On the occasion of the participation of the
On the occasion of the participation of the
The Embassy of Greece, Office of the Cultural Counselor
Proudly presents
an evening with representatives from the mainstream Greek publishing industry and a lecture
The Greek island of Naxos, has played a major role in the creation of Classical monumental art. Rich in marble as it is, it gave birth to skillful stone carvers, who made the first steps towards monumental marble architecture and sculpture. Recent research in the village of Melanes, Naxos, has revealed new aspects of this pioneering creation during the period of the 8th and 7th centuries B.C.
Professor V. Lambrinoudakis : Is invited by the HFOB to give this exclusive lecture for one night only in the USA. A world renowned archeologist, Prof. Lambrinoudakis has led excavations in Epidaurus, Naxos, Chios and Marathon. He is a member of the French Academy of Letters and of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. He was awarded the decoration of Grand Commander of Phoenix by the President of the Hellenic Republic.
CONTEMPORARY GREEK ART
with Dr. Zoe Kosmidou, author and Katerina Thomadaki, filmmaker
BOOK: The Power of Visual Logos, Greek Women Artists
FILMS: From the Angel Cycle : Personal Statement, Requiem for the 20th Century and Pulsar
Tonight we celebrate the release of Dr. Zoe Kosmidou's fêted book,
The Power of Visual Logos: Greek Women Artists , in which the artists Maria Klonaris & Katerina Thomadaki are featured.
The book will be introduced by Ambassador of Greece to the United States H.E. Alexandros P. Mallias , and presented by Glenn Harper, editor of the book and of Sculpture Magazine, as well as Susan Fischer-Sterling, NMWA's Deputy Director and Chief Curator.
Dr. Zoe Kosmidou is the Cultural Counselor at the Embassy of Greece. Greek filmmakers Maria Klonaris & Katerina Thomadaki are two of the most cutting edge media artists working in Europe today. Their films are preserved by the French National Archives and were last shown in the USA at The Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in 2005 at its Third International Festival of Film Preservation.
"The Power of Visual Logos: Greek Women Artists", is a valuable and enjoyable resource for both the museum visitor and the general reader. This book, fully endorsed by the Museum, represents ten years of research on a diversity of ideas, experiences and contributions in the practice of contemporary art and the critical positions of women artists in Greece and the Greek Diaspora. While the arguments presented are specific to Greek women artists, will no doubt prompt future scholarship and continued research in the visual art studies. with multi-visual and textual narratives, this passionate account develops a multi-vocal art language, focuses on the richness of the Greek culture in relation with other cultures around the world and opens a dialogue among them. - Susan Fischer-Sterling , NMWA Deputy Director and Chief Curator.
Maria Klonaris and Katerina Thomadaki are cutting-edge experimental filmmakers, the founders of the "Cinema of the Body", protagonists of projection environments, instigators of innovative approaches to photography and pioneers in media crossover. The conviction and theoretical thrust of their work highlight a need to rethink contemporary art in the light of new technological tools, as well as of today's scientific, social and philosophical concerns. Christian Gattinoni
www.klonaris-thomadaki.net
VIDEOS FROM THE ANGEL CYCLE
Personal Statement. France , Austria , 1994.
Beta SP, B&W and Colour 8' Direction /Concept /Cinematography /Texts /Sound composition / Production: Maria Klonaris, Katerina Thomadaki
” In their photographs, installations or videos, they explore all the " sites of the angel" in its mythological and utopian figures.
Their hermaphrodite angel of medical origin becomes a matrix, a hybrid image, the carrier of all virtual sexes. This blindfolded character, an epiphany of beauty, is confronted with the sonic image of the blinding of history, of Nazism, or Bosnia . He stands still, dazzling and violent, like a Benjaminesque allegory in which he becomes the ultimate witness and narrator. A historical and radical mourning for beauty, in counterpoint….” Christine Buci-Gluck smann
Requiem for the 20th Century. France , Greece , 1994.
Beta SP, B&W and Colour 14'. Direction/ Concept/ Cinematography/Image: found footage: Maria Klonaris, Katerina Thomadaki.
“In the archives of her father, a gynecologist in Alexandria , Egypt , Maria Klonaris came across a photograph of a hermaphrodite, eyes covered according to common practice in medical illustrations. Maria Klonaris and Katerina Thomadaki appropriated this image, which became the figure of the Angel—a word which in Greek also means a messenger and a witness. No longer a literary phantom or a mere mythological figure, the hermaphrodite in the Requiem for the 20th Century is juxtaposed to World War II newsreels. It becomes a true manifesto of the awareness and melancholy which characterized the century. The Angel suggests the apocalyptic theme of fire. The artists used image staining, combustion, the light, stellar images, on this body of fire, on this blindfolded angel who cannot see the century yet bears witness to it…” Marie-José Mondzain
Pulsar (Pulsar = astronomy term, abbreviation of Pulsating Star) France , Greece , 2001. Beta SP / Colour 14'. Direction/ Concept : Maria Klonaris, Katerina Thomadaki
“…When I watched Pulsar, I was captivated in my physical time, as if I had been completely transported from the very first seconds into a different dimension of time—different from any of the ones which are habitual to me, in reality as well as in my dreams. I was filled with surprise, awe and pleasure, as life gives itself, withdraws, gives itself again and withdraws endlessly. We find ourselves in a mythical dimension of time, the one of the first breath. Maria's gestures invoke a gift of life and a gift of death. Pulsar reminded me of images of Siberian shaman women in trance…" Marie-José Mondzain
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The National Museum Of Women In The Arts (NMWA)
1250 New York Avenue, N.W.
Washington , DC 20005 Tel: 202-783-5000
General admission $5; visitors 60 and over, NMWA members, and students $4.