[Oberlist] Mircea Nicolae: Google Tourist // Alkatraz gallery, Ljubljana // 27.06. - 19.07. 2008.

natasa bodrozic abodrozi la gmail.com
Lun Iun 23 19:28:54 CEST 2008 

*SCCA, Center for Contemporary Arts-Ljubljana*

*PRESS RELEASE*

Ljubljana, June 27th 2008

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*WORLD OF ART, School of Contemporary Arts*

*www.worldofart.org***

*2007/2008*

* *

*World of Art*, School of Contemporary Art (www.worldofart.org) as an
educational program was introduced in 1997 by SCCA- Ljubljana. It was
developed out of a need for theoretical and practical education in the field
of contemporary visual art in Slovenia. With its complex structure the *World
of Art* is nowdays a unique theoretical and practical educational school in
Slovenia and in broader Region (Central, Eastern and South Europe). It has
established the mechanisms necessary for reflective operation in the world
of art, and has been continuously developing and adapting to the rapid
changes emerging in the art world and social conditions. In its 11th year
the *World of Art* comprises: (1) annual educational program including
Course for curators/Laboratorium of Curatorial Practises with final
exhibition, (2) Seminar for writing, (3) Series of public lectures, and (4)
Anthology.

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*Laboratorium of curatorial practices 2007/2008 invites you to attend the
opening of the exhibition*

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*by Romanian artist **Mircea Nicolae*

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*GOOGLE TOURIST*

*on Friday, June 27th 2008 at 9pm.*

Alkatraz Gallery, Masarykova 24, Ljubljana



The exhibition is part of the final project of Laboratorium of Curatorial
Practices 2007/2008 entitled *Destination: Metelkova. *Taking the given
context of Metelkova, we opted for a somehow distanced view of Metelkova
itself by choosing to invite a guest artist as part of our curatorial
strategy.



The memory of space; the potential for different readings and creations of
historical narratives; the mutations of symbols and signs; the actualisation
and (re)production of history - these are only a few of the possibilities
offered to the visiting artist in Metelkova. He was working on artistic
project for one month in direct communication with the immediate
surroundings and he entitled it Google Tourist.



Praticipants of Laboratorium and curators of the exhibition: *Natača
BodroŸiæ, Petra Miliè, Teja Rot, Jernej ©kof and Vanja źanko.*

* *

*You are cordially invited!*

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*Visiting artist*

*Mircea Nicolae* (Bucharest, 1980) belongs to a younger generation of
contemporary Romanian artists who lives and works in Bucharest. For two
years now he has been exploring urban sites and deserted industrial
buildings of Romanian cities Sibiu, Bucharest, the area of Ramnicu Valcea
and Cluj. His work in progress consists of hundred interventions in
abandoned and public buildings in Romania. Nicolae is investigating and
revealing the historical background of specific sites that he occupies for a
short period of time and transforms them into an exhibition space. Among the
most mystical, intriguing and meaningful locations that have been brought to
his attention and have touched him so far are theatres (experiment *Deserted
Cinema*), shops (*Deserted Shop*, *Calea Victoriei*), historical and
cultural monuments (*Historical Monument*, *Memorial of Rebirth*), deserted
bakeries, church that was demolished during the Communist regime (*Demolished
Church*), parliament in Bucharest (*Plaster Molding*) and various (partly)
demolished city houses (*Demolished Houses*).

More about artist:

http://mircea-nicolae.blogspot.com/

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*Exhibition GOOGLE TOURIST*

The title of the project is quite revealing of two things. Firstly a digital
geographic tool was used to analyze Metelkova and its context, along with
other means of investigation, such as reading texts on the issue and meeting
people involved in the local scene. The conclusions that resulted can be
attributed to a person coming from the outside, a tourist or a guest, who
tried to understand what this place was all about in a limited period of
time (one month). This is an exterior view, marked by a desire to know, but
also by superficiality, as the man with the camera passing by on the street
might have taken the wrong picture at the wrong time from the wrong angle.
Nevertheless, there is also a high chance that this random description might
be revealing and even meaningful.


By using the image of mount Triglav, I tried to place Metelkova within a
wider symbolic and geographic landscape. The remakes that Irwin and the
three Janez Jančas made after the original work of OHO are some of the
images that float around this iconic Slovene Triglav, but there is also a
recollection of the coat of arms of Slovenia that comes to mind. Juxtaposed
on the rainbow pillars that resemble a stack of euro symbols, the
three-headed mountain becomes a polemic image, pointing to the fact, that
the current system controlling the very lives of people in Slovenia is no
longer linked to the ideology of the communist party but to economy itself.
The white mountain leaves behind its former mythology and the reference to
other contemporary art pieces and it becomes a seemingly naive image with a
twist.



Last but not least, using satellite photographs from Google earth I tried to
reveal some of the characteristics of Metelkova as an actual site within the
city. The two images of "north and south" underline the two different urban
landscapes to which the two areas of Metelkova respectively belong. It is
quite obvious that the northern part is connected to an industrial area of
railways and that the south lives in a residential region of the city. I
tried to erase these differences using a mirror, in an effort to underline
the common function of Metelkova as a whole - a provider of cultural
products for the city of Ljubljana, whose development is currently supported
by the state.



Mircea Nicolae

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*Production*

SCCA, Center for Contemporary Arts – Ljubljana

World of Art, School of Contemporary Art


Head of World of Art: Sača Nabergoj

Mentor of Laboratorium: Petja Grafenauer Krnc

Coordinator of World of Art: Maja Loziæ



*In collaboration with*

Alkatraz  Gallery


Masarykova 24, Ljubljana

Tel.: + 386 1 434 03 45

e-mail: kud.mreza at guest.arnes.si

www.kudmreza.org/alkatraz



*Project is supported by*

Okolje Consulting, d.o.o.; Municipality of Ljubljana, Department for
culture; Ministry of Culture of Republic of Slovenia



*Media sponsor*

inDirekt**

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*Additional information:*

SCCA-Ljubljana

Metelkova 6, 1000 Ljubljana (office hours: 11.00-15.00)

Contact person: Maja Loziæ (coordinator of World of Art)

Tel.: + 386 1 431 83 85

Fax: + 386 1 430 06 29

E-mail: *svetumetnosti at scca-ljubljana.si*

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SCCA-Ljubljana is a member of Asociacija, the association of non-government
organisations and independent creators in the field of culture and art in
Slovenia.
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