Int’l Istanbul Biennial to seek answer to question
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Hurriyet Daily News
OluÅŸturulma Tarihi: Haziran 30, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL - The 11th International Istanbul Biennial will take place between Sept. 12 and Nov. 8 under the title, 'What Keeps Mankind Alive?' from the closing song of the second act of Bertolt Brecht s 'The Threepenny Opera,' from 80 years ago.
The 11th International Istanbul Biennial s conceptual framework has been announced by its curators, What, How & for Whom, or WHW.
The 11th International Istanbul Biennial, sponsored by Koç Holding and organized by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts, will take place between Sept. 12 and Nov. 8 and takes its title, What Keeps Mankind Alive? from the closing song of the second act of Bertolt Brecht s The Threepenny Opera, which was written 80 years ago.
Â
A phenomenal success at the time of its premiere in 1928, The Threepenny Opera set out to revolutionize theater as both an artistic form and a tool for social and political change. The song What Keeps Mankind Alive? has achieved a specific and symbolic value in the popular culture of the 20th century and has been interpreted by many artists of various genres such as Tom Waits, William S. Burroughs and the Pet Shop Boys.
WHW has chosen to announce the conceptual framework of the biennial through a short dramatic performance in which they were the actors, instead of releasing the concept in the conventional press release format. WHW performed at the Ses Theater under the direction of Croatian theater director Oliver Frlji to an audience made up of press and the contemporary art scene. After the performance, curators answered questions.
Serving as a trigger
According to WHW, the question What keeps mankind alive? seems to be more urgent and topical than when it was first posed by Brecht in 1928. The conceptual framework of the biennial will serve as a trigger, as well as a certain script for the exhibition, allowing WHW and the artists to pose questions of economic and social urgency today.
By bringing Brecht back into the spotlight, WHW aims to re-evaluate our ways of action, our value systems and daily practices in terms of the role of artistic production in today s capitalist climate, according to WHW. In posing the question What keeps mankind alive? WHW is more interested in Brecht s oeuvre not as a classic that needs to be rediscovered and shown to new generations, but as a source for a variety of models, proposals, strategies of artistic practice and understanding of art.
The curators of the 11th International Istanbul Biennial are made up of four women: Ana Devic, Natasa Ilic, Sabina Sabolovic and Ivet Curlin, who studied art history and comparative literature at the University of Zagreb. WHW was formed in 1999. It is based in Zagreb, Croatia, and since 2003 has been directing the program of Gallery Nova, a non-profit, city-owned gallery in Zagreb.
For the social dimensions of their work in contemporary art since 1989, the ERSTE Foundation awarded the first Igor Zabel Culture & Theory Award to WHW.
The 11th International Istanbul Biennial, sponsored by Koç Holding and organized by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts, will take place between Sept. 12 and Nov. 8 and takes its title, What Keeps Mankind Alive? from the closing song of the second act of Bertolt Brecht s The Threepenny Opera, which was written 80 years ago.
Â
A phenomenal success at the time of its premiere in 1928, The Threepenny Opera set out to revolutionize theater as both an artistic form and a tool for social and political change. The song What Keeps Mankind Alive? has achieved a specific and symbolic value in the popular culture of the 20th century and has been interpreted by many artists of various genres such as Tom Waits, William S. Burroughs and the Pet Shop Boys.
WHW has chosen to announce the conceptual framework of the biennial through a short dramatic performance in which they were the actors, instead of releasing the concept in the conventional press release format. WHW performed at the Ses Theater under the direction of Croatian theater director Oliver Frlji to an audience made up of press and the contemporary art scene. After the performance, curators answered questions.
Serving as a trigger
According to WHW, the question What keeps mankind alive? seems to be more urgent and topical than when it was first posed by Brecht in 1928. The conceptual framework of the biennial will serve as a trigger, as well as a certain script for the exhibition, allowing WHW and the artists to pose questions of economic and social urgency today.
By bringing Brecht back into the spotlight, WHW aims to re-evaluate our ways of action, our value systems and daily practices in terms of the role of artistic production in today s capitalist climate, according to WHW. In posing the question What keeps mankind alive? WHW is more interested in Brecht s oeuvre not as a classic that needs to be rediscovered and shown to new generations, but as a source for a variety of models, proposals, strategies of artistic practice and understanding of art.
The curators of the 11th International Istanbul Biennial are made up of four women: Ana Devic, Natasa Ilic, Sabina Sabolovic and Ivet Curlin, who studied art history and comparative literature at the University of Zagreb. WHW was formed in 1999. It is based in Zagreb, Croatia, and since 2003 has been directing the program of Gallery Nova, a non-profit, city-owned gallery in Zagreb.
For the social dimensions of their work in contemporary art since 1989, the ERSTE Foundation awarded the first Igor Zabel Culture & Theory Award to WHW.