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PSWAR's Intuitive
practice and theoretical framework
by Tatjana Macic ©
Published in: Dutch art magazine HTV de IJsberg 79, 2009.
Recently white-cube exhibition spaces in Smart Project Space have been
transformed by Public Space With A Roof (PSWAR) into a platform for aesthetic
and theoretical research named Endless Installation: A Ghost Story For
Adults. [1]
PSWAR has researched and appropriated artworks and thoughts of three key
figures they find seminal for this project: the art historian Aby Warburg
(1866-1929), architect Frederick Kiesler (1890-1965), and artist/art critic
Meir Agassi (1947-98). These three individuals are historically separated
and did not know each other personally. PSWAR first created a mental and
discursive “space” in which practices of these three figures confront,
interweave and “interact with each other”. They proceeded to mould this
ephemeral, mental frame into a profoundly tangible format using the installation
and exhibition as tools.
PSWAR used predominately plain grayscale copies of the reproductions of
artworks (see: Museum map by Meir Agassi), and quotes by these three authors
to visualize their research. Copies and reproductions were then pinned
onto wooden poles, which are then placed in the space in a labyrinth-like
fashion (as shown here in the image: installation view). Narrative audio
installation coming from several speakers diluted spatial division of
the installation.
An elaborative maze of the installation demands a lot from the general
public, as it takes some time, previous knowledge and patience to unveil
its structure, working method and theoretical frame. The catalogue that
accompanies the exhibition is extremely helpful though, written as a “script
of the exhibition”, and has become something of a collector’s item. [2]
It is exactly this complexity and production of knowledge that makes Endless
Installation: A Ghost Story For Adults interesting for academics and theoretically
inclined peers. In order to facilitate that interest and provide space
for discussions and lectures, one of the spaces had multiple functions:
it nested a neat (again wooden) structure for presentations and discussions
(see image: discussion pit). Temporal project archive (see image: archive)
was displayed in the niches of this structure. Relevant films by Alexander
Kluge and others have been shown through out the duration of the project.
Discussions and lectures by authoritative and carefully chosen international
thinkers and authors have drawn mainly young(er) public: experts, artists,
university and art academy students, and notably curators from de Appel
curatorial program. Lectures covered wide range of themes such as authorship,
institutional critique, exhibition making and white-cube issues, as well
as contemporary artistic practice. For example, in a long anticipated
lecture, Alex Farquharson shed some light on a history and genealogy of
exhibition making. He also pointed out how Foucault’s The Order of Things,
amongst other things, has influenced our thinking of exhibition making
and archival practices.
PSWAR-trio insists that they are an “artists’s initiative”, not a collective
of curators and artists or simply individuals authors working together.
When I asked questions about their investigative collaborative practice,
they engaged in discussion amongst themselves, giving me several angles
to approach their alliance. For example Tamuna Chabashvili emphasized
that “narrative, time and audience” is important to them, Adi Hollander
highlights “intuitive division of labor” and how they learn from each
other, while Vesna Madzoski brings a meta-view into the mix, making it
all stick together in a theoretical frame, using vocabulary such as ”floating
meanings” and “searching for different ways to read an archive”.
As I have watched this project come to its formal closure, I was saddened
because it is going to be hidden from public view in a storage box somewhere
in Holland, while it has great value for the Dutch and international art
scene. PSWAR has created unique conditions for the exchange of critical
thoughts and interdisciplinary research, giving the general public, artists
and critics food for thought. Much more than was initially anticipated.
[1] Founded in 2003 by a driven group
of formal Rietveld students, PSWAR pursues ambitious long-term vision
based on an investigative collaborative artistic practice. PSWAR, based
in Amsterdam, currently constitutes of the artists Adi Hollander (1976,
Belgium) and Tamuna Chabashvili (1978, Georgia), and theoretician Vesna
Madzoski (1976, Serbia) who is a PhD candidate at University of Amsterdam.
Endless Installation: A Ghost Story For Adults took place from 21st of
March to 26th of April 2009 in SMART Project Space in Amsterdam. Download
the full list of archival items, see list of all speakers and screenings
at HTV de IJsberg: [www.htvdeijsberg.nl
]. See also: Smart Project Space [www.smartprojectspace.net]
and PSWAR online: [www.pswar.org]
[2] All catalogues are numbered by hand and designed to look like
maps normally used in professional archives. Sober design and unpretentious
black and white content of the catalogue add to scientific, serene and
somewhat “cold” sphere PSWAR has deliberately created. This attention
to detail and meticulously prepared installation is something PSWAR has
already successfully achieved in previous projects.
Meir Agassi, Museum map of Meir Agassi, drawing. Courtesy
The Museum of Art Ein Harod.
Installation view. Photo by Ilya Rabinovich
Archive view. Photo by Ilya Rabinovich
Conversation pit. Photo by Ilya Rabinovich
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