2nd Athens Biennale Press Release 24-27 September

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Date: September 18th, 2009




			HEAVEN Events: 24-27 September
			PERFORMATIVE LECTURE: Elizabeth Ward, Christos Michas & Giorgos Papadopoulos, "Money; need, desire, utopia"
			The starting point of our intervention is the realization, even the complaint, that the economic discourse is becoming increasingly autonomous and is superimposing itself upon the other spheres of life. This process of economisation is following different trajectories: globalisation and imperialism, commodification and alienation, rationalisation and bureaucratisation are only a few of the lines of expansion of the economic logic. Our aim is to investigate and subvert the economic grant narrative of the market economy by focusing on the function of money, to analyze the specific nature of the libidinal investments in the economic and consequently in the political sphere, and thereby to show how the individual desire is articulated, represented and mediated by the economic discourse. Moreover, to suggest a subversive potentially revolutionary re-investment of desire that will open the possibility for full enjoymen t. Competition, we will argue, is the imperative of the market economy legitimized by evolutionary, economic and moralistic arguments and money is the instrument that constructs meaning in this context. Money, regulates desire and constitutes subjectivity in consumption and production, it is the master signifier of the capitalist symbolic order and the omnipotent ritual of initiation in the economic 'reality'. The grip of this reality does not happen in the discursive or even the ideological level, it is primarily affective and libidinal. Discourse and language is just the screen upon which the tragedy of the alienation of desire in the market is performed, a projection and an articulation of a deep-seated reality. Nevertheless, alienation is not an ideological problem; it is a pre-condition of subjectivation. Rational argument or rational critique is not a solution to the problem of alienation, but the fundamental misrec ognition of what is necessary or possible for existence. We will rather try to use both the body and the speech, the psyche and the intellect to suggest the construction of a subjectivity of happiness and a liberating alienation. Our intervention needs to address both the discursive and the affective control of economic reality and of money. We will suggest the connection of money to need and to desire and we will reflect on the possibility of utopia. Word, image and bodily movement; narrative structure, theoretical analysis and contemporary dance will be our media employed in an effort to illuminate and disrupt the separation from and the alienation of desire in the market via money. The tension that lies in the basis of subjectivity can and should not be articulated as an economic and a monetary problem. This solution, delegated by market ideology, is, as any, bound to fail. We will rather try to prefigure the utopia of full enjoyment as a strategy of resistance against the market and its imperative of competition as well as against the state of emergency imposed by the administrators of the economic crisis. Elizabeth Ward is a dancer and choreographer based in New York. She also teaches ballet in the Dance Academy of Stockholm and in Tanzquartier Wien. Her aesthetics combine classical ballet with postmodern dance and punk music. Christos Michas's work engages with sound and image. He has studied and worked in Amsterdam, London and Athens, where he has also established his production company “game one productions”. Giorgos Papadopoulos is an economist, graduate of London School of Economics. He attempts to combine economy critique with psychoanalysis and political action. He is a researcher in Jan Van Eyck academy and PhD candidate in Erasmus University of Rotterdam. Friday 25th September Esplanade Building (next to Tae Kwon Do Court), Water Plaza, Faliron Olympic Complex Tram stop: Delta Falirou 21.00

			DJ SET: Aeneas
			Saturday 26th & Sunday 27th September Esplanade Building (next to Tae Kwon Do Court), Water Plaza, Faliron Olympic Complex Tram stop: Delta Falirou 20.30

			PERFORMANCE: André Guedes, "Old Forms of Future Events - A Public Reading"
			"A Public Reading" is the chapter from an ongoing project by André Guedes called "Old Forms of Future Events" that will be presented as part of the exhibition "World Question Center", curated by Chus Martínez. The performance consists of the display of images and the reading of selected excerpts from the books "Troy and the Trojans" and "The Italian Urbanism Since the Post-war Till Today" written by the American archaeologist Carl W. Blegen and the Italian urbanist and historian Marcello Fabbri respectively. The two autonomous studies, which have the city as a common subject, will be juxtaposed during the performance, merged into each other and rehearsed in order to dissolve into a same narrative. While three people re-enact these excerpts, a fourth person performs an improvised sound score, autonomous from the textual reading and the pictorial display. The overlapping of these two literary sources aims to reflect on the idea of erosion, transformation and disappearance, as well as on a social and physical entropy that derives from the cyclic process by which cities – and life within them – come across in history; something in which we inevitably participate but are at the same time subjected, either individually or as a group. The production of this work was possible with the institutional support of Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and Direcçao Geral das Artes / Portuguese Ministery of Culture. Saturday 26th & Sunday 27th September Esplanade Building (next to Tae Kwon Do Court), Water Plaza, Faliron Olympic Complex Tram stop: Delta Falirou 20.30

			CONCERT: Sigmatropic, Tasman, Katerina Undo
			On Saturday September 26th the Athens Biennale hosts Sigmatropic with guests Tasman και Katerina Undo. Almost a year after their last concert, Sigmatropic return to live action with a new lineup. The band’s current phase shows a shift to a more intimate sound, with acoustic timbres that tie up to their loops and electronics and with electricity to mark their outbursts. In their forthcoming show on Saturday September 26th, under the auspices of the 2nd Athens Biennale 2009, Sigmatropic will be showcasing versions from their latest album Dark Outside (2007) and EP Ours at Least (2007), together with numbers from their previous releases Random Walk (1998) and Sixteen Haiku and Other Stories (2003), and also hints from their upcoming work and a few covers. Sigmatropic are: Akis Boyatzis: main vocals, bass, samples/programming \| Ioannis Tryferoulis: drums \| Theodore Pistiolas: acoustic guitar, piano, Theremin \| Panos Lapousis: keyboards \| Foivos Zitis: electric guitar Tasman (Tasos Papastamou) was raised by a musical family. He studied the violin and at the age of 19 he became a member of the ERT National Symphony Orchestra until 2003. His musical influences, however, are not only classical; in 1994 he began exploring the sounds of the electric violin and soon he became a member of "Closer". Their long-term collaboration leaded to several albums and live performances. Their collaboration lasted until 2007. Alongside he collaborated with many greek artists and toured the world, participating in key festivals. In 2007 he began his solo course. He composed the music to Chloe Matzari's short film "The Wall" and later collaborated with Sofia Spyratou's dance theatre "Roes", undertaking the music production in her shows. In his first personal album titled "Solace" autumn 2009, Undo Records/EMI) Tasman's violins and mandolins are escorted by break beat and distorted loops, Sofia Papazoglou sings in dub soundcolors and Alkinoos Ioannidis dresses with his voice the most 'hardcore' track of the album. In the 2nd Athens Biennale 2009 Tasman presents part of his solo works and improvises on his electric violin and mandolin, crating melodious, otherwordly but also noisy soundscapes. Katerina Undo presents the experimental optical-visual performance with Theremin "Dive into ritual noise". The performance focuses on the sound effect of the interfered space between transmitter and receptor, in the intensity this contact creates. Saturday 26th September Water Plaza l(Faliro Olympic Complex) Tram stop: Delta Falirou 21.30

			FESTIVAL: EarthDance 2009
			The 2nd Athens Biennale 2009 hosts EarthDance on Sunday September 27th at the Batis Beach in Palaio Faliro: two music stages, live concerts, dj’s but also thematic projections about the planet and world peace. 350 cities all over the planet come together once a year in a synchronized dance for world peace, while millions of viewers get in synch through the Internet. Since 2005 more than a 150 artists (musicians, visual artists, dancers) and a large number of N.G.O’s have participated in EarthDance in Greece, with the target to raise awareness on issues of environmental sustainability and urban culture. More than a festival, a global trend, EarthDance uses music, dance and technology as a vehicle of communication and reflection on the future of the planet we inhabit, but also on the manner in which we inhabit it. The Earth-dancers travel around the globe, are attentive towards the environment and culture and have embraced the idea of conscious enjoyment. Participants: EARTH STAGE: PALYRRIA \| NSQUARED \| PARADOXONIA \| VIDEOGAME ORCHESTRA & short film projections DANCE STAGE: SIDELINER \| STEVE SAI \| RICOCHET \| ARASH ATMAN \| EL XANDRO \| ALEX D –FER \| S. TORTO Sunday 27th September Batis Beach Tram stop: Batis 17.00

			PERFORMANCE: Dimitris Kotsaras & Jennifer Nelson, "Intimate Expansions"
			Dimitris Kotsaras & Jennifer Nelson present the performance "Intimate Expansions" as part of the "Heaven_Live" exhibition curated by Dimitris Papaioannou & Zafos Xagoraris. The performance involves promenades or couples kissing (with the participation of the public) at sunset. From Thursday 24th until Sunday 27th September Flisvos Beach Tram stop: Parko Flisvou

			EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMES: Little Angels
			The educational programme "Little Angels", where participating artists of the 2nd Athens Biennale 2009 HEAVEN create works of art along with children aged 6 to 10 with the aim to familiarize them with art making through joyful and creative activities, continues. The last workshops are led by Dora Economou (3D creations) and Anastasia Douka & Kostas Roussakis (sculpture) on Saturday 26th & Sunday 27th September respectively. The workshops begin at 12.00 and last for approximately 90 minutes. Participation in the workshops is offered on a complimentary basis with the reduced ticket of the exhibition. Pre-booking is essential on +30 210 52 32 222. Saturday 26th & Sunday 27th September Esplanade Building (next to Tae Kwon Do Court), Water Plaza, Faliron Olympic Complex Tram stop: Delta Falirou 12.00


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Member of the European Biennial Network			Biennial Exchange and Residency Programme
			with the support of the Culture Programme of the European Union