field of art. The

102

CIIIID.indd 102

13.1.2014 23:53:26


connection is real, thus D is an intersection. The connection between S, S’ and G is functional: it is linked to the actual use of urinals. The connection is symbolic, thus lines are sued to connect S and S’ to G. Questions instead of an introduction The reader is probably wondering: who the hell is Gober? And immediately after this he probably thought: What do Duchamp’s and Gober’s urinals have in common with Lost & found? Why do urinals represent problematic objects in the art field? Could they be replaced by other objects.

THE INTRODUCTION OF THE MYTH What I always found interesting with Duchamp, apart from the selection of the urinal as an industrial readymade, is the sophisticated way in which he decided to present the readymade Fountain (1917), even though he most likely merely intuitively followed the events. It is not merely the fact that Fountain is, as a readymade, an interesting starting point for considering the nature of the work; it also reflects the artistic and production work as well as the role of art and its value. These starting points emerged from the broader controversies of the avant-garde movements in Europe and were known to Duchamp from his knowledge of cubism, surrealism and dada, even though they might never have been as sharp in the works themselves as they were in the various predecessors of the ready-mades, e.g.. papier colles (1912/13) by Picasso and Braque. In this period Duchamp wondered whether it was possible to create works of art that were not works of art. The present formal starting points were not directly linked to Steiner

and his ideology of the decentralised ego.1 The Fountain and other readymades from the period Duchamp spent in America indicate that he held an interest in readymade objects belonging to the national environment in which he found himself. This can be ascribed to Duchamp recognising merely those objects from the life in cosmopolitan America that on one hand differed from the Parisian, and on the other was overly emphasised and caricatured by the producers. Thus, one of the first readymades, In advance of the broken arm (1915), was created from Duchamp’s enthusiasm for the shovel for shovelling snow, a product that he had not seen in France. It was roughly when he created this work that Duchamp thought of naming the works readymade, he considered using everyday objects, renaming them and placing them outside of their function, thus redefining them in a new way – this choice should not be conditioned by the visual pleasure but based on the connection between the aesthetic neutrality and the total lack of good or bad taste.2 If we were to expose the tactile reading of the Fountain and other readymades this would be – due to Duchamp’s intention to change the visual that raises pleasure with the intellectual – on one side blurred, and on the other (on the level of the form) overly banal. Not in the historical view or in 1 Steiner’s ideology influenced Duchamp’s commitment for changing the ego/artist and the coincidence of the artwork. The indivisibility and leaving certain things to coincidence, especially in the interpretation that was never challenged by Duchamp, consequentially influenced the fact that the readymades were so open to the numerous possible interpretations as regards the status of the artwork. 2 According to Duchamp ready-mades are visually undefined objects which have the intention of escaping the artist’s touch as well as the idea of good or bad taste. 103

CIIIID.indd 103

13.1.2014 23:53:26


the treatment of functionality/non-functionality of the object, but in the treatment of the status of the artwork that establishes such a broad interpretative field. If Duchamp’s readymades carry anything else on them, undefined and hidden, the interpretative field of the readymades is narrowed down.3 If we look at In advance of the broken arm, the stick intended for holding the shovel is of a rectangular shape which makes it non-functional when shovelling snow. The object is not an actual readymade, for it has been transformed and merely gives the illusion that it is an object intended for everyday use. Only when actually used would it reveal its non-functionality and through this its tactile influence on the body of the user. Other readymades are also non-functional: not only due to their unusual position, but also because of their shape: Comb cannot be used by humans to comb their hair as the teeth are too short, the extension of the upper hooks on Trébuchet are turned downwards, thus making it impossible to hang clothes on it, and the case is similar with the Hat rack, the sugar shapes in Why not sneeze Rose Selavy are made from marble and carry a different weight then one would expect … from all readymades Fountain is possibly the least transformed or at least – taking into account the lost first version – is shown as such. Fountain does not have the upper holes, 3 ”Something else« is linked to Georgie O’Keefe’s description related to Duchamp’s work area. In the middle of the room there was supposedly something else covered in a thick layer of dust, due to which she became sick and wanted to clean it. When Stieglitz warned her that Duchamp might not be pleased with this she dropped the idea. In 1920 Duchamp worked on the project The Large Glass (The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even), on which he had to collect dust for a period of 4 or 6 months. Collecting dust can be seen on the photograph – Dust Breeding which was a joint project Duchamp created with Man Ray.

which are also not indicated in Duchamp’s miniature portable museum Boite-en-Valise (1941), while the later versions have them. The lack of material created the myth, however the question as to Duchamp’s work remains: whether he, in the dada style, merely took the object from the real world and introduced it into the art world, at which he enjoyed the temporary ridicule and the breaking of the rules as regards what art is or was he trying to introduce differences in a more sophisticated way – by changing certain characteristics of the product. Duchamp’s re-contextualisation of his own work appears to be an important factor, from which we can conclude that he had the time to follow his feelings, allow things and ideas to follow their own development, so that he could later on recontextualise them. For instance if a readymade was named for the first time at the In advance of the broken arm, Duchamp also named three work that he had previously created in the new technique.4 The recontextualisation is important also for the reconstruction and reproduction of the readymades, and at the same time it shows that their actual value lies in the conceptual sphere. When he took the readymade Fountain Duchamp created a mimetic loop. If we understand Plato’s idea of mimesis as hierarchical: concept – a copy of the concept – a copy of the copy of the concept (the concept of the urinal – urinal – a manifestation of the urinal), Duchamp substitutes the copy of the copy of the concept with a copy of the concept (a manifestation of the urinal with a urinal). On the conceptual level the mimetic structure moves from third to second place. At this we could discuss the 4 Roue de bicyclette (1913), Pharmacie (1914) and Portebouteilles (1914)

104

CIIIID.indd 104

13.1.2014 23:53:26


embodiment of the concept in one and the same object, even though the concept would have to be on structurally different and subordinate reality levels. Perceiving two different realities within a single object applies the experience of different places and contexts in which this object can be expected – which can lead to a feeling of discomfort. The viewer needs to regain his orientation. The mimetic loop thus exposes the concept itself with a delay of structural positions. In Duchamp’s time urinals belonged in restrooms, shops or production halls, however, in 1917 the urinal known as Fountain found its place within a gallery. The feeling of discomfort that could be understood in the historical period as tactile lies in the difference between the place of the object for mass consumption and the position of the art object which is shown in the changed attitude towards the classical understanding of art. The urinal as a readymade was not taken to represent an imitation of itself, however the artistic image of the Fountain has the same material appearance as the urinal. No craftsmanship was used in the manufacturing process, thus art no longer depends on the expressive hand skills. We are talking about copying without imitation or, if we want to be technically more precise, we are talking about a process of repetition without copying. The matrix and the product actually exist for the object, however the process of renaming it into a readymade, which exists in the conceptual field they are no longer important.5 The object is thus reproduced 5 They are no longer important in the process of ‘creating’ the readymade as a work of art. However, the matrix and the reproduced product both use the patent and the copyrights. Once it appropriates them as its own, the readymade attacks the consumer’s capitalist logic by violating these rights.

by the act of renaming, i.e. in the conceptual field, into which the presentation of the object needs to be positioned.6 In order for Duchamp to draw attention to the conceptual field he had to follow other procedures for creating the feeling of discomfort. From all of the readymades the urinal is the most connected to the body, gender and collective memory. Because of this I believe that we cannot understand Duchamp’s choice of the urinal merely as controversial. Of course it is, but it has no intention of crossing the definition of the readymade as an object. Before it became the Fountain, the urinal was not an aesthetically interpreted object, nor did it have any symbolic connotations that would establish it as controversial in itself.7 At the time it was created the urinal had no universal symbolic connotations as Fountain, merely a collective feeling of discomfort. The functional use of urinals is linked to men’s secretion, which also had other meanings in the distant past, however these were forgotten and became unpleasant or they begun to cause the feeling of discomfort. Even though the Fountain is a single urinal, it belongs into the collective field, because its repetitive function is 6 The three readymades that were presented prior to the Fountain experienced the following fates: Pharmacie (1914) was wrongfully interpreted as a sketch, while In advance of the broken arm and Traveller’s folding item (both 1916) were both exhibited in a dressing room and were thus not mentioned in the exhibition catalogue nor in the exhibition revue, while the viewers mistook them for common everyday objects. 7 If he would have, for instance, renamed a Holy Bible, which should not be destroyed according to religious beliefs, and is also legally untouchable in public, he would reach into the symbolic connotation of the object, into its conceptual sphere that has already been defined and protected in one way or another. Today we would understand this as spreading intolerance. 105

CIIIID.indd 105

13.1.2014 23:53:26


not individual, and is even less intimate (in which it differs from closed toilets, on top of which it is also defined by the male gender). If we are discussing symbolic connotations Duchamp’s were undoubtedly connected to eroticism. Duchamp understood industrial and mass produced objects for everyday use as codes for human instincts already when he described their circular movement as onanistic. The readymade Fountain was at first presented as a mass produced object: prior to its use, for which it is positioned vertically, the product is kept on the shelf horizontally. The horizontally placed urinal represents merely a copy of the produced consumer object. The readymade is not lost from the concept of work, it is merely moved from one shop to another (gallery): from Tesco or Spar into Hest or Equrna. The readymade is never taken from its basic function, because it was never placed in it in the first place. The Fountain is a urinal, which just like other urinals of the period waited on the shop shelves to obtain the function for which it was created, only that it as a work of art became captured in this wait. As such it lost its brutality, which was in the first instance shown in the way it was roughly torn from the shop and in the clumsy R.Mutt1917 signature. It is a consumer good that will never totally realise its path from production to sale and find its way to a toilet. It is caught in the postponement of the consumer’s desire.8 Prior to being purchased by the 8 Even though he never actually said this out loud Duchamp believed that the best readymades would be mass produced objects from overflowing shop shelves. Regardless of the promotion of the product, which creates additional value for the object and defines the user’s lifestyle and identity, mass consumption products do not have added value in the sense that they would belong to history and with this already indirectly carry a meaning. Mass consumption products in circulation are aesthetically more neutral than a previously used object, for this obtains ‘individual’ characteristics, while a mass con106

CIIIID.indd 106

consumer any product creates a desire for satisfaction, pleasure. When the consumer purchases the product he comes close to pleasure, however once he consumes it, he shifts the pleasure through time.9 The pleasure is created by the desire creates, not the actual fulfilment. A readymade in the function of a work of art can never be consumed and is constantly trapped in the postponement of its use. With this it returns the consumer’s view to the viewer of the work of art. The entire process of presenting Fountain moved to the conceptual level, which might have not been Duchamp’s original intention, but he did not oppose it, and he took notes from the event that he could use later on. In order for the work to establish itself in the conceptual field, it needs to be shoved there – i.e. out of the usual world of objects. Because the readymade got lost, Duchamp made copies, which can be considered as a planned gesture. Important was the concept itself: the conceptual identity with the concept of the object, not subject reality, nor its subject functionality, object surface or inner relations between the forms. It is not important whether there is one Fountain or more of them in the conceptual field, because the concept itself is a matrix. The material reality that enabled the introduction of the concept needs to be lost. In the opposite case the object dominates over the concept and turns into a fetish.10 If the object is not present, that its sumption product is merely one in the mass of still unused ones. On the other hand they match Duchamp’s thesis of comparing a readymade to paint much better: similar to the painter’s paints the readymades are the artist’s means or material for expressing himself. 9 He shifts it to the search for a constantly new desire and new satisfaction –this way the subject can never be satisfied. 10 The moment when the Fountain was presented to the exhibition committee for the first time, was a tactile one. Du-

13.1.2014 23:53:27


concept remains and this becomes a myth. A similar mythization of the object can be encountered in the first presentation of the Fountain. We can imagine that everyone expected Duchamp to present a controversial avant-garde artistic gesture11. Duchamp sent in the Fountain, signed with a different name, to the exhibition at the Society of Independent Artists – which he was also a cofounder of as well as on its committee. By signing it with an assumed name he indirectly avoided personal involvement, which made it easier for him to leave the society once the work was rejected from the exhibition. When the exhibition was brought to an end he started an action in support of the mysterious R.Mutt: he convinced Stieglitz to photograph Fountain and exhibited the photograph in Gallery 291, in support of R.Mutt he also published the photograph in a ‘thematic’ number of the avant-garde newspaper The Blind Man, for which Duchamp was also an editor. The letter of support for R.Mutt was supposedly written by a blind reader, however it is assumed that the true author was Duchamp who might have been helped by co-editor Wood. The introduction exposes that it is not important whether Mister Mutt made the Fountain by himself or not – it is important that he selected it and gave it its new use by placing it into a different context and rechamp made meticulous copies, which longer had the rough gesture, R.Mutt’s1917 signature obtained its form in the successors. 11 The painting Nu descendant un escalier n° 2 (1912) was rejected from the Salon des Indepéndants (Paris, 1912) and then exhibited at the Armory show (New York, 1913), where it was at the centre of attention as the most controversial work. Duchamp was aware that having a work rejected could have its benefits already from the rejection of Braque’s paintings from the cubist salon, which were immediately exhibited in other galleries as controversial and avant-garde.

naming it. With this he created a new concept for the object or, to put it differently, whatever he had done, his action took place in the conceptual field. The support of the blind person represents an important part of Duchamp’s action of creating the readymade Fountain: a blind person cannot see the readymade, therefore he must understand it in its essence, contrary to the people who rejected the Fountain and turned a blind eye to it, because they could not find an aesthetic pleasure in the artwork. Duchamp’s readymade attracts the blind gaze, for if it is established on the conceptual level, the material reality of the object is merely a path to the conceptual level. It is likely that many who have seen the Fountain and were unwilling to accept it as a work of art, were frightened by it. At that moment the material reality of the Fountain was at its peak, at its most tactile. It was pure and without a referential field onto which it could attach itself and carry interpretations that would cause a feeling of discomfort. The blind gaze causes a feeling of discomfort within the mimetic loop, for one needs to orient oneself between the two levels of reality of the same object of the same concept. Formally this discomfort is tactile as well as substantial. Because the concept of the work has been established, which has been clearly indicated by the discomfort, the material reality is unnecessary for the image to establish itself in the conceptual field. The concept needs to be mythicised to remain: merely a trace needs to remain from the object – when it is recognised in the conceptual field. Duchamp’s Fountain was never exhibited with the exception of a very short period in Gallery 291 and in the context of mythicisation, with which it obtained a position of a rejected work and with this the right to exist as a work of art. Duchamp was not responsible for the fact that the 107

CIIIID.indd 107

13.1.2014 23:53:27


Fountain was not exhibited at the Salon des Indepéndants, however he most probably had a hunch that it might be rejected and he used this as a tactic strategic position that could operate merely in the conceptual field. The remnant, Stieglitz’s photograph, enabled the blind view of a work that no longer existed in the material world.12 The repetitions of the Fountain readymades supported the blind view, for they were applied to the conceptual field. As copies they were less tactile then the first one that established the myth.13

BETWEEN MYTH AND REALITY Gober made his series of washing basins and urinals between 1984 and 88. In order to differ from the washing basins14, which at the time of the first AIDS related deaths and the fear from infection that consequentially increased homophobia indirectly addressed cleansing, while on the other 12 The blind view could be compared to Duchamp’s enthusiasm for the work of art, which was linked to the subconscious and his choice. Because the subconscious is present at the actual choice, the choice takes place prior to the conscious decision. On the contrary, the readymade is supposed to choose the viewer, at which the artist is merely a mediator and does not enforce his aesthetic choices, with which he influences the subconscious. 13 The only tactility that the repetitions experienced at certain moments, were the attempts by various artists to urinate on or in it or transform it with a hammer: Pierre Pinoncelli (1993, 2006), Björn Kjelltoft (1999), Yuan Chai & Jian Jun Xi (1999). 14 Apart from the fact that the washing basins were more developed and wider than the urinals, they were also more interesting as a concept: the washing basins lead to consider the ritual of cleaning or cleansing, while the lack of taps made it impossible for this to happen, which made them function traumatically.

hand with their non-functional positioning without attached taps functioned as pure sculpture forms – the urinals functioned relatively naturally and unburdened. Gober stated that it made sense to continue his cycle of washing basins with his first Urinal (1984). Even though it was over-dimensioned (76x50x50cm) and vertically attached to the wall, one could still feel the direct connection to Duchamp’s Fountain.15 In order to avoid the connection he created a new piece with the same work: Broom, Sink and Urinal. He also broke the connection by creating individual urinals from rectangular forms (Urinal, 1985), pairs of urinals (Two Urinals, 1986) or related the urinals with other objects. Gober’s simple trick not only revealed that the positioning of Duchamp’s Fountain is not as important for the connection with other artistic urinals as is the form which is conditionally linked to the classically rounded shape – and is not that important as its unity. Regardless of the repetition there is a single Fountain. If it represents a certain concept, then it has to exist as a single generic readymade. If there are two urinals they are no longer so strongly attached to the overburdened meanings of the Fountain. Gober’s sculptures, freed of indirect connections, enabled the entrance into a second reading. Various interpretations emerged in the field of contents: these were linked to sexual orientation or controversy. If the horizontally placed Duchamp’s Fountain is reminiscent of a vulva, then Gober’s Urinals that are attached to the wall are reminiscent of an anus. Both direct the gaze towards 15 Gober did not define his connection to Duchamp’s Fountain. He merely stated that it was an excellent piece that does not live so much in his consciousness, but more in the consciousness of those interprets who see this connection.

108

CIIIID.indd 108

13.1.2014 23:53:27


the hole. In the horizontal position the Fountain draws the gaze towards the hole and is reminiscent of something that a man could lick or use in some other way to sexually please himself. In connection to masturbation it can remind a person of how he holds his penis while urinating into the urinal. It is not really matter to who does ‘Duchamp’s’ vulva belong, however its interpretation can increase the feeling of discomfort. If it belongs to our mother – as the signature R.Mutt could be read as Mutt./e/R – then we reach into the symbolic area of incest or into the field of the subconscious that belongs to our feelings prior to birth, that await within us forgotten, ready to trigger the sublime/ extimacy. If Duchamp’s Fountain represents a vulva, Gober’s homosexual eroticism leads us to interpret his objects as a male backside or anus. In his works Gober discusses the society’s attitude towards homosexuality. In its shape the statue Untitled (1990) can be compared to a male backside made from wax, human hair and notes written across the buttocks. This torso is also attached to the wall – to differ from the others that lie on the floor – which provides an additional similarity. Even though the anus, i.e. the hole which is in the sexual meaning linked more to pleasure than reproduction, is not visible on the statue, we know it exists. However, the openings on the urinals are much more expressed and represent a certain field of phantasms – similar to Duchamp, the only difference being that the object of desire is of a different gender. On the other hand we can say that the Urinals are reminiscent of backsides of individuals/ torsos turned towards the wall. In everyday use urinals are useful objects that offer relief and the feeling of the body, while also being linked to hygiene and transition. With urinals and washing basins the dirt disappears from sight as well as

CIIIID.indd 109

from our consciousness, and with this they metaphorically mark the transition into the subconscious. The presence of washing basins and urinals, or their drains through which secretions, bodily fluids and dirt run, marks the presence of the subconscious, which supposedly lies on the other side. The presence functions as discomfort, when the subconscious transforms into the conscious. In his work Gober often formally addresses cases known from the history of art: surrealism, pop art and minimalism, and on the level of individual artists Johns and Judd and especially Duchamp; the latter became more hidden in the installations from the 1990s. Gober most likely used the connection to create a broad view of the work, before the viewer could decide as regards the exhibited objects; on the other hand Gober was also aware that art does not transcend the mechanisms of the world of art: it is a mass of definitions, interpretations and cultural conventions, thus it uses references from its history so that it can be easier defined in the field of art. The works of Gober do not wish to fix the viewer’s attention on a single object, but want to disperse it, at which it suppresses the contents onto the formal and its perception: what and how is something made is predominantly applied to twisting the perception of the viewer, changing his emotional and mental reality. Gober makes everyday objects such as washing basins and urinals unusable, unusual and foreign. He confronts the viewer with the fact that he has to redefine his attitude towards these objects – which are created from a wire construction, wood, plaster and semitransparent enamel – and their function, as well as the relation of their bodies towards them.16 In the mimesis hierarchy he 16 In the substitution of a certain material with a different visually similar material with different characteristics (e.g. 109

13.1.2014 23:53:27


separated the image from the repetition of the image, which is a repetition of the concept and additionally linked it to the concept itself. He created and designed the product, for he is a master craftsman, his sculpture is not a repetition, but an independent product, which has the role of an empty signifier. With the hyper realistic model of the image Gober created the spirit.17 This presentational model has the role of the model18 and represents the concept. As such it is trapped in the presentation of one of its possible realities that depends on the numerous factors that influence its use.

THE RETURN OF TACTILITY weight, hardness, etc) one can see a connection with Duchamp’s Why not sneeze Rose Selavy. 17 The attention Gober’s pays to execution over contents is interesting. The existence of a work of art is always subdued to the logic of the model – because Gober makes his donuts at home, even though he could have bought them in the nearest McDonalds, this moment is important, because it includes his body. On the other hand, as a product it is placed in the conceptual field of the work of art where it preserves the concept. Thus, we can observe that Gober has a similar principle of mythicising his works, only his logic is switched compared to Duchamp. Duchamp takes a made product and is aware that the first product needs to disappear if he wishes to establish it in the conceptual field and mythicise it. Gober makes the object himself, but as a model, and in this way establishes it in the conceptual field. The object should not be functional. Whether they are urinals or real, greasy and delicious donuts or a large cigar: the personal story that borders on fetish lies in the background, trivial and insignificant: the urinals have to be made from plaster and fragile; the donuts need to go through a complex conservation process in order to become durable and not make the bag greasy; similar as tobacco leaves need to go through a chemical process. 18 The awareness that a model at a scale 1:1 lies in front of the viewer and that it is made from a different material as he previously assumed, is tactile. 110

CIIIID.indd 110

As regards its contents the cycle Lost & found is indirectly linked to the urinals that have found their place in the history of art.19 The cycle was conceived as an exhibition of photographs of urinals to which the body hair found on them was attached. The exhibition presented nine digitally manipulated photographs of urinals from 2006 and 2007, at the moment before I removed the body hair from them. This explains the title: Lost & found draws attention to the body hairs which used to be on a body, fell from it, were on the urinals until I found them, photographed them and placed them in Petri dishes that I placed on the individual photograph.20 The photograph always shows two images – the chosen urinal and the broader view of the location which might include additional urinals. The photograph as a medium establishes a certain distance from the treated object, while its aestheticization (design) additionally erases the documentary view of it.21 19 Apart from the similar treatment of urinals the allusion on Duchamp’s Fountain can also be noticed in the texts in which the readymades were in the beginning called lost and found objects. 20 The idea for the cycle Lost & found is linked to the fetishisation of the object. While visiting the Liebighaus museum in Frankfurt on Main I noticed a small bronze sculpture, a reliquary representing a priest. In his small hands he held a very small and narrow glass cylinder with a body hair. The fetishisation of the object is of an ideological nature and in its essence belongs to the field of cultural racism /orientalism – a body hair that belonged to someone else, is equated with the notion of the other, who became the object. In the field of the ideology of cultural racism/orientalism the body hair gains a positive or negative connotation, it becomes sublime or extimated. Or, to paraphrase it, the body hair of the priest or a celebrity becomes sublime through cultural orientalism, while the body hair from a foreign body becomes extimated through cultural racism or cultural xenophobia – in both cases we are dealing with the fetishisation of the object. 21 The aestheticization can sometimes be pushed to the extent that it merely indicates certain recognisable symbols. I

13.1.2014 23:53:27


The photographs from the cycle Lost & found are not aesthetically neutral, they intend to function ‘pleasantly’ and attract the gaze; just like the inscriptions on them, the meaning of which is not truly important. The aesthetic photographs could be anything: an advert for ceramic tiles, interior fittings, it is hard to decipher from them that they are a document of a ‘performative’ statement or merely photographs of urinals in toilets where body hairs were captured.22 The essence of the photograph in the Lost & found project is– apart from attracting the gaze – mainly to pass on the information as to where the body hair was found, with which they can be returned into the brutal existence. With the advance in civilisation the need for organising the surroundings appeared. When this happened certain bodily functions ceased to exist in their primary meaning. If urinating used wish to show this with a personal example. In a pizza place at the foothills of Šmarna gora the toilets are extremely posh. The doors show two stylised shapes carved in metal: a circle and a trapezoid, which is once wider at the bottom, and once at the top. After seeing the first shape I decided that this is not the men›s toilet and continued to the next door. Taking the shape into account my decision opposed all other code – from the fact that the male restrooms are always closer, to the fact that there were no urinals in the other restroom, which I considered to be rather classy. As I was washing my hands a lady walked into the restroom, we looked at each other in surprise, and then she said that this was the woman›s toilet. I wanted to show her the sign on the door, which showed a slightly wider trapezoid at the bottom when I remembered why the trapezoid with a wider edge on the top seemed feminine (a symbol of the female genitalia). 22 Even at the literal or documentary view it is hard to avoid that an entire cycle can border on fetish in numerous ways. There is even a field of urinal fetish, where people collect data on the usability of urinals through history and discuss and publish photographs of various forms, ages and geographical diversity on forums: e.g. http://www.urinal.net/

to, in the distant past, include the function of recognising the state of the body and marking the territory, this function disappeared with the development of mankind, it became alien and discomforting.23 Urinating is linked to the body and cannot, while the body is secreting, be established as disgusting. The attitude to one’s own secretion is not the same as that to somebody else’s, for the latter also includes an unknown foreign body.24 The secretion becomes disgusting once it is separated from the body and in a modern toilet it takes a mere moment for it to disappear from the visual field and from the consciousness.25 Regardless of the fact that the photographs of the Lost & found urinals are aesthetical and distanced from the viewer, we cannot ignore the fact that the entire work is scatological. We need to pose the question as to whether a urinal as an object is scatological. The greatest controversy of Duchamp’s Fountain can be found in its level of scatology. The vulgarity

23 At the notion of extimacy the thought notion is firstly attached to something close, which is alienated through the process of suppression and returned as something scary. 24 This is why vulgarity is always ascribed to someone else. In the return of one’s own it would be for instance disgusting if the urinal was blocked and the secretion remained on display. 25 I doubt that secretion in the future will become conscious or will in any other way be recalled into the conscious mind. An important role is played by the individual’s body. If we take a look at an opposite example: environmental awareness is possible only because the body of the individual has been excluded, e.g. separating trash and other visible, but trivial influence of the individual can be applied as an ideology because the body is not present in this process. The body is becoming a burden of the contemporary society, which seeks ways in which it could mask the traces of its physicality and decay. In this context we can expand the statement that the art does not transcend language into art does not transcend the bodily experience – and this is not final, but changes with the development of meanings within societies. 111

CIIIID.indd 111

13.1.2014 23:53:27


connected to secretion is a sign of the difference between the orderliness of urban centres, which hide its secretion, and the non-orderliness and brutality of the peripheral locations, where the attitude towards secretion might be more revealed. However, secretion is a taboo in both cases, for it reaches into the intimate field of the male gender. Duchamp must have suspected that art was not merely a created work, but a certain historically defined social agreement. Thus, the Fountain as an object that dealt with social taboos marked the location or process of secretion (because of which it was made in the first place), however the question arises as to what does it denote once its function is taken away from it. With the exception of the photographs of Duchamp’s studio the Fountain was always positioned horizontally. If we look at Duchamp’s lithograph Four Readymades (1964), we can follow Duchamp’s poetical connection of four readymades to the cycle of our seasons; we can also notice the formal position of the outflow opening, which is in the graphic prints drawn at the bottom of the urinal, which could indicate the aforementioned scatology. However, if we combine the (non)functionality with the positioning in time, we can state that the lying down Fountain merely indicates the scatological position that it would assume if it did not become a work of art. Its function was not removed from it, for it did not achieve its function. It was not torn from the context, but placed before it, in its state of innocence. The Fountain is a product waiting to be bought by the consumer, at which the consumer product is always in a state of sterility. Gober’s Urinals are more scatological because they are, even though non-functional, placed into a functional position. If Duchamp’s Fountain still indicated its original use, it had lost

its vulgarity through the transition into a work of art. On the contrary, this transition is no longer possible with Gober, even though his urinals were not functional from the very beginning and used merely in the field of a work of art. Their positioning gave them the feeling of functionality with which their use was emphasised. The scatological appearance of Duchamp’s Fountain can be ignored, needs to be taken into account in Gober’s Urinals, and is impossible to miss in the Lost & found. These are public urinals, dirty and with traces of urine. Due to this the formal connection with the urinals found in the world of art is shown merely as an empty signifier. If Duchamp and Gober would never have used or created urinals, they represent the most probable public site for body hair in the Lost & found project. The body hair is not alien to the photographs of toilets, but the essence of the work of art, in which the photographs pass on the information as regards the location on which the body hair was found. This changes the hierarchy of importance – the body hair that has became visible due to the photographs, is exposed as the essential part. The body hair on the urinals is not more important than the location in which they were found, but they are an important part of the Lost & found. They are the object, while the scatological feature of the location in which they were found has the function of tactility, when the viewer realises that these body hairs are not merely traces of foreign bodies, but also dirty and possibly exhibited in Petri dishes so that diseases are not spread. The body hair itself is a trace of our and foreign bodies and is in the context of secretion more disgusting than merely body hair from a part of the body

112

CIIIID.indd 112

13.1.2014 23:53:27


which indicates transience.26 On the other hand the body hairs themselves are transient. Once they fall from the body, they start to dry out and reduce in size. The body hairs discovered on the urinals represent a trace of a recently present body. It is predictable to see body hair in public spaces, on urinals, but when body hair moves into the field of art they function as alien.27 Today we can treat body hair in the field of dichotomy between nature and culture. We can assume that the natural function of the body hair was to protect the skin from the external influences such as cold and mechanical injuries. In the field of culture the demand for an artificially created body without body hair is linked mainly to the female, and consequentially also to the male body.28 Smooth skin without body hair reminds us of beautiful young bodies: they are aesthetic and clean. By removing the body hair the body becomes denaturalised and loses one of its identities.29 An 26 The contemporary society tries to avoid transience. The entire advertising imagery raises the desire for eternal youth and a long life. 27 Fountain and Urinal can merely interpretationally be linked to the feeling of discomfort that they cause once the urinals are moved into the gallery, while Lost & found are photographs of urinals that are in public use – the discomfort in this concept always occurs with the move of a common practice into the gallery space, where it becomes unusual/controversial. 28 At the Lost & found exhibition (2007, Galerija v izložbi, Kranj) the works of art encountered the unprepared passersby and turned them into visitors of the exhibition – as a response three photographs of a shaved naked male body were pushed into the shop window. The photographs were A4 format and if the date of production was to be believed they must have belonged to the intruder’s archive. In the second work from the Lost & found cycle (2010/11, Sculpture Association Gallery) the body hair, taken from the urinals, was placed onto gilded coins. 29 Stopping shaving can represent an assertion of one’s identity, and only then a rebellion against the social norms.

CIIIID.indd 113

unshaven body can appear neglected or brutal. In the case of male bodies the lost and found body hair testifies on the physicality that has become hidden due to our social conventions of dressing. A discovered body hair is implanted into the fields of taboo of the body and gender. Lost & found is not a subversive work merely due to its exchange of the view on body hair through a medium with the actual view of the body hair. It is also subversive in the fact that it reflectively contains violence – it places an intimate presence of unknown foreign bodies into a public space. Thus it is imposed upon the viewer who has to deal with his own prejudices.

113

13.1.2014 23:53:27


CORPUS INDETERMINATA INDEX Naslov / Title: Lost & found I

Naslov / Title: 24 stunde Berlin

Lokacija / Exhibition space: Galerija v izložbi Datum / Date: 26. 2. – 14. 4. 2007

Lokacija / Exhibition space: Galerija zavoda za kiparstvo Datum / Date: 7. 12. 2010. – 7. 1. 2011

Produkcija / Production: KUD Modri krog (predhodnik Zavoda Gulag) Producent / Producer: Jana Putrle Srdić Pomoč in svetovanje / Support: Iztok Bobić Foto / Photo: Simon Kuhar

Naslov / Title: Lost & found II Lokacija / Exhibition space: Galerija zavoda za kiparstvo Datum / Date: 7. 12. 2010. – 7. 1. 2011 Produkcija: Zavod za sodobne umetnosti in kulture Gulag Koprodukcija / Co-production: Zavod za kiparstvo Spremno besedilo / Text: Petja Grafenauer Producent / Producer: Jana Putrle Srdić Koproducent / Co-producer: Petra Čučulovič Izdelava medaljonov / Making of coins: Gio oblikovanje Klemen Jeraša s.p Foto / Photo: Sunčan Stone, Zoran Srdić Janežič (medalions)

Produkcija / Production: Zavod za sodobne umetnosti in kulture Gulag Koprodukcija / Co-production: Zavod za kiparstvo Spremno besedilo / Text: Petja Grafenauer Producent / Producer: Jana Putrle Srdić Koproducent / Co-producer: Petra Čučulovič Šivanje in krojenje srajc / Making of shirt: Maja Peterlin Pomoč in svetovanje / Support: Saba Skaberne Foto / Photo / Photo: Sunčan Stone Projekt so podprli / Project was supported by: Rezidenčni atelje v Berlinu, Ministrstvo za kulturo (Artist in Residence in Berlin, Ministry of Culture RS)

114

CIIIID.indd 114

13.1.2014 23:53:27


Naslov / Title: Corpus Indeterminata

Naslov / Title: Publicus Determinatum

Lokacija / Exhibition space: Galerija Alkatraz Datum / Date: 7. 12. 2010. – 14. 2. 2011

Lokacija / Exhibition space: Galerija na prostem Layerjeve hiše Datum / Date: 25. 7. – 13. 10. 2013

Lokacija / Exhibition space: Galerija sodobnih umetnosti Celje / Gallery of Contemporary Art Celje Datum / Date: 22. 9. – 13. 11. 2011 Produkcija / Production: KUD Mreža – Galerija Alkatraz Partner: Zavod za sodobne umetnosti in kulture Gulag Spremno besedilo / Text: Ana Grobler in Jana Putrle Srdić Izdelava kalupa / Making of mould: Jernej Mali, Peter Šere, Ramiz Džebo, Zoran Srdić Janežič Pomoč in svetovanje / Support: Janez Bizjak, Mare Meglič Foto / Photo: Sunčan Stone, Zala Opara Projekt so podprli / Project was supported by: Mestna občina Ljubljana (Municipality Ljubljana), Restavratorstvo Mali, Mesarija Arvaj; Ministrstvo za kulturo (Ministry of Culture RS), Mestna občina Celje (Municipality Celje)

Produkcija / Production: Zavod za sodobne umetnosti in kulture Gulag Koprodukcija / Co-production: KUD Kranj, Zavod Carnica, Layerjeva hiša Spremno besedilo / Text: Miha Colner Producent / Producer: Jana Putrle Srdić Koproducenti / Co-producers: Janez Draksler, Aljaž Primožič, Selman Čorovič Izdelava modelov iz blaga: Maja Peterlin Izdelava kalupov: Ramiz Džebo Izdelava odlitkov: Tine Krušec Foto / Photo: Sunčan Stone Projekt so podprli / Project was supported by: Ministrstvo za kulturo RS (Ministry of Culture RS), Mestna občina Kranj (Municipality Kranj), Samson Kamnik, TKK Srpenica, Restavratorstvo Mali

115

CIIIID.indd 115

13.1.2014 23:53:27


Selektorica festivala Kiblix / Selector of festival Kiblix: Nina Jeza Naslov / Title: Corpus Indeterminata 3D

Under construction

Lokacija / Exhibition space: Hiperfasada; MKC Maribor – Kulturni inkubator Datum / Date: 26. 4. 2013

Der process

Lokacija / Exhibition space: Predstavitev 3D skeniranja in video večerja; MKC Maribor – Kulturni inkubator in Odprta dvorišča Datum / Date: 20. 7. 2013

Deus benedixitque eis, dicens: Crescite, et multiplicamini, ad imaginem meam Lokacija / Exhibition space: Škrlovec - Stolp intermedijskih umetnosti Datum / Date: 10. 9. – 13. 10. 2011

Producent / Producer: Jana Putrle Srdić Koproducenti / Co-producers: Jože Slaček, Janez Draksler, Aljaž Primožič, Selman Čorovič 3D skeniranje in izdelava modelov / 3D scanning and modeling: Jan Sterniša, pomoč Kristijan Robič Izdelava 3d tiskanja / 3D printing: Ortotip; Izdelava kalupov ter odlitkov / Making of moulds and models: Zoran Srdić Janežič, Jernej Mali Pomoč in svetovanje / Support: Janez Bizjak, Mare Meglič Foto / Photo: Sunčan Stone Projekt so podprli / Project was supported by: Ministrstvo za kulturo RS (Ministry of Culture RS), Mestna občina Kranj (Municipality Kranj), Mestna občina Maribor (Municipality Maribor), MKC Maribor - Kulturni inkubator, Ortotip, Restavratorstvo Mali, Oskrba z jedmi – catering: Marko Arvaj s.p., Odprta dvorišča

Ko svetovi trčijo / When worlds collide (Festival MFRU in Kiblix) Lokacija / Exhibition space: Kibla portal Datum / Date: 6. – 25. 11. 2013

Produkcija / Production: Zavod za sodobne umetnosti in kulture Gulag Partner: MKC Maribor – Kulturni inkubator Koprodukcija / Co-production: Zavod Naključje 7, KUD Kranj, Prešernovo gledališče Kranj, Zavod Carnica, Layerjeva hiša, Lutkovno gledališče Ljubljana Kustosinja projekta / Curator of project: Ida Hiršenfelder Selektorica projekta hiperFasada / Selector of project hiperFasada: Aleksandra Saška Gruden 116

CIIIID.indd 116

13.1.2014 23:53:55


117

CIIIID.indd 117

13.1.2014 23:54:24


Zoran Srdić Janežič (rojen 1974 v Kranju) je akademski kipar, vizualni umetnik, videast, lutkar in intermedijski umetnik. Zanima ga humor, ki ga uporablja, da poudari nevralgične točke v našem vsakdanjem življenju. Kot performer izhaja iz tematike javnih kipov in njihovih funkcij v javnem prostoru (Javni kipi, 2011); iz body arta (estetizacija, gnusnost in mitizacija telesa; Corpus Indeterminata, 2010-13) ali iz javnih intervencij (Javna branja, 2011). Metode za izdelavo lutk pogosto prepleta v kiparstvo in uporablja v performansih.

Zoran Srdić Janežič (born 1974; Kranj) is an academic sculptor, visual artist, video artist, puppeteer and intermedia artist. He is interested in humor, which he uses to emphasize neuralgic points of our daily lives. As a performer, he derives from the topic of public sculptures and their function in the public space (Javni kipi, 2011), from the body art (aesthetization, disgust and mythization; Corpus Indeterminata, 2010-13) or from public interventions (Public readings, 2011). He often includes methods for making puppets in sculpture and uses them in performances.

118

CIIIID.indd 118

13.1.2014 23:55:05


Publikacija: Zoran Srdić Janežič CORPUS INDETERMINATA Izdajatelj: Zavod za sodobne umetnosti in kulture Gulag Zanj: Zoran Srdić Uredila: Jana Putrle Srdić, Zoran Srdić Tiskarna: Bistisk Ljubljana 2013 Kustosinja projekta: Ida Hiršenfelder Producentka projekta: Jana Putrle Srdić Prevodi: Sunčan Patrick Stone (besedila Petje Grafenauer, Miha Colnarja: Prašičja farma in Zorana Srdića: avtorjev predgovor in No room for pussies); Barbara Jurša (besedilo Ide Hiršenfelder: Corpus Indeterminata IIID), Lili Anamarija No (besedili Ane Grobler in Jane Putrle Srdić) Naklada: 300 izvodov Število strani: Fotografije / Photographs used: Sunčan Patrick Stone; Simon Kuhar: 8, 12, 15, 18, 22 Jernej Mali: 40, 41 Zala Opara str: 44 Arhiv / archive Zavoda Gulag: 4, 28, 51, 60, 92 Projekt Corpus Indeterminata 3D so podprli: Ministrstvo za kulturo RS, Mestna občina Kranj, Mestna občina Maribor, Ortotip, Restavratorstvo Mali, Oskrba z jedmi – catering: Marko Arvaj s.p., Samson Kamnik, TKK Srpenica

©2013 Zavod za sodobne umetnosti in kulture Gulag / Institute for Arts GULAG – All rights reserved. Zavod Gulag je neformalna skupina vizualnih umetnikov, pesnikov in humanistov s področja feminizma in antropologinje; formalno združeni v nevladno organizacijo. Zavezani smo iskanju umetniških rešitev, da reflektiramo, se spopadamo, ironiziramo in spreminjamo družbo okolje. Gulag is a group of visual artists, poets and social scientist: feminists and anthropologists, formally joined in a non-governmental organisation. Our main commitment lies in finding artistic solutions to reflect, cope with, ironize, distort and change our social environment; to react with engaged action to radical changes, happening at the moment in our society.

Ulica Janeza Pavla II. 5 SI - 1000 Ljubljana Tel. +386 31 74 55 64 www.gulag.si info@gulag.si

119

CIIIID.indd 119

13.1.2014 23:55:05


120

CIIIID.indd 120

13.1.2014 23:55:07


CIIIIDplatnice.indd 3

13.1.2014 21:42:53


INATA CIIIIDplatnice.indd 4

13.1.2014 21:43:06


Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.