"Dependence Degree" Collective Practices of Young Ukrainian Artists 2000-2016
Realized: 19.08 - 02.10.2016
Participants: Alevtina Kakhidze; Sasha Kurmaz; Vova Vorotniov; Anatoly Belov & Oksana Kazmina; Lubomyr Tymkiv & (Kiyoshi Handa, Nikolaus Mohr, Ana L. Bathan, Kazunori Murakami, Carolyn Oord, Nicole Eippers, Samuel Montalvetti, Antonio Moreno Garrido, P.J.M., Mailarta, Alan Brignul, Chantal Casamayor de Planta, Hong in Young); Vitaliy Kokhan & Hamlet Zinkivskiy; Semen Hramtsov & Stas Volyazlovskiy & Elena Afanasyeva & Maksym Afanasyev & Rina Hramtsova; Anton Lapov & Evgeniy Koroletov; Oleksiy Salmanov & (Hamlet Zinkivskiy, Zoja Orlova, Pavlo Susliakov, Yevgen Samborsky, Inna Andre, Luiza Nobrega); Anton Varga & Stanislav Turina, Ksenia Hnylytska & Oleksandr Hnylytsky; Informational object "IMOVIRNIST. 89 days of winter"; R.E.P.; SOSka; Boba Group & Orange Costume; Synchrodogs; Concrete dates collective; Rapany; Group Group; Group Shilo; Yuriy Kruchak & Yulia Kostereva; TanzLaboratorium; Peredvizh; SVITER art-group & Ivan Svitlychnyi; The community grouped around the Koridor Gallery, Uzhgorod; Community grouped around the Detenpyla gallery, Lviv; Community grouped around the Тotem group, Kherson, Kharkiv as an environment of conflict; Mohrytsya – the environment of land art festival; Kyiv city as an example of the coexistence of multiple communities.
Curator: Open Group (Yuriy Biley, Pavlo Kovach, Stanislav Turina, Anton Varga)
Organizer: The European Capital of Culture Wrocław 2016
Place: Awangarda gallery BWA Wrocław, Poland
Concept
The project "Dependence Degree" focuses on the period from the beginning of the 2000s to present and addresses various types of cooperation and formation of separate art circles, which serve as starting points for most practices, both individual and collective.
The phenomenon of "interoperability", "unity", or "cooperation" have recently become one of the most topical issues in Ukraine. These newly discovered words are acquiring a new meaning day by day.The development of self-organization practices during the Euromaidan Revolution in 2014 and the volunteer services during the War in Eastern Ukraine provoked strong emotions and upheaval in the Ukrainian society, becoming thus a decisive factor that influenced the course of events in the last few years.
A large number of interactions have taken place in Ukrainian contemporary art,and this growing dynamicsprove that the artists want to integrate and organise themselves in smaller groups and bigger art centres. One of the reasons for the development of such centres is the lack of a coherent cultural policy and an art market: there are no galleries, institutions, or educational centres at the appropriate level. The positive aspect of this process is the fact that the Ukrainian art scene has been established absolutely naturally, thanks to its direct participants who are still managing and continuing the actions. In many cities, some self-organized groups, which were initially driven merely by enthusiasm, transformed into fully-fledged institutions that have a real impact on the cultural policy of their region.
The curators of the project belong to the group that was formed four years ago by the artists associated with the Koridor Gallery in Uzhhorod and the Detenpyla Gallery in Lviv, which were founded and are operating on the principles of self-organization. This is why one of the aims of the curators is to get to know themselves better by means of a mirror effect, in the process of exploring other art collectives.Continuing the experience of the project by Open Group "Between Us"(Bottega Gallery, Kyiv 2012), the exhibition is also an attempt to present the group activities from the inside and to explore the phenomenon of a group as such.
Realization and exhibition:
The starting point for "Dependence Degree" was the question: "What can we do without you?" which went viral in Wroclaw urban space. Who "we" or "you" are, and what cannot be done "without you" remain unknown. Another curatorial gesture is the way you visit the exhibition which may be entered only by two or more people.Consequently, each and every visitor becomes a member of a newly established group whose lifespan cannot be predicted.
The exhibition begins with the work by the R.E.P. group "All About a Method. A Non-History Lesson" which refers to the undocumented history of Ukrainian contemporary art and presents curatorial methods, selection criteria and the process of organization of three exhibitions: "The Cultural Revolution Space" (1994), "Community Project" (2007-2008), and "Dependence Degree" (2016).
Heading further, the exhibition "Dependence Degree" is divided into four blocks that classify different types of cooperation, revealing the spectrum of the research:
- Cooperation as a study of a collective as such;
This block is represented by brand new works which were created by three artists invited by the curators. All of them do not officially belong to any artistic groups and do not involve themselves in any art collaborations on a daily basis.
- Cooperation understood as a one-time, short-term or unsystematic event;
Heading towards the right wing of the gallery, the visitor will have an opportunity to get to know some examples of temporary cooperation;
- Cooperation understood as a systematic collective functioning.
In the left wing of the gallery, the most common type of collective practices of today's young Ukrainian artists is presented.
These three sections of the project are located on the first floor and they are altogether treated as part of the fourth chapter called "Cooperation understood as a result of art circles formation". An art circle/environment is a key concept, the beginning and the end of all the collective practices.It receives a priority status, constituting a starting or ending point and generating most interactions.Artistic circles are a form of interaction that is very hard to define. The curatorial decision to treat them as a separate category in this exhibition was very difficult, and its implementation brought many surprises and corrections.
The next step was to introduce a special code used to describe the presented works. It is reflected in the communication and the direct relation between four types of texts written by a curator, an author, an art connoisseur, and a random visitor, respectively. The presence of each of them depends on the form of cooperation.
"Cooperation as a study of a collective as such" - 1 descriptive text, "Cooperation understood as a one-time, short-term, or unsystematic event" - 2 texts, "Cooperation understood as a systematic collective functioning" - 3 texts, "Cooperation understood as a result of art circles formation" - 4 texts.
The fourth and final curatorial gesture is the "Hymn of the exhibition" which is played three times a day (just after the opening of the gallery, at noon, and before the closing of the gallery) in all rooms, drowning out all possible sounds.
The ultimate goal of the project is to create an opportunity to look at different types of collaborations and functional environment, their origins, and the process of their bloom and decay (understood as the bloom and decay of interpersonal intents, communication, concepts and practices) at this very moment, and before they take a different form in the nearest future.
Open Group
By marking the words written by individual group members in different colours, we tried to show another elementary degree of dependence and cooperation between us.
- Cooperation as a study of a collective as such;
Artists: Alevtina Kakhidze, Sasha Kurmaz, Vova Vorotniov
The first block of the exhibition constitutes the study of cooperation as a particular form of collective practices. For a comprehensive understanding of this block, it is needed to look back to the past. In 2012, as Open Group, we initiated the first project "Between Us" at the Bottega gallery (Kyiv). Its aim was to examine the functioning of the collective, the nature of relationships established in the group, and the process of reaching common goals. During the work on this project, one of the members left the group. The main component of the resulting exhibition was a 30-hour recording revealing the backstage of our work. We recorded, among other elements, our discussions on the final shape of the exhibition in a form that was satisfactory for everyone involved in the project. One of the ideas that emerged during this process was to engage each member of the group into a completely extraneous project of a hermetic, closed group which does not deal with art on a daily basis. We developed this idea and invited the participants of the contemporary art scene who officially do not belong to any collectives or collaborations to implement it.
Undoubtedly, every work presented in this section is specific to the overall art practice of its author. However, in our opinion, the participants of this block managed to grasp the nature of the collective and the mechanisms of its functioning. At the same time, every project presents some weaknesses of the phenomenon: Sasha Kurmaz focuses on the problem of non-equality and hierarchy in his work, Volodymyr Vorotniov narrates the experience of being a new member of the collective and reveals the issue of harmonious cooperation, while Alevtina Kakhidze points out the problem of stability and durability of the collective as such.
- Cooperation understood as a one-time, short-term or unsystematic event;
Artists: Anatoly Belov & Oksana Kazmina; Lubomyr Tymkiv & (Kiyoshi Handa, Nikolaus Mohr, Ana L. Bathan, Kazunori Murakami, Carolyn Oord, Nicole Eippers, Samuel Montalvetti, Antonio Moreno Garrido, P.J.M., Mailarta, Alan Brignul, Chantal Casamayor de Planta, Hong in Young); Vitaliy Kokhan & Hamlet Zinkivskiy; Semen Hramtsov & Stas Volyazlovskiy & Elena Afanasyeva & Maksym Afanasyev & Rina Hramtsova; Anton Lapov & Evgeniy Koroletov; Oleksiy Salmanov & Hamlet Zinkivskiy, Zoja Orlova, Pavlo Susliakov, Yevgen Samborsky, Inna Andre, Luiza Nobrega; Anton Varga & Stanislav Turina, Ksenia Hnylytska & Oleksandr Hnylytsky; Informational object “IMOVIRNIST. 89 days of winter”.
Occasional or - as sometimes defined - non-systemic cooperation is the first and the easiest way of establishing interaction between the artists. It can be called simply a "cooperation" (in the graffiti nomenclature) or a "joint project" in the classical artistic understanding.
If we treat the fourth category of this project - an art circle/environment - as a microcosm, one-time interactions will constitute its fundamental component. Non-systemic interactions define associations whose characteristic feature would be "spontaneity". In difference to such spontaneous associations, a structured group is more complete and durable.
Another defining feature of an association is its randomness. An occasional cooperation, more than other types of synergies, depends on certain conditions or circumstances. Formalized groups, however, are created on the basis of an idea or common views, while artistic circles often focus on specific locations, leaders, or ideology. It is thus worth to analyse the causes and nature of these types of the teamwork. Professional collaboration between Anatoly Belov and Oksana Kazmina is one of the examples of such association, another example is a completely natural interaction between a father and a daughter in the project by Oleksandr Gnylytsky and Ksenia Gnylytska. Some types of cooperation result from sharing a place of living, as the examples of the Information Object "Imovirnist (89 Days of Winter)" or as the project by Hamlet Zinkivsky and Vitalij Kohan show. A kind of idealism can be found in a systemic mail-art project by the Lviv-based artist Lubomir Tymkiv. In this case, however, we are unable to see the motives behind the dialogue or even the second party of the cooperation. As the artist puts it, it may be a family member or a correspondent from another continent.
An occasional cooperation may also, of course, be a starting point for establishing stable ideological associations and systematic groups. We - the members of Open Group and the curators of this project, had been engaged in several others joint projects before we started this cooperation.
- Cooperation understood as a systematic collective functioning;
Artists: R.E.P., SOSka, Boba Group & Orange Costume, Synchrodogs, Concrete dates collective, Rapany, Group Group, Group Shilo, Yuriy Kruchak & Yulia Kostereva, TanzLaboratorium, Peredvizh, SVITER art-group & Ivan Svitlychnyi.
The group work implies a more complex and enduring organization than a random interaction. In contrast to some occasionally established associations, it includes activities not only focused on a common space, friends, or professional networks but also centered on common ideas, views, and ideology. Undoubtedly, in reality the collective work is much diversified and sometimes the working method is the only common thing that the members of a collective share.
A joint activity has gained popularity in Ukraine in the period we have focused on. In the period of 2000 and 2016, a big number of permanent associations and artistic groups emerged all over the country. Here is a list of the most famous ones (presented in a chronological and geographical order - from west to east): Uzhhorod - Kruzhka Esmarkha, Shapka group; Lviv - KOMA formation (2007-2010), Open Group (since 2012), Group Group (since 2014), Carrousel (2013-2014); Ivano-Frankivsk-Lutsk - Synchrodogs (since 2008); Kyiv - R.E.P (since 2004), Tranzlaboratorium (since 2011), Khudrada (2009), Volya abo Smert (since 2009), Iodine (from 2011), ІСТМ (2012), Predmetiv Group (2007-2013), UBIK, Kruchak-Kostyreva (1999), Melnychuk-Burlaka (since 2013), KKD; Odesa - Art Reidery (2007); Kherson - Rapany (2011); Kharkiv - SOSkа (since 2005), BOBA group (since 2012), Shilo Group (since 2010), SVITER (since 2008), Masterka (2016); Lugansk - "Orkestr Predrassvetnyh Duhová" (2001), "STATE" Association (2007-2010), "Luganda-House" Association (since 2009); "Аrt cluster R+N+D (since 2011); "Supovoy Nabor" (since 2012); Donetsk - "Zhuzhalka" group (since 2012). The dynamics of the group formation are, in the first place, triggered by the most elementary need for integration, self-organization, and creation of artistic circles which were all a rarity in the 90s due to the lack of cultural institutions and contemporary art galleries in Ukraine. In the beginning, most of the groups could be treated synonymously to the artistic circles. The phenomenon of the formation of groups connected by a common ideology or political views can be observed for the first time after the 2004 revolution (R.E.P. group), and beyond (e.g. SOSka, Hudrada, Volya abo Smert, ISTM).
The block presents mostly the collectives which exist to date..
- Cooperation understood as a result of art circles formation;
The community grouped around the Koridor Gallery, Uzhgorod; Community grouped around the Detenpyla gallery, Lviv; Community grouped around the Тotem group, Kherson, Kharkiv as an environment of conflict; Mohrytsya – the environment of land art festival; Kyiv city as an example of the coexistence of multiple communities.
Art environment is an open system of a very diverse character, the lifespan and the course of action of which are difficult to predict, but the origins and the functioning of which are worth exploring. It may be even stated that the map of cultural and artistic life consists of such "units" of art circles. In light of the events taking place in the last ten years in Ukraine and the developing institutional infrastructure, such a statement would be completely justified. The positive aspect of this process is the fact that the Ukrainian art scene was established absolutely naturally, thanks to its direct participants who still manage and continue the actions. In some cities, self-organized groups that were initially driven merely by enthusiasm transformed into fully-fledged institutions, having the real impact on the cultural policy of their region. The growing impact of the capitalist system on art institutions and the art market has not - after all - led to its dominance over cultural life. Most artists are still focused on their art rather than on immediate financial benefits. Consequently, they are still able to communicate and cooperate with each other without the pressure of competition. Moreover, they establish or reject their own priorities. Of course, the lack of a coherent cultural policy and the parallel development of cultural institutions creates a multitude of ideas and trends.
An artistic circle constitutes a form of interaction that is very hard to define. Its borders are very flexible, as it permits to constantly accept new members and to expel old ones. Due to the scale of the phenomenon, art circles are formed by people with different ideologies, tastes, and plans for future. This is what makes the environment so diverse. Surely, the uniformity, although it is a feature typical of groups rather than of art circles, is present to some degree too. However, even in the case of art circles bound by some fixed ideology, the diversity and the number of members lead to internal polemics.
The decision to treat art circles as a separate category in this exhibition was very difficult, and its implementation brought a lot of complications. The first difficulty was to explain the concept of an "art circle" to its own members. Consequently, we had to define its members and let them express themselves in a single, common art gesture. At this point, it is worth recalling that the art circle consists of smaller, occasional, and systematic groups rather than one coherent group. Moreover, because of its size, the outcome of its artistic activity is hardly ever one common product. The mechanism of its inner functioning is multileveled and based on spontaneity. The inability to establish a perfectly clear communication, and thus the inability to reach consensus, meant that some circles that seemed important to us could not become part of the exhibition. Those who are shown at the exhibition, represent just a small part of the phenomenon and are presented from the perspective of the city to which they belong. We tried to keep a certain geographical order: west - Uzhgorod, Lviv; center - Kyiv; east - Kharkiv; north - Mohrytsya; south - Kherson. Linking the environment to a specific location is typical for almost all the forms of cooperation. The existence of the places of assembly means that members often spend their free time there, strengthening their internal relationships.
Usually, art circles exhibit some symbiotic features: they are associated with a common place, being centered around a doctrine and being based on a certain type of "leaders-followers" relationship pattern. Trying to maintain the unique genesis of each art circle in its hometown, we set the following semantically related pairs: Uzhgorod – an environment centered around the self-organized gallery Koridor; Lviv – an environment centered around the self-organized conceptual gallery Detentula; Kyiv - a city as an example of a multi-environment and a home to a number of different circles with the internal circulation system; Kharkiv - a city where a conflict between two communities exists; Mohrytsya - the organizer of the oldest festival of land art in Ukraine, with a clearly defined aesthetic and internal hierarchy; Kherson - an environment created by the leaders (Totem) and developed by the successors to function as a distinct cultural phenomenon.
This category could be examined more widely and complemented by many examples of art activity. Perhaps, in future, the category of an "artistic circle" could be developed into a separate project because the practice of the collective is still dynamically developing.
