Contemporary Art

What I don’t understand in Contemporary Art

What I don’t understand in Contemporary Art

I am the artist Vadim Zakharov, 62 years old. I have been working in contemporary art, for almost 43 of those years – since 1978. For me personally, the territory of misunderstanding has always been more important than understanding in art. But then, the misunderstanding was an incentive to move further beyond boundaries, frames, and definitions, pushing my misunderstanding even further. But that’s the old model.
My personal incomprehension today seems to fall somewhere between “I don’t understand ANYTHING anymore” and “Тhere is NOTHING to understand!”. And all around is a barbed wire of post-communist, post-colonial, post-capitalist, gender, glamorous and other trends set by someone else.

I chose a single question – What I do not understand in contemporary art today? and asked interesting artists of different generations and from different countries for their answers. Here are 20 responses. Some gave straightforward answers, others were more creative. I am very grateful to everyone who took part in this project:

Ann Noël, Ireen Zielonka, David Krippendorff, Dagmara Genda, Per Christian Brown, Henrik Stromberg, Klaus Killisch, Sinisa Radulovic, Moritz Frei, Hans Peter Kuhn, Elana Katz, Junko Wada, Danica Dakić, Mladen Miljanovic, Ingrid Book & Carina Hedén, Zlatko Kopljar, Vitaly Komar, Arnold Dreyblatt, Yuri Albert, Victor Skersis

© ALL THE INDIVIDUAL FILMS WERE MADE BY THE ARTISTS THEMSELVES

Maturity Level : all

ANAMNESIS

ANAMNESIS

ANAMNESIS is an ongoing series of site-specific, participatory performances conceived and directed by internationally acclaimed choreographer and interdisciplinary artist Apostolia Papadamaki, presented in archaeological sites and museums across Greece and Italy. Bringing contemporary choreography into dialogue with Ancient Greek mythology, philosophy, history and ritual, ANAMNESIS explores how the body can become a living bridge between past and present. Through movement, voice, original music, ceremony and audience participation, each performance is created in response to the history, mythology, landscape and memory of a specific place. At the heart of ANAMNESIS is the idea of remembrance: not the reconstruction of ancient ritual, but the activation of cultural memory through contemporary artistic practice. Audiences are invited to move beyond observation and become participants in a shared experience, transforming archaeological heritage from something we contemplate into something we encounter through the body. The series explores themes including collective memory, feminine wisdom, our relationship with nature, ecological consciousness and spiritual reawakening.
ANAMNESIS has been presented with the approval of Greece’s Central Archaeological Council and with the support of the Hellenic Ministry of Culture, the Greek National Tourism Organisation, regional and local authorities, and cultural partners. Concept, Artistic Direction & Choreography: Apostolia Papadamaki. Original Music: Tryfon Koutsourelis
[More information,https://www.anamnesis.gr]

Maturity Level : all