Feminine_Fantasies

Contemporary art in Georgia applies to western funds oriented to the east European countries to maintain itself. Only when the funding program ideology admits difference, diversity and it complies with the project team conceptual, emotional abstracting, it is possible to create own critical and emotional relations with outer world and society

Mama Cash is the organization for women striving for a peacefull and just world. It supports women's groups with self-initiated projects.

On this background a question appears against “the feminine fantasies” – what is the role of modern Georgian art images in construction of gender identity? The indicator of answer appears to be representation of cultural, sociological and anthropologic sensations of feminine group coming from private and historical routs. So-called “Gender display” that has fixed efforts of life contemplation and artistic disobedience.

When you put your soul in the elegy  “Beyond the veil” and give  deeper  meaning to everyday life images or place your sense in photographic images turned to ”Nijio’s”  intellectual  and physical  partners  and want to  comprehend  their physical or sensual source, or  when  you  reveal   balanced  and   ironical  “New collection”  with  colored accents,  you try to deconstruct   cultural  rubber  stamps and stereotypes,  steal  disharmonious images from the existence rhythm and  introduce   gender  relations  in the given  social reality  fragment.

In this fragment the artists are not voyeurs and all is on them: «transformation» of still life of old underclothes and  accessories (bodice, stockings, buttons, swimsuits) is a nervous energy of genetical origin; declaration of prisoner women’s  “guilt”  is a private anonymous archetype;  quoting of fly with “the beautiful dress” is interpreted according to own aesthetic and existential expressions or ironical analysis of a woman’s perfect body cult that should be “appreciated”, when ideological-colorful provocation takes place and afterwards comprehension with video image nature. These are visual assumptions of search of identity.

This is some performance too, where “a woman of 1, 64 cm” visualizes forcibly her intimate life on her body – smears her face with a lipstick, pull outs eyebrows with pincers and lets spectators into the mirror of her own feelings.

Marking a woman’s body with soft-tip pen reincarnates in different metaphorical images to forget that it happens on a woman’s body and that other corporal and perceptible functions may exist here, in this geographic point.

This is important.

 Alexandra Gabunia. The project “Feminine Fantasies”. 2005

DIgital_Story

Presentation of poster art in its traditional form would be considered outdated unless there is not demand of existence of visual art itself. Its activity regime creates synthesized mixture of expression for new presentation of modern language. And the project’s basic concept seen in perspective of actual art, appeal of inner human rights inscribed in “technological view”, guaranteed for digital form, determines ideological side of modern poster. Thus content frame of the project “Digital Story” considers determination and development of actual messages by application of ideological and technological resources, where concepts of different forms are accumulated in common space.

From its part ideological-artistic demand of this form clarifies basic essence of modern poster, its format. Artists search new space for self advertisement, that from its part will become adequate of private or social life. One thing, one story from chaotic mass becomes priority, where in spite of egoistical personal admiration existence of conceptual idea gets its distinct forms and is fixed in a form of position. The intrigue put in a content format of modern poster resembles toy-polygon. Psychological concentration directed at things leads us to dramatic perception of main things or events that transfers at times to verbal expressions and at other times to material images. The process-metaphor that frequently reproduces canonical poster form by textual and expressive gesticulation, creates new sacral images from fragments of old format with stylish accents and crowns with the attempt of turning modern poster slogan into a chrestomathie.

To open, reach, present anything banal, concealed and cryptic, important and unimportant; transform carefully selected and chosen events; add them at times ironical, pathetic, intimate or amorous spirits, when the process of thinking, watching and getting to the truth appears on the open poster horizon. Following this format authors determine modern poster thinking, where involvement of the society in the active environment of law, appeal or rejection offered by them, guaranteed for authors rights, gives possibility to accentuate urgency and free attitude towards the themes chosen by them. An artist who feels keenly specificity of the theme tries to present “poster truth” and reveal personal view by positional assessment ability. Composition rhythm of modern poster space determines its ideological urgency. A poster content side and its artistic expressiveness are meant for interaction with a spectator. Authors individual “view-appeal” expresses logicality of coexistence of ideological isolation on the one hand and poster publicity on the other hand.

Author’s attempt for actual art to transform artistic and vital images by its moral concept in order to urgency notion obtains new meaning. Where the artists any action will be directed to involve the society in these processes and filling borders of such space may be considered as authorization of new synthesized poster measures.

Nino Gujabidze. The Project “Digital Story”. 2006.

Actual Dreams

Georgia is a remarkably multinational country. A wide range of local, formative, multiethnic, Caucasian cultural phenomena characterizes it. Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia is the traditional center of the Caucasus. Within Tbilisi the art-life reflects the full range of its multicultural layers. Tbilisi accumulates the wide spectrum of Euro-Asian world-outlook and philosophy. The local and imported characteristics interact and become mutually beneficial. The specific cultural phenomenon, which is socially international, politically pluralistic, and aesthetically synthetic, finds its origins in the international and democratic space. This pluralistic environment determines the democratic nature and launches the intergrational tendencies in today's new Georgian fine and visual arts.

 Multiple stereotypes of the Georgian character and life-style were created during its three thousand years history. Among them the most interesting in Georgia is the way the blending of these multiple components creates an organic whole. The word organic is the key. However in the last ten years emigration and the destructive processes of civil war damaged this multiethnic and cultural infrastructure.

 The post Soviet period is unique because it allows this organic history to be concretized into what is called 'Actual Dreams.'  An 'Actual Dream' is a means of taking historical memory and fact into the present. Because all the artists involved in this project come from within the multiethnic culture of modern Tbilisi - these 'dreams' evolve from similar pasts into a different future. This project will then unite them together.  

The theme of the exhibition will be the same for everyone. Their individual vision will add diversity and create a truly experimental environment.

 At first sight the title 'Actual Dreams' may sound vague, but this is deliberate. In fact it allows many different ideas  to build on each other into a complementary whole. The flexible concept of the 'dream' allows it to be free from the socio/political influence. Artists are thus able to fully investigate and express personal and private sensation.

 An Actual Dream is not dependent on historical truth, but it is caused by it. It is a true reflection of today's cultural reality.

 Tbilisi 2002

Back

In  Contemporary World or How to Live One’s Own Life

Each epoch is distinguished by actuality and dynamics. The representative of each epoch considers it his own time. The phrase “our time” always provokes the sense of past. Though in the past people also used to say: ”our time”. The only thing that might be said about the past is that the habits of past time are slightly different from contemporary days’.

For us the XX century is still in the uncompleted “past” or in “present” which is stretched in the space of time. But the “future” seems to be other epoch, at least for our millennium.

One thing is undoubtable, that all the charm of our era, in the conditions of human self-expression, aims and sense of life is inspired by the desire to gain freedom.  _ We, in our time _ “to live with one’s own life” - means unconditional freedom for Marcell Duchamp.  Within this unconditional freedom - in the context of moral category - developed a new type of a person, who is characterized by freedom, existential sensation and who is unconsciously independent from the fate of the world. The modern art, expressed by three hypostasis - avangard, trans-avangard and postmodernism made us witnesses of the hard and euphorial process of trespassing the so called “refined art” and bigoted moral of the stereotypes of “Old Testament”.

If the society is discriminating the free self-expression, this situation must be stopped by every means. Perhaps that’s why being an artist in modern world is position rather than profession.

In any case when we contemplate past, behind the veil of millenniums, we discover that the cognitive process of alternative and unofficial branches of art has the background of perception freedom and sensation as a categorical imperatives. So experienced and felt freedom gives charm to the epoch and events.

This position makes us think about such future, which is not much different from the present, though we should expect more dynamism of constructive and destructive processes. In any case the priorities of expressing free will gives society the opportunity of progress.

The most characteristic feature of XX century’s art credo is the discreditation of traditional values and the plenitude of valuable categories of every day aspects, placing the cultural and philosophical-religious semantics and nonstandard infrastructures in the context of every day life. So, beside the Greek Amphora, Pompean nude figures and Chinese fan may seem refined: iron, ironing board, kitchen knives and suite of  sleeping cushions. From this point of view a tally, numbers painted on human or on animal bodies, the process of fixing intimate hygiene and the monitor of corresponding size, placed between the open legs of a woman look especially  fascinating. Ways and means of expression are  not limited by any cannons, style and esthetic clichés. Choice, structure and concept parameters of characterization are determined only by internal necessity. To feel the present, its charm means to take the present  as it is in reality. It allows not to grieve about the past, not to fear for the future, because, the less we try to manipulate with time and force the given situation - negate or confirm it,- the more we are imbued with occasions and events.

Iliko Zautashvili      Documentary film
October 20, 1999

The contemporary art has made an important claim in the search of new aesthetics, having no precedent.

The proximity of human mind to the cosmopolitan area made transparent the borders between art and life. The so called ‘New Wave’ with its innovating ideas, aspirations, passions and economic-technological progress is the direct ‘receiver’  of fundamental life problems.

 In generally the development of a new language of art always endeavors to disclose the primary true work of this language. So far its development is intrinsically justified process, reflecting the cultural level of the society. The new life gives rise to new passions, new aspirations. The modern art language is loaded by extraordinary expressive means, cataclysms take place, resulting in the change of forms  a cliches.

Generally the necessity of a new art language development is explained by one more essential reason – at the time of radical changes of social-economic conditions the human psychics also undergoes the change, arise  new sensations, feelings. This novice demands the new expression of world with visual and technological methods.  There appears a new fashion of plastic substances, nourishing modern forms. The system  ‘upholding’ art from the day of its origin, gradually disappears. It is replaced by the ever-changing, variating system of values, with radically different expressive and emotional charge.

Being the inseparable attributes of an everyday life, technical achievements  change the psychic of a man, give him the illusion of being universal and ‘almighty.’ As a result, we see the striving to break the ancient autonomous forms of art, such as painting, sculpture, music, poetry and to create instead universal synthetic forms oriented on time and space dynamics.

 The quiet life is no more. Speed is the constant form of modern life. Gradually the perception of fixed images is being lost; the aesthetics of calm static forms are pressed by  the  dynamic  action. The main aim of the new art is the overlapping of  art  categories (colour, plasticity, volume, texture, form, sound, rhythm. The colour acquires a new  quality of sound; its plastic volume is revealed by space signs; sound appears as the dynamic  intensifier and often even the ‘receiver’ of plasticity, texture, spatiality).

The loading of the constituent parts of art thinking with unusual functions, the new quality of their synthesizing, the attempt to disclose their primary  possibilities often result in opposite outcome. Perfection  and harmony of the object’ of art is replaced by one dominant sensation excited while observing  this ‘object’. Spiritual, rational and aesthetic  harmonic synthesis is replaced by hypersensualism and at times by tedious analytical concept, which is the adequate manifestation of disbalanced, unsteady new life.

The material world is constantly changing and passing from one existential form into other, in order to regain its primary possibilities. The weakening of human strive for spiritual, as the principal dominant, and absolute – as the highest validity, interpretation of the free will, gives rise to the illusion that everything is allowed and that the area of action is infinite. In art the strain organized vertical of searching is replaced by the relaxed horizontal. It is a kind of going back to primeval passions, the attempt of manifestation of these passions in the frames of art. The returning of the cycle  to the starting point of time and space with new aesthetic and experimental gains may be a hidden sign of new uprise, because this cycle is assimilated with human subconscious. And the subconscious is a remarkable treasure, that enables us to grasp and perceive the archetypes.                                                                                                       

Nino Gujabidze.

October 20, 1999.

Artimiges

New art tendencies, technologies and forms which emerged in the thick of social-politic, revolutionary, technical or cultural cataclysms gave rise to totally new aesthetic phenomenon. Different world view, with regard to contemporary set of emotions expressed in swift reaction of the modern artist towards actual processes and at the bound of XX-XXI centuries established new images and priority spheres of modern art. Communication system of the artist and the society is considered as an adequate of personal and social life condition, where human rights are in general based on the same values that is actual for the modern artist.

A large portion of the Georgian population has adopted a passive attitude toward citizens’ rights as granted under the Constitution. An accessible, popular approach can help remind citizens that they are full members of society, and of ways to protect their rights and dignity. This project employs modern visual and fine arts media to communicate to Georgian citizens the importance of individual liberties.

 One of the goals of the project is to present concepts of individual liberty through the eyes of Georgian artists. Through imagery and sometimes irony, artists will promote ethical standards and address the concepts of individuality and community. Interaction with citizens through public performances and exhibitions will involve the public and help them appreciate ideas presented in the accompanying artwork.

 This project also highlights the role of painters, artists and other cultural actors in solving important social issues. Painters, designers and photographers will create media and present their work in person to the public in different regions of Georgia. Print media c representations depicting concepts of individual liberty will be presented in regions, where the population is often isolated from the country’s social-political life and cultural sphere.

Against a background of past, present and future values, interaction of relations and facilities established during the last decade, one of the most important issue is freedom. In this context freedom may become a point of consideration - in the intimate and social fields; freedom of speech and freedom of choice, self-determination, freedom of conscience and political freedom. In this line human, pluralistic, pacific values become priorities - against revanchism, nationalism and religious inadmissibility.

Georgian centuries-old historical-cultural processes has been developing on the bases of these values. Unfortunately, social-political changes of recent years made these values uncertain. One is undeniable - in last thousands of years the conditions of man's self-expression, aims and principles of life is inspired by desire to obtain freedom. But if the society is full of contradictions and groundless conflicts from the point of view of self-expression, we should try to dissipate this baselessness.

The purpose of the project "Society and Art Images" is to become an important lever in order to overcome stereotypes existing between Georgian society and new values by applying fine and visual art facilities to the maximum extent.

As we can see from our everyday life, only legislative declarations, strengthening of democratic institutions, etc. are insufficient, if the society will not perceive and realize

Legal nihilism is still strong in wide society of Georgia. It is impossible to establish civil society without protecting and recognizing priority of human rights. And this significantly depends on the degree of legal consciousness and activity of the society.

Ideology and strategy of the project is addressed to overcome this problem. Legal culture may be raised based on specifics of contemporary fine and visual art facilities. After acquainting with artists participating in the project, their concepts and works it will be clear that we deal with a very wide spectrum of materials.

Personal individuality, originality of artists, peculiar range of their works and concepts will create rich propagandistic-cultural space.

One group of artists participating in the project will be oriented towards the above mentioned problems, on the basis of which totally new works will be presented together with the old ones.

In art circles contemporary, fine and visual art otherwise is called actual art; it is also known that "be a contemporary artist is rather a position than a profession" - therefore actuality of the program concept completely coincides with Georgian contemporary fine and visual art principles and tendencies.

The concept - "Society and Art Images" - is a working formula. Works created on its basis exaggeratedly express purposeful activities for introducing progressive principles in Georgia - stylistic peculiarities of the epoch. The artists private position towards actual processes will be prioritized.

Mentioned position is characterized by a wide figurative and ideological range. The important issues of human rights indicate to the world existing beyond stereotypes converted to contemporary art language, where everything is deeper and more simple than cliches difficult to accept.

The project by its specifics is a synthetic combination of adjacent fields of different visual media and fine arts - exhibition, collective and individual activities - in painting, video and photo art, object, design, serigraphy, text, space installation fields.

The project is joint activity in the form of one program, the priority of which is collaboration of on the one hand initiative group and on the other hand the art-group with the society. This collaboration means passing over theoretical and practical experience matured in artists' and art critics' circles by using ideas and positions.

The important trend of the project is its total proceduring within one program. Which from its part envisages coexistence and simultaneous implementation of all aspects in different interpretations. All individual programs and actions will be analyzed to receive unified coordinated concept in the project format. The duration of the project is ten months. In the course of the project office center will be established, where main conceptual part of the work will be mobilized.

The concept "Society and Art Images" is unified program package, which combines all attributes of collective, coordinated, propagandistic activities. Therefore the project will be presented in the form of the printed production: posters, two journals, post cards. Audio-video materials recorded in the work process will be used in the printed production.

Propagandistic vernissage in regions is the most prioritized activity of the project as the role of regions in social-cultural life of Georgia during last decades is significantly reduced. Separate regional services try to overcome this problem with the help of the state and sponsors, but mentioned regional events do not spread to contemporary, fine and visual art. Group exhibitions on the basis of one concept and oriented on actual problems are still infrequent. Esthetic credo of concrete artists and specific approach to epochal events enables improvisation, quotation and imagination in social cognition.

As we mentioned above the exhibition have the form of manifestation-action, that is important itself as the wide society is not yet acquainted well enough with the peculiarities, facilities of contemporary art.

In our opinion, the video film created specially for the project will be a sharp demonstrative statement. film director - Keti Gujabidze; cameraman – Dato Gujabidze. We will present approximate form of literary script so that position of merging processes of values and attitudes, ideology and results, which are considered under world actual events are displayed more clearly.

This will be presentation of art, artistic research creating space of causes and results and giving a man a possibility of choice

Democracy building is an irrevocable process. The project application offered by us will create alternative democratic space and will give information about its rights and its protection to the society in art manner.

In this direction motivation and actualization is a propaganda-priority. In particular this is the purpose of all points of this project.

Implementation of the full-scaled program of the project "Society and Art Images" is addressed to invigorate the society environment. Provided social dialogue, revealing of coexistence different values and establishing human, pluralistic ides in this direction is an important event, which will become point at issue of the civil society.

Therefore the importance of the project is as great as its purpose is to create a precedent of reaction on the human rights violation cases and therefore it is important to involve wide society, relevant organizations and private structures.

The mentioned position is actual against a background of human rights popularization and its realization from the point of view of saving democratic resources traditionally existing in Georgia.

 2003-2004

VIA VIDEO

Video aesthetics, screen technology has a great role in modern world. It is one of the main trends in modern visual arts that is not neutral by nature and, to say not straightforwardly, becomes a real source of influence on socio-cultural processes and public relations.

The group of art critics and curators (A.Gabunia, N.Gujabidze) has been working in this direction from 1999. For this purpose they involved professional film director (K.Gujabidze) and cameramen (D.Gujabidze, G.Beridze) in the work in order to establish a precedent of recording development of modern Georgian art of recent decade in documentary and feature films. How was proceeding reconsideration and reinterpretation of artistic languages, situations, work processes, concepts, versatility of visual art. Within the bounds of this genre selfidentification of artists appeared to be on the border of documentary and video esthetics, where documentary film language, images, plots and types were gradually oppressed by experimental video intervention and within the bound of new genre it obtained new semantic and visual characteristics.

The material collected during six years is a very interesting videolaboratory, where artists of different generations and conceptual trends are assembled together. Such video structure does not include consistent line and has even the function of archival, educational filter. Nowadays when changes of paradigms are more frequent than biological change of generations we get phenomenon of “coexistence” of different cultural epochs. Therefore cultural texture becomes very sensitive and easy disintegrated to autonomous groups, which have their own assessment parameters, communication language, and their system of symbols. Therefore video films occur to be independent observer, which create common video communication space comprehensible and acceptable for all.

Except of mentioned video almanacs five video arts are included in the video programme which are initiated by the group of curators and which are placed in the concept net of common liberal freedoms. Video actionist screen pictures contact with the society via massages and inform that the Art has no frontiers, even more so in the context of Caucasian heritage.

2004

Establishment of Gender thinking in Georgian Society by Means of Contemporary Art or the Most Provincial  Gender Balance in Georgian Regional Reality

Mise en scene developed around gender topic needed guideline thought out by each artist taking part in the project. Target regions selected in advance according to artistic view and experimental format, implied creation of mobile art document, that would promote establishment of word gender in Georgian language. Video session were got into geographic format of Bolnisi, Ozurgeti and Akhaltsikhe. The artist that temporarily was acting as a professional director at the same time, was open to lots of interpretations during searching gender balance or disbalance. Experimentalist director’s questions or other activities were a bit incomprehensible for the respondent and at a single glance was interpreted as deviation from the subject. On this surface answers in disguised form were the only way to find out gender essence. The emotional incitement emerged in the form of relentless objective reality or sometimes cheerful sense of happiness. One thing became clear:

National gender that does not get past chtrestomatic studies by gender equality and its content easily stands ideological surface of the Art, that on the one hand is determined by topicality of the subject. Gender ambivalence seen with the movie camera turned to significant artistic and verbal metaphor in Georgian reality. Modern gender by its content is unity of social and cultural norms that is obliged to anyone according to his/her gender by the society. A woman’s and a man’s psychological model is determined by social norms and not by biological gender.

Biological gender does not determine difference of their social role. In Georgian reality a human in routine is coming to non-acceptance of gender. Cultural-social symbolic interpretation of gender offers us identity to the artistic images. The format of documentary film seen by this interpretation recognizes significance of a female’s image (Natela Rigalashvili, Bolnisi) as a woman’s social role separately. Thus a woman is associated with artistic symbol of Georgian gender culture. Artistic image of Georgian provincial gender is associated with the artistic images that are conform to one general symbol that is a symbiosis of two origins and accumulate in one point.

Gender cultural symbolism is indicator of gender hierarchy. Artistic reality seen from the film view attempts to refuse biological, social, psychological difference between particular men and women. It only claims that the fact of difference itself is not as important as the fact of evaluation based on their sicio-cultural difference. Artistic-gender view is based on social significance and difference of a woman and a man that is attached by the society.

If our cultural consciousness is directed to inner harmonious unity it will reflex to the significant changes occurred in cultural paradigm. Thus penetration of gender topic in social thinking and its establishment in contemporary art underlines its legality and ideological values.

2006. Nino Gujabidze. Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) South Caucasus. Project  "Assistance to Introduction of Gender Dimensions in Modern Georgian Society via Contemporary Art"