AURELIA MIHAI la MNAC

AURELIA MIHAI. THE SOCIAL BEING OF TRUTH curator: Oana Tanase 03.06 – 30.08.2009 vernisaj / opening: miercuri / Wednesday, 03.06, 19h30 MNAC, Calea 13 Septembrie, Bucuresti Cum percepem distanta dintre adevarul incapsulat in filmul documentar si valoarea documentara din orisicare productie filmica? Cum resimtim, ca spectatori, confruntarea dintre spatiul documentar si cel fictional? Este oare intr-adevar “obiectivul” scos total din joc atunci cand plusam notiunea de fantastic? Unde anume excavam pentru “realitatile construite”? Nu cumva “documentarul” ca gen a ajuns sa vorbeasca tot mai mult despre un teren fragmentat si nesigur, privat si subiectiv, despre experienta, rememorare si impresie, atasament si ideologie – si asta in ciuda intelegerii comune cum ca el pescuieste din procesele vietii tocmai veridicul? Dar mai conteaza daca “intamplarea” a avut / are sau nu loc, de vreme ce greutatea atarna de politica “reprezentarii” si a “interpretarii” ei? THE SOCIAL BEING OF TRUTH propune sapte dintre piesele video ale Aureliei Mihai, realizate in intervalul 2002 – 2008, parte dintr-un portfolio solid care – cu doua exceptii – nu a fost anuntat public in Romania. Selectia urmareste sa faca vizibil un set de mecanisme si strategii cu care jongleaza Aurelia Mihai: de la investigarea domeniului privat la cea a unor clivaje si anacronisme sociale (“This is the Hour”, 2002, “Von Herzen”, 2007, si “From Time to Time”, 2003); de la camera fixa ce inregistreaza discontinuitatile consumate in ordinea cotidianului – “The Day. (It Begins with the Cock and Ends with the Dogs)”, 2005 – la ambivalenta dansanta a dervish-ului din “In the Open Air” (2007); de la estetica pseudo-documentarului stiintific speculata de “Valley of the Dreamers” (2004) – in care sunt “descoperite” nicidecum antichitatile Egipt ului, ci egiptomania Las Vegas-ului si butaforia ce i-a slujit lui Cecil B. DeMille pentru “Ten Commandments” in 1923 – la perspectiva calda, participativa ce face loc in “...si cel moldovean” (2008) unor destine despartite de Prut si de istorie, pentru a comenta legi, masuri, obiceiuri si tranzactii considerate relevante pentru intelegerea relatiei dintre arta si societate. Piesele video i-au adus Aureliei Mihai numeroase distinctii internationale si i-au favorizat importante rezidente artistice; mentionam aici: Video Art Awards Bremen (1997); Bursa ESTAR acordata de Institute for Electronic Arts, Alfred University, New York; Bursa Villa Aurora, Los Angeles (2001); EMARE Scholarship Hull Time Based Arts UK (2004) si Bursa Villa Massimo Roma (2007). Lucrarile artistei au fost prezentate in expozitii de grup organizate sau gazduite de K21 Düsseldorf, Gropius Bau Berlin, Hamburger Kunsthalle, Chelsea Art Museum – New York, Galerie Anita Beckers Frankfurt, Museum Goch – Germania, Marburger Kunstverein – Germania, Kunsthalle Bremen – Germania, Centrul International de Arta Contemporana din Pont Aven – Franta, Centrul de Arte Vizuale Gelderland Arnhem – Olanda, Muzeul National de Arta Reina Sofia - Madrid, Galeria Robert Else – Sacramento, California – SUA, Galeria Selby Sarasota, Florida – SUA, FUTURA – Centru pentru Arta Contemporana, Praga, Centrul pentru Arta Contemporana – Riga, Periferic 8 – Bienala de Arta Contemporana – Iasi, pentru ca in curand sa fie expuse la Centrul de Arta Contemporana din Plymouth, Marea Britanie. ..................................... How do we perceive the distance between the truth in documentary film and the documentary value of any filmic production? How do we, as spectators, apprehend the confrontation between the space of the documentary and that of fiction? Does “objectivity” completely disappear when the fantastical comes into play? Where do we dig out for the “constructed realities”? Has the documentary as a genre come to speak about a fragmentary and unstable ground that is private and subjective, about remembrance and impression, about devotedness and ideology? Does it even matter if the “event” has or has not taken place, since the politics of “representation” and “interpretation” is what actually carries the weight? THE SOCIAL BEING OF TRUTH presents seven video works made by Aurelia Mihai between 2002 and 2008. They are part of a consistent portfolio that – with two exceptions – has not been shown in Romania until now. The selection seeks to illuminate the mechanisms and strategies employed by Aurelia Mihai in her work: from the investigation of the private space to that of the social disparities and anachronisms (“This is the Hour”, 2002 and “From Time to Time”, 2003); from the fixed camera recording the discontinuities in daily life (“The Day. It Begins with the Cock and Ends with the Dogs”, 2005) to the ambivalent moves of the dervish dance (“In the Open Air”, 2007); from the aesthetic of the pseudo-documentary “Valley of Dreamers” (2004) – in which what is “discovered” are not the treasures of the ancient but the Las Vegas egyptomania and the movie props of Cecil B. DeMille’s  “Ten Commandments” from 1923 – to the warm and empathic perspective adopted in “…and the Moldavian one” (2008). The video tells the story of destinies separated by the river Prut and the history and thus comments on laws, habits and transactions, which are deemed relevant to the understanding of the relation between art and society.  Aurelia Mihai’s video work has been the recipient of numerous prizes and scholarships that include the Video Art Awards Bremen (1997); the ESTAR Scholarship from the Institute for Electronic Arts, Alfred University, New York and the Villa Aurora Scholarship, Los Angeles (2001); the EMARE Scholarship Hull Time Based Arts UK (2004) and the Villa Massimo Rome Scholarship (2007).  Her works have been exhibited internationally at the K21 Düsseldorf, Gropius Bau Berlin, Hamburger Kunsthalle, the Chelsea Art Museum – New York, Galerie Anita Beckers Frankfurt, Museum Goch – Germany, Marburger Kunstverein – Germany, Kunsthalle Bremen – Germany, Centre International d’Art Contemporain de Pont Aven – France, Centrum Beeldende Kunst Gelderland Arnhem – Netherlands, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia - Madrid, Robert Else Gallery – Sacramento, California – USA, Selby Gallery Sarasota, Florida – USA, FUTURA – Centre For Contemporary Art, Prague, Latvian Centre for Contemporary Art – Riga, Periferic 8 - Biennial for Contemporary Art – Iasi, Romania, and will be present at the Centre of Contemporary Art and the Nature World, in Plymouth, UK. ..................................... partener MNAC: BRD -  Groupe Societe Generale sponsori / sponsors: Novotel, Murfatlar parteneri media / media partners: igloo, arhitectura, 24 Fun, Cocor Media Channel, feeder.ro ………………………………… MNAC Palatul Parlamentului/ Str. Izvor 2-4, aripa E4,  Bucharest (RO), 050563 intrarea prin / entrance from  Calea 13 Septembrie tel: +40 21 318 91 37 / fax: +40 21 318 91 38, www.mnac.ro Miercuri / Wednesday - duminica / Sunday 10h-18h