PREDRAG TERZIĆ (Srbija) / IVAR VERMAE (Estonija)

Galerija Podroom
Trg republike 5/-1

IVAR VERMAI – FLUKS | PREDRAG TERZIĆ – MOMENTUM
crteži, video i audio instalacije
14.1.2019 – 7.2.2019.

Iako možda koncepcijski, geografski i generacijski nije bilo do sada veze između radova Predraga Terzića i Ivara Vermaea, oni na predlog Saveta galerije (koji je za izbor programa za 2018 radio u sastavu Aleksandar Jestrović Jamesdin, Mario Margani i Zorana Đaković Minniti) prikazuju svoje radove na zajedničkoj izložbi tokom januara i tako se nastavlja sa praksom upoznavanja i moguće dalje saradnje dva različita autora.

Zorana Đaković Minniti: U kratkom uvodnom tekstu o radovima koje izlažete u Beogradu napisali ste da je njihova zajednička tema neka vrsta neizvesnosti u kojoj živimo u današnjem svetu globalne ekonomije. Šta u vama izaziva ova neizvesnost? Da li išta izaziva i šta umetnik (vi) radi da bi se borio protiv nje?

Ivar Vermai: Pre svega, važno mi je da preispitam neke pojmove koji su veoma prisutni u mom/našem svakodnevnom životu. Na primer, Guglove servise ili njegov interfejs, koji je najprisutniji deo kompanije. Dva rada na izložbi bave se onim što se nalazi iza belog ekrana sa okvirom za pretraživanje (search box). Prvo sam pokušao da obezbedim pristup najvećem centru podataka u Evropi. To su zgrade koje omogućavaju kompaniji da upravlja svojim ogromnim količinama podataka. Gugl mi nije dozvolio pristup i ja sam ih sam posetio. Ovaj ogroman kompleks se nalazi na periferiji gradića Sen-Gilen u Belgiji. Kada se to vidi, postaje jasnije da nije sve samo nematerijalno, već je reč o ogromnoj industriji sa fabrikama podataka. U toku istraživanja o centru podataka naišao sam na neke dokumente o procesu njegove gradnje; tamo se sve stalno menjalo – promena predstavnika, promena kapitala i tako dalje. Zanimalo me da li cela kompanija funkcioniše na sličan način. Odgovor je: da – uglavnom da se ne bi plaćali porezi, na primer; kompanija ima zanimljivu rutu za izbegavanje poreza: Delaver, Sad – Irska – Holandija – Bermudi, sa neverovatnim imenom Google Bermuda Unlimited.

Dakle, ovaj rad pokreće sumnje u svakodnevnu sadašnjost – ja sam suviše mali da bih se mogao boriti protiv ovakvih imperija, ali mogu da informišem o onome što se dešava u pozadinii i učinim ga opipljivijim, vidljivijim.

Kad razmišljam o drugim radovima, svi su oni na neki način povezani sa ne tako jasnim pojmovima lokalnog i globalnog. Smatram da je to glavni izvor nezadovoljstva ljudi, i populisti će to iskoristiti. Ali, mislim da je i nacionalno u neku ruku nejasna ideja, kao u slučaju Estonije, koja svoju energiju dobija iz neke vrste uljnog škriljca – smeđeg kamena, a to je osnova njene energetske nezavisnosti. Bio sam član jednog istraživačkog tima i imali su neko kamenje koje je drukčije izgledalo, ali reč je o sličnom tipu kamena, bogatom ugljenikom; to je bilo pomalo čudno – kamen, koji je u dalekoj prošlosti bio neka vrsta algi, sada nosi etiketu sa imenom države.

Sve u svemu, nije mi namera da ukažem na velike loše stvari već da stvorim neku vrstu čudnog osećanja prema njima. Na primer, radovi u kojima se pojavljuju ljudi – ples, penjanje, trčanje – u izvesnom smislu zaista prikazuju situaciju na emocionalnom nivou, kao na primer nejasna tela trkača ili narodna igra snimljena termalnom kamerom na mestu proizvodnje energije u Estoniji, gde se vidi i para iz elektrana, ili masovno penjanje kako bi se pobeglo od policije tokom demonstracija.

Naslov vaših radova / dela izložbe je FLUKS. Možete li to malo objasniti?

Izabrao sam taj naslov zbog nestabilnosti u radovima i zbog toga što oni nisu jasne izjave, već pre sadrže razne impulse. Veza među radovima nije direktna; u njima postoje različite tačke koje se mogu povezati sa nekim tačkama u drugim radovima. Izložba sadrži i nove radove i neke koji su nastali u protekle 4 godine. Neki od njih su već izlagani zajedno, ali ne u ovoj kombinaciji.

Prvo je bilo u planu da napravite novi rad za ovu izložbu koji bi bio inspirisan bombardovanom zgradom Ministarstva odbrane Jugoslovije. Nažalost, nismo bili u mogućnosti da pomognemo njegovu produkciju, ali možete li nam reći nešto više o svojoj ideji za taj rad?

Da, moja ideja je bila da pokušam da uhvatim ovu zgradu u 3D i da vidim šta će se desiti tokom tog procesa – da li mogu da uđem, šta ljudi misle o takvom prikupljanju informacija. Bilo mi je jasno da ću snimati parcijalno i da bi rezultat bila 3D animacija u kojoj su neki delovi pogrešni. U jednom trenutku sam pomislio i da premalo znam o tome, o tome što se tamo dogodilo. Ali planiram da tokom posete napravim neke snimke ove zgrade i vidim da li to vodi do nečega.

Zašto ste izabrali apstraktniju formu pokretnih slika da biste izrazili svoje ideje?

U jednom trenutku sam se okrenuo dokumentarizmu. Još uvek radim na nekim delima, kao na primer rad Slobodna zona na izložbi ovde. Ali ja mislim da dokumentarna umetnost ima svoja ograničenja i lako se može pretvoriti u novinarstvo, što je u redu, ali više volim dvosmislenije radove koji daju neki emocionalni impuls. Izložbe / vaši radovi mnogo su bliži formi instalacije nego narativnom umetničkom filmu. Šta je to što želite da izazovete kod publike takvim načinom izražavanja?

Obično ne mogu da se držim jednog načina – na primer jednokanalnog videa, gde je sve završeno i jasno. Volim da koristim različite uglove gledanja, koji rade zajedno i međusobno se podržavaju, ali ponekad imaju i nešto protivrečno. Publici želim da ponudim različite impulse i slobodu da biraju šta da rade sa ovakvom jednom zbirkom.

Šta vam je najvažnije u procesu rada?

Razne stvari, ali, čini mi se, najviše polazna tačka, kada se pojavi neka ideja i počne da se razvija. Pored toga, mnogi radovi su povezani sa nekim stvarnim mestom – i taj period dok snimam film, dok borvim na tom mestu, je važan. Jednako je važna i montaža, osmišljavanje materijala, što jeste zanimljivo, ali ponekad je samo nešto što treba uraditi. I onda: završna instalacija. Dakle, svaki deo je važan, ali u nekima od njih više uživam.

Da li je ovo prvi put da vas pozivaju da radite izložbu s nekim autorom koga ne poznajete? Mislite li da bi ovakva saradnja mogla doneti nešto, i šta?

Učestvovao sam na mnogim grupnim izložbama sa autorima koje ne poznajem i uvek mi je bilo zanimljivo videti svoj rad u kombinaciji s nečim potpuno drugačijim. Imao sam dvojne izložbe sa nekim umetnicima, svojim dobrim prijateljima, ali nikad ovako nešto, kao na izložbi ovde.

Mislim da su naši radovi koji se ovde zajedno izlažu komplementarni – sasvim su različiti, ali postoje neki koncepti koji se lako povezuju. Na primer, pokret ili uvećana stvarnost u Predragovom radu s mojom 3D animacijom Replika. I jedni i drugi su prilično pristupačni na emocionalnom nivou.

Na čemu trenutno radite i koje projekte planirate?

Radim na 3D animacijama, baziranim na fotogrametriji – tehnologije koje omogućavaju kreiranje 3D modela sa fotografija. Neke od njih se bave arhitektupom i nekretninama. Druga stvar koja me trenutno zanima je kriptovaluta – i na nivou koncepta i na fizičkom nivou. Da bi sistemi virtuelnog novca radili, potrebna je veoma velika kompjuterka snaga. Ali isto tako – kako Blokčein (Vlockchain) obećava – uklanja se poverenje iz transakcija. Zato me zanima – na nivou pristupa, a ne na tehničkom nivou – šta je to poverenje, šta se može uputiti na mašine, kako one ili ljudi upravljaju poverenjem. To me, na neki drugi način, vraća na pitanja kojima se bavi ova izložba.

Ivar Vermai je rođen 1982. U Taljinu, Estonija. Živi i radi u Berlinu. U svojim radovima obrađuje teme javnog i privatnog prostora, procesa posredovanja, arhitekture i infrastrukture, informacionih tehnologija i mreža koristeći različite umetničke medije. Diplomirao je na Akademiji u Taljinu na odseku fotografije. www.ivarveermae.com

PREDRAG TERZIĆ – MOMENTUM

Momentum igre Predraga Terzića

U novom ciklusu radova pod nazivom Momentum, Predrag Terzić nastavlja da se bavi ispitivanjem odnosa i veze između sporta i umetnosti, kao što je bio slučaj u ranijim radovima, poput Nacionalne službe, Elan Vitala i Leistung-a. Pozivajući se na igru kao jedan mogući operativni model, Terzićev opus govori o svetu, svetu umetnosti i svetu sportske igre. S obzirom da igra prema mišljenju H.G.Gadamera ima sopstvenu bit, nezavisnu od svesti onih koji igraju, njen subjekat i nije igrač, već ona sama dok se ispoljava pomoću igrača. Tako ugljenom iscrtane „zamrznute“ scene nekih od ključnih momenata borbe na terenu, zapravo govore o unutrašnjim stanjima i mentalnoj predstavi samih duela. Svrha igre je oblikovanje samog kretanja igre, te se u njoj po rečima Gadamera ispoljava ono što odista jeste, samo bivstvovanje koje je izvršenje, ispunjenje i proces kretanja – momentum. Igra je slobodni impuls i bez nje je čovekov život nezamisliv, ona ima svoju bit nezavisno od svesti igrača, te igru imamo i tamo gde bivstvovanje za sebe subjektivnosti ne ograničava tematski horizont i gde nema subjekata koji se ponašaju kao da se igraju. (H.G.Gadamer, Istina i metoda, 1978, str 131-132.)

Primenom digitalnih aplikacija fokus na delovima tela koji govore o dramatici unutrašnjih stanja postaje još snažniji, jer izdvojen iz tela i iz zida (slika bukvalno izlazi iz zida), utiče ne samo na one koji igraju već i na one koji posmatraju. Međutim ova otvorenost prema posmatraču je istovremeno i zatvorenost. Ne može se biti van igre, kao što se ni bit umetničkog dela ne da sagledati van njega samog. Igra kao celina igrača i posmatrača svoj vlastiti duh nema u onima koje uvlači u igru, jer ovi tek kroz igru dospevaju do duha, do stavarnosti s one strane „svakodnevne stvarsnosti“ (H.G.Gadamer, str.138). Prema rečima ovog filozofa svrha igre je u oblikovanju samog njenog kretanja, pa se stoga manifestuje kao samoprikazivanje i u njoj se ispoljava ono što jeste.

Neizvesnost i nelagoda u dodiru sa slikom i galerijskim ambijentom kroz koji prolazimo zapravo je istovremeno mesto spajanja kako sa igračima iz „našeg“ tima tako i sa onima iz tima „protivnika“, jer upravo se sa tom dilemom srećemo. Trudimo se da prepoznamo tzv. „našu stranu“, ali taj izbor postaje irelevantan bez realnog iskustva, bez ulaska u samu igru. Gadamer upozorava da je igra „idealno carstvo“ koje istupajući sa zahtevom za autonomijom teži da izmakne ograničenju i spoljnom tutorstvu države, odnosno društva. Igra kao temelj ljudske slobode, osnova je samog čoveka, i kroz nju on može shvatiti i život.

No, kakav je odnos/veza između predstava ljudskih figura prikazanih u momentima najžešćih duela na košarkaškim terenima, preslikanog Engrovog Napoleona i pesme Vaska Pope? Patos, bol, odricanje, fizički napor pa i smrt koji se prepoznaju u delovima tela muških figura na zidovima, kao da dobijaju potvrdu u predstavi imperatora koji simbolizuje ratnika i samu bezvremensku moć. Ta moć se nalazi u principima dvoboja, borbe, utakmice i ringa o kojoj govori i Popina pesma (Pre igre) …“Ko se ne razbije u paramparčad, ko ostane čitav i čitav ustane, taj igra.“ A u igrama Popinih pesama sve je između nužnosti i slobode, između podvgavanja proizvoljnim improvizacijama, konvencijama i nekontrolisane fantacije, imprrovizacije.

Zorana Đaković Minniti

Realizaciju rada Momentum pomogli:

Lenovo

AR Marko Granić

Zvuk Lazar Mihailović, Đorđe Petković

Terzić je rođen 1972. u Beogradu, a diplomirao na FLU u klasi Čedomira Vasića 2000. godine gde je i magistrirao. Doktorirao na Interdisciplinarnim studijama Univerziteta umetnosti u Beogradu. Izlagao je u zemlji i inostranstvu, a trenutno radi kao profesor na Fakultetu za medije i komunikacije. www.predragterzic.com

ENGLISH

IVAR VEERMÄE – FLUX | PREDRAG TERZIĆ – MOMENTUM
drawings, video and audio installations
14.1.2019 – 7.2.2019.

Although there were no until now conceptual, geographic, and generational connections between the works of Predrag Terzic and Ivar Veermäe, they are exhibiting together on the proposal of the Gallery Council (which included Aleksandar Jestrovic Jamesdin, Mario Margani and Zoran Dakovic Minniti for the 2018 program) and thus the gallery Podroom continues with the practice of connecting two different authors.

Zorana Dakovic Minniti: In the short introductory text to the works you are exhibiting in Belgrade, you wrote that the common theme to all of them is some sort of uncertainty we are facing in the global economic world today. What does this uncertainty provoke in you? Does it provoke anything, and what does the artist (you) do to fight it?

Ivar Veermae: First of all, it is important for me to question some concepts that are very present in my/our everyday live(s). For example, Google’s services, or its interface – the most present part of the company. Two works at the exhibition deal with what is behind the white screen with a search box. First, I tried to get an access to its biggest data centre in Europe. These are the buildings that allow the company to operate its vast amounts of data. Google didn’t grant me the access and I made a visit by myself. The huge complex is in the outskirts of the small city of St. Ghislain in Belgium. When you see this, it becomes clearer that not everything is only immaterial, but that it is a huge industry with its data factories. In the process of research about the data center, I came across some documents about its building process and everything was in constant change there – changing of a representative, of the capital and so on. I became interested in whether the whole company functions similarly. And it does – mostly in order not to pay taxes for example, and it has an interesting tax escape route: Delaware US – Ireland – Netherlands – Bermuda, with the fabulous company name of Google Bermuda Unlimited.

So, this work is raising doubts about the everyday present – I am too small to fight against these kinds of empires but I can inform and make its background more tangible, visible.

Thinking about other works – they are all in one way or another connected to the not so clear concepts of local and global. I think this is the main source of dissatisfaction of the people and it will be used by populists. But, I think that the idea of national is in a sense not so clear either, as in the example of Estonia, which gets its energy from some sort of oil shale – brown stone, and it is the basis of the country’s energy independence. I was a research faculty member once and there they had stones looking differently but it was a similar kind of stone, carbon rich, and it was somehow weird – the stone, which was some sort of algae in the distant past now has a label with the country’s name on it.

On the whole, my intention is not to point out some bad big things but to create some kind of a weird feeling towards them. For example, the works which contain people – dancing, climbing, running – in some sense depict the situation rather at the emotional level, such as blurring bodies of runners, or a folk dance filmed with heat camera in the area of energy production in Estonia, showing also steam coming from power stations, or mass climbing to escape the police in demonstrations.

The title of your works/part of the exhibition is FLUX; could you explain it a little bit?

I chose this title because of the instability in the works and because they are not clear statements, but rather contain different impulses. The connection between the works is not direct; there are different points in them, connectable to some points in the other works. The exhibition contains some new works and some from the past 4-year period. Some of them have been exhibited together, but not in this combination.

At the beginning, we planned that you would produce a new work for this exhibition, inspired by the bombarded building of the Yugoslav Ministry of Defense. Unfortunately, we haven’t been in a position to support this production. Could you tell us a little bit more about your idea for that work?

Yes, I had the idea to try to capture this building in 3D and see what happens during this process – whether I could get an access to it, what people think about collecting of information. It was clear to me that the capture would be partial, resulting in a 3D animation with some erroneous parts in it. At some point, I also thought I knew too little about that, about what had happened in there. But I’m planning to make some captures of this building during my visit and see whether it leads to something.

Why did you choose the more abstract form of moving images to express your ideas?

At some point I became oriented towards documentarism. I am still working on some pieces, as for example the work Free Zone at the exhibition here. But for me, documentary art has its limits and it can easily become journalism, which is OK, but I like more ambiguous works, which give emotional impulses.

The exhibitions / works you do are much closer to the form of installations than that of narrative artist’s films. What is the main or common sensation you would like to provoke by this kind of expression?

I often cannot stick to one position – as for example one-channel video, where everything is finished and clear. I like to have different points of view that work together and support each other, but sometimes have something confronting, too. As for the public, I would like to offer different impulses and the freedom to choose what to do with this kind of collection.

What is most important in your process of work?

Different things, but what I like the most is the starting point, when an idea appears and starts to evolve. Additionally, many works are connected to some existing place – and the period of filming, of being there, is important. Equally important is the editing, making sense of the material, which is interesting, but sometimes just a thing that needs to be done. And then, there is the final installation. So, every part of the process has some importance, but some of them are more enjoyable to carry out.

Is this the first time you’ve received an invitation to do an exhibition with an author that you don’t know? Do you think this kind of cooperation could bring something and what?

I have participated in many group exhibitions with the authors I didn’t know and it’s always interesting to see your work in combination with something totally different. I have had dual exhibitions with some artists, my good friends, but not like the exhibition here.

I think our works exhibited together are complementary – they are quite different, but there are some concepts that are easy to connect. For example, the movement or augmented reality layer of Predrag’s work with my 3D animation work Replica. And both exhibitions are rather approachable on the emotional level.

What are you working on currently and what are your future projects?

I am working on 3D animations based on photogrammetry – the techniques that allow creating of 3D models from photographs. Some of them are about architecture and real estate. Another thing I am interested in right now is cryptocurrency – both on the conceptual and physical level. To keep the systems of virtual money running, very much computer power is needed. But also – as Blockchain promises, it removes trust from the transactions. So, I am interested in it on the level of approach – not technical level – the issues of what trust is, what can be directed to machines, how they or people manipulate trust. This in a sense leads me, in another way, back to the issues of this exhibition here.

Ivar Vermai was born in 1982 in Tallinn, Estonia. She lives and works in Berlin. In his works he deals with topics of public and private space, mediation, architecture and infrastructure, information technologies and networks using various artistic media. He graduated from the Academy in Tallinn at the section of photography. www.ivarveermae.com

PREDRAG TERZIC – MOMENTUM

Momentum of the Game of predrag Terzić

In his new cycle of works titled Momentum, Predrag Terzić continues examining the relationship and connection between sport and art, started in some earlier works – National Service, Elan Vital and Leistung. Referring to play as a possible mode of operating, Terzić’s opus speaks of the world, the world of art and the world of sports play. Since play, according to H. G. Gadamer, has its own essence, independent of the players’ consciousness, the rhythm and structure of its own, its subject is not the player, but the play itself, reaching presentation through the players. So, “frozen” scenes of some of the crucial moments of action on the field, drawn in charcoal, speak, in fact, of internal states and mental representation of the duels. The purpose of the game is shaping the movement of the game itself, and in it, according to Gadamer, is expressed its being, its essence, which is realization, fulfilment and the process of movement – momentum. Play is a free impulse and life without it would be unimaginable, for play has its own essence, independent of the consciousness of those who play, and it also exists when the thematic horizon is not limited by any being-for-itself of subjectivity, and where there are no subjects who are behaving “playfully”. (H.G.Gadamer, Truth and Method)

The use of digital applications makes the focus on the parts of the body showing the drama of internal states even stronger, since set apart from the body and from the wall (the image literally comes out of the wall) it affects not only those who play, but also those who watch. However, this openness towards the spectator is at the same time closedness. One cannot be outside the game, just as the essence of the artwork cannot be seen outside of it. The game as the whole comprising players and spectators does not have its own spirit in those who enter the game, because they reach the spirit only through the game, reach a reality on the other side of “everyday reality” (H.G.Gadamer). According to this philosopher, the purpose of the game is shaping the movement of the game itself, and therefore it manifests itself as self-presentation and demonstrates what it is.

Uncertainty and unease in the contact with the image and the gallery ambience we pass through is at the same time a point of merging both with players of “our” team and with those of the “opponents’” team, because this is the dilemma we are faced with. We are trying to recognize the so-called “our side”, but the choice becomes irrelevant without a real experience, without entering the game. Gadamer warns that the game is an “ideal kingdom” that, coming forward with the demand for autonomy, tends to escape the limitation and external tutoring of the state, i.e., society. Play, as the foundation of human freedom, is the basis of the man himself, and through it he can understand life.

But what is the relationship among the representations of human figures shown at the moments of the most intense fights on basketball courts, the copied Engro’s Napoleon and the poem by Vasko Popa? As if pathos, pain, denial, physical effort and even death that can be recognized in parts of the bodies of male figures on the walls receive confirmation in the representation of the emperor who symbolizes the warrior and the timeless power. This power is found in the principles of duelling, fighting, of match and ring of which Popa’s poem (Before the Game) also speaks… “Who doesn’t break into pieces; who remains whole and gets up whole – plays.” And in the games of Pope’s poems everything is between necessity and freedom, between submission to random improvisations, conventions and uncontrolled fantasy, improvisation.

Zorana Dakovic Minniti

(translated by Vesna Strika)

Realization of the Predrag Terzi’s work Momentum was supported by Lenovo

AR Marko Granić

Audio Lazar Mihailović, Djordje Petković

Terzic was born in 1972 in Belgrade, and graduated from Faculty of Fine Arts in Belgrade in the class of professor Čedomir Vasić in 2000, where he also obtained his master degree. He received his PhD in Interdisciplinary Studies at the University of Art in Belgrade. He has exhibited in Serbia and abroad and currently works as a professor at the Faculty for Media and Communication in Belgrade. www.predragterzic.com