[spectre] BREAK 21 - REVIEW of the third week 2nd - 7th July 2002

[jaka zeleznikar]

hi,


here is the report of the last, third week of the Break 21 festival,
more information and reports of first and second week:
http://www.break21.org/


>>>>>
BREAK 21_DEAD OR ALIVE
6th International Festival of Emerging Artists 18th June-7th July /
Ljubljana / Slovenia 
http://www.break21.org/

>>>LIVE ART

The opening day of the third week began with the performance "Mach es
jetzt" of ELENA KOVYLINA (RU) which deals with death by hanging. Trying to
reveal the urge to kill in an average human being, the artist created
tension, giving one the opportunity to test that impulse on her. 
There were also two culinary situations. In contemporary civilization a
human is automatically understood as an intellectual being and for that
reason cannibalism is preserved only for metaphoric statements like: "I
love you so much that I could eat you up". But not in this work… ZORAN
TODOROVIC (YU) made human flesh aspic that everyone could enjoy by tasting. 
War-kitchen one could experience in the basement of Club K4. EMIR JELKIC
(SL) made sound/food ambient in which people could experience or recall
stress of eating in the war by choosing military or domestic food eaten
during war-time. There is a contrast between feeding yourself in order to
sustain life and being in a deadly dangerous situation. Artist and ex-major
in Croatian army BORIS SINCEK (HR) in his hypnotizing and fear-provoking
performance recalls a situation of execution by putting himself in a
position of receiving a deadly bullet-wound.        
FRANKO B (GB), the absolute star of the British live art scene, did his
famous  "I Miss You" performance. During his 15 minutes cat-walk he is
letting his blood revealing beauty and love. 


>>>VISUAL ARTISTS PRESENTED AT THE GALLERY

A big, irregular, stereometrical structure covered with comics was
spreading out through the whole length of the exhibition space. The ends of
the object were opening in two projections showing game-like video works.
Facing the object there were three half closed rectangular spaces
containing three projects making us aware of the presence of life. The last
week of the festival, as far as the exhibition was concerned, was dedicated
to the experience of being and becoming alive. 

LJUBICA ANDJELKOVIC (HR)
The most protective place on earth for foetus is the uterus. Ljubica
Andjelkovic's performance in foetus-like position was in a cardboard box in
the most crowded place - city centre.
DAVIDE GRASSI (SL/IT): "Body Mapping"
Visual/digital presentation of human body, produced by the use of medical
machines for scanning and diagnosis of human organism, deals with the body
by its respective functions. Thus the divided body produces a digital
correlate to the physical one (avatar) and therefore we are able to
understand our physical bodies better by using the data body.       
LIANE LANG (GB): "Foetus"
Convincing plasticine foetus doll has been given a soul through animation. 
BOJANA ROMIC (YU)
The artist is interested in life on the micro-level. By exposing the
bacteria, she transforms life in her photographs from the invisible into
the visible spectrum.
MARTIN SASTRE (UY): "Masturbated Virgin"
The project offers interaction, but at the same time makes it impossible.
Pop icons and moments of Hollywood stardom are mixed with media images of
real catastrophes. The target of irony and cynicism are life and death in
mass media. 
PETRA VARGOVA (CZ): "DOA2"
Avatar in the computer game gives us the possibility of identification.
Through more and more demanding levels and fights with tougher and tougher
categories of opponents, our character awaits death without the chance of
survival. It is easy to imagine ourselves in the place of avatar.


>>> COMICS

IVANA ARMANINI (HR): "Death in Manchester" 
BEPPI & MARY KNOTT (US): "Corpse Remembrances", "Mr. Brown Hangs
Himself","Mr. Brown didn't Have Orange Hair","Cancer","Kill"
FREDERIQUE CABAILLE (BE) 
GORAN CVEK & EMIL JURCAN (HR/SI): "The Holes of the Former Real" 
ANDREJA KLADNIK (SI): "Dancing with Death" 
DRAGOMIR KRIZIC (BA): "nEUE uRFORM products for nEUE sERIE - pA/X
HU/manica"
MIROSLAV LAZENDIC (YU): "Shopping Fever","Dead or Alive" 
IVAN MITREVSKI (SI): "Unfulfilled Love"
MIROSLAV NEMETH (HR): "Can't get out of the Flesh/Out of the game (Lino
Puzzle) " 
DALIBOR RAJNINGER (HU) 
RUI SANGUINHO (PT): "Black Cat" 
ZORAN STOJILKOVIC (YU): "Euthanasia/Just Another Crazy Cop" 
WILLEM VERBURG (NL): "Away Wish" 


>>>VIDEO LOUNGE

STELARC (AU)
In the work of the well known Australian artist Stelarc we can get insight
in the future of human body for a moment.  
MARY DUFFY (IL)
In contrast to Stelarc who deals with "additions" to the body, Duffy in her
art work deals with her own physical lack, not having arms because of
Thalidomide - a medicine that her mother used during pregnancy.
THE SCHAPPELL TWINS (US)
Siamese twins are considered monsters and retards that should be kept in
special institutions. The documentary about Schappell twins reveals their
life from inside showing social discrimination of two perfectly smart and
integrated persons.    
NIKO RAES (BE)
In his performances, young Belgian artist Niko Raes searches the beauty. He
takes his body under a process of exploring its endurance.       
HAVVE FJELL (NO)
Fjell is an artist and fakir whose performances deal with exploring the
body limits. His statement, that most people find unacceptable, is: pain is
a solution.


>>>NET ART

INNERGIRL: "Suicide Journal"
http://suicidejournal.com
Creator "Innergirl" becomes fascinated with his/her own damaged mental
process and charmed by the spell of self-deprecation. The painful
sensations are so simple, pure and sublime, they resemble beauty. S/he
expresses this through a web journal of text, visual art and music and
opens the avenue to others building a community site as an outlet for those
with similar passions and problems.
 
JIMPUNK: "jimpunk visits mouchette at the m.org.ue"
http://www.jimpunk.com/www/m.org.ue/
What happens when Jimpunk meets Mouchette at the m.org.ue? What if
Mouchette the web character who never ages is already completely frozen?
What happens if Jimpunk tickles her feet with some javascript? Experience
the meeting of two cyber anti-heroes interacting with each other by means
of their browsers.

MELINDA RACKHAM: "Carrier"
http://www.subtle.net/carrier/
Carrier investigates viral symbiosis in the biological and virtual domains
by weaving an intimate love story between the viewer and the hepatitis C
virus. The site integrates artificial and viral intelligence with immune
system and computer operating system discourse within the swarming
electronically networked nervous system of our planet - the world wide web,
immersing the viewer in vrml worlds, shockwave games and java generated
textual landscapes.

MOUCHETTE
http://www.mouchette.org
Mouchette is a very young artist (not yet 13) who created her own website
in October 1996. Since then, she has taken part in art manifestations,
exhibitions and events in the art world, and created a new part of her
website every time for the occasion.


>>>SHORT AND ANIMATED FILMS

Short and animated films were shown to the cinephile audience in the
Kinoteka in the first week and in the cinema centre Kolosej and Cyberpipe
cinema in the last two weeks. The audience was thrilled and inspired by
short and animated films, which were a great success. 

Short films

DAVID BROOKS (US): "Member"
Gianni, a teenager without illusions, takes us for a night ride through the
streets of Los Angeles. The film is a hypnotic car-race through caotic
streets and also through Gianni's mind. His thoughts are infected and
twisted by advertisements that keep splashing into his brain and by his
desire to become a member…
ALAIN ESCALLE (FR/JP): "The Story of the Floating World"
Hiroshima. On the morning of August 6, 1945, a blinding light invades the
shores of the floating world. A man remembers. The shock, a violent blast.
Bodies strewn out in pain. Past dreams in the present, visions of the
future in the past.
BORIS HARS-TSCHACHOTIN (DE): "Lurch"
In the Berlin natural history museum's labyrinth of rooms, thousands of
snakes, frogs and other amphibians are preserved in alcohol. Kuno Neiff is
given the Sisyphean task of topping-up the alcohol which constantly
evaporates from the countless jars.
FARIBORZ KAMKARI (IR): "Born to be a Soldier"
A touching film showing the cruel everyday life of children on war
territory, where differences among people are created not by nationality or
religion, but by money and weapons. The Iranian court has recently seized
all the film copies, except the one that has been smuggled out of the
country and was brought to Slovenia. 
KENNETH KAINZ (DK): "A Rare Bird"
Once there was a goose, it plucked out a child's eye. The child grew up
hating Nature. Nature wanted things to be different for him...
MARIANELA MALDONALDO (GB/NO): "The Look of Happiness" 
Mina has just arrived in a new city and is looking for a place to live. Her
search becomes difficult and absurd when an estate agent makes hor go
through a series of bizarre tests.
JORG WAGNER, STEFAN PREHN (DE): "First Day on the Job"
Klaus has just passed his driving test for forklifts. But his first day on
the job turns out to be real challenge.
VIRGIL WIDRICH (AT): "Copy Shop"
A man working in a copy shop copies himself until he fills the entire
world… The film actually consists of nearly 18.000 photocopied digital
frames, which are animated and filmed with a 35 mm camera. It has been
nominated for the Oscar as "Best Short Film - Live Action" this year.

Animated films

NEELS BRITZ (ZA): "DAM"
A story about the animator's experiences during a visit to Amsterdam, mixed
with his childhood dreams. 
RENE CASTILLO (MX): "To the Bone"
A man dies and is burried. He finds himself at the earth's centre in a
great bar where he is greeted by skeletons celebrating death, a custom in
Mexico.
MARTHA COLBURN (NL/US): "Spiders in Love"
Collage animation technique, packed with motives of blood, sex and death.
JO GOIGNE (BE): "Mort Subite"
A man secretly takes pictures of the beautiful woman next door… 
SALLY GOLDING (AU): "Contained Vessels or Diseases Stolen from Other
Bodies" 
A young woman struggles to navigate her way through a claustrophobic and
sinister phsychological landscape, in which her role continuously shifts
between that of tormented subject and surrealist object. Shot in stop-frame
animation, the film portrays the bodies desperate attempt to escape it's
own damaged psyche.
IGOR LAZIN, BENSE SANDOR (HU): "Hilda's Story"
The film is made up of three different stories. In the beginning, all the
main characters are dreaming about love and happiness, but in the end they
face a bloody end.
BALÁSZ PÁL (HU): "Villy the Elephant"
At first glance an innocent animation for children later turns out to be a
horrible nightmare.
BRUNO RAZUM (HR): "Re:"
Earth is presented as a mother with unborn baby inside her. People are
exploiting her and her surface, and each of those actions is reflecting
directly on the unborn baby, until death. 


>>>OPEN SPACE

The Kiberpipa cyber cafe has a room with basic technical equipment (VHS,
video projector, slide projector, sound system) where artists, curators,
critics and collectors can present their works of art, portfolios or
projects on a daily basis. In the third week we attended the presentation
of Ethan Vlah, David Still, young British artist - Liane Lang and
presentations of a few Slovenian artists.