Dear Oxana,
Month ago I've tried to establish with you a conversation via
Facebook. I get from you only one answer - that you do not curate all
participants, but only MOE group.
You have also mentioned that you have had a "talk" to Ministry of
Culture of Moldova --> those are your words "Я высказывала свое мнение
Министерству Культуры, что Венецианский BIENNALE это выставка
современного искусства.... Мое мнение осталось не замеченным!!!!" (I
expressed my opinion to the Ministry of Culture that Venice BIENNALE
is an exhibition of contemporary art .... My opinion remains unnoticed!!)
Could you tell us little more about that fact?
In what way you did it? Have you meet someone representing Ministry of
Culture during your visit to Chisinau? Did you write some letter? To
whom in particular was it adressed?
This would really help and give some extra power to our arguments,
which we addressed to Ministry of Culture of Moldova. In case it's a
letter, could you forward it (or a scaned copy of it) to us?
Thank you in advance!
----- Forwarded Message ----
*From:* Macari Lucia <[email protected]>
*To:* "cultura tinerilor, arta, politici culturale / youth culture,
art & cultural policies" <[email protected]>
*Sent:* Thu, April 21, 2011 8:21:20 PM
*Subject:* Re: [Oberlist] Moldova Pavillion @ Venice Biennale 2011 issue
Dear friends and colleagues,
We, artists from Moldova, took the curage and get in direct contact
with OXANA MALEEVA - curator of Moldova Pavillion at Venice. We would
like to make this conversation widely open and invite everybody to
follow and actively participate to our discussion.
Please, write your comments and ask her question.
Just fell free to add the following email address ( [email protected]
) next to the email address of the main recipient, because she is not
connected to Oberlist network.
First, get in aquantance with our preview dialog --->
________________________________
...
From: Dima Riba <[email protected]>
To: Info Artapart <[email protected]>
Sent: ...
Subject: for Oxana Maleeva
Dear Ms. Oxana Maleeva,
This is a PUBLIC message within I would like to inform you that an
entire artistic community of Moldova and in particular community that
activates in the frame of Contemporaty Art is expecting an answer from
you.
We would like to understand the way of strange unification of
commerial brand Moe and Mark Verlan.
1. What is your strategy as curator of Moldovan pavillion at Venice
Biennale 2011 ?
2. What consist the particular strategy of project TRANSNISTRIA that
made possible to put together in one exhibition one artist and two
people (based in Italy) without any eligibility to name themselves
artists?
3. What are your connection with Mark Verlan, who said that he didn't
meet any curators that would represent Venice Biennale?
4. How it happens that you are a curator from St.Petersbourg based in
Italy, but curate an exhibition that represent Moldova Republic?
I kindly ask you to reply. You may take it as a public interview.
In case you decide to remain silent, we are going to take it as an
ignoration of artistic interests by you as professional curator.
Thank you in advance!
________________________________
From: Info Artapart <[email protected]>
To: Dima Riba <[email protected]>
Sent: ...
Subject: for Oxana Maleeva
Dear Dima,
I will reply to your questions one by one.
Dear Ms. Oxana Maleeva,
This is a PUBLIC message within I would like to inform you that an
entire artistic community
of Moldova and in particular community that activates in the frame of
Contemporaty Art is
expecting an answer from you.
We would like to understand the way of strange unification of
commerial brand Moe and Mark
Verlan.
1. What is your strategy as curator of Moldovan pavillion at Venice
Biennale 2011?
I don’t understand why you are talking about “strategy”. We simply had
the idea of trying to
create a Moldovan Pavilion at the Venice Biennial for the first time,
without any particular
financial or political connections or “strategies”. Surprisingly we
have managed to do it,
though on a budget of zero. Without more financial and/or state
support it is not possible to
do a more ambitious project that might offer, as you seem to wish, a
more comprehensive
overview of the art scene in Moldova today. Which brings up another
issue, however… namely
that there is no reason to assume that the pavilion of a given country
at the Venice Biennale
somehow “represents” the art scene of that country. It’s an
interesting theme, and it is part of
what we want to address in our project.
2. What consist the particular strategy of project TRANSNISTRIA that
made possible to put
together in one exhibition one artist and two people (based in Italy)
without any eligibility to
name themselves artists?
The TRANSNISTRIA project is what we, through our own unremunerated
efforts, have been
able to salvage of an initial idea. It even has a sort of symbolic
isolation about it, in its location
and its approach (as you will see if you come to Venice). Why are you
not also discussing the
issues of the rest of Moldova’s participation at the Biennale? The
entire process of initiating
Moldova’s presence in Venice was quite complex. Perhaps you should
look at the bigger
picture before drawing conclusions.
3. What are your connection with Mark Verlan, who said that he didn't
meet any curators that
would represent Venice Biennale?
Maybe it’s your English, but I don’t think I understand the question.
Perhaps it is answered in
our general statement (below).
4. How it happens that you are a curator from St.Petersbourg based in
Italy, but curate an
exhibition that represent Moldova Republic?
The world of contemporary art is completely globalized. There is
nothing unusual about
such situations of interaction among people from different countries,
even in a specific
national pavilion context. Just as there is nothing unusual about
interaction between different
disciplines… it seems rather old-fashioned to insist on definitions of
who is an artist, who is a
fashion designer, who is a musician, etc. One of the main evolutions
taking place in the world
of contemporary art is precisely this kind of breaking down of
disciplinary and geographical
barriers.
I kindly ask you to reply. You may take it as a public interview.
In case you decide to remain silent, we are going to take it as an
ignoration of artistic interests
by you as professional curator.
Thank you in advance!
I don’t really appreciate the slightly threatening tone of your
communications. Your interest in
what is happening is understandable and laudable, but your veiled
insinuations regarding the
genesis of the project are not appropriate or understandable at all.
Sincerely, Oxana Maleeva
STATEMENT BY MOE ART GROUP
First of all we would like to thank you for your interest in our
project. Your questions
raise certain points that could be better expressed as not-so-personal
issues, and they
are issues we take very seriously. For example: just how does the
process of creation,
curating, selection and organization of national pavilions at the
Venice Biennale (and
other major art events) really work? Often there are hidden or not so
hidden economic
and political agendas, situations of personal favoritism,
discrepancies regarding
the quality and quantity of the work presented. These are issues that
need to be
addressed by all countries and by the organizational machinery of such
art events
themselves… and by the entire international art system. Our exhibition
is, in part,
about just these issues and, ironically, is probably one of the few
situations at the
Biennale that is without any hidden financial or political backing…
“TRANSINISTRIA” is an art project by MOE Art Group, which consists of
4 people: Aliona Kononova, Igor Avramenko, Mark Verlan and Oxana Maleeva
as curator. We have worked together on this project from the initial
idea to the
bureaucratic process to the realization. TRANSNISTRIA is just one part
of Moldova’s
participation at the Venice Biennale this year. In a certain sense, it
is what remains of
a more ambitious initial curatorial-artistic project, after the
various compromises and
filtering involved in the organizational effort of establishing an
official state pavilion.
We are convinced that art and culture have no frontiers or national
boundaries. This is
one aspect of doing an exhibition called TRANSNISTRIA… a
self-proclaimed country
inside a country, a self-proclaimed pavilion within a pavilion,
something hyperlocal yet
almost universal.
We believe in the importance of what we are doing, and are investing
our own time,
energy and resources in making it happen.
We hope these thoughts help to clarify the situation, and of course we
welcome further
dialogue with the artistic community in general, in Moldova and all
over the world. This
is the first time Moldova is participating at the Biennale, thanks to
our idea, our efforts
and our personal investment of energy. Other artists could have done
the same thing.
They (you) just didn’t do it. Maybe next time…
In any case, soon an official website and a Facebook page will be
launched for the
“Transnistria” art project, where you will be able to make comments,
ask questions and
express your opinions.
MOE Art Group
___________________________________________________________
Re: for Oxana Maleeva
...
From: Dima Riba <[email protected]>
...
Add to Contacts
To: Info Artapart <[email protected]>
Dear Oxana,
Thank you for reply!
I'm not trying to offence you. Please, be more tollerant - you are
maybe the only one who could, moreless, clarify for us (artists from
Moldova) the created situation in an easyest way.
First, about Mark Verlan - an answer like "I don't understand it
because of your english" sounds boring - what is your connection with
M.Verlan could mean only one thing: Where, when and how did you meet
him? He sais that he didn't meet nobody who would introduce himself as
a curator working for VB.
We (his friends and colleags) have had a strange impression that
somebody tries to use him (and his creation) for representing other
people - simply saying, somebody had an intention to still his
work/works! Now, after a slight tochering of you and other
"participants" his name at least appeared on the list of that
"art"-formation .. But things can not emerge in such way! This is not
normal!!!!
"We simply had the idea of trying to create a Moldovan Pavilion at the
Venice Biennial for the first time" --> this also does not convice! VB
is not some local project but an international forum with history.
Isn't it? And who are those WE? Are you a part of them? Why then,
during your visit in Chisinau, you didn't visit Center of Contemporary
Arts, for example? Or at least just Mark studio? You intended to put
an artist in your exhibition which you have not any idea? My opinion
is that this is at least not professional!
By the way, in 2007 as well like now, a Moldova Pavillion appeared at
VB with some weird unnoun artist. In 2009 as well an italian macho
wanted to promote in this way his moldovan girlfriend. You see? This
seems already to happen in regular way! But the situation in 2011,
what is happening now with Mark artworks - this is just to much! This
is abbusive!
We are not discussing the rest of participants because they are not
part of your project. Center for Contemporary ARt in Chisinau already
have sent an open letter to Ministery of Culture of Rep.Moldova. We
know that this letter would not change nothing, because contemporary
art in Moldova is far from being established, is not supported in any
forms by State and is ignorated by Ministry of Culture. This is maybe
our deal as artists to work out the fact that our Ministry does not
pay attention to our existence. This is totally representing Moldova -
as well as biggest part of population, artists have to survive by
themselves because the State has no money to pay and no work to offer
in their own country.
I know the notion "globalization", but I think it has nothing to do
with our situation - there are an organised contemporary art community
in Chisinau, Moldova. This community is represented by Center of
Contemporary Art KSAK www.art.md <http://www.art.md> which is quite
known in many european art networks. Would be normal if an
international curator (like you) would first get in aquantance with
the context of geographical space he's going to represent.
We hope for your understanding!
________________________________________________________________
From: Info Artapart <[email protected]>
To: Dima Riba <[email protected]>
Sent: Tue, April 21, 2011 5:38:18 PM
Subject: for Oxana Maleeva
Dear Dima,
now your position is much clearer. It seems to be based, in part, on a
misunderstanding. I didn't get your question about Mark because I
obviously DID visit Mark's studio (we spent a very enjoyable entire
day with him there) and I was very impressed by his work, which I
already knew about thanks to Aliona and Igor. The idea of Art Group
MOE is not a sudden development, the people involved have been working
on this collaboration for years. We are convinced that Mark's work
deserves to be shown in an international context. There is no
"strategy" of exploitation!
For the rest, as I wrote previously, I agree that the mechanisms of
promotion and visibility of art (not only in Moldova) should be
questioned and challenged. I wish you success in your efforts to
improve the situation of contemporary artists in Moldova in the
future. I hope our initiative will help, not hinder, such efforts.
Just to do this relatively small project has not been a simple
process, and it necessarily had to be quite limited in its scope.
I hope this clarifies matters at least a bit... and I hope that our
initiative in Venice can also, in its small way, become a forum for
discussion of the situation to which you refer. Again --- not an easy
task!
Thank you also for your understanding, best regards, OM.
_______________________________________________
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