CURATED BY: PAZ PONCEBERLIN16-17 NOvEmBER 2013

BIO/INTRO

PAZ PONCE hAs A m.A IN ART hIsTORY fROm ThE COmPLUTENsE UNIvERsITY Of mADRID. IN 2009-2010 shE sTUDIED AT ThE fREIE UNIvERsITäT IN BERLIN. IN hER YEARs As A sTUDENT shE REsEARChED ON ThE fREUDIAN CONCEPT Of ThE UN-CANNY IN ThE gERmAN ExPREssIONIsT fILms AND ITs ImPACT IN ThE AmERICAN INDEPENDENT ExPERImENTAL CINEmA. shE ALsO wORkED ON ThE CONCEPT Of fEmININITY IN CINDY shERmAN’s OEUvRE. fOR fOUR mONThs, BETwEEN 2010-2011 shE wAs AN INTERN AT ThE PARRA & ROmERO CONTEmPORARY ART gALLERY IN mADRID.

IN fEBRUARY 2011 shE CO-fOUNDED A CURATORIAL COLLECTIvE: CALIPsOfACTO PROjECTs, DEvOTED TO ThE PROmOTION Of EmERgINg sPANIsh ART. sINCE sEPTEm-BER 2012 shE Is CO-DIRECTOR Of ThE CALIPsOfACTO CULTURAL AssOCIATION.

AfTER gRADUATION, shE mOvED TO BERLIN, PARTICIPATINg IN ThE 2011 sPRINg CURATORIAL REsIDENCY PROgRAm AT ThE NODE CENTER fOR CURATORIAL sTUDIEs, whERE shE CONTINUED ON fOR 6 mONThs As AN INTERN DEvOTED TO fUNDRAIs-INg REsEARCh, AwARDED wITh A LEONARDO DA vINCI sChOLARshIP.

sINCE 2012 PAZ PONCE Is A CURATOR mEmBER Of BERLINERPOOL, A COOPERATIvE NETwORk Of ARTIsTs, sPACEs AND CURATORs BAsED IN BERLIN. IN OCTOBER 2013 shE BECAmE ThE mANAgINg CURATOR Of ThE BERLINERPOOL ARTs mOBILE ARChIvE, A DATABAsE COmPRIsINg 300 ARTIsTs, CURATORs, ART mANAgERs AND sPACEs IN BERLIN.

As PART Of ThE BERLINERPOOL TEAm, PAZ PONCE PROvIDEs CONsULTANCY sERvICEs fOR PROfEssIONALs, AssIsTINg ThEm IN ThEIR REsEARCh ON ThE BERLINER CON-TEmPORARY ART sCENE. shE Is ALsO mANAgINg CURATOR Of ThE vIDEOTEqUE, A PhYsICAL CATALOgUE Of 330 vIDEO wORks BY BERLINERPOOL ARTIsTs TAkINg fORm Of A REsEARCh CENTER ON TImE-BAsED vIsUAL ExPREssION.

www.PAZPONCE.COm / www.BERLINERPOOL.DE

skeptic’s rhapsody

“skEPTIC’s RhAPsODY” CONsIsTs Of A vIsUAL jOURNEY fOCUsINg ON ThE APPROACh Of 6 BERLIN-BAsED ARTIsTs whOsE ARTIsTIC PRACTICE OPERATEs IN ThE REALm Of ThE REAL, ThE EvERY DAY, wITh A sPECIAL EmPhAsIs ON INsTALLATION, AssEmBLAgE AND OBjECT ART.

fAIThfUL TO ThE sPIRIT Of A RhAPsODY, ThIs ARTICLE Is A mIxED-PIECE COmPOsED Of fRAgmENTs Of OThER wORks, POPULAR CUL-TURE AND wRITINgs Of mY OwN.

skepsis/sceptic: the beauty of etymology

CONTRARY TO whAT mANY PEOPLE ThINk, skEPTIC DOEs NOT mEAN hIm whO DOUBTs, BUT hIm whO <<INvEsTIgATEs OR REsEARChEs>> As OPPOsED TO hIm whO AssERTs AND ThINks ThAT hE hAs fOUND. (mIgUEL DE UNAmUNO, “EssAYs AND sOLILOqUIEs” 1924).

ONCE AgAIN, ThE BEAUTY Of ETYmOLOgY CAsTs sOmE LIghT OvER OUR sO OfTEN DYsfUNCTIONAL RELATIONshIP TO LANgUAgE; skEP-TIC OR sCEPTIC, fROm ANCIENT gREEk “skEPsIs”, mEANs LITERALLY “sEARCh”. ThUs, ThE sCEPTICs ARE ThOsE whO CONTINUE TO sEEk ThE TRUTh.

gIvEN ThAT BY wAY Of INTRODUCTION, LET mE PREsENT YOU mY fAvOURITE ENsEmBLE Of “sCEPTICs” OR “TRUTh sEEkERs”: mIChAEL jOhANssON (sE), PABLO mERCADO (Es), jAvIER PALACIOs (Es), DARIO sRBIC (Rs), ANNA TALENs (Es), mARCO PEZZOTTA (IT), AND NUNO vICENTE. (PT)

Is ThIs ThE REAL LIfE? Is ThIs jUsT fANTAsY? CAUghT IN A LANDsLIDE. NO EsCAPE fROm REALITY. OPEN YOUR EYEs. LOOk UP TO ThE skIEs AND sEE

ExCERPT fROm “BOhEmIAN RhAPsODY”,

qUEEN’s 1975 ALBUm A NIghT AT ThE OPERA. hTTP://www.YOUTUBE.COm/wATCh?v=fj9RUZImCZq

michael johansson

fADE IN fADE OUT, 2013BOxEs, ORDINARY ITEms. DImENsIONs: 0.33 x 0.33 x 0.33m x 2. INsTALLATION vIEw: gALERIE RAmAkERs, DEN hAAg (NL)

the allure of every day life

TAkINg ThE ALLURE Of DAILY LIfE AND EvERY DAY mATERIALs As A DRIvINg fORCE AND As A POINT Of DEPARTURE, ThIs ARTIsTs’ RELA-TIONshIP TO ThE REAL hINgEs ON ThE fAsCINATION fOR ThE OBjECT TROUvé, DEvELOPINg AN ARTIsTIC LANgUAgE ThAT ARTICULATEs ThE DIffICULTIEs IN ThE RELATIONshIP BETwEEN ThE CERTAIN, ThE CON-CRETE, AND ThE POssIBLE OR POTENTIAL

parataxis: an avenue to approach the every day

ThE UsE Of fRAgmENTATION, COLLAgE, AND PARATAxIs; ThE APPROPRIATION Of fOUND LANgUAgE AND ImAgEs; ThE CRITIqUE Of mImEsIs, LINEARITY, AND UNITY; ThE mETAfICTIONAL BLURRINg Of ThEORY AND PRACTICE; ThE CREA-TION Of hYBRID AND mIxED-mEDIA fORms; AND sO ON – hAvE ALL PROvIDED A mORE fRUITfUL AvENUE Of APPROACh TO ThE EvERYDAY ThAN TRADI-TIONAL fORms Of “REALIsm” AND REPREsENTATION.

dario srbic

mOBILE PhONE fROm ThE sERIEs: ATTEmPTs AT REPAIR (2012)LIghTjET PRINT

90 x 72 Cm

pablo mercado

sUBsTITUTION 2013PUZZLE PIECEs. 70 x 50 Cm. wORk PRODUCED IN mAC DURINg ThE ARTIsT IN REsI-DENCY PROgRAm

“skepticism: a form of opennes to the space of the propositional”. (after merleau ponty’s “phenomenology of perception” and christov-bakargiev)

ExCERPT fROm mERLEAU PONTY’s PhENOmENOLOgY Of PERCEPTION:

“ThE mIRACLE Of CONsCIOUsNEss CONsIsTs IN ITs BRINgINg TO LIghT, ThROUgh ATTENTION, PhENOm-ENA whICh RE-EsTABLIsh ThE UNITY Of ThE OBjECT IN A NEw DImENsION AT ThE vERY mOmENT whEN ThEY DEsTROY IT. ThUs ATTENTION Is NEIThER AN AssOCIATION Of ImAgEs, NOR ThE RETURN TO ITsELf Of ThOUghT ALREADY IN CONTROL Of ITs OBjECTs, BUT ThE ACTIvE CONsTITUTION Of A NEw OBjECT whICh mAkEs ExPLICIT AND ARTICULATE whAT wAs UNTIL ThEN PREsENTED As NO mORE ThAN AN INDETERmINATE hORIZON. AT ThE sAmE TImE As IT sETs ATTENTION IN mOTION, ThE OBjECT Is AT EvERY mOmENT RECAPTURED AND PLACED ONCE mORE IN A sTATE Of DEPENDENCE ON IT. IT gIvEs RIsE TO ThE “kNOwLEDgE-BRINgINg EvENT”, whICh Is TO TRANsfORm IT, ONLY BY mEANs Of ThE sTILL AmBIgUOUs mEANINg whICh IT REqUIREs

ThAT EvENT TO CLARIfY; IT Is ThEREfORE ThE mOTIvE AND NOT ThE CAUsE Of ThE EvENT. BUT AT LEAsT ThE ACT Of ATTENTION Is ROOTED IN ThE LIfE Of CONsCIOUsNEss, AND ONE CAN fINALLY UNDERsTAND hOw IT EmERgEs fROm ITs LIBERTY Of INDIffERENCE AND gIvEs ITsELf A PREsENT OBjECT. ThIs PAssAgE fROm ThE INDETERmINATE TO ThE DETERmINATE, ThIs RECAsTINg AT EvERY mOmENT Of ITs OwN hIsTORY IN ThE UNITY Of A NEw mEANINg, Is ThOUgh ITsELf. <<ThE wORk Of ThE mIND ExIsTs ONLY IN ACT (PAUL vALERY)>>. P.61

ThIs “kNOwLEDgE-BRINgINg EvENT” AROUsED BY ThE CONsTANT RE-CONTExTUALIZATION Of ThE OBjECT ThAT ULTImATELY sETs “OUR ATTENTION IN mOTION” AND RECAPTUREs AND PLACEs NEw sTATEs Of DEPENDENCIEs ON IT ThAT mERLEAU PONTY ExPLAINED IN hIs PhENOmENOLOgY Of PERCEPTION, DEmANDs ANOThER ATTITUDE fROm ThE ARTIsT’s sIDE: A sPECIAL TYPE Of OPENNEss.

PUTTINg IT IN CAROLYN ChRIsTOv-BAkARgIEv’s wORDs (CURATOR Of DOCUmENTA 13), AN “OPTImIsTIC POsITION”, whICh BRINgs Us AgAIN TO ThE IDEA Of “sCEPTICIsm” As A “fORm Of OPENNEss TO ThE sPACE Of ThE PROPOsITIONAL”, Of ThE POssIBLE “wORLDINg” TOgEThER. skEPTICIsm As AN ABILITY, A mENTAL ATTITUDE, whICh OPPOsEs APPEARANCEs TO jUDgEmENTs IN ANY wAY whATsOEvER,

wITh ThE REsULT ThAT, OwINg TO ThE EqUIvALENCE Of ThE OBjECTs AND REAsONs ThUs OPPOsED, wE ARE BROUghT fIRsTLY TO A sTATE Of mENTAL sUsPENsION AND NExT TO A sTATE Of “UNPERTURBEDNEss” OR qUIETUDE (sExTUs EmPIRICUs 160-210 A.D).

“the voice of things”.

ThIs ARTIsTIC APPROACh ImPLIEs A DIsAPPEARANCE Of ThE sUBjECT As A RhETORICAL sTRATEgY TO DRAw ATTENTION TO ThE OBjECT; AN OPERATION ThAT DEmANDs fAITh IN “ThE vOICE Of ThINgs ”: A fAITh IN ThE INTRINsIC CAPACITY Of OBjECTs TO BUILD CONTExTs ThEmsELvEs, NOURIshINg fROm ALL ThE fRAgmENTED NARRATIvEs ThEY CONCEAL – ONCE ThEY ARE sEPARATED fROm ThEIR BACk-gROUND, – AND REvEALINg, AT ThE sAmE TImE, A NECEssITY TO BUILD NEw mEANINgs.

book tip:

“ThE vOICE Of ThINgs”. ENgLIsh TRANsLATION Of

“LE PARTI PRIs DEs ChOsEs” BY fRENCh wRITER

fRANCIs PONgE, 1942. .....................................................NEw YORk: mC.gRAw-hILL BOOk

CO. 1972

book tip:

“PhENOmENOLOgY Of PERCEPTION” BY fRENCh

PhILOsOPhER mAURICE mERLEAU-PONTY, 1945

.....................................................NEw YORk: ROUTLEDgE CLAssICs

2002michael johansson

vERTICAL TRANsITION IN RED, 2013ExhIBITED AT: gALLERI ANDERssON/sANDsTRöm, sTOCkhOLm (sE), 2013

anna talens

fOR ICARUs

CARCAIxENT, 2002wAx AND fEAThER

23 x 1.5 x 4.5 Cm

experiments and paradoxes of the every day

LIkE fRANCIs PONgE’s LITERATURE mAsTERPIECE “TAkINg ThE sIDE Of ThINgs”, ThIs ARTIsTs mANIPULATIONs Of ThE wORLD Of OB-jECTs ARE NOT POETRY, NEIThER PROsE. sOmEThINg IN BETwEEN AND BOTh, AND mORE LIkE AN ExPERImENTAL POETICs Of EvE-RYDAY LIfE. qUEsTIONs ABOUT ThE EvERY DAY’s ELUsIvENEss, ITs REsIsTANCE TO REPREsENTATION, AND ITs PARADOxEs.

IN ThE sAmE wAY, “ThE EvERYDAY OffERs ITsELf UP As A PROB-LEm”, BEN hIghmORE ARgUEs IN EvERYDAY LIfE AND CULTURAL ThEORY, “A CONTRADICTION, A PARADOx: BOTh ORDINARY AND ExTRAORDINARY, sELf-EvIDENT AND OPAqUE, kNOwN AND UN-kNOwN, OBvIOUs AND ENIgmATIC”.

javier palacios

ALmA. 2013mIxED ON PAPER

ON wOOD

146 x 146 Cm

i the planet on the table

ARIEL wAs gLAD hE hAD wRITTEN hIs POEms. ThEY wERE Of A REmEmBERED TImE OR Of sOmEThINg sEEN ThAT hE LIkED. OThER mAkINgs Of ThE sUN wERE wAsTE AND wELTER AND ThE RIPE shRUB wRIThED. hIs sELf AND ThE sUN wERE ONE AND hIs POEms, ALThOUgh mAkINgs Of hIs sELf, wERE NO LEss mAkINgs Of ThE sUN. IT wAs NOT ImPORTANT ThAT ThEY sURvIvE. whAT mAT-TERED wAs ThAT ThEY shOULD BEAR sOmE LINEAmENT OR ChARACTER, sOmE AffLUENCE, If ONLY hALf-PERCEIvED, IN ThE POvERTY Of ThEIR wORDs, Of ThE PLANET Of whICh ThEY wERE PART.

ii a rabbit as king of the ghosts

ThE DIffICULTY TO ThINk AT ThE END Of DAY, whEN ThE shAPELEss shADOw COvERs ThE sUN AND NOTh-INg Is LEfT ExCEPT LIghT ON YOUR fUR— ThERE wAs ThE CAT sLOPPINg ITs mILk ALL DAY, fAT CAT, RED TONgUE, gREEN mIND, whITE mILk AND AUgUsT ThE mOsT PEACEfUL mONTh. TO BE, IN ThE gRAss, IN ThE PEACEfULLEsT TImE, wIThOUT ThAT mONUmENT Of CAT, ThE CAT fORgOTTEN IN ThE mOON; AND TO fEEL ThAT ThE LIghT Is A RABBIT-LIghT, IN whICh EvERYThINg Is mEANT fOR YOU AND NOThINg NEED BE ExPLAINED; ThEN ThERE Is NOThINg TO ThINk Of. IT COmEs Of ITsELf; AND EAsT RUshEs wEsT AND wEsT RUshEs DOwN, NO mATTER. ThE gRAss Is fULL AND fULL Of YOURsELf. ThE TREEs AROUND ARE fOR YOU, ThE whOLE Of ThE wIDENEss Of NIghT Is fOR YOU, A sELf ThAT TOUChEs ALL EDgEs, YOU BECOmE A sELf ThAT fILLs ThE fOUR CORNERs Of NIghT. ThE RED CAT hIDEs AwAY IN ThE fUR-LIghT AND ThERE YOU ARE hUmPED hIgh, hUmPED UP, YOU ARE hUmPED hIghER AND hIgh-ER, BLACk As sTONE— YOU sIT wITh YOUR hEAD LIkE A CARvINg IN sPACE AND ThE LITTLE gREEN CAT Is A BUg IN ThE gRAss.

“ThE PARADOx LIEs IN ThE fACT ThAT TO BE A

TRUE skEPTIC, ONE mUsT BELIEvE IT Is POs-sIBLE TO REACh kNOwLEDgE -

ThE gOAL Of A skEPTIC Is ThUs TO

sTOP BEINg A skEPTIC” ...

CAROLYNN ChRIsTOv-BAkARgIEv CURATOR Of DOCUmENTA 13

BILL mURRAY READs wallace stevens AT POETs hOUsE’s 17Th AN-

NUAL POETRY wALk ACROss ThE BROOkLYN BRIDgE, mONDAY jUNE 11, 2012.

NEw YORk CITY

h T T P : / / w w w . Y O U T U B E . C O m /wATCh?v=gAT_2CL33R4

changes of form

PROCEssUALITY Is TO ThE ARTIsT whAT EmPIRIsm Is TO ThE skEPTIC.

jUDgEmENT sUsPENDED, ThE ARTIsT-skEPTIC hANDs-ON-wORk ENCOUNTERs ThE mATTER Of fACTNEss Of ThE OBjECTs AND ENgAgEs IN A RITUAL Of APPROPIA-TIONs, mETAmORPhOsIs, TRANsfORmATIONs, TRANsI-TIONs AND DAILY ALChEmY: ChANgEs Of fORm.

the many lives of things

A qUITE RhAPsODY, AN OPTImIsTIC POsITION AND A fAITh IN ThE mANY LIvEs Of ThINgs AND ThE mANY wAYs Of APPROAChINg TRUTh – UNDERsTANDINg ART NOT As A CLOsURE BUT As A PROCEss “IN skPE-sIs” (“IN sEARCh”) fOR NEw mEANINgs, OPENINg ThE sPACE Of ThE PROPOsITIONAL, ILLUmINATINg ThE LIfE Of CONsCIOUsNEss AND TAkINg “ThE sIDE Of ThINgs”.

whO COULD hAvE hAD ImAgINED ThAT LINgERINg IN ThE BOARDERs Of REALITY COULD ACTUALLY BE AN ExERCIsE Of fREEDOm?

“ThE REAL Is ONLY ThE BAsE.

BUT IT Is ThE BAsE”

...wALLACE sTEvENs

“REALITY Is NOT A CRUCIAL APPEAR-ANCE UNDERLYINg ThE REsT, IT Is ThE fRAmEwORk Of RELATIONs wITh

whICh ALL APPEARANCEs TALLY”...

mAURICE mERLEAU-PONTY

nuno vicente“DEAD BIRD TURN INTO sTONE” 2012ACTION wITh CONCRETE, wATER, EARTh AND ANImAL REsTs. DIgITAL-PRINT AND OBjECT / DImENsIONs vARIABLE

marco peZZotta

“NOw, AssUmINg ThAT ALL Of ThIs Is REAL…” 2012PINs, mAgNET, gIfT RIBBONs, sCREws

vARIABLE DImENsIONs

list of artists and links

mIChAEL jOhANssON (sE)hTTP://www.mIChAELjOhANssON.COm/

PABLO mERCADO (Es)www.PABLOmERCADO.Es

jAvIER PALACIOs (Es)www.jAvIERPALACIOs.Es

mARCO PEZZOTTA (IT)www.mARCOPEZZOTTA.COm

DARIO sRBIC (Rs)www.DARIOsRBIC.COm

ANNA TALENs (Es)www.ANNATALENs.COm

NUNO vICENTE (PT)www.NUNO-vICENTE.COm

skeptic’s rhapsody

CURATED BY: PAZ PONCE (Es)

16-17 NOvEmBER 2013

www.ARTICURATE.NET