Biennial of Young Artists, first edition, Bucharest 2004

Press Release of the Bienniale

Identity-Code-Perception- Meta-Violence - Convention-Expression

13 October - 12 November 2004 Youth Biennial

Identities and Visual Codes:
Image of violence/Violence of images

META Cultural Foundation and Goethe Institute Bucharest announce the opening of the first edition of the Youth Biennial 2004, which will take place between 13 October - 12 November. The event will be marked by:

-conferences, seminars, workshops, based on 2 main themes: Visual Culture and trans-cultural dynamics in South-Eastern Europe and Image and culture: social implication and the forming of perception.
-non-verbal video-conference
-active interventions (theatre, music, performance, happening)
-the opening of the exhibition Identities and visual codes: Image of violence/violence of images
Focused on "the sight", "the perception", "the visual identity", the exhibition aims to provoke, to incite, to break the cliches…Image of violence/violence of images - Is violence of image just a representation/depiction/illustration of violence? These kinds of questions represent the starting point of the exhibition.

This is an invitation for the young artists to participate with media art-works (photo, digital print, video-art, net-art), with un-conventional language, but also with traditional art-works, including sculpture, picture etc.

This is not a discourse, but a starting point. The exhibition presents the following perspectives / common points / levels / sections:

- stereotypes, cliches
- non-conformism
- value and sign
- double, equivoque, multifunctional, uncertain, alternative
- protest, irony and ludens
- historical perspectives and concept archeology

The Biennial has the support of the Stability Pact for South-Eastern Europe, the European Cultural Foundation, the Romanian Ministry of Culture and Religious Affaires and the Swiss Cultural Program in Romania. Other local and regional partners are: British Council, French Institute, Czech Cultural Center, Polish Institute, the Netherlands Embassy, Hungarian Cultural Center, the Embassy of the Slovak Republic, UNITER, the National University of Arts - the Department for Photo, Video and Digital Processing of the Image, Noua Gallery, HT003 Gallery, H'Art Gallery, UNA Gallery, Posibila Gallery, Remont Independent Association (Serbia and Montenegro), Cultural Centre Konkordija Vrsac (Serbia and Montenegro), National Forum - Alternatives, Practice, Initiatives (Bulgaria), AoRTa Gallery (Moldovia).

OUR Press Release

KOMI-KON
Minsk, Belarus

Alena Boika - curator and PR-manager
Konstantin Goretsky - artist and inspirer
Irene Ryzhkova - designer
Elena Zhdanenya - graphic art

http://kartinki.iatp.by or http://kartinki.oxidiser.net
elena@iatp.by or zabavka@tut.by

About artwork

AEROPLANE
When I'll become the big aeroplane,
I'll wash my legs before my fastest flying

This is one of the posters created by a group of Belarusian artists KOMI-KON for the project "Living is harmful!". All of these posters have been created on the basis of original ideas and black-and-white photos of artist Konstantin Goretsky. Graphic art is work of Elena Zhdanenya. The posters were lightly processed with Adobe Photoshop by Irene Ryzhkova, and they have been supplemented by brief captions. In some cases, there are added citations from artworks of the high style of Germany, the USSR, and the USA. The posters are printed on paper by plotter-printer, covered with vinyl, mounted upon a special hard base. Simply, quickly, easy, - can anyone do the same?

About the group

The group KOMI-KON was organised in 1987 by artist and photographer Konstantin Goretsky. Konstantin Goretsky was born on the Kuril Islands (Russia) in 1961. The experience he received on the Malaya Gruzinskaya Str. 26, in the centre of artists - nonconformists (the unique independent art centre in the Moscow, USSR) had vital importance in his formation as artist. Since 1986, he took part in numerous exhibitions in Russia, Belarus, and abroad. The group KOMI-KON, headed by Konstantin Goretsky, carried out the following art projects:

1. The Cruiser AVRORA is the Goddess of Dawn - 1987 - 98
2. Plan of evacuation - 1989 - 91
3. Art-musical salon ON THE GARRET - 1996 - 98
4. LIVING IS HARMFUL! 1999 - 2004

New life was brought to KOMI-KON started with the arrival of Alena Boika. Her collaboration with the group began in 1996 from her work as photomodel on some art projects. Since 2001, she has worked as public relations manager for KOMI-KON. She created the website KARTINKI http://kartinki.iatp.by and established international relations with foreign artists and institutions. The most recent event prepared and realized by her is a presentation showing the art activity of KOMI-KON, at the Forum 2004, World Youth Festival (August 8 - 14), in Barcelona, Spain.

Now, the staff at KOMI-KON is ever-changing, depending upon the needs and artistic goals for particular and varied projects. The group is open to collaboration, and welcomes any ideas and creative initiatives from artists embracing cosmopolitan views from all over the world.

To be continued...