Eugene Peytie and the mapping of a Liberated Nation

Eugene Peytie was a topographer, head of a French Cartographic Mission in 19th century Greece

a newly independent country

full of conflicts

Peytie, instead of just producing topographic data

mapped the people and places too

the Ottomans

and the Greeks

blocked-off Churches

and the ruined neighborhood of Thission, on the outskirts of Athens

The most beautiful Kunsthalle in the world

 (Green Grotto)

Just came back from Como and the Ratti Foundation, where director Marco de Michelis has been running the "Most Beautiful Kunsthalle in the World" series of talks, presentations and discussions.

Saturday, 23 October 2010, from 5 to 8pm

I. The centres for contemporary art and the European cities

Keynote Speaker: Nikolaus Hirsch (Städelschule/Portikus, Frankfurt)
Marta Kuzma (Office for Contemporary Art Norway, Oslo)
Philippe Pirotte (Kunsthalle Bern)
Beatrix Ruf (Kunsthalle Zürich)
Angela Vettese (Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa, Venezia)
Coordinator: Filipa Ramos

Tuesday, 16 November 2010, from 5 to 8pm

II. Art Spaces

Keynote Speaker: Dieter Bogner (Wien)
Andreas Angelidakis (Athens)
Paul Robbrecht, Hilda Daem (Robbrecht en Daem, Gent)
Simona Malvezzi, Wilfried Kuehn (KUEHN MALVEZZI, Berlin)
Frank Boehm (Milano)
Adolf Krischanitz (Wien)
Coordinator: Francesco Garutti

 

(secret passage to lake)

 Dieter Bogner spoke about Frederick Kiesler's exhibition design, 

and Sanaa's transparent museums

(another lake, far away)

I talked about leaning walls and selling furniture, showing scemes for the 2nd Athens Biennial, MUSAC, Hangar Bicocca and the Pavilion for Postcontemporary Curating

 (another passage, to the street)

Paul Robbrect spoke about the white wagon-like spaces for Documenta IX 

and the Whitechapel extension

 (white lamp)

Wilfred Kuehn and Simon Malvezzi spoke about their spaces for Documenta 11

as well as the extension at Hamburger Banhof

 (clay X)








and Frank Boehm spoke about gallery spaces that offer unexpected options to artists,
as well as curating and it's relation to architecture

(the lake)

Saturday, 27 November 2010, 6pm
III. The most beautiful Kunsthalle in the world 1.

Marco De Michelis interviews Hans Ulrich Obrist

Friday, 17 December 2010, 6pm
IV. P.S.1 and beyond
Alanna Heiss (AIR Air International Radio, NYC)
Coordinator: Paola Nicolin

Wednesday, 12 January 2011, from 5 to 8pm
V. An Ecology of art (in collaboration with Università Bocconi, Milano)

Keynote Speaker: Stefano Baia Curioni (Università Bocconi)
Walter Santagata (Università di Torino)
Pierluigi Sacco (IULM, Milano)
Guido Guerzoni (Università Bocconi)
Angela Vettese (IUAV, Venezia)
Alberto Abruzzese (IULM, Milano)
Coordinator: Luca Martinazzoli

Fondazione Antonio Ratti
Villa Sucota, Via per Cernobbio, 19
22100 Como - Italy
Info: +39031233211 ufficiostampa@fondazioneratti.org
http://www.fondazioneratti.org

Color Como

 In Como we saw Black towers

Hollow White Sky

 

Gold Fantasies

 Green Cat

 Blue Lamp

 White Casa del Fascio

 Orange Water Spaceships

 Angelo on the steps of Sant' Elia

 pleated balconies

and faded lavender chairs

Serafin og Plym

 A couple of days ago I rediscovered my favourite book as a kid, which I thought was long thrown away. It's the story of Serafin and Plym, 

two friends who were good at making things 

I guess the things they made were not so popular so they had to go from job to job

 

one day they decide to make a fantastic machine, that makes the most amazing fences ever
 

They celebrated the making of the machine, but when they tested it in the city, officials freak out, and Serafin and Plym got kicked out

So they decided to fence everybody in, then fence themselves in around hole in the ground

opening the sewer cover, they set off in an underground maze of caves, 

and they lived happily ever after,

 together.

15 minutes of BYOB Athens at KUNSTHALLE ATHENA

Last Night a VJ saved my Life: BYOB at KUNSTHALLE ATHENA, curated by Angelo Plessas

Participating Artists: Alexandros Psychoulis, Aliki Panagiotopoulou, Andreas Angelidakis, Angelo Plessas, Anne de Vries, Billy Rennekamp, Dimitris Foutris, Dimitris Papadatos, Dionisis Kavallieratos, Eftihis Patsourakis, Emile Zile, Irini Karayannopoulou, Ioanna Myrka, Georgia Sagri, Katerina Kana, Lakis & Aris Ionas/The Callas, Makis Faros, Mano Plizzi, Maria Papadimitriou, Natasha Papadopoulou, Pantelis Pantelopoulos, Pegy Zali, Petros Moris, Poka-Yio, Rafaël Rozendaal, Sifis Lykakis, Spiros Hadjidjanos, The Erasers, Theo Michael, Theodoros D Giannakis, This is Amateur, Vassilis Patmios Karouk.

P.A.R.A.D.O.X.O.N.

I think P.A.R.A.D.O.X.O.N.is a fanzine

 I know I got it at a popup shop at AMP Gallery, 

organized by the nice people of OMMU Distribution

 it has pictures of buildings without windows

 it says that having no windows is added protection

the last image is a grave too

The Feeder

This 19^th century etching illustrates the great dichotomy that faced Greek Society in the years leading to Prime Minister Trikoupis’ dramatic declaration of a National Bankruptcy (1896).

The foustanella-wearing Guerrilla Fighters lead by Kolokotronis fought the war that helped liberate the nation from the Ottoman Empire.
The Alafrangas, European educated Greeks led by Kapodistrias wanted to form the modern independent nation not as a folklore relic, but as a direct descendant of the glorious ancient Greece. In the first image we see a cafe divided into two sections, one for the rough, peasant shepherds and mountain fighters wearing the kilts and the colorful embroideries, the other for the Alafrangas, wearing refined suits and playing billiard.


As a result of the great bankruptcy, the International Financial Commission was founded to supervise the enormous loans that would help Greece become an "independent" nation. Inside the cafe Orea Hellas it was folklore vs neoclassical, colorful vs pristine, shelters made of sticks and stones vs romantic white marble ruins.

Even nowadays, as Greece is navigating its' second major financial crisis, one can sense that the country is a collage between the glorious and somewhat virtual ancient past, and the live real present.

Two Systems, white lacquer modules, found furniture

Feeder

As a result of these notes on aesthetics and history, we devised the space of Feeder, at the Breeder project space, as a combination of two spaces. One space is inhabited by a pristine white lacquer system of modular seating and dining units, the other by mismatched, used chairs and tables found in the area of Metaxourgeio.

The two spaces are collaged together, as a continuously evolving ruin where chairs become benches, tables extend to become columns, new seats are born from old, and richly woven traditional kilims are laid on glossy white surfaces, in an architecture that continually copy-pastes between the virtual ancient past and the real folklore present.

Table for Two, white lacquer module resting on found table part

Seat for Two, found chair part bolted onto white lacquer module

Table for four, white lacquer module bolted onto found table part

Two Chairs (white lacquer modules and found chair parts)

Greek folk rug, early 20th century

Chairs, Table, Seats, Food

Table for Two, white lacquer modules and found table leg

Feeder @ Breeder, reservations start October 5th
Located at Breeder Projects
Design Andreas Angelidakis,
design team Andreas Angelidakis, Sotiris Vasiliou
fabrication Vangelis Anagnostopoulos, Mr Vangelis, Zair, Fad, with special thanks to Mr Sifis Lycakis
Cooking for the first trimester Troo Food Liberation collective
for reservations call Breeder +30 210 3317527