“Le silence, c’est la meilleure production qu’on puisse faire, parce qu’il se propage: on ne signe pas et tout le monde en profite”
Marcel Duchamp
The only good nation is IMAGINATION
“Speaking Out Loud” (Guangzhou 2011)
“Territories” (oil, earth, spices, paraffin on canvas tuckered on wood)
XiaoZhou Transport Company (XTC)
“Brain”
LISTEN (walking on water)
“Greatest Hits”
“Spice Station” (OCT Harbour, Shenzhen 2016)
“Temporary Monument”, Shenzhen
“The True Story” (4-sided-museum, Guangzhou)
“Your (chinese) Dream on the market” Dongguan
“Floating Forest”, EMG Stone Gallery/Redtory, Guangzhou
“Zoo (Hämmelsmarsch)” Xianbao Museum, Beijing
“Memory_Identity” (MK2 Artcenter, Beijing 2011)
“Our Street” (Guangzhou)
“The Plague” @ 798 Performance Festival, Beijing
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SPECIAL ARTISTIC TERRITORY
epilogue: thank you for coming/the gallery project
+ le calendrier des migrations
episode 0: the wall
episode 1: Xiao Zhou Cun
episode 2: Hope Academy
episode 3: F-518, Free Art Base, Shenzhen
episode 4: 4-side museum, Guangzhou
episode 5: floating forest, Guangzhou
episode 6: XTC net
episode 7: the tree of knowledge (of good and bad)
INTRODUCTION
Based on the TAZ (Temporary autonomous zones), a concept by Hakim Bay, and inspired by various “imaginary” countries founded by artists or artist groups in the past (I myself am a minister of the “République libre de Clairefontaine”), I create the “Special artistic territory”, an artistic community, a space without fixed or permanent territory, allowing artists to use it for free artistic work and expression.
Considering the fact that free artistic creation is still very difficult outside of private spaces in China and knowing that the economic development has been made possible by the creation of “Special Economic Zones”, it is interesting to create a “moving” territory without fixed space and borders, open for all kind of cultural and artistic media and disciplines. A territory as a space/zone is always important in creative activity. The Special Economic Zones, existing in southern China, allowed economic development; the “SAT” should allow artistic creation by transforming a “normal” public space in an art-territory. This territory can change its form in space and time.
The idea of creating new “countries, regions or territories” brings energy and consistence and avoids being dismissed as a fantasy or a provocation. When the fantasy and the provocation appear to be born from real strong elements, intriguing and interesting, then their presence can become quite disturbing. It is not about nationalism-no great art is nationalistic-but every artist brings some important elements of their own culture, just in an enlarged way.
OPENING PERFORMANCE
The opening/foundation will be in Guangzhou, metropolis of southern China with a rather small development in contemporary art. However it is a big market for traditionnal Chinese painting.
It should be a kind of conference . This conference will take the form of an artistic workshop/performance with exhibitions of different artists included. This performance should have a specific angle: local arts and its reflection in contemporary art.
Artists bringing something very specific about their “provincial/folclorical”, regional, local culture…some ritual, subject, performance, sound, smell, image painted or photo….which is about some very precise reality or tradition they know very well and which is linked to their roots, their hometown, their homeland…their own identity…these bringings should be presented, then be confronted and compared between each other.
Artists all coming from different regions or countries, all bringing something very specific about this region and on which they think it is possible to create an identity or rediscover one.
The “SAT” is the structure which allows to compare, combine, put together these elements, the creative space that provides “asylum” for creators with most different backgrounds.
GOING ON
After its creation the “SAT” should become a space for discussion about different aspects of creative expressions. It will provide an open space for artistic experimentation, promote interaction between diverse artists and audiences, facilitate critical dialogue and create interactions between regional and international art-networks. It plans to be a dynamic and representative actor in contemporary art scene for both promoting and creation. The territory will move and the opening event will only be the starting episode of future chapters and upcoming events in various public spaces to be transformed in a “special artistic territory”, in a forum for all kind of artistic expressions, in an “asylum” for confirmed artists and upcoming talents. An approachable and open space to all kind of art and cultural practices which aims to support research, exploration and innovation in order to bring together artistic perspectives in a critical dialogue.
A starting point for discussion about different aspects of creative expression, a forum and meeting place between artists and their public, an arty way to treat political questions, but also a new option and starting point for new artistic interpretations in contemporary art.
艺 术特区
介 绍
基 于哈吉姆•比 提出的“临 时自治区”概 念，并受到以往不少艺术家和艺术家团体创立的“想 象性”国 家的启发（我自己在2007年 也策划了一个类似项目，名为“2007卢 森堡及大欧洲区域文化首都”， 并在其中担任了“清 泉自由共和国”的 总理），我创造了“艺 术特区”这 一艺术共同体—— 一 个流放的国度，没有固定或永久性领土，允许艺术家出于自由创作及表达的目的而使用。
最 初的想法是希望完整地输入一个国家的文化景观（卢森堡大公国），为它和它的艺术家在中国广州的某个展览空间提供一个流放地。 这是对两国的轻微政治讽刺。
考 虑到自由的艺术创作在中国的私人区域之外依然难以实现，制定“经 济特区”却 令经济发展成为可能，我认为建立某个开放给所有文化艺术媒介和信条的国家或社区将会更加有趣。这将是一个没有固定空间和边界 的流动区域。一个以空间或区域存在对于艺术创作来说异常重要。南中国的经济特区促进了经济发展，“SAT”通 过将一个”正 常“的 公共空间转变为一个艺术区域而促进艺术创作。这个区域也可在空间或时间上改变其形式。
创 造新的“国 家，区域或领土”的 想法应该带来动力及体现出连贯性，避免因空想和争议而流产。当幻想和争议促生于真正强而有力的因素时，它们将变得引人入胜并 令人难以摆脱。这与民族主义无关－没有伟大的艺术是民族主义的－但所有艺术家都会使用并放大他们自身主要的文化元素。
开 幕行为
开 幕/奠 基部分应该发生在广州这样一个当代艺术发展相对薄弱的南中国都会城市，毕竟传统中国绘画在这里依然占据了主要市场。
采 取一种会议形式（我们都知道著名的G8峰 会），呈现为艺术家作坊或行为表演，不同艺术家的展览也将包含在内。这个作坊拥有独特的角度：本土艺术及其对当代艺术的反 映。
艺 术家将引入他们“本 省的或民间的”， 地区性的，本土文化……一 些仪式、某件物品，某个行为，某些摄影或绘画形象……这 一切都与精确的现实和熟悉的传统相关，反映艺术家的根源、家乡和国土，这些引入将被再现，产生碰撞并加以比较。
艺 术家全部来自不同的区域及国家，都将带来他们各自领域的特定元素，通过这些元素，他们为一种身份或一次再发现提供可能。.
“SAT”是 一个允许元素之间进行比较，合成和并置的结构，这个创造性空间为来自不同背景的创造者提供“庇 护所”。
后 续
在 这些创造性行动之后，“SAT”将 成为一个可以讨论不同创作表述的空间。它为艺术家的实验开放，促进不同的艺术家和观众进行互动，为批评话语提供土壤，并促成 地区和国际艺术网络的交流。它 计划在当代艺术领域成为创作及推动力的动态代理。特区将不断变换场所，开幕式仅仅是未来章节及事件的序曲，不同的公共空间被 持续转换成一个“艺 术特区”， 作为所有艺术表达的论坛，作为成名及新生艺术家的“庇 护所”。 一个接纳所有艺术及文化实践的空间将向公众开放，支持学术研究、探索及创新，并在批判性对话中引入不同的艺术视角。
这 是一个多样化创作表述的开端，一个艺术家与公众相遇的论坛，一个艺术性的政治应对，也是一个诠释当代艺术的全新可能。
Frank Gerlitzki 