| IVA-MATIJA BITANGA I LEO VUKELIĆ
POSSIBLE THEATRE
24.02 - 26.03.06
biography
The exhibition focuses on the idea of performativity in the work of these artists, who although they do not deal with classical performance as a form of artistic expression in which the artists carries out an action live in front of a public, in their video works and series of photographs they often use the language of performativity.
Art Cricle Time 24.02 2006.
Possible Theatre
Iva Matija Bitanga and Leo Vukelić
Maja Fowkes
When we were thinking about which way to introduce the work of Iva Matija Bitanga and Leo Vukelić, and how to conceptualise this exhibition, and present the artists which in some way deal with different things, we came to the conclusion that we should maybe talk about performativity in their work. Both artists have an element of performativity in their work, although it is not performance in the classical sense, in their video works, a series of photos of dressing up, as well as in the theatre, as they are both active in the theatre. So, we constructed the exhibition around the idea of performativity and this will be the theme of our conversation through Art Circle Time.
Circle:
Maja Fowkes, curator of the exhibition
Reuben Fowkes, also the curator of the exhibition
Marijan Balen, founder of the gallery
Hrvoje Špicer, director of the Ivana Brlić Mažuranić Theatre Hall in Slavonski Brod
Iva Matija Bitanga, artist in this exhibition
Danijela Mitrovć- Ljubičić curator at the Brod Regional Museum
Zlatko Kozina, art teacher
Ivan Šeremet, artist
Marija Radšević, journalist with Voice of Slavonia
Stanislav Kur, from the Children's Theatre Ivana Brlić Mažuranić
N.N. educator at children's nursery Slavonski Brod
Ana Rosandić, educator at children's nursery Slavonski Brod
Leo Vukelć, artist in this exhibition.
Theatre as life, life as a theatre in which we all play our roles
Favourite role?
RF My favourite role in life is to be a father
MB I wanted to say grandfather, but don't want to repeat. If something is a role in my life, then we could call it a cultural ambassador.
HŠ I'm not a father, nor a grandfather, but, let's say, homo hominem homini
IMB Apart from the role of being Marica's mother, which is a very big role at the moment, I like working in the theatre, in combination with what we usually do.
DMLj Apart from parental role, I like hanging out with friends
ZK I find myself more and more in the role of the promoter of art in our public sphere
IŠ I prefer the thesis that art is life itself, and too wrap the everyday into poetic form is one role that is always on my mind
MR The role of the mother, single mother, as a journalist I can't change the world, so I'm trying to change myself, say by rambling
SK The role in the theatre
AR During the day we play a lot of roles, for example the role of sports coach
NN Mother and friend and educator in all aspects
LV Most of all I enjoy the realisation of ideas
Do you agree?
I BELIEVE IN SAINT NICOLAS
I'M AFRAID OF CRAMPUS
I THINK THAT IN IVA'S VIDEO WORKS THERE IS A LINE OF WOMEN'S ART
VIDEO IS ALSO A FORM OF PERFORMANCE
FOR ME THEATRE IS ART
About Hyperordinary, the video work of Iva Matija Bitanga
ZK The first association of this video work is Georg Baselitz.
IMB I can explain why I turned this picture upside down. It is because I wanted to change this geo-centric orientation which is so usual for us. And it's more interesting to watch. This work was filmed with a normally placed camera, not upside down. Over the period of a few months I documented the everyday ritual of getting dressed for the day, for our role in which we will present ourselves to the people we will hang out with that day. That is the question of the uniform - the clothes we wear are defined by our age, season, daily program, that is a ritual process which we repeat every day. The sound of the video also follow the idea of repetition: I'm counting until 100 in three languages, Croatian, English and German, because these are the languages I'm living in, thinking and communicating in, and at the end of the film there is a children's nursery rhyme Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, because from very early on we start thinking what we will become one day when we grow up.
This is a performance by the means of camera, which is finished by the methods of post-production. It was documentary as well as acted, because I am conscious that the camera is recording, especially in intimate moments, which remain hidden.
About Saint Nicolas, the theatre and woods
LV We started with theatre for economic reasons, because in the world of theatre, there is a more advanced understanding than in art that when you do something, you should be paid for it. In the beginning I didn't have much experience in working with children, but it is interesting how that feeling gradually develops. So, I started to play Father Christmases, or Santa Clauses. In my artistic work I'm looking for some other perspective. What the preparation for playing Santa Claus mean? What if we take him out of one context and put him in another? What does he represent then? What if the uniform is put on someone smaller? What does it mean to pose dressed up as Father Christmas in the cellar? What happens when Santa Claus, who we always imagine in the snow, is put in the woods? Saint Nicolas who is running through the woods is a performance.
Saint Nicolas and Crampus drinking coffee
MF In the video work at this exhibition you're dressed as Saint Nicolas, and drinking coffee with Crampus.
LV Yes, I recorded the situation in which Saint Nicolas and a girl Crampus are sitting in the canteen of a hotel and are having coffee while they wait to be called to perform in front of children.
About Brod, theatre and artists
 MB I am interested to know, seeing as Slavonski Brod does not have its own theatre company, how do you work with artist to do set design?
S We collaborate with people from Zagreb, and in the last case Rijeka.
MB For example, when you're putting together a show, do you invite artist from Brod to help you, or do you rely on the help of collaborators from elsewhere?
S I rely on collaborators in ZagrebHS We don't have a production capability here, Brod used to have an amateur theatre, and now we are looking for finished projects that will work well in our venue
S While we had a theatre company, we used to do everything ourselves, including set design
MB How is it in children's theatre?
AR In the nursery we have a children's theatre, called Happy Days. It's about enthusiasm and we do everything on our own, including sets, costumes and puppets, and in the nursery there are theatre shows everyday!
Tiger Theatre
LV We for example, do everything ourselves, dolls and props, costume design.because we can't afford to do otherwise. We always try to work with new people on new shows. Although it is not always comfortable, as you get used to working with the same people. But, new people bring new ideas, new vibrations, which is even better, although you need to adapt. So in our shows, we always want to have new people, either directors or actors.
Hamper, Bauhaus and ZKM
MF Already in 1995, you worked on the cult show Hamper with Rene Medvesek?
MB Yes, when I met Rene Medvesek he started to work on Hamper, and invited me to get involved, and later I worked on some other shows at ZeKaM.
Seeing as in Croatia it is not possible to study set design, there is only one course at the Design Faculty, after I graduated from Zagreb Art Academy I was looking for an opportunity to further my studies in set design. Through contacts I got information about different institutions abroad, and somehow that school in Karlsruhe caught my eye. The school is in someway, as they like to think, a continuation of the tradition of the Bauhaus, in which alongside art, architecture and design, also philosophy was nurtured. The Centre for Art and Media Technology is located in a building that used to be a gun factory, so from this building the weapons that destroyed Europe were made, and now it is a leading cultural instiution in which stars like Boris Groys and Peter Weibel are working. I studied set design with
Theatre = Art?
DMLj I wouldn't say that all theatre is art, I wouldn't agree with that, although it can be.
IMB Not every theatre performance is art, just as not every house is architecture
MB I think that theatre includes the aspect of multimedia: spoken word, set, music, movement, space, time. There is no nicer example of multi-media than theatre. Set design is one extremely important factor, for example, the show doesn't have to be good, but it can be important if it has a fantastic set. Or, if the script is not good, but the music composed for it is, it can gain a lot in its artistic value. According to this, if your shows are scenographically, artistically, aesthetically polished, then they have accentuated that component.
I don't like minimalist shows, in the sense of two actors, a table, chair and a coat hanger, when they have a bizarre text that has nothing to do with contemporary life, then that's not theatre, it's a parody of theatre. We in small cities have a not infrequent chance to see performances like this.
DMLj I have for example, seen Munchhausen, which is totally minimalistic, and the set is just a black space, and it is a genuine art work.
ZK For me, teaching in school is an art work. In that sense, if working in school can be an art work, then working in the theatre can also be.
Multimedia and 2D
LV As you said, theatre is a multimedial artistic branch, in which collaboration is very important, that means everyone has to function together. On the other hand, there is Fine Art, which is 2 dimensional, it has its own limitations within which the medium has to function, but it can equally be fantastic.
Croatian Lesson
HS The Croatian words should be used.
MF What is the Croatian word for performance?
HS Dogadjanje
All That is happening!
Art?
IS We can feel art here
MR I just wanted to ask the professionals where is the connection here between art and life? For me it is hard to recognise it. If everything in life we do is art, if life is art, can you tell me more than 'we feel art'?
The Role of Art
MF First of all, performance is today a classical branch of artistic expression. There are different ways in which the role of art is considered today. On the one hand, there is understanding that art exists for its own sake, and shouldn't be used for any purpose or be instumentalised, and on the other hand, there is an understanding of the artist as knowledge producer. Artists can teach us something as producers of alternative knowledge. Anyhow, they can provoke us to think, just like in this exhibition, about roles we play in life, or that we are always performing something.
To End
THERE IS A PERFORMER HIDING IN ALL OF US
If you agree, make the noise of your favourite animal - if not, pass!
Woof woof
Eee haa
Neigh
Cock a doodle doo
Meow
Oo ahh
Meoooow
- (I'm a tortoise)
- (I'm a fish)
Oink oink
Woof
Meow
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