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SARKIS'S 'BALLADS' ECHO AT ROTTERDAM'S SUBMARINE WHARF
Cihan News Agency (CNA)
August 1, 2012 Wednesday
Turkey
ISTANBUL (CIHAN)- The Submarine Wharf at Rotterdam's world-famous
docklands is currently home to a gigantic installation by
Turkish-Armenian contemporary artist Sarkis in what makes up one of
the key events in an ongoing series of cultural events celebrating
the 400th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Turkey and the
Netherlands.
Called "Ballads," Sarkis's installation is made up of a set of
monumental sculptures over 16 meters tall and a carillon, also
incorporating light, video and music by American composer John Cage.
Cage's "Litany for the Whale" forms a permanent backdrop to the
installation, spread over almost 5,000 square meters on the campus.
The carillon continuously plays "Litany for the Whale" and takes the
visitor on a journey into the realm where submarines and whales meet.
The pendant to the monumental bell tower is a 16-meter-tall lampshade
covered with white down feathers. Accompanying them in "The Futuro,"
are Sarkis's videos about water.
The wharf's original function and the surrounding water are central
to the installation, which unites the building's past and present
through monumental objects, music and colored films on its windows
that filter the daylight like a modern variant of stained glass.
Inspired by the church interiors of 17th-century Dutch painter
Pieter Saenredam, Sarkis transformed the wharf into a "sacred meeting
place," said the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, the Rotterdam-based
commissioners of the work.
The format of the space, the special lighting and the sound of
the carillon with 43 bells create a hallowed atmosphere for the
installation, evoking the form of the submarines once built at
the wharf.
The combination makes up a "poetic installation," as the Museum
Boijmans Van Beuningen puts it. All the elements in Sarkis's work
support the musical narrative, in which the visitor plays a leading
role, the museum says on its website, www.boijmans.nl.
"In 'Ballads,' Sarkis attempts to create a connection between the dark
depths of the water and the majestic expanse of thin air," writes guest
curator Nicolette Gast in the catalog that accompanies the exhibition.
Born Sarkis Zabunyan in Istanbul in 1938, the Paris-based artist
is known for his unique combination of the atmosphere of Oriental
mysticism with Western conceptual art. The concepts "time" and "memory"
play an important role in his work, exhibited since the early 1970s
in such prestigious art events as the Venice Biennale and Documenta
as well as the Istanbul Biennial.
Sarkis's show is only the third exhibition presented at the Submarine
Wharf in Rotterdam. In the summer of 2011, Elmgreen & Dragset staged
their installation "The One & the Many" there, and in 2010 the space
was the setting for a major exhibition of works by the Rotterdam-based
Atelier Van Lieshout.
To coincide with the installation, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen
presents a satellite exhibition of new work by Sarkis -- an
interpretation in watercolor on 96 sheets of the score of "Ryoanji"
by John Cage (1912-1992).
"Ballads" runs until Sept. 30 at the Submarine Wharf.
From: A. Papazian
Cihan News Agency (CNA)
August 1, 2012 Wednesday
Turkey
ISTANBUL (CIHAN)- The Submarine Wharf at Rotterdam's world-famous
docklands is currently home to a gigantic installation by
Turkish-Armenian contemporary artist Sarkis in what makes up one of
the key events in an ongoing series of cultural events celebrating
the 400th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Turkey and the
Netherlands.
Called "Ballads," Sarkis's installation is made up of a set of
monumental sculptures over 16 meters tall and a carillon, also
incorporating light, video and music by American composer John Cage.
Cage's "Litany for the Whale" forms a permanent backdrop to the
installation, spread over almost 5,000 square meters on the campus.
The carillon continuously plays "Litany for the Whale" and takes the
visitor on a journey into the realm where submarines and whales meet.
The pendant to the monumental bell tower is a 16-meter-tall lampshade
covered with white down feathers. Accompanying them in "The Futuro,"
are Sarkis's videos about water.
The wharf's original function and the surrounding water are central
to the installation, which unites the building's past and present
through monumental objects, music and colored films on its windows
that filter the daylight like a modern variant of stained glass.
Inspired by the church interiors of 17th-century Dutch painter
Pieter Saenredam, Sarkis transformed the wharf into a "sacred meeting
place," said the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, the Rotterdam-based
commissioners of the work.
The format of the space, the special lighting and the sound of
the carillon with 43 bells create a hallowed atmosphere for the
installation, evoking the form of the submarines once built at
the wharf.
The combination makes up a "poetic installation," as the Museum
Boijmans Van Beuningen puts it. All the elements in Sarkis's work
support the musical narrative, in which the visitor plays a leading
role, the museum says on its website, www.boijmans.nl.
"In 'Ballads,' Sarkis attempts to create a connection between the dark
depths of the water and the majestic expanse of thin air," writes guest
curator Nicolette Gast in the catalog that accompanies the exhibition.
Born Sarkis Zabunyan in Istanbul in 1938, the Paris-based artist
is known for his unique combination of the atmosphere of Oriental
mysticism with Western conceptual art. The concepts "time" and "memory"
play an important role in his work, exhibited since the early 1970s
in such prestigious art events as the Venice Biennale and Documenta
as well as the Istanbul Biennial.
Sarkis's show is only the third exhibition presented at the Submarine
Wharf in Rotterdam. In the summer of 2011, Elmgreen & Dragset staged
their installation "The One & the Many" there, and in 2010 the space
was the setting for a major exhibition of works by the Rotterdam-based
Atelier Van Lieshout.
To coincide with the installation, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen
presents a satellite exhibition of new work by Sarkis -- an
interpretation in watercolor on 96 sheets of the score of "Ryoanji"
by John Cage (1912-1992).
"Ballads" runs until Sept. 30 at the Submarine Wharf.
From: A. Papazian