Līga Purmale and Miervaldis Polis with M. Polis works „Frying Pans”. 1975. Photographer Atis Ieviņš

Exhibition

Parallel Chronologies. Invisible History of Exhibitions

Date:  17 May – 4 June

Venue (co-produced by): Riga City Art Space (Intro Hall), Kungu Street 3, Old Town

International exhibition Parallel Chronologies investigates the exhibitions as a cultural phenomenon and a genre on its own right focusing on the period determined by the state socialisms of the Eastern European region. The exhibition will offer insight about significant but now less known events in Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, displaying parallels and differences between them. Parallel Chronologies brings to light the role of Eastern Europe, traditionally left without any notice in the international art history. The exhibition will attempt to present the parallels, as well as differences in art between the East and the West, and within the region, too.

The research project Parallel Chronologies, launched by contemporary art initiative tranzit.hu, is dealing with postwar Eastern European art exhibitions and events between the 1960s and 1980s. Mapping, studying and generating curatorial and artistic practices and methodologies, the project presents an international network of professional relationships, documents of exhibitions, events, and art spaces instead of the mere display of artworks from the period. Parallel Chronologies has been presented so far as an exhibition in Budapest in 2009, and in Karlsruhe in 2010.

In Riga Parallel Chronologies will present five expositions – from Hungary these are How Art Becomes Public (curators Dora Hegyi and Zsuzsa Laszlo) and Other Revolutionary Traditions (curator Sandor Hornyik). From Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia it will present archival materials about selected exhibitions, performances, happenings and other activities that affected common understanding of art and exhibition as a medium (curators Ieva Astahovska, Dovile Tumpytė, Mari Laanemets).

As described by tranzit.hu curators, the goal of Parallel Chronologies is to present an international network of professional relationships, documents of exhibitions, events, and art spaces instead of the mere display of artworks from the period. It also attempts to propose a methodology with which documents and factual information as well as legends and cults can be researched, processed and displayed in an exhibition.

Creating our own chronologies we looked at why some events, works, figures gain significance as soon as they appear, making them the starting points of anecdotes and legends, while others are quickly forgotten or can only become significant when seen from a later context. We were interested to find out what roles and possibilities for public appearance the era’s political and social climate provided for progressive art, as well as what connections it had with “official art” and international trends.

In Riga tranzit. hu presents two parallel projects, “Other Revolutionary Traditions” by Sándor Hornyik and “How Art Becomes Public” by Dóra Hegyi and Zsuzsa László accompanied by the contribution of LCCA, Riga, Art History Institute, Tallinn, and Vilnius National Art Gallery.

Sándor Hornyik deals with the history of cults developed around some revolutionary figures of art and history. This publication is an exhibition in newspaper format that considers the immediacy with which events and artworks reflected on the daily reality of their time, and also attempts to restore the then missing public appeal of these progressive practices. It contains two parallel projects, “Other Revolutionary Traditions” by Sándor Hornyik and “How Art Becomes Public” by Dóra Hegyi and Zsuzsa László. Sándor Hornyik deals with the history of cults developed around certain revolutionary figures of art and history. He investigates how Hungarian neo-avant-garde artists appropriated or undermined the heroes and strategies of official cultural politics in the 60s and 70s and how contemporary artists in turn appropriate and deconstruct the cult of avant-garde and neo-avant-garde figures. Other Revolutionary Traditions include projects by: András Baranyay, Gyula Derkovits, Miklós Erdély, György Jovánovics, Little Warsaw, Béla Kondor, János,Major, Dóra Maurer, Plágium2000, Ádám Szabó, Société Réaliste, Tamás St.Auby

“How art becomes public” is an attempt to draw up a chronology of exhibitions and events that in the 60s and 70s redefined the relation between art and the public. We present the textual and visual documents of 16 legendary events from Hungary between 1966 and 1977, while an essay describes the turning points of Hungarian exhibition history. Through these case-studies we investigate how innovative models were introduced into exhibition-making, what kind of alternative presentational formats were developed, and how legendary events were preserved and revisited in the collective memory of the Hungarian art scene. How Art Becomes Public present exhibitions: The Lunch (In memoriam Batu Khan), 1966; Exhibition of Lajos Kassák at Adolf Fényes Hall, 1967; Actions at Iparterv 1968; Iparterv exhibitions 1968-80; Exhibition of György Jovánovics and István Nádler at Adolf Fényes Hall, 1970; Gyula Pauer: Pseudo, 1970, Selected exhibitions and actions at the Chapel Studio, Balatonboglár 1972-73; Erszébet Schaár: Street, 1974; Tamás Szentjóby: Works 1966-75; Make a Chair! (Hommage á George Brecht); Orshi Drozdik: Nude/Model, 1977.

The project is accompanied by a publication, an exhibition in a newspaper format.

Exhibition is part of the international cooperation project Recuperating the Invisible Past coordinated by LCCA that focus on the ‘revision’ of the socialist period in art and culture legacy of the former Eastern Europe from a contemporary perspective. The international partners of the project are: tranzit.hu in Budapest, Art History Institute at Tallinn Art Academy, Vilnius National Art Gallery and Art Institute Wyspa in Gdansk.

Further information:

Ieva Astahovska – ieva_ast@inbox.lv ,

Phone +371 67039282

www.lcca.lv

Organized by:

Co-organized by: Tranzit.hu in Budapest, Art History Institute at Tallinn Art Academy, Vilnius National Art Gallery

Co-produced by: Riga Art Space

This project is supported by the European Commission programme Culture (2007-2013)*, The State Culture Capital Foundation of Latvia, Riga City Council, Riga city exhibition hall Riga Art Space, Goethe Institute in Riga, Stockholm School of Economics in Riga, Lithuanian Embassy in Riga, Estonian Embassy in Riga, Hungarian Embassy in Riga, web journal Satori.lv, design agency Rabbit and coach route operator Lux Express, culture and arts project Noass, Erste Stiftung.

* This communication reflects the views only of the author, and the European Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

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Exhibition stage design:

Kristīne Alksne

Graphic design:

Artis Briedis, Rūta Briede

Exposition construction, technical solutions:

Egons Baranovs

Tranlations, editing:

Filips Birzulis

Jurij Dobriakov

Laine Kristberga

Liene Linde

Aivars Kļaviņš

Assistants:

Jānis Indāns

Ieva Jakušonoka

Līga Kokmane

Gintarė Matulaitytė

Special Thanks:

Boriss Avramecs

Jāni Borgs

Māra Brašmane

Valdis Celms

Austėja Čepauskaitė

Māris Gailis

Romulads Geikins

Terēzija Glušenkova

Andris Grīnbergs

Atis Ieviņš

Dr. Lolita Jablonskienė

Gediminas Kajėnas

Dr. Elona Lubytė

Dr. Ieva Pleikienė

Miervaldis Polis

Uldis Razums

Varis Rudzītis

Jānis Strupulis

Ramona Umblija

Eižens Valpēters

Heinrihs Vorkals

Māra Zirnīte

Culture and art project Noass and Dzintars Zilgalvis personally

The Art Museum of Estonia and Sirje Helme personally

The Museum of Estonian Architecture

Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania

Vilnius University Library