2010
Action
Time: 25 September 2010, 12pm
Place: Valea Morilor lake, Chi\u0219in\u0103u, Moldavia<\/p>
In their re-enactment Star of the Parad(is)e<\/em>, the artist duo Soci\u00e9t\u00e9 R\u00e9aliste recreate a found photograph depicting an action. The original image, discovered in the collection of artist Tibor Horv\u00e1th, shows firefighters in Duna\u00fajv\u00e1ros drawing a five-pointed star with water jets. As the artist duo were asked to do, they recreated the action on the shores of the dried-up Valea Morilor lake in Moldova with the help of local firefighters, creating a geometric ephemeral monument.<\/p> Soci\u00e9t\u00e9 R\u00e9aliste was founded in 2004 by Hungarian artist Ferenc Gr\u00f3f and French artist Jean-Baptiste Naudy. Their creative work focuses on the analysis and deconstruction of visual communication signs\u2014logos, emblems, maps, symbols, typographic elements, monuments, sculptures or buildings\u2014that have been created by representatives of power in religious, political, cultural, artistic or financial spheres for the purpose of representation for the sake of exercising power. Their works are often critical, aiming to shed light on social and political phenomena and make us reflect on our world and how it works. They explore the aesthetic role of the media of representation in a much deeper context, presenting it in a new light, in a kind of critical-design toolkit: a \u201ccollection of political curiosities\u201d. The artificial lake of Valea Morilor was created in the Soviet Union in 1950 on the initiative of Leonid Brezhnev, with the aim of improving the urban landscape and recreational activities of the population, but it has also become an important site in Moldovan political and social life, as the protests and political rallies that took place here have become defining moments in the country\u2019s history. The meaning and symbolism associated with the five-pointed star varies across cultures and religions. The star is also used as a political symbol, with the political context determining its meaning. It usually represents power, strength and stability, but, for example, the five-pointed stars on the flag of the United States represent the fifty states, and the five-pointed red star can also be seen on the flags of the countries of the communist-socialist world.<\/p> The original recording, which was replayed by Soci\u00e9t\u00e9 R\u00e9aliste in 2010, was made in the 1960s somewhere in Hungary, probably on 1 May or 7 November, possibly on the occasion of World Firefighters\u2019 Day, where the \u2019fire dragon\u2019 is unfurled by materialist followers of St George. The star in the picture by Soci\u00e9t\u00e9 R\u00e9aliste is not red, but transparent and water-like. Even if it is somewhat reminiscent of the symbol of communism, this star, in its present form, cannot be seen as a representation of any totalitarian ideology. Firemen armed with fire hoses drew the liquid five-pointed star over the dried-up, puddled sands of the Brezhnev-lake, which had been created due to political motivations. The action lasted only six or seven minutes, during which time only a few hundred litres of water seeped into the pebbly ground.<\/p> Soci\u00e9t\u00e9 R\u00e9aliste focuses on social and political issues and encourages critical thinking. In the exhibited work, it presents an ephemeral monument based on a performative action in a geographically remote and historically charged site, which, beyond the aestheticization of the photograph, makes us hesitate in the spectrum of our experiences and memories, touching on issues of cultural heritage, political representation, international relations, media manipulation and disinformation.<\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-27644","blogposts","type-blogposts","status-publish","hentry","col-md-4 col-sm-6"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n