Kontrapunkt

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Debate and exhibition in Shtip

Tuesday, 06.07.2004. at 21.00. in the Art Galery "Bezisten" in Shtip, Kontrapunkt and Literaturen klub "Iskra" will held debate and exhibition.

The two events will be presented as part of the Shtip cultural summer festival, and in the framework of Shtip, city of culture for 2004, Macedonia. The exhibition "Four female artists - for view" would present Natasha Andonova, Gordana Vrencoska, Emilija Bozinovska and Irena Paskali (under the curatorship of Maja Cankulovska). The same night the debate on the theme "The Local and the national in culture" will held with Nikola Gelevski, Robert Alagjozovski, Olivera Zezova, Kire Panajotov and Dina Mitrovic.

The exhibition "Four female artists - for view" would present several art works by each artist, as a selection from their exhibitions in Tocka as a part of the Confluent Margins project.

The four artists differ by their expression (Natasha Andonova - drawings, Gordana Vrencoska, paintings, Emilija Bozinovska - collages, Irena Paskali - video) and by the problems they treat thus having different plce in the contemporary art production.

Natasha Andonova and Emilija Bozinovska treat the "pure" art problems and they go back to the "old" techniques. Natasha Andonova presents only figuration. She uses long time known motifs: still life, self-portrait, nude and landscape. Drawings are made in a period of several years and usually are made in small dimensions, or in explicit big dimensions. She creates the drawing with fast action in a form of a sketch where certain parts of the body or the face are emphasized - expression mostly represented in female nudes.

"Peculiar Forest - second part" presents collages made of standard colored paper, a material which stimulates spontanity of expresion and through which fragments of the trees originate. The material offers endless opportunities for "childrens' games of improvisation", and in turn helps achieve simple visual solutions. Single-coloured (sometimes shiny) paper fragments are mounted on top of the monochrome plain, in order to achive the final effect of a dynamic colourful / decorative structure.

Contrary to them, Gordana Vrencovska and Irena Paskali treat social and political themes.

The crucial element in the latest project of Gordana Vrencoska "Correspondence" in communication - information exchange, as indicated in the title. Hereby, the correspondence, displayed in several parts (rooms), is observed through its negative aspect, as a strictly business process without any dialogue, as a linear emission of information. Unlike the previous projects, where personal questions are targeted, the author takes the role of a catalyst for the collective messaging. This presentation is based on quotations, editing, collage, simulation; abundant in subordinate objects-symbols, iconic and par-iconic signs and metaphoric, and the highlighted pop-artistic formal solutions (assemblage, ready-made) are acting as critic of the consumer-ism.

Irena Paskali video "At this bottom" is short documentary story about absurdity of mutual (in)tolerance and (un)acceptability of two religions that are geographically determinated. The eternal conflict of culturological differences is shown on the video, and trough documentary recordings of events from (and around) 2001 similarities are shown: similarities in rituals, in celebration of big religious celebrations, but also similarities in mutual destruction and suffering. In the case of "At this bottom", the story marks the actual social changes and its influence on the subjects of this society.

The aim of the debate "The local and the national in culture" is to rethink once again the terms local and national and to see how they differ but also how they intertwine. To discuss, in a local community, which spiritual, institutional, infrastructural and legal conditions are needed for reviving the culture on a local level, to overcome the gap between the national and the local cultural values, to create new quality in culture of the local communities, and to reflect how the local values enrich the national culture. The debate should help the articulation of the public opinion in the context of the essential reforms, on the plan of decentralization in the cultural sphere in the country, process that have to make difference, to stimulate and to realize the so called national and local interest in the culture.