Τρίτη 3 Σεπτεμβρίου 2013

Recycling History _ Aspects of Balkan Photography 2013

Opening on Tuesday 3rd of September at the art gallery of the ex Municipality of Neapolis
Until Sunday, 8th of September, 2013.

It is organized by Photography Center of Thessaloniki, in the frame of the manifestations “BALKAN SQUARE”, organized by the Municipality of Neapolis-Sykies every year this period.

Participants are: Stelios Karatheodorou (Greece), Dimitris Prokopiou (Greece), Emin Altan (Turkey), Elcin Acun (Turkey), Derya Kilic (Turkey), Senay Öztürk (Turkey), Mina Sarenac (Serbia), Ebru Ceren Uzun (Turkey), Arif Emrah Orak (Turkey), Emin Kumbaradzi (FYROM), Slobodan Manojlovic (Serbia), Seckin Tercan(Turkey)

Some photos from the opening are following


















Σάββατο 30 Μαρτίου 2013

"Life is Good"

                                                 Jeanyves Rousson (French)

TETTIX Art Gallery
Opening on 10th of March,2013, 8.30pm
Group Photography Exhibition organized by 
Photography Center of Thessaloniki.
Curated by Aleka Tsironi
Participants are: 
Andreas Kauppi (Sweden), Rawn Em (Canada), Dmitry Kuklin (Russia), Κarin Schranz (Austria), Jeanyves Rousson (French), Marianna Mpazaka (Greece), Kostas Masseras (Greece), Aleka Tsironi (Greece), Efthimis Mouratidis (Greece), Vassilis Karkatselis (Greece). 

                                                        Rawn Em (Canada)


This exhibition concerns to the already declared need of an individual for observing itself and being self-defined as “human”. We consist ourselves the “corpus” of society, we are companions into life, sustain and create ideologies or even obsessions.
Eliminating any reference to spatiotemporal contex, the face and the body seem as if they keep the freedom of expression, choice and denotation, discharged by any “adjectival” designation. The verbal or written speech appears rather insufficient to describe the bodily lived experience. The language describes, realizes, while the body experiences; so it becomes the “clear” means which bears needs and political, social and moral choices, narrates and recount psychological situations.
People look like ”being lost” under the pressure of massiveness (and not collectiveness): “mass” information, “mass” aesthetics models, “mass” political verbal, psychology of mass. How does this solitude of mass-made is being experienced? Can man discrete his mass- made “training” by his personal choice and in up to what point? Or, is all this proved an endless struggle? Is the hetero-determination the dominant characteristic and which are the limits of deviation? 
Ten photographers (five Greeks and five foreigners) meet together through photography communing by the code of their means, about human hypostatis. It seems that the parameters are common: Ideological and political perception, investigation of “bad” self, wondering and observation of the “world”, psychic obsessions, self-sarcasm and dispute, comfort and acceptance, transformation of the bodies to carriers of ideas, questions and attitudes.
Aleka Tsironi
Photographer

Efthimis Mouratidis (Greece)

Man, as a resultant and as a component in a society which defines in order to be defined, which needs to be defined in order to define its “children”. Intimate aspects of human methexis, human non-fulfillment, human bravery and human horror. Images and visual quests which, in a first level, look like outlandish while in a second one, end up so close to our own unseen thoughts and unspecified travels of our soul and logic.
In the beginning it was logos, so here is a pictorial blending of ten photographers having the EGO, the human-inhuman, the individual-team, the inevitably familiar, as a common parameter and constitution.
Smaro Platioti
Director-Theatrologist

Participant photographers are:
Dmitry Kuklin (Russia), http://dkuklin.ru/,
Andreas Kauppi (Sweden), http://andreaskauppi.prosite.com/,
Karin Schranz (Austria), http://www.ska-art.com/,
Jeanyves Rousson (French), http://jean-yves-rousson.over-blog.com/,
Rawn Em (Canada), http://www.rwfm.deviantart.com/gallery/,
Vasilis Karkatselis, http://karkatselis.weebly.com/,
Kostas Masseras, http://www.masseras.com/,
Aleka Tsironi,
Marianna Mpazaka, 
Efthimis Mouratidis. 

Παρασκευή 15 Φεβρουαρίου 2013

"The Meadow (Livadi) of the ephemeral"



Residence / Workshop on integration of ephemeral Land Art


Photography Center of Thessaloniki in search of expanding ideas is organizing workshps in the village Livadi (Meadow) (Thessaloniki Prefecture), in collaboration with the Art Group TeeToTuM, a four-day residence / art workshop, in which participants would create artwork using materials collected from the surrounding area.
During this four-day (from Thursday 9 to Sunday12 of May 2013) artists will create an artwork in situ (in the field), which will remain as a landscape installation to be eventually fully absorbed by nature.
We encourage collaboration between artists to produce a single work. Round tables will be taking place daily with proposals concerning Land Art and ephemeral art, artists and participants will have the opportunity to present previous related work.
The artworks will remain in the landscape and will be visited until their final destruction by the weather or their absortion by nature.
The field that will host the workshop is located very close to the village of Livadi (35 km away from Thessaloniki, in the Vasilika) in an altitude of 850m. It is approximately 1 acre and is found in a semi-wild state of vegetation, except for about 200 meters, where potatoes, tomatoes and green beans are grown. There are several trees (cherry, apple, walnut, etc) and wild bushes like blackberries.
The Roundtable will be recorded on video for posting on the site of the Photography Center of Thessaloniki www.fkth.gr, also transcripts of presentations will be used for partial posting t on the Internet and other uses. The works will be in turn photographed for further presentation.
Those interested of joining, must send resume, previous work (if any) and a brief description of the work you intend to do. This is necessary for your participation in the workshop in the first phase .Also, send a list of tools and materials you will need if necessary and probably will not bring with you.



Participants are: Christel Andrea Steier (Germany), Mikhail Pogarsky (Russia), Stavroula Kaziale (Greece), Giannis Monogios (Greece), Cristine Wilis (Greece), Georgia Grigoriadou (Greece), Vassilis Karkatselis (Greece), Thanassis Raptis (Greece), Georgia Kourkounaki (Greece), Giorgos Politis (Greece), Giorgos Tsakiris (Greece), Magda Mademli (Greece).





For 10 participants free hospitality will be provided in the village. Places are limited and priority will be respected .The necessary tools will be available. The materials will need to be collected locally in nature, without refusing if some come from elsewhere.
More details will be announced to the participating artists.

https://www.facebook.com/events/539003242797334/

Information:
Thanassis Raptis +30 6973221887 raptisth@the.forthnet.gr
Georgia Grigoriadou +30 6945465559 gogo@go-teetotum.gr
Georgia Kourkounaki +30 6973406526 georgiakourkounaki@yahoo.com

Τετάρτη 24 Οκτωβρίου 2012

ORDET [Logos] PhotoBiennale 2012 / 22nd International Photography Meeting






MIET - NATIONAL BANK OF GREECE CULTURAL FOUNDATION - BOOKSHOP                          (11 TSIMISKI STREET, THESSALONIKI)

Apostolos Rizos

Artists: J. Diaz Infante, Anastasios Ktistis, Chloe Lelliott, Pauliana Valente Pimentel, Chloe Pissa, Thanasis Raptis, Apostolos Rizos, Dimitris Triantaphyllou



Curators: Lydia Chatziiakovou, Maria Kenanidou



Organized by: Photography Center of Thessaloniki www.fkth.gr


                                                           Anastasios Ktistis

In the framework of the parallel program of the PhotoBiennale, organized by the Thessaloniki Museum of Photography. 

The exhibition is inspired by the film ORDET (Denmark, 1954) by pioneer film director C.T. Dreyer, based on the theater play by Kaj Munk (writer and pastor who was executed by the Germans in 1944). 
Throughout his filmography, and in the specific film, Dreyer fought against fanaticism, religious dogmatism, intolerance and prejudice and defended the uniqueness of the individual and the right to rebellion against any authority figure. The inner light of his films comes from the conflict between soul and body, matter and spirit. In his movies, the environment (natural or artificial) corresponds to and reflects the characters' inner world. Actors should not look like but be their character, and Dreyer, pioneering in his time, eliminated makeup, in order to capture the authentic landscape of facial emotion. In addition, through the removal and abstraction of dramaturgical elements, he highlighted the absolutely necessary, the essential, filming the internal rather than the external life of his characters.


                                                                           Chloe Pissa

--- 
INFO 
Space: Bookshop of the National Bank of Greece Cultural Foundation (MIET, 11 Tsimiski Street, Thessaloniki)
Opening: Friday, 9 November 2012, 20.00
Duration: 10-25 November 2012
Opening hours: Monday, Wednesday, Saturday, 10.00-15.00
Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, 10.00-21.00
Sundays closed. Admission free. 


                                                                       J. Diaz Infante

LINKS:
Thessaloniki Center of Photography
http://freshfkth.blogspot.gr/2012/10/ordet-o-photobiennale-2012-22.html

MIET Bookshop - tel: (0030) 2310 288.036
bookstore-thessaloniki@miet.gr 
http://www.miettsimiski11.blogspot.com/

PhotoBiennale
http://photobiennale-greece.gr/en




                                                                       Chloe Lelliott


                                                                     Dimitris Triantafyllou


                                                                      Thanassis Raptis





Pauliana Valente Pimentel







Τετάρτη 10 Οκτωβρίου 2012

"Worlds under Construction" "Aspects of Balkan Photography. New route in the time of crisis" - Thessaloniki 2012”




14 – 31/10/2012             "Worlds under Construction" 
                                                                                                                  Opening of a group photography exhibition on Sunday 14/10, 20.30'  at Goethe Institut

Participants are: Avela Admon (Bulgaria), Nikos Kotzampasakis (Greece), Volkan Kiziltunc (Turkey), Seckin Tercan (Turkey),  Mina Sarenac (Serbia), Burim Myftiu (Albania), Deniz Aciksoz (Turkey), Hakan Dagdelen (Turkey), Ebru Ceren Uzun (Turkey), Arif Emrah Orak (Turkey), Hasan Emre Dipsar (Turkey), Ana Andonovska (FYROM), Daniel Djamo (Romania).
Curator: Christina Voulgari

Working hours: Mon - Fri  09.00' - 17.30' 



“Worlds Under Construction”

Worlds live together in societies which are looking for their identity and their survival. As a result, either they accept it, either they reject it with agony. Enormous mass of information, political and financial instability, social media and huge technological speed. All these are intersected in the living worlds. For each artist these worlds result from his own reality, combined with the individual and collective memory. The photographers allow us to penetrate in their lenses or their creative combination of images, in order to underline the existence of many different worlds under the  shelter of the general accepted human group. 

The curator confronts face to face worlds which evolve gradually and continuously. These worlds are under construction in order to be born the stable edifice of each one artist and in extension of each one of the human being. Through this we all confront the familiar or close images and memories with similar experiences or social conditions which affect us all. Thus, they remind us of how life in the modern world and reality is constructed or demolished continuously, without staying stable on a specific point. Life, society, individual or collective happenings, always create a highway under construction. They are constructed piece by piece either unilaterally, or multilevelly. Under these thoughts, beside the portraits of sceptic people who feel that their world collapsed, can be posed other portraits of those how dream and reborn their memories. Among them, the shot of some other photographer captures the ruins and the place where family memories lay from the migration land. 

Differently captured photos, portraits, houses, others thorough inventive with multiple combinations and modern editing methods, landscapes and documentary, are penetrated from the same feeling. The exhibition is unrolled under this crucial feeling. They are imprinted thoughts and images of personal and global worlds which is proved to be under construction all the time. Worlds, which were hurt, or doubted, worlds full of pain, or which changed rapidly nowadays and reconstructed. But these worlds and all these aspects of view never stopped looking for rebirth and existence.

Christina Voulgari – Art Historian

Curator





Avela Admon  
A “surreal game” of modern world. Our thoughts, our illogical or weirdly combined clues, our personal and collective identity in crisis, are formed in images through colors, senses, self-sarcasm and the influence of strong images.

Born 1971 in Varna, Bulgaria lives in Austria and Germany since 1991. She works on the field of contemporary photography. Her artistic interests are focused in present life. She manipulates personages and interacts with dogmatic concept of reality. Her works has been presented on international art fairs, festivals, curatorial projects and solo exhibitions in Bulgaria, Germany, UK, Italy and Quatar.







Nikos Kotzampasakis   
Beside, in and among the greek time of crisis and the human doubt. Nikos Kotzabasakis thanks to his job is in everyday contact with the portrets of people that resent and breath deeply with grief when spreading their arm to pay fir the absolute necessary things. Their image is painful, sharp and frozen in time by judging and reprobating for all we capable or unable to do and confront. 

Born in Thessaloniki in 1976, Greece. He lives and works in Thessaloniki and is active on the photographic art the last three years. He is member of Photography Center of Thessaloniki PCT and has participated in four group exhibitions. The street photography is his main subject of interest and always provides him with inspiration and action.  







Seckin Tercan 
In a world of loneliness often, people are somehow stored and trapped in time. Different people, each one are isolated in their world and focused in their thoughts. Here they seam to be as if ready for an unknown big step overwhelmed by their reality. We are separate units, but always stand for a simple and explicit moment to think what we are about to live and contribute while living. Or is it unbearable to make more effort? This is the huge question, which stands still. 

Born in Cyprus Kyrnea, 1978. Enrolled in Mimar Sinan University, Fine Arts Faculty, Photography Department, in 1995. Enrolled in MFA degree program at the same University in 2000. He started Phd at the same University 2004. He won third awards in Nude photography Los Angeles International Photography Awards in 2004. He had his first solo exhibition titles “Total Part” in Cyprus, Nicosia in March 2006, followed by an exhibition titled “Fetus” in Cyprus, Nicosia in April 2007 and “Hands” in Boise, Idaho, USA in July 2007. He has also participated in various other joint exhibitions. He is working as an Assistant Professor at MSGSU Fine Arts Faculty Photography Department. Lives and works in Istanbul, Turkey.








Burim Myftiu
Worlds of black and white, grays, dark and light, religion, ideology, despair and crisis, come together. Everything seems to be under construction and continuous research of identity and belief. It reflects us and influences us all. Myftiu researches and really finds our most secret aspect of life. Moments which has to be seen and definatelly are part of real life. We come face to face with facts from our reality. 

Born in 1961, Prizren, Kosova is an Albanian-American contemporary photographer. He started in early 80's and later after graduating in Philology – University of Prishtina, specialized commercial photography in NYIP, New York. He is a member of New Haven Arts Council in State of Connecticut, also associated with several photography, film and art organizations in the USA. Additionally, he is also a founder of KIPA - Kosova Images Photography Agency. He participated and juried in film festivals, photography contests and other international events. Lives and works in USA and Kosova.







Deniz Aciksoz 
Nowadays humanity and nature hides and at the same time reveals with audacity a double nature. Our worlds are constructed under two poles. Modernity and tradition, subjectivity and objectivity, peace and war, poverty and wealth, faked icons and natural images… The list is growing over and over again. We are doubled livings trying to balance in a world with two sides. With a lot of try, maybe we can still recognize which is the fake and which the side of ours. The goal of "3-5" series is to separate fashion photography from it's usual perfectionist appearance with a search for a new and distinct point of view. Taking advantage of the loss of locality in fashion, it incorporates a natural, random and uncontrolled integrity into the framing in order to create an innovative expression.

Born in Istanbul in 1986. She started her studies at the Fine Arts University Minar Sinan of Istanbul, Department of Photography in 2003, from which she graduated in 2009. She works continuously on photography and participates in workshops and exhibitions. 






Hakan Dagdelen 
Work called ‘Deus Ex’. Photographs of scenes, staged, designed by Hakan Dagdelen with every detail, represent indiviguals in a staged and distant world. Content and form are fighting but also coexist with each other. A new isolated world is constructed, reminding to us who feasible is to construct new existence and enrich our knowledge on human being. 

Born in Turkey. Lives and works in Istanbul. Studies of photography and design at Minar Sinan University of Istanbul. His work is designed every time until the last detail. Very creative with staged concepts, he designs alone even the costums and comes up by presenting a whole new world for the audience. Context and form is his permanent question and theme. 







Ebru Ceren Uzun 
Surface/Transfer
The rapport of human, space and object is an interaction and forms a dynamic process. They reshape each other as a result of traces left by this interaction.
Our constructed and builded environment can be seen edited with detail, full of color and sensitivity, giving every time unique and non-repeatable result. At the same time it is projected in small scale. It is seems to be a kind of keyhole through which we can observe our world. Our huge world seems to be so small some times. It reminds us that everything we establish, construct, re-construct or leave to the merciless time, are moving in circles and can start over again.

 Born in İstanbul in 1976. She began her undergraduate education at Mimar Sinan University, Faculty of Fine Arts, Department of Photography in 1995. After completing her degree in 1999, she started working as a research fellow at Kocaeli University Faculty of Fine Arts, Department of Photography in 2002. She received her Master’s degree, which  she began in 2004, from Mimar Sinan Fine Art University, Institute of Social Sciences, Photography Program in 2007. In 2008, she started pursuing a Doctorate. Since 2005, Uzun has been working as a research fellow at Mimar Sinan Fine Art University Faculty of Fine Arts, Department of Photography, still continues to work on photography.





Arif Emrah Orak 
Isolation, frozen figures overwhelmed by their private space. Spaces full of objects and common people left and captured in their world. Here isolation, the empty expression of sight and almost desperate posture are crossed. You can see even yourself in some of these images. It is maybe because reflects very equal parts of our interior and private space and self. It could be one us. The worlds can be so surprisingly common among us, even though they seem totally apart from each other. When time passing, we get to learn that our microcosm was at last thought to be so tiny and depressed. By confronting these images, motivates us to break the inconvenient  stability and construct a new world. 

Born in Istanbul, Turkey in 1983. His education at Macka Industry Trade Highschool was very important, by graduating from the Furniture-Decoration Department. He continued in 2005 his studies at the Minar Sinan Fine Arts University of Istanbul, graguating from the Photography Department in 2012. He is participating in group exhibitions and runs also his solo.  







Hasan Emre Dipsar 
Nymphomania: Tough title and poignant. The world has an aspect of decay, corruption and controversy. Human body is the protagonist. It is decayed, stands hovering and controverted but also it is shown as the only way of expansion. The intersection of fashion industry’s deformity and degeneration with nymphomania is remarkable. Sex is one of the irrevocable elements in fashion photography since 1970’s. Body with this way passes through its hard mortality from everyday life and force of the image, to conclude to deconstruction. Can it come back to stand strong on new establishment? And is there a good reason to do so?  It is a remaining fact if the structure and the fabrication can be reformed and reborn from the start.  Either way, it is part of our world.

Born in Turkey and graguate of Minar Sinan University of Istanbul, has established a Company for creative Photography, ILMISIMYA. Lives and works in Istanbul. He is working on several fields and kinds of photography, fashion, documentary, creative, advertisement and participates in numerous projects and exhibitions. 







Ana Andonovska   
“We are alive. We are human, with good and bad in us. That's all we know for sure. We can't create a new species or a new world. That's been done. Now we have to live within those boundaries . What are our choices? We can despair and curse, and change nothing. We can choose evil like our enemies have done and create a world based on hate. Or we can try to make things better.” 
― (Carol Matas, Daniel's Story)  
Left to be answered:  Demolish and construct? Good will or envy? Self-destruction or effort for improvement? It’s up to you.

Born in 1991, Kumanovo, FYROM, is a contemporary photographer. Holds degree from Faculty of Economics, University of St. Cyril and Methodius, Skopje.  She teaches photography, participates as a judge in photography exhibitions, runs contemporary projects and participates through them in China, Beijing and Shanghai in “Dare to Dream”.  







Daniel Djamo (video)
The Barricade. “On December 21sr 2011 freedom fighters came to pay respect to the dead of the Romanian Revolution from 1989 in Universitate Square, in the center of Bucharest. The OTV television channel, could not miss this. So they didn’t. 21 days later, on 12th January of 2012, protests against the Romanian Government erupted in the exact same place, Universitate Squre. The protests managed to force the change of Romanian Prime Minister, Emil Boc.” (Daniel Djamo) 
The “world” of now and then, seemed to have changed. Maybe, at last it has not, that much. But it is for sure that humans, in whichever state they belong to, can construct a new world if they deeply desire it. 

Born in 1987, Rumania, holds Bachelor of Arts, Journalism, Photography and Video art from department of the National Academy of Fine Arts from Bucharest. Studied also in Germany and holds a Master Degree on Photography and Video art department of the National Academy of Fine Arts from Bucharest. Activated artist in festivals and workshops around Europe. Participation in film festivals and numerous groups exhibitions. Last important single exhibition has taken place in Kassel, Germany (with support from Kassel Kunsthochschule - Kassel Academy of Fine Arts), during DOCUMENTA 13







Volkan Kiziltunc (video) 
Nightwatch is about spaces and people in two cities, Istanbul and Vienna. The captures phenomenons of streets, gateways passages and windows during the night seen in a parallel editing in three channels
Nightwatch. A night “duty”, a night observation where the people transmute under the lights of crowded cities or empty spaces. Everything in the dark changes and is constructed in a new form. It is about to confront the same world of daylight we are living in but under a different aspect. The same human microcosm is revealed under a different point of view, until the sun rises again and again. It is a continuous circle of our worlds which underlines the repeatability, the mortality and our quick passing from life and society. 

Born in Arkara, Turkey in 1976. Studies in Archaiology in Instabul and Photography. Since 2009 he’s been studying MFA in photography and working as a research assistant in Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, Department of Photography. He’s doing photography and video projects and living in Istanbul. Numerous participation in group exhibitions.  Awarded and continuous creativity in photography field.



Mina Sarenac
Antigravity looks like to be a purpose and a dream to our life. We wish to have it and swing freely through objects. We project this freedom also to our independence of thoughts. We need to think with creativity and freedom. We need to construct a light weighted world. It seems to be feasible. 

Born in 1986, Belgrade of Serbia. Her tendency to design come up even from the high school years. In 2011 graduated from Academy of Applied Arts. She participates in exhibitions, workshops concerning photography, graphic art and design and also in many open competitions. Current occupation is freelance photographer and multimedia artist.