Participants and project descriptions:
HUSEYIN ALPTEKIN (Turkey) & MICHAEL MORRIS (USA)
Heracleitos Promenade
Our work is not going to be archeological. It's basicly tracing the history in
the physical context with the contemporary references. Like the work has
historical sense, it is narrative too.
We produce the semantic sculpture of the metaphorical textures which we
construct as we live and live as we construct. In Ephesos we will try to
relate/communicate antiquity and contemporanity. In another sense Derrida,
Foucault, Battaille recall Heidegger, Fink recall Nietsche recall Heraclitus.
Therefore today we are able to conceive contemporanity of Nietzsche and
Heraclitus. Our plastic installation is analogous to that philosophical example.
SELDA ASAL (Turkey)
A History Book
Calligraphy information, books, writings in books are the forms of existence
of silence in this project.
In text composed of sliding words or words which become non-existent, visible
writing signifies the refusal of communicating information and telling
history. (It is an alternative way of reading information and history).
The writings are placed on information boards which will be exhibited in
Ephesus in 15-20 different streets.
GUSTAV DEUTSCH (Austria)
EPHESOS - Yesterday/Today/Tomorrow
[Kunstradio, 21. September 1995, 22.20 (Fortsetzung)]
Taken from the series:
Fictitious sound-documents of world history I - Ephesus.
An acoustic walk around Ephesus (with a walkman) listening to the town's
typical noises from antiquity, the present, and the coming century, i.e., the
future.
When I visited the area of Ephesos for the first time, in January 1981,
everything was flooded. The bus could hardly reach Ephesos. I had to walk the
last two miles towards the archeological site, and entered it together with
some sheeps and goats between bushes and trees, without mentioning the border.
There was no guard to be seen, no information or ticket office, there was no
other tourists, but all of a sudden I was walking on a marble paved road
towards the amphitheatre.
The whole atmosphere was dominated by the weather, the deep clouds rushing
over the hills, the water all over all, and a strong wind blowing from the
direction of the sea. I spent almost the whole day, and had a very intensive
and exciting time there, surrounded only by the sounds of nature, interrupted
after hours by the guard, who climbed up to the last row of the theatre to ask
me for my ticket.
When I was invited last year to participate in this project with the title
"Ephesos - The Imagination of History", I had at once the idea to work on a sound project, based on this first impressions and concerning the sounds of
nature of this historical site, before, during and after the presence of human
beings. It will be based on the fact that the history of human beings and all
their manifestations is just a part of the history of the earth, with all its
natural phenomena, and as one can see on a place like Ephesos, a very
ephemeral one.
The sound tape which I will produce is planned as part of a series of tapes -
entitled:
Fictitious sound-documents of world history, Part I:
E P H E S U S - Yesterday/Today/Tomorrow
There will be further parts of
- POMPEI (II)
- MACHU PICHU (III)
- TEOTIHUACAN (IV) and
- ANGKOR (V).
IPEK AKSUGUR DUBEN (Turkey)
Artemis
Is history a story forgotten unless we try to remember it or is there something which remains pulsing through time and space. In Ephesus among the mountains of stone and traces
of a civilisation wiped away the sound of mystery takes over and makes me
think of what survives. Artemis of Ephesus was a symbol of life and death,
hope and fear. Did she die with Ephesus?
Out of a particularly ritualized manner of working I have created an image of
myself which I feel gives expression to these feelings. It is a register of my
spirit and the myth of my own presence. I think of it as a metaphor for
Artemis. This image will be presented twice in Ephesus. On the site of the
prytaneum (Municipality Building) which housed the famous monument of Artemis
for centuries it will be accompanied by a poem I have written for Artemis and
a second time with a text containing the different names attributed to Artemis
handwritten by 90 different women whose writing will stand as their signature
in the continuous flow of history.
GERALD HARRINGER & WOLFGANG PREISINGER
DIE FABRIKANTEN (Austria)
a) The Guide
A guide usually refers to historical, cultural and aesthetic sights. He only
shows objects, fassades etc., which are generally known as interesting or
remarkable.
Our Guide will be acting in a different way. He gives hints to unconventional,
unhistorical, yet worth seeing objects, situations, persons within Ephesus.
With comments on the fashion of tourists, their language, brandmark of their
cameras, souvenirs they bought, etc, he will lead the audience on an
unexpected trip. He also integrates the other artists work in his general
analysis, which is set up inbetween banality and significance.
b) The Imagination
A video documents the artist's work. It shows their preparation and
construction work on the site as well as the present tourists. A monitor is
placed somewhere between excavated stones, like an object found.
c) Ephesus In The Net
All contributiuons, CV's, texts on the project are ducumented on Web-pages on
WorldWideWeb (Internet)
MARGARETE JAHRMANN & MAX MOSWITZER
MAMAX (Austria)
ArchiveArcade
On digital Imageoperation:
MAMAX are working as associative imageoperators on the development of metaphorical interfaces towards hyroglyphically
supported navigations through dataspace as well as on creative programming for
interactive applications.
To show the skribbles for rooms in datanetworks and to experiment with
alternatives to industrial standards by irritation is relevant parameter for
digital artsproduction as well as the idea of cooperation in life and
business.
In the evolution of metaphors for the organisation of data after labyrinth,
elevator, tunnel or maps the GAMBLER is coming up: ARCHEOLOGY ARCADE GAMBLERS
are linking different kinds of gamblers operating with archeological
documentary stuff as fotos and videos by one main NAVIGATIONS-GAMBLER, based
on a random processor. With these elements subjective reconstructions can be
done.
The gamblers of the ARCHIVE ARCADE are constructed as a reflexion on
possibilities of science and simulation in media. MEDIARCHEOLOGY is a
possibility for a virtual museum.
GULSUN KARAMUSTAFA
Souvenir
When I confronted Ephesus as a donation for a site-specific work, I found out
that it was one of the most difficult spaces to work on. It had several
different tensions coming from its rich historical background which gave you a
feeling of being defeated as an artist. While I was spending days in the
ancient town of Ephesos dealing with such problems, my project appeared from a
daily attitude. A point especially seemed very attractive for taking
photographs for those who were visiting the site. It was the front of Hadrianus
Temple.
I am contributing a photographical panel of the old excavation days for
Hadrianus Temple for those who like to take snapshots at the point. My work
will be remembered by them whenever they look through their family albums.
HAKAN ONUR
False World
The words "FALSE WORLD" will be written on canvas and placed on the floor of the semicircular theater stage of Ephesus. The viewer will
be able to view this writing (Yalan Dunya, Yalanci Dunya...) on the stage from
any point above. Taking its Turkish meaning from Islamic mysticism, and
reflecting a life viewpoint, this phrase, through its questioning the reality
of life, will meet us on this stage. In this city, which we look at as an
archeological finding we can tour in, which sheltered past lives, are we now
in an unreal time within the reality? Who are the players? What sort of game
is it?
HALE TENGER
Birth and Death
Although some ancient Greek thinkers had recognized change as inherent in
life, few in antiquity and virtually none in early Christian Europe took
seriously the idea that the present had emerged out of the past. (Carl N.
Degler, 1990).
While it's common in experience to remember things from our childhood larger
than they seem to us in our grownup perception, Ephesus' monumental outlook
was to leave everlasting impressions on me.
Growing up in Izmir, I had been a witness to many earthquakes as a child,
among which were serious ones as well. These frightening experiences were
recorded in my memory together with the unescapable reality accepted
admittedly that there are events which surpass mankind's sovereignity on life
on earth. This was in some ways an ambiguous but a harsh comprehension of the
facts of life.
The concept of my project will be dealing with the above issue, stressing
ambitions and limits of humankind, in other words mortality. A metal
information panel will be documenting each birth and death case that have been
taken place in Selcuk (town at Ephesus) within the year of 1995 up to the very
day of the opening of the exhibition.
FRANZ XAVER
The Visitors
Two mirrors are installed in Ephesus. In each of the mirrors is a film camera
hidden. Everytime a visitor appears in front of a mirror a picture will be
taken automatically. Each film roll stores approximately 4000 stills. Thus a
time documentary emerges within the periode of the exhibition. The future
archeology needs mechanical stores which has to be built.
Dates :
Thursday, Sept. 21, 1995:
19.30 Opening of the exhibition "100 Years of Austrian Research In Ephesus"
at the communitiy hall in Selcuk, organized by the Austrian Archeological
Institute, presented by the Austrian Cultural Insitute in Istanbul
Friday, Sept. 22, 1995:
17.00 Press conference with the artists in Ephesus at the Celsius library
18.30 Chamber concert of the "Wiener Symphoniker" in the theatre of Ephesus.
Saturday, Sept. 23, 1995:
9.30 Ceremonial act in the theatre of Ephesus with representatives of Turkey and Austria. Presentation of the EUROCARE programme
11.30 Presentation of the exhibition "The Imagination of History"
Guided tour through the exhibition headed by DIE FABRIKANTEN
Credits:
Idea:
Gerald Harringer & Wolfgang Preisinger (Die Fabrikanten) and
Dr. Erwin Lucius (Austrian Cultural Institute in Istanbul)
Organization:
Die Fabrikanten (Austria),
Ipek Duben and Gulsun Karamustafa (Turkey)
Thanks to:
Deniz Sengel (USA), for conceptional and organization work
Mr. Cenk Cengiz, NOMAD Tourism LTD (Turkey) for his help
Supported by:
Bundesministerium fur Wissenschaft, Forschung und Kunst (BMWFK)
Kulturabteilung der Oberösterreichischen Landesregierung
Österreichisches Kulturinstitut in Istanbul
Sponsors:
Mathew Enock, Mark and Nedret Butler, Sedat Inal, Temak Muhendislik ve Koll.
St., Tolga Oktern
NOVA REKLAMCILIK
PEGASUS Reisen
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