[spectre] A way of life's camouflage - Tagil tray

[aleksey shklyaev]

A way of life's camouflage - Tagil tray.
Contemporary art in techniques of varnish - painting on the metal surface

Author of the project and main curator - Eugeny Umansky (NCCA Kalinigrad)
Curators: Oleg Lystsov , Yulia Gnirenko (CCC of the Ural State University, Nizgniy Tagil)

"A way of life's camouflage - Tagil tray: contemporary art in techniques of varnish - painting on the metal surface" - an artistic stage of intercultural program "Contemporary Military Arts, Alertness", is a network artistic communication on military theme. Electronic sketches of artists were reduced by painters on souvenir surfaces of the trays, typical products of the Ural cottage industry according to all techniques of varnish - painting (specific method of photography, collage, graphics' transfer on the metal surface). Thus, this project is based not only on a military concept, but also on principle of coexistence of so called high art and handcraft, where an artist - creator, idea's mediator can play any role.  Having chosen a military identity as a new artistic brand, curators tried to make specific task of the project a little easier for realization and announced as a theme of the project not ideology, but emotion - military euphoria, romantics, folklore, dzen weapon's beauty and therefore turned war into mainstream. 

Event
Politicians for describing the world history of the 21st century use the term "civilization of local wars". Under condition of globalization militarization of consciousness -acceptance of the war by countries and social institutions as inevitability - became the main problem in contemporary world. 
 Nizgniy Tagil is a city, where many enterprises are specialized on weapons manufacturing, where every year one of the biggest international exhibitions "Russian Expo Arms" is conducted. This city is considered as a center of "military tourism" and receptor of Russian military euphoria on political as well as on common, ordinary level.  Population of the city is economically depended on sale of deterrents to "friend's countries". Common picture of the urban environment are huge advertisements on a street that promote weapons - the main selling items, the basis of the urban economy. That is why it is impossible to find any statements there such as "Russian military service warn - weapons is dangerous for life" like "Smoking kills" on a pack of cigarettes. The theme of weapons selling substitute fashion discussion about democracy, ecology and gender troubles. Unique situation of economical militarism blocked up dweller's consciousness and transformed it into "alertness for show". Militarized patriotism with Super State national idea became a norm of life in the city and is driven into absurd- reluctance to realize the reality of military confrontations.

Concept
Promoted alert as military -fashion-theme in contemporary artistic consciousness curators of the project constrain the participants to discuss militarism. The curators rather devote this project to pseudo - debates of war and militarism, than to controversial anti- or for- militarism reasoning. It is mainly a discussion among artistic community, which has never experienced real military operations. The main idea of this project is to initialize an art activity, without any responsibility of militarism' propaganda. It is clear artist's reflection, which is free of any military economical illusions. Artist created they own work, a single exemplar for exhibiting. Maybe it is not so difficult to put painted tray with military subject alongside with unisex fashion, cryptic gays and art in public places. Reducing sketches of contemporary artists into everyday goods is like making new brand as "Russian Expo Arms". Therefore, art became included in a military tourism zone. 
 
Requirements to authors
1. Each participant provides one sketch in any artistic technology in accordance with a chosen tray form.
2. Electronic sketches are sent to the organizers' e-mails: umansky at ncca.koenig.ru , wirt at rambler.ru (preferable format - jpg, not exceeding 500kB).

Note 
By the authors request the organizers can order production of the trays' copies for extra pay.
Curators of the project assume the right to publish the trays' images created on the basis of the authors sketches on the project's web-site and  in polygraphic editions (catalogue, art magazines)
By now more than 40 Russian artists from big cities, cultural centres, have taken part in the project. The collection of the authors' trays was represented at:

- International Museum Biennial in Krasnoyarsk. 1 prize for the best artistic project
- Nizhny Tagil Museum of Fine Arts
- Youth Museum, Ekaterinburg

The collection is presupposed to be exhibited at the museums in Novosibirsk, Izhevsk, Samara, Nizhny Novgorod, St. Petersburg, Moscow, Kaliningrad.  
A colour catalogue is to be published and a web-site is to be created. 


National Centre for Contemporary Arts /// Kaliningrad branch 
e-mail - umansky at ncca.koenig.ru
post - 236000 Russia Kaliningrad p/o box 1582, www.ncca.koenig.ru
Center for contemporary culture of the Ural State University /// Branch in Nizniy Tagil
e-mail - wirt at rambler.ru 
post - 622000 Russia Nizniy Tagil, Pervomaisky st 52 p/o box 26