Blood Mountain Foundation
Past
Conversation Series Artists-in-Residency Projects Publication Public Programme Education 2010 - 2012
H-1025 Budapest Vérhalom utca 27/c Hungary +36 1.326.18.44
[email protected] www.bloodmountain.org
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Conversation Series Blood Mountain’s new Conversation Series brings leading thinkers and makers of the international arts community to Hungary and the region of Central Europe by providing a forum for discourse on a diverse selection of topics. Launching in July 2012, its ambition is to share the brilliant discussions that happen in a private capacity at Blood Mountain with the broader public. One-off evening sessions on a bi-monthly basis. Free with prior registration:
[email protected]
Slavs and Tatars Tuesday 03 July 2012 7.30pm start | 7.00pm doors open The talk is a multi-platform look at two modern moments, 1979 and 1989, as bookends to the major geopolitical narratives of the 20th and 21st centuries: Communism and Islam. Entitled 79.89.09, the talk is an apt introduction to the collective and its second cycle of work, Friendship of Nations: Polish Shi’ite Showbiz, on the unlikely common heritage between Poland and Iran in their respective drives towards self-determination. More details: http://www.slavsandtatars.com/79.89.09s&t.pdf Slavs and Tatars is a faction of polemics and intimacies devoted to an area east of the former Berlin Wall and west of the Great Wall of China known as Eurasia. The collective’s work spans several media, disciplines and a broad spectrum of cultural registers (high and low) focusing on an oft-forgotten sphere of influence between Slavs, Caucasians and Central Asians. After devoting the past five years to two key cycles of work, namely, a celebration of complexity in the Caucasus (Kidnapping Mountains, Molla Nasreddin, Hymns of No Resistance) and the unlikely heritage between Poland and Iran (Friendship of Nations: Polish Shi’ite Showbiz, 79.89.09, A Monobrow Manifesto), a new cycle of work was begun in late 2011 called The Faculty of Substitution, which has contributed to recent exhibition at the Tate Modern, London / Salt, Istanbul (Mystical Protest); GfZK (Reverse Joy), Lepizig; New Museum, New York (PrayWay); and solo engagements at the Secession, Vienna (Not Moscow Not Mecca); The Museum of Modern Art, New York (Beyonsense); Moravia Gallery of Brno (Khhhhhhh) and Künstlerhaus Stuttgart. www.slavsandtatars.com
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Slavs and Tatars: 79.89.09 (installation view) © Kolya Zverkov
Talk by Slavs & Tatars Ӏ © András Káré, 2012
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Artists-in-Residence Fritz Haeg Edible Estates Regional Garden #12 Budapest, Hungary May 2012 Blood Mountain is pleased to announce its June 2012 artist-in-residence programme with American artist-designer-activist Fritz Haeg, who will produce the 12th chapter of his Edible Estates project series at Wekerle Estate, Budapest. Edible Estate Regional Prototype Garden #12: Budapest, Hungary is a community project including a new garden in Pest and an associated exhibition and public programme at Blood Mountain’s headquarters in Buda. Initiated in 2005 in Kansas, the geographic centre of America, Edible Estates work with selected urban families to create highly visible edible gardens between the private front door and the public street. In contrast to government-initiated allotment projects, Haeg’s gardens are situated on private property, cultivated by home-owners, and act as catalysts for future initiatives by the caretakers and the broader community. The artist-led project invites the arts community to engage with pressing contemporary urban and social issues. The Budapest Edible Estate is located at Wekerle Estate: a former social housing and innovative garden programme of the early 20th century, which has since become a middle-class suburb of Budapest. The project aims to revive Wekerle’s original mission to support the health, social and economic well-being of its residents. The participanting family, was selected by an open call. The planting is scheduled for Saturday 02 and Sunday 03 June, where volunteers are welcome. As part of Blood Mountain’s earlier exhibition and public programme produced from the Budapest Design Week, “Stories from Central Europe”, Haeg presented the Edible Estates series and visited Central Europe for the first time in October 2011. The project will be shown at the 13th Venice Architecture Biennale (29 August - 25 November 2012) in the American pavilion’s exhibition, “Spontaneous Interventions: Design Actions for the Common Good” (curated by Urban Institute for Urban Interventions). The next Edible Estate will be developed in 2013 in the artist’s home town of Minneapolis, Minnesota (commissioned by the Walker Arts Center and coinciding with Haeg’s first retrospective at the institute), which will also become the backdrop to Blood Mountain’s ongoing documentary about the project, produced in partnership with Film56 (Budapest/San Francisco).
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Project Schedule 30 April: Application deadline for Wekerle Estate residents 04 May: Final decision 18 May: Consultation with Blood Mountain representatives 31 May: Site visit with Fritz Haeg 02 June: Planting Weekend: site preparation 03 June: Planting Weekend: installation
Exhibition
06 June to 1 July 2012 opening: Tuesday 5 June 2012, 6 to 8pm artist’s talk on Domestic Integrity Fields: Tuesday 5 June 2012, 6.30pm start venue: Blood Mountain (Vérhalom utca 27/c, Budapest 1025, Hungary) l FREE by appointment During the residency, Blood Mountain presents an exhibition of the 11 existing Edible Estates gardens and becomes the setting for an ongoing Domestic Integrity Fields workshop.
Public Programme
Produced in association with the MAK – Austrian Museum of Applied Arts / Contemporary Art, Vienna Domestic Integrity Fields Workshop (Budapest) Wednesday 06 to Friday 08 June 2012, 10am to 6pm venue: Blood Mountain (Vérhalom utca 27/c, Budapest 1025, Hungary) l FREE participants and donations of used clothes welcome A continuation of Edible Estates (est. 2005) and Animal Estates (est. 2008), Haeg’s associated project exploring urban wildlife architecture, Domestic Integrity Fields (est. 2012) examines patterns and rituals of interior domestic landscapes created by humans from the surrounding land and city. The project is inspired by Buckminster Fuller’s ‘Pattern Integrity’, his theory of explaining the separation between animated things and their materiality. As an early chapter of the project, the event comprises a crochet workshop, incorporating the materials collected during the making of Budapest Edible Estates (twigs, seeds and old rags) and informal discussions. Education Workshops (Budapest) Saturdays 09 & 23 June, 11am to 1pm venue: Blood Mountain (Vérhalom utc 27/c, Budapest 1025, Hungary) suitable for 6 to 12 year-olds l 4000 HUF (15 Euros) per event Part of Blood Mountain’s education programme, Session One (09 June) provides younger audiences with the opportunity to develop a kitchen herb garden on Blood Mountain’s premises. Session Two (11 June) is a workshop in compost making and baking, using produce from the Herb Garden.
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Produced under the supervision of Blood Mountain’s art educator and in association with Green Fortune Hungary. MAK NITE Lab (Vienna) Tuesday 26 June 2012, 7 to 10pm l FREE venue: MAK - Austrian Museum of Applied Arts / Contemporary Art, Columned Main Hall (Stubenring 5, 1010 Vienna, Austria) 7 to 8pm: Fritz Haeg presents Edible Estates and other projects, MAK Columned Main Hall 8 to 10pm: Domestic Integrity Fields workshop, MAK Columned Main Hall and Garden participants and donations of used clothes welcome Blood Mountain is invited to guest-curate the next MAK NITE LAB event, focussing on Haeg’s Edible Estates and its latest inception in Budapest. The evening starts with a lecture by Haeg and continues with an evening of activities, presenting the outcome of the Domestic Integrity Field workshop and the work of the project’s varied collaborators.
The artist Fritz Haeg is an American artist and prominent urban gardener. He studied architecture at the I.U.A.V. (School of Architecture in Venice, Italy) and the Carnegie Mellon University (Pittsburg, USA). He is a 2010/11 Prize Fellow at the American Academy in Rome, a regular lecturer at American Universities (Princeton, Parsons, Cal Arts, University of Southern California) and contributor to periodicals (Artforum and Frieze). His work has been exhibited at leading art institutions (Tate Modern, Whitney Museum, Guggenheim Museum, Salt Beyolu, San Francisco MoMA, Wattis Institute, MIT and many others). His projects range from urban gardens and wildlife habitat (Edible Estates, Animal Estates, Gardenlab), to social gatherings and educational environments (Sundown Salon and Sundown Schoolhouse) and design projects (Fritz Haeg Studio). Edible Estates exists in seven American locations (Salina, Kansas; Lakewood, California; Maplewood, New Jersey, Austin, Texas; Baltimore, Maryland; Descano Gardens, California, New York City; Ridgefield, Connecticut) and internationally in London (commissioned by Tate Modern, 2007), Rome (while in residence at the American Academy in Rome, 2010) and Istanbul (at SALT Beyoglu, 2011). After Budapest, the 13th Edible Estate is scheduled for 2013 in Minnesota, Minneapolis (commissioned by the Walker Arts Center). Between his travel, work and public engagements, Fritz’s home since 2000 is a part-subterranean, part-geodesic dome in the hills of Los Angeles. fritzhaeg.com
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Edible Estates project series 01: Salina, Kansas, USA - commissioned by Salina Art Center, 2005 02: Lakewood, California, USA - exhibited at Machine Project and Millard Sheets, 2006 03: Maplewood, New Jersey, USA - sponsored by Garden Supply, 2007 04: London, UK - commissioned by Tate Modern, 2007 05: Austin, Texas, USA - commissioned by Arthouse, 2008 06: Baltimore, Maryland, USA - commissioned by Contemporary Museum, 2008 07: Descano, California, USA - located at Descanso Gardens, Flintridge, 2008 08: New York City, USA -commissioned by NY Restoration Project & Friends of the Highline, 2009 09: Ridgefield, Connecticut, USA - commissioned by Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, 2009 10: Rome, Italy - commissioned by American Academy in Rome, installed at Centro Sociale Ex-SNIA, 2010 11: Istanbul, Turkey - commissioned by SALT Beyoglu, 2011 12: Budapest, Hungary - commissioned by Blood Mountain Foundation at Wekerle Estate, 2012 13: Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA - commissioned by Walker Art Center, 2013
For more information: www.edibleestates.org
Edible Estates #12: Wekerle Estate, Budapest І © András Káré, 2012
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The Szente-Lenard Family The successful candidate of the Wekerle open call is the Szente-Lenard Family. Their front lawn will be the setting of Edible Estates #12. Here is a brief introduction to the family and why their garden is a great setting for the Hungarian chapter of the series. Kriszta and Laca have been a couple for 12 years, their daughter Katus is 10 years-old. They were both born and raised at Wekerle Estate and it is an important for them that their daughter is brought up in the same tight-knit community. They bought the house last year from the original Wekerle owner, who had lived on the property for over 50 years. Starting with the interior, they began to renovate in line with the founding principles and aesthetic guidelines of Wekerle. The exterior was addressed last season with a failed attempt at creating a green lawn. This year’s project, driven by Kriszta and Katus’ love of gardening, was to extend their modest kitchen garden - comprising strawberries, tomatoes and peppers - to a broader and bigger spectrum of produce. We met the Szente-Lenards at the start of the planting season at our stand at the Wekerle Community Market in April. Kriszta was quick to show us the site and pursued our open call with great enthusiasm and care. The site is a U-shaped front yard, positioned on a corner block with an adjacent bus stop. Unlike most Wekerle Estates, it benefits from street exposure and meets Haeg’s guiding principles, which also include regular sun and light exposure, generous availability of space and by no means the least, an enthusiastic and committed family.
The Szente-Lénárd Family (Kriszta, Katus and Laca), caretakers of Edible Estates #12: Wekerle Estate, Budapest І © András Káré, 2012
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Collaborators
Wekerle Estate was constructed in Budapest’s 19th district in 1908-1950 to provide improved living conditions for rural farmers seeking work in the city. It is a utopian planned community inspired by Ebenezer Howard’s Garden City. Each council flat was accompanied by a small plot of land and four fruit trees, which by the end of the first harvest produced on average sufficient produce to generate four-times the annual rent of one household. Local community organisers, Wekerle Garden Circle and Wekerle Transition strive to address Wekerle’s founding principles and in promoting the importance of sustainable urban gardening. atalakulowekerle.blogspot.com
MAK - Austrian Museum of Applied Arts / Contemporary Art is one of Vienna’s leading art institutions. In 1994 it founded the MAK Center for Art and Architecture in Los Angeles, which was the first art institution to present Haeg’s Edible Estates project in 2005. The MAK NITE series in Vienna is a recognised platform for applied experimentation by contemporary artists, architects, designers, performance and media artists. Started a decade ago, its current programme, which is a free monthly event, explores the theme of change in collaboration with leading local and international cross-disciplinary practitioners in preparation for the 2014 European Triennial for Change. MAK.at
Green Fortune is an urban landscape design practice, specialising in internal vertical garden design. The Hungarian office of Green Fortune is developing an organic seed bank focussed on traditional endaged seeds which, alongside expert local knowledge, is generously made available to the makers of the Budapest Edible Estate. greenfortune.com
Artemisia Landscape Design is one of Budapest’s most innovative design firms, focusing on building community through creating ecologically-friendly green spaces in homes, schools and public spaces. Artemisia provided invaluable support to the early stages of the project. artemisiadesign.com
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Supporter
Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts is one of America’s leading philanthropic bodies. Founded in 1956, the Graham Foundation makes project-based grants to individuals and organisations and produces public programs to foster the development and exchange of diverse and challenging ideas about architecture and its role in the arts, culture, and society. grahamfoundation.org
For press and other inquiries: +36.1.326.1844 | +36.30.415.2123 |
[email protected]
Edible Estates #12: Wekerle Estate, Budapest І © András Káré, 2012
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Exhibition view, Edible Estates #12: Wekerle Estate, Budapest І © András Káré, 2012
Talk by Fritz Haeg at MAK NITE LAB, Vienna І © András Káré, 2012
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The Otolith Group February 2012 The occupation of The Otolith Group (The Group) at Blood Mountain is part of an ongoing research project about the politics of nuclear energy. Given Hungary’s role as an important hub for the education and practice of both scientific and film innovation between the two world wars and during the Soviet regime, the residency provides an unparalleled opportunity for The Group to gather original data and to develop the work using Hungary’s outstanding scientific and film facilities. Hungary’s long tradition of scientific education nurtured the developmental years of three Hungarian scientists, who later played crucial roles in the invention of atomic energy: Leo Szilárd, Edward Teller, Eugene Wigner. Its advantageous geographic position as the closest Soviet satellite state to Western Europe also accounts for the numerous nuclear facilities that were developed and in some cases remain active since the Cold War. Budapest in addition was also considered an important creative hub for moving image between the two world wars, having fostered the medium’s eary pioneers before their respective emigration: Alexander Korda, founding member of the British film industry, and Michael Curtiz, a central figure of Hollywood’s golden age; and as a production set for some of the most ubiquitous Soviet documentary and propaganda films, often made by anonymous film-makers. The Group’s work at Blood Mountain is scheduled for completion in summer 2012 and will return to Blood Mountain for a special screening and artists-led discussion in autumn 2012. This is the collective’s first project in Central Europe and Blood Mountain’s third artist-in-residence programme.
Public Programme A critical and comprehensive public programme accompanies The Group’s residency, curated by Blood Mountain in partnership with tranzit. hu. Unless otherwise stated, events are free with prior booking and take place in English at Blood Mountain. For reservations: +36.1.326.1844 | +36.30.415.2123 |
[email protected] Tuesday 14 February, 6 to 9pm Screening of collective’s namesake trilogy: Otolith I, 2003; Otolith II, 2007; Otolith III, 2009 Introduction and discussion with the artists, Anjalika Sagar and Kodwo Eshun With breaks and refreshments provided Set between the 22nd century (I); today’s Mumbai and Chandigarh: India’s first planned city designed by Le Corbusier in the 1950s (II); and the fictional future of an unrealised Indian science fiction movie from 1967 (III), the work projects a mutant future, fusing fiction and non-fiction through the juxtaposition of documentary footage, archival materials and new imagery (colour, in English, total 118 mins).
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Saturday 3 March, 11am to 1pm Education programme: bilingual hands-on workshop led by Blood Mountain’s art educator in response to The Group’s new work. All materials supplied. Suitable for 6 to 12 year-olds. Cost: HUF 4000 (€15) Affiliated public and professional development programmes organised by tranzit. hu for the Free School of Art Theory and Practice initiative: Friday 3 February, 6 to 8pm Preparatory viewing: Chris Marker_La Jetée, 1963 and Sans Soleil, 1983 Introduction in Hungarian by Zsolt Sörés, leading Hungarian film critic Radical science fiction/fantasy films examining the role of time and memory in the development of Earth (b&w, in French with English subtitles, total 130 mins). venue: tranzit. hu office (Budapest 1065, Király utca 102, first floor) Saturday 11 February, 11am to 8pm Preparatory viewing: Peter Watkins_The Forgotten Faces, 1961 and La Commune (Paris, 1871), 2000; Introduction in Hungarian by Zsolt Sörés, leading Hungarian film critic A poetic reconstruction of the 1956 Hungarian revolution on the streets of Canterbury; and a tour-deforcetake on the heady days of post-revolution France (b&w, in French and English, total 362 mins). venue: tranzit. hu office (Budapest 1067, Király utca 102, first floor) Tuesday 21 February, 6pm Screening and artist-led reading: The Otolith Group_Anathema, 2011 Public event of Free School for Art Theory and Practice As The Group’s most recent work, it re-imagines the microscopic behaviour of liquid crystals undergoing turbulence as a sentient entity that possesses the fingertips and the eyes enthralled by the LCD touch-screens of communicative capitalism (colour, in English, 37 mins). venue: Ludwig Museum of Contemporary Art, lecture hall (1095 Budapest, Komor Marcell utca 1) Saturday 25 February, 10 am to 6pm Seminar with The Otolith Group: Daughter Products Private programme of Free School for Art Theory and Practice According to activist and critic Sabu Kohso, the meltdown of the three nuclear reactors at Fukushima Daiichi on 11 March 2011 signals a new phase in the war of the ‘global nuclear regime’ against all ‘other life forms.’ The seminar will examine the histories of artistic forms of abstraction in relation to the planetary existence of the ‘global nuclear regime’, especially in practices of abstraction that aim to produce forms of the audible and the visible in relation to the necropolitics and chronopolitics of radiation.
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This is a professional development opportunity to meet The Group and to gain in-depth understanding about its practice. Attendance by active participation and prior registration only. Please email motivation letter with proposal for visual and thematic contributions by 10 Feb:
[email protected] venue: tranzit. hu office (1067 Budapest, Király utca 102, first floor)
The Otolith Group (est. 2002 by Anjalika Sagar and Kodwo Eshun) is an award-winning
artist-led collective. Its name refers to the calcium carbonate microcrystal within the inner ear that plays an important role in maintaining bodily orientation and verticality. Working in video and film, The Group provides a platform for close readings of the image in contemporary culture. The Group works with media archives, histories of futurity and the legacies of non-alignment and tricontinentalism. The Group’s output also extends to writing, curating, and publishing. Their work includes Communists Like Us, 2006-10 (three screen performance, two-channel video and single channel video), Inner Time of Television, 2007 (collaborative installation with Chris Marker), The Otolith Trilogy, 2003-2009 (video), The Ghost of Songs: The Film Art of the Black Audio Film Collective, 2007 (exhibition and publication), Nervus Rerum, 2008 (video), Harun Farocki 22 Films: 1968-2009, 2009 (exhibition), Hydra Decapita, 2010 (video) and Anathema, 2011 (video). In 2010, The Group was nominated for The Turner Prize, Britain’s most prestigious contemporary art award. Solo exhibitions include Westfailure, Project 88, Mumbai (2011), A Lure a part Allure Apart, Betonsalon, Paris (2011), Thoughtform, MACBA, Barcelona, MAXXI, Rome (2010-11) and A Long Time Between Suns Parts I and II, Gasworks and The Showroom, London (2009). Group exhibitions include The British Art Show (2010), 29th Sao Paulo Biennale (2010), Manifesta 8 (2009) and Tate Triennale (2006). Videos by The Group can be viewed via LUX (lux.org.uk), Europe’s leading resource for artists-made films and videos. Blood Mountain’s residency programme provides the first opportunity for the collective to visit, work and present its practice to Central European audiences. otolithgroup.org
tranzit. hu (est. 2002 and directed by Dóra Hegyi) is the Budapest chapter of the Central
European curatorial network, tranzit.org: a dynamic, inter-disciplinary platform supporting processoriented, innovative and experimental projects. With affiliations in Bucharest, Bratislava, Prague and Vienna, the Budapest-based tranzit. hu champions art and ideas which are elsewhere underrepresented and excluded for reasons of content, trend or taste. It provides an anarchic safe place for mistakes’ and ‘flaws’ to flourish through mediation; enabling culture to be produced, not simply perceived, and values to be continually challenged and redefined. tranzit. hu believes that open thinking and exchange can lead to responsible critical and experimental attitude in contemporary life. Since 2006 the Free School for Art Theory and Practice programme supports the theoretical and practical development of the local arts scene through public events and invited seminars with leading international theoreticians and artists. The programme hinges on the belief that artistic and curatorial thinking create a surplus of knowledge and can benefit social discourse and contemporary life. Previous Free School participants include Jens Hoffmann (2006), Ulay (2007) and Ute Meta Bauer (2009). hu.tranzit.org For press and other inquiries: +36.1.326.1844 | +36.30.415.2123 |
[email protected]
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The Otolith Group_still from the performance Communists Like Us, Beirut 2010, © Houssam Mchaiemoh, 2010
The Otolith Group_still from Otolith I, 2003 (install)
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Projects Stories from Central Europe 4 to 30 October 2011 Stories from Central Europe celebrates Central Europe’s unique design heritage and addresses its future creative potential. It is curated in response to the 8th Budapest Design Week’s theme of Couleur Locale (Local Colour), which is a term borrowed from 19th Century French literary movement of Romanticism. Steeped in social realism and revised notions of nationhood, diversity and cultural identity, writers were encouraged to express dissatisfaction with contemporary issues and proposed new alternative inspired by foreign cultures and earlier periods. Stories from Central Europe focusses specifically on the two latter notions and presents a programme by an international line-up of contributors. They include Tom Sloan, industrial designer (AUS/HU); Fritz Haeg, artist-designer-activist (US); and the London-based collective, Technology Will Save US (Daniel Hirschmann, SA/UK and Bethany Koby US/UK). Stories from Central Europe is produced in association with Budapest Design week and with support from Lánchid 19 Hotel. Exhibition Three concept collections are presented as a tribute to Hungary’s ageing artisan practice, specialist manufacturing skills and the inherent quality of old world materials: The Luxus furniture range, The Sputnik lighting family and The Hungarian Traveller luggage collection. Designed by Tom Sloan in partnership with Ivan Moschlyak, all works are produced with the materials and artisan skills of contemporary Hungary. Opening: Tuesday 4 October, 6pm Public Programme Two evening talks explore the organisation’s current and future commitment to issues of design and the built environment and a series of daytime workshops, produced by Technology Will Save Us, encourage professionals, students and the general public to engage with contemporary design and technology at a grass-roots level. Tuesday 4 October: Talk_Tom Sloan Suitable for all age groups, 6 to 7pm Thursday 6 October: Workshop_Lumiphone For tertiary education students, 2 to 5pm Friday 7 October: Talk_Fritz Haeg Blood Mountain’s spring 2012 artist-in-residence presents Edible Estates, 6 to 7pm Saturday 8 October: Workshop_Electro Dough For 6 to 12 year-olds, 11am to 1pm Sunday 9 October: Workshop_Thirsty Plant For general design enthusiasts 16 years and older, 2pm to 5pm
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“The Satellite”, Sputnik Collection Ӏ © András Káré, 2011
Hungarian Traveller Collection (installation view) Ӏ © András Káré, 2011
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Workshop by Technology Will Save Us Ӏ © András Káré, 2011
Talk by Fritz Haeg Ӏ © András Káré, 2011
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Artists-in-Residence Asim Memishi: Tenets of Impermanent Value February 2011 resident 23 February - 3 April 20111 An Australian-Albanian by self-definition (b.1965 Australia, lives and works in Melbourne), Memishi’s work is a synthesis between architecture, ornament and history. His examination of everyday sign systems is conducted within a formalist, geometric language he calls ‘the cartography of the everyday’. Memishi is the recipient of the preeminent Theodore Urbach Prize (1994) and the Studio Residency Award at 200 Gertrude Street in Melbourne (1996), yet as a practicing artist he rarely exhibits by choice, opting instead to support Australia’s promising young talent as a guerilla gallerist. The exhibition presents Memishi’s new work and his residency is accompanied by a comprehensive education programme during his stay.
Asim Memishi: “Tenets of Impermanent Value” installation view, 2011 | © György Darabos, 2011
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Asim Memishi: “Tenets of Impermanent Value” installation view, 2011 | © György Darabos, 2011
Asim Memishi: “Tenets of Impermanent Value” installation view, 2011 | © György Darabos, 2011
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Asim Memishi: “Tenets of Impermanent Value” installation view, 2011 | © György Darabos, 2011
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Asim Memishi: “Tenets of Impermanent Value” installation view, 2011 | © György Darabos, 2011
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Asim Memishi: “Tenets of Impermanent Value” installation view, 2011 | © Blood Mountain, 2011
Asim Memishi: “Tenets of Impermanent Value” installation view, 2011 | © György Darabos, 2011
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Diango Hernández: ‘a kiss, a hat, a stamp’ November 2010 resident 17 November - 30 January 2010 Hernández’s exhibition pays tribute to Budapest’s tradition of independent creative practices and its rich culture of second-hand goods. Hernández uses a process of finding, assembling, creating and re-appropriating materials sourced from flea markets, antique dealerships and a specialist artisan workshop. His exhibition focuses on fragments rather than whole objects, and edges as opposed to surface areas; allowing found objects to take on new forms and new meanings in their revised settings. The exhibition comprises two sculptures, two wall paintings, a collage and a room installation in collaboration with Valéria Fazekas, a key member of Hungary’s diminishing artisan community. A poignant comment on the city’s past and present is made by positioning Fazekas’ 20 unique head pieces in shades of grey and black on an aged bookshelf, juxtaposed with original press prints of industry, collective sports and new architecture of the bygone Soviet era. The comment is further emphasised by BMF’s location on an Ottoman era battleground and by its striking setting in a former family estate designed by a prominent architect of the Habsburg Empire.
Diango Hernández: ‘a kiss, a hat, a stamp’, 2010 (detail) | © Diango Hernández, 2010
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Diango Hernández: ‘a kiss, a hat, a stamp’, 2010 (detail) | © Diango Hernández, 2010
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Artist’s statement “If the Danube runs faster, glory and sadness will also do. Tom Sloan [BMF Trustee] showed the Budapest we want to remember and we will not forget, Jade Niklai introduced me to the mysterious hats of Valéria Fazekas and now, after three weeks of a very intimate research through Budapest’s antique and furniture dealers, empty streets and wonderfully arranged storage rooms, I am delighted that Blood Mountain Foundation is opening ‘a kiss, a hat, a stamp’.”
Artist’s biography As a native Cuban (b. 1970), Hernández pursued his studies in industrial design at the Superior Institute of Design in Havana (1994) and a year later founded the art collective, Ordo Amoris Cabinet (The Order of Love Cabinet). He commemorated Cuba’s fight against Soviet dependence in the 1990s with ‘Sugar and Water’ and ‘The Provisional Show’, unprecedented and ongoing displays of reappropriated and quintessentially Cuban everyday objects. With increased possibilities to travel and exhibit, he began to formulate his independent artistic language and ongoing relationship with Europe. Following extended stays in Italy and Spain, Hernández moved to Düsseldorf (Germany) in 2003, where he continues to live and work. BMF is grateful for Hernández’s participation as its founding artist-in-residence. Hernández brings great insight to BMF from his previous participation in residency programmes, namely the distinguished Banff Centre for the Arts, Alberta (Canada, 1997), the Ludwig Foundation for International Art, Aachen (Germany, 1998), Artpace, San Antonio (USA, 2001) and Frac des Pays de Loire (France, 2007). He is also the recipient of the 2007 Premio ICONA Award in Verona (Italy) and the 2008 Rubens Förderpreis der Stadt Siegen (Germany). Hernández has exhibited widely, including the 51st Venice Art Biennale (Arsenale, 2005), Biennale of Sydney (2006), Munich’s Haus der Kunst (2010) and more recently at London’s Hayward Gallery (2010). Currently showing at the Garage Center for Contemporary Art in Moscow, his first retrospective is scheduled for 2011 at the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Italy’s Rovereto. Hernández is represented by Alexander and Bonin in New York, Pepe Cobo y Cia in Madrid, Paolo Maria Deanesi Gallery in Rovereto, Galerie Michael Wiesehöfer in Cologne, Galerie Barbara Thumm in Berlin and Stella Lohaus Gallery in Antwerp. www.diango.net
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Diango Hernández: ‘a kiss, a hat, a stamp’, 2010 in collaboration with Valéria Fazekas (detail) | © Diango Hernández, 2010
Diango Hernández: ‘a kiss, a hat, a stamp’, 2010 (detail) | © Diango Hernández, 2010
Diango Hernández: ‘a kiss, a hat, a stamp’, 2010 (detail) | © Diango Hernández, 2010
Blood Mountain Foundation
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Valéria Fazekas Following her studies at the Hungarian Academy of Crafts and Design (1987), her early work focused on leather and wearable objects of all shapes and sizes, before turning the language of headwear in to her speciality. Her diverse use of materials, textures and colours is coupled with a signature style of multi-dimensional perspectives: allowing her simple geometric forms to be considered from varied possibilities. While she exhibits locally and internationally on a regular basis, this will be Fazekas’ first representation in the context of fine arts, rather than fashion or design. Her exhibited works are made of felt, comprise the only contemporary elements in the exhibition and include a new piece commissioned by Hernández. www.valeriafazekas.com
Diango Hernández: ‘a kiss, a hat, a stamp’, 2010 in collaboration with Valéria Fazekas (detail) | © Diango Hernández, 2010
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Publication a kiss, a hat, a stamp Exhibition catalogue of November 2010 resident artist Diango Hernández Editor: Diango Hernández and Jade Niklai Language: English Format: 21 x 28 cm Feature: 70 pages, 70 colour images, softcover ISBN: 978-3-942405-28-7 Price: €24.90 + international postage and handling Published by Distanz Verlag, Berlin 2010 Produced by Paolo Maria Daenesi Gallery, Rovereto For a preview and to purchase: http://www.distanz.de/en/books/new-publications/detail/backPID/new-publications/products/diangohernandez.html
Exhibition catalogue, front and back cover
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Public Event Diango Hernández Tuesday 18 January 2011, 6 to 7pm Hernández reflects on his experience as BMF’s inaugural artist-in-residence and provides Hungarian audiences for the first with a comprehensive introduction to his practice. Quote from artist’s blog: inspire-me-again.com/2011/01/27/fragments-floating-under-the-river “Recently I took part in a residency program in Budapest, I was living in Buda for a month and from Buda I walked often down hill to Pest with a soft smile touching all over my face. The city carries a gentle silence, for moments I thought I was taking part in a silent movie, in one of those movies that once were screened in the glorious New York Café at the Pest side of the city. I walked a lot, I saw the Danube and everyday I practiced the art of remembering. To remember is obligatory in Budapest and when you remember in Budapest you might not want to comeback because in Budapest, like in Havana, the present is willing to happen only if a better future comes by. With subtle care I took memories into my hands and with joy I decided to focus exclusively on fragments. During a month I didn’t pay attention to anything else but just fragments. Little pieces that I know once belonged to a complete picture, to a picture that once made complete sense.” (27 Jan 2011)
Diango Hernández artist talk | © Blood Mountain, 2011
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Education Past Activities_Primary and Secondary School Students Camera Obscura_ 2 & 9 April 2011 11am to 1pm at Blood Mountain Foundation With the support of Ábel Szalontai, Photographer and Professor at the Moholy-Nagy University of Applied Arts in Budapest, BM presents an unprecedented programme, whereby the very building is converted in to a camera and participants learn about the origins and process of image-making. Especially relevant in this digital age. For six to 12 year-olds. Geometry_12 February 2011 11am to 1pm at Blood Mountain Foundation This workshop explores the geometric language of BMF’s February 2011 artist-in-residence, Asim Memishi. This is a bilingual event (English and Hungarian), led by the guest artist with the support of a qualified art educator. For six to 12 year-olds. Workshop with Asim Memishi_18 February 2011 All day at British International School in Budapest Part of Asim Memishi’s residency in February 2011, a full-day workshop was concieved with several school groups, ranging from kindergarden to secondary school students at the British International School in Budapest. The workshops are inspired by Memishi’s own practice, which is committed to exploring the relationship between power and resistence through the visual language of geometry. For six to 12 year-olds. Found Objects _ 20 & 27 November 2010 11am to 1pm at Blood Mountain Foundation Part of Diango Hernández’s residency in November 2010, students explore ideas of Conceptual Art, concentrating on fragments rather than whole objects to enable their works to take on new forms and new meanings in their revised settings. For six to 12 year-olds. Workshop with Diango Hernández_17 November 2010 10am to 2pm at the British International School in Budapest Part of Diango Hernández’s residency in November 2010, a workshop concieved with secondary school students taking studio art as part of their International Baccalaureate diploma at the British
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International School in Budapest. Students were asked to collect found objects of sentimental nature and to follow Diango’s processes of assembling, creating and re-appropriating them in new contexts. Following a preparatory lesson and a lecture by the artist, they were encouraged to engage with Conceptual Art through application. A campus-wide exhibition, accompanied by artist’s statements and exhibition labels completes the project and contributes to their end of year portfolio. For 16 to 18 year-olds. Pop Art _ 29 May & 05 June 2010 11am to 1pm at Blood Mountain Foundation Following a brief introduction to the principles of Pop Art, the group creates self-portraits in the photographic and painted style of Andy Warhol and Claes Oldenburg-inspired artworks from discarded, painted and decorated pieces of clothing. For six to 12 year-olds. Sculpture _ 06 & 20 March 2010 11am to 1pm at Blood Mountain Foundation Using basic materials (large format paper, staples, scissors, pencils and coloured paint), students create a detail of an artwork they had recently seen and liked (in person or during our in-house slide show). Interestingly, most artworks were figurative and held uncanny resemblance to their creators in size, shape and appearance. For six to 12 year-olds. Masks _ 23 & 30 January 2010 11am to 1pm at Blood Mountain Foundation In anticipation of carnival season, which coincides with local pagan traditions, we examine a plethora of traditional masks (Egyptian, Venetian, tribal, performing arts, Bauhaus, sports and military) and how they can translate in to contemporary visual representations. Using recycled materials and Plaster of Paris, the results were extraordinary creations that taught participants about materialistic challenges, alongside complex issues surrounding the representation of artefacts and masks as objects of use. For six to 12 year-olds.
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Camera Obscura workshop with Ábel Szalontai | © Ábel Szalontai/BMF
Geometry Workshop with Asim Memishi | © Blood Mountain, 2011
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BMF_Found Objects secondary school programme (BISB students with Diango Hernández) | © Blood Mountain, 2010
BMF_Found Objects primary school programme (Sára Losonci and Dana Krasznai) | © Blood Mountain, 2010
Blood Mountain Foundation
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BMF_Masks (Panni Váradi, Péter Hecker and partcipants), 2010 | © Blood Mountain, 2010
BMF_Pop Art (Panni Váradi, Lance Spencer), 2010 | © Blood Mountain, 2010
BMF_Sculpture (Luca Gerö), 2010 | © Blood Mountain, 2010
