Super Team The Krasnals on Mediations Biennale 2010

Super Team The Krasnals on Mediations Biennale 2010 - on the invitation of Japanese curator Tsutomu Mizusawa.
The biggest contemporary art biennale in Poland

The KRASNALS: TWO YEARS OF STRUGGLE
Galeria Szyperska, Poznań / 11.09.-10.10. 2010
Curator: Ewelina Jarosz


http://www.mediations.pl/The_KRASNALS_TWO_YEARS_OF_FIGHT-354

The Museum of Modern Art, Kamakura & Hayama
http://www.moma.pref.kanagawa.jp/en/museum/index.html




A brief history of our participation in the Biennale:

Well, in early spring we got an invitation from the main curator of the exhibition at the Biennale - Beyond Mediations - Mizusawa Tsutomu (Yokohama Triennial Director Deputy Director of MOMA in Kamakura and Hayama in Japan) to participate in the exhibition. Curator in the mail shed light on the situation in which he discovered that our position in the Polish art world and negative attitude of the majority of the representatives of the mainstream, are a key example and an essential link for the overall design concept of the exhibition. He suggested that we prepare a big presentation as a separate exhibition at the Gallery Szyperska, and the whole concept of care has a curator Ewelina Jarosz. The exhibition's title "Two years of struggle" describes our current point where we are, as we fight for the abolition of barriers and creating equal opportunities for all artists - from the BEYOND position.

The intention of the Japanese curator of the title “Beyond” is intended to mean that only art can bridge gaps that exist between people. Because sometimes the gaps may reach too far to be mediated by any means. Our case shows that such gaps also exist in the art, among the builders, the initiators of the construction of bridges.
Tsutomu Mizusawa also was interested in our project carried out in China. Zone of the art market has highlighted the existing divisions of social class, and the sincere, close contact with the Chinese artist, the contractor of a series of Sasnal copies, was only a quickly passing by moment.
Continuing the tradition of officially brotherly nations, the Chinese artist, has painted for us a few images of Great Poles - Copernicus, Chopin, Mickiewicz. At first glance, they highlight the relationship, friendship, brotherhood and a common dialogue of cultures of our countries. Under portraits appear Chinese signatures of Polish heroes. These characters are somehow important and known generally for Chinese people. But for the Chinese artist, their faces are anonymous and the only value is a possibility to earn a few cents on painting the portraits.

The Chinese series of copies of Sasnal paintings and a series of Chinese Great Poles are a separate presentation at the Biennale.
Tsutomu Mizusawa explains that Without doubt, art is the most sophisticated cultural medium created by human, and only art will be able to lead us beyond the distance. Our Chinese project is following exactely this idea. And its culmination is a video, during which the Dwarf is trying to overthrow the Great Chinese Wall. Video is also presented in the second part of the biennial - "Ereased Walls". Once again it shows the gap and the difference between the ability to overthrow some walls and impossibility to move others. At this show there is much talk about the effects of the overthrow of the Berlin wall 20 years ago, which was dividing Europe. It is the reason for pride and joy, however, it is far to the dream of freedom and equal opportunities for all. Finally, the overthrow of the wall is not the end of the divisions, but the beginning - of building bridges.

During the opening The Krasnals will take a speech and present the current statement. After that will make a performance which is to highlight the place of the contemporary artist, who found himself unexpectedly in the area BEYOND.

We kindly invite you to the official opening!
Saturday, September 11, at 1:00 pm

The KRASNALS: TWO YEARS OF STRUGGLE
Galeria Szyperska, Szyperska 2 Street, Poznań / 11.09.-10.10. 2010
Curator: Ewelina Jarosz

It has been more than years since the collective of anonymous artists, The Krasnals, has been active on the Polish artistic scene. On this occasion Szyperska Gallery organized the exhibition “Two Years of Struggle”. The group’s work mainly consists of painting, video, actions and word. It`s activity is of artistic, political and social importance, but mainly it concentrates on commenting current events, being a critique of the art market and the ideologies accompanying art production. The Krasnals employ the strategy of culture jamming. In a radical and ironic way they expose manipulation and hypocrisy: an artist, to make it in the so-called artworld or mainstream, sacrifices his/her independence and becomes a mouthpiece for catchy, conformist ideas and a creator of hot, easily marketable topics. Interestingly enough, pictures by The Krasnals are not respected by some critics because of their political and not painterly character, which is a sign of the misunderstanding of the meaning of their work.




The Krasnals. Chinese painter "Cheap Sasnals from China" 2008. Acrylic on canvas. 9 pieces, unlimited number of possible copies, all very cheap.

For example, the first image has important background - the Sasnal original version shows TV factory straight from the PRL, communistic Polish reality. This subject is rather historical and obsolete in the current reality, but very current for the situation in China. On the picture, Chinese painter even instinctively painted slanting eyes of factory workers.


The Krasnals. Chinese painter "Great Poles/ Adam Mickiewicz / Fryderyk Chopin / Mikołaj Kopernik" 2008. Acrylic on canvas

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Beijing Olympics opening ceremony, for common people

On 9th and 10th August we could see in all Chinese media only glorious articles of big Opening Ceremony of Olympics. It would be everything perfect if we didn't experience on ourselves something else.
The croud of enthusiastic people waiting nearby the great mall, in front of big telebim was waiting for 4 hours for the opening at 8. Euphory was acompanied by Chinese national colours, flag stamps and stickers, animators were warming the atmosphere for common fun. But the screen of the telebim was black before 8 and it stayed black after. Nobody responded on people's screaming "switch on the screen!!!".
At 8.08 we could see from the distance traces of light comming from the Bird's Nest... Everybody disappoinded moved calmly towards the street do see from behind the trees small frames of fireworks.
People frustrated, but disciplined, gathered in 5 minutes all garbage and newspapers they were sitting on. After a while they left the place and moved to their houses. At least there was not so big traffic jam when the Opening Ceremony finished and the official spectators were leaving the Bird's Nest. Maybe that was the concept?

"Viva Beijing Olympic Games 2008!"

Art shouldn't be valued depending on propaganda it supports.

Art and media world generally stands against China – the country which organizing Olympic – symbol of peace and friendship – doesn’t respect basic human rights. The matter of ‘Tibet – China’ is treated by viewers from outside similarly like ‘Kosovo – Serbia’. It’s just comfortable to show the problem clearly, black and white.
Propaganda is the kind of incredibly strong advertisement, which uses art to its aims. Sometimes artists to make their art concepts more attractive, choose the subjects referring to this or that propaganda. But are they really creating masterpieces, because they run on proper politics?
Thinking about this question, Krasnal Bansky made the painting in the convention of Olympic propaganda, in kitsch aesthetics, pathetic and idealizing. Famous Chinese actress Zhao Wei runs with the Olympic torch. It occurs that artisticly it doesn’t stand far from works disapproving Olympics, using primitive symbols as chains, barbed wire or handcuffs. But concerning proper politics, these works are estimated as more valuable. But actually they have the same level as artworks using peace pigeons, Olympic torches or five circles.

Continuing the subject of propaganda, the times that it used its power have passed and now it can’t be as strong and influential as years ago. Besides, China passes by gigantic revolution which demands at least few dozens of years. For example western kind of legislative system was pioneered in big scale just between 70s and 80s.

Different kinds of propaganda function in politics and art, but art value actually doesn’t depend on the fact what kind of propaganda supports. Just compare the pictures attached.

Viva Beijing Olympic Games 2008 !!!

„Impossible is nothing”
Against opponents to the Olympics.

The fashionable topic, where artists manifests their opposition to the Olympics, is most often taken up mindlessly, flat, only because it'is hot news. The bodies surrounded with chains, Olympic rings on fire, made of barbed wires or as handcuffs, are trivial and not very ambitious artistic proposal. It becomes the same banal as colorful rings symbolizing 5 continents living in peace.

„Impossible is nothing” - we are watching lofty sports commercials in the streets of Beijing. Next to it, the banners with the inscription: „Poznań stawia na sport” („Poznań wagers on sports”) are turning up.
Poznan is one of the cities in Poland, where the 2012 UEFA European Football Championship will take place. The local advertising slogan, written In Polish, is turning up at places, which support the issue of beeing fit, or in main, strategic city points.

According to advertisements - Poznań city is supporting Olympics, uniting with Chineses in a sport spirit, following the next this year's Olympic motto „One world, one dream”.

Our action following the occurrences connected to sport in the Beijing took place on the 14 – 22 of July.

All slogans mentioned above have their practical accomplishment in the form of Beijing crowds, who with the passion train in parks tai chi, dances, aerobics.
We observed, as every morning from the dawn till the noon and durring the evening on squares in front of the forbidden city, museums, or in parks, inhabitants are dancing, practising the aerobics, playing badminton, exercising or even they walk back to front.
A normal view is when one of the pensioners, who is talking to friends, at one of the town's high streets, is keeping her leg leaned on the parapet to the level of chest.
We can meet also an old man, climbing with a grin to the next point on The Great Wall.

Chineses are a model of caring for the fitness. They aren't fat, their spines are straight and joints working till old age.
Irrespective of the economic status of each of them, their quality of life is definitely growing because of beeing fit.
The tradition of the Confucian culture with Taoist make them easy to adapt to conditions. They are enyoing everyday life and they find themselves easy in opened strongly developed social relationships.

The list of their interests, apart from sport, is long. In parks we also met groups of people practising singing just for pleasure, playing on traditional instruments, playing cards, practising Chinese calligraphy on asphalt with wetted in the water brush.

There is everything available for everyone for free. That's the result of good intentions and the initiative of participants.

Suprisingly, there is no need for alcohol to be drunk durring the evening public parties and discos.

'One world – one dream'… The satisfaction and pride are dominating on the faces, taking photo with Olympic mascots, in front of the portrait of Mao on the Tienanmen square.

As the silly season has last, we are attaching series of photos to documentation of our artistic action from China.