The Prize

Along with the recent graduates, students and young collaborators from around Auckland, we will be selecting New Zealand's Greatest Idiot.

What will this person win?

Utilising Snowhite Gallery at the School of Design, Unitec, our group will prepare a work of art honoring this person. Since this is a collaborative project, we will decide in situ and develop a video, performance, installation or combination of these forms to be exhibited at MIC Toi Rerehikoi.

Factory of Found Clothing (Gluklya and Tsaplya)

Invitation to Participate from Gluklya and Tsaplya

Here is the project...

We invite you to partiicipate in our competition 'The Greatest Idiot in New Zealand'. We hope that this competition will be different from the ordinary.

What do we mean by 'idiot'?

We have in mind the hero of Dostoyevsky's novel 'The Idiot' - Prince Myshkin. The goal of our project is to find and identify New Zealanders who embody the qualities of Myshkin and apply those traits in order to solve contemporary social problems. Despite the fact that the image of Myshkin in the novel is contradictory and ambivalent, Myshkin stood for love and compassion. We believe that their is something in his character which we can learn from as we face the crises and conflicts of the 21st century. Since Myshkins New Zealand heirs are constitutionally incapable of identifying themselves, we can call upon you to nominate your own candidates for your country's Greatest Idiot.

Please keep in mind that your idiot should be someone who has taken a critical or radical approach to solving a concrete social problem in your communities, work places or the country as a whole. But it might be someone quite humble-like a neighborhood person who looked after all the stray kids in your street.

How can you participate?

First you can read (or reread) Dostoyevsky's novel, if you wish or you can get a sense of his character from;

http;//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Idiot_(novel)

First you may interpret the novel or Myshkins character however you like - let your imagination and compassion run free as you try to project your sense of the novel onto your own situation - be it in your own neighborhood, workplace or society as a whole. Second, once you have found your own Idiot, you should put together a brief but persuasive arguement about why she/he is New Zealand's Greatest Idiot. This 'nomination' may take the form of a written or recorded text, a video, a photo essay - whatever you like; there are no strict criteria but you need to do this before February 5th 2009. Please send your digital submissions to the following email;

Marcus Williams (curator)

thegreatestidiot@gmail.com

If you need snail mail; contact Marcus at this email and an address will be supplied.

The Greatest Idiot in New Zealand

Previous Blog postings will give you a background to this project and the two visiting Russian artists Gluklya and Tsaplya. It also provides a biography of the New Zealand collaborators.

What follows is a description of their New Zealand project the Greatest Idiot in New Zealand.

This project is part of the Auckland festival 2009 and will be exhibited at MIC Toi Rerehikoi from 6 March. The project occurs on the occasion of the residency at Unitec School of Design of two internationally reknowned St Petersburg based Russian 'situationist' artists Tsaplya and Gluklya of the 'Factory of Found Clothing'. A full description of the Factory with their manifesto and illustrations of art works are earlier in this Blog. This project has received support from CNZ, Unitec, Auckland Festival and MIC Toi Rerehikoi.

While on their residency they are running a special public project 'The greatest Idiot in New Zealand' which involves searching for New Zealand's greatest idiot; an idiot not in the sense we might think, but instead based on Dostoyevsky's enigmatic character Prince Myshkin. In Dostoyevsky's damning critique of Russia's 19th Century ruling class; Prince Myshkin is a guileless character that arrives onto an incestuously entangled aristocratic scene, penniless and without object. His belief in truth and beauty, his direct language soon land him the title of 'idiot'. Yet as he is ridiculed, he is privately respected for his inner wisdom and some even seek solace and advise in his company. Although a complex and ambiguous character he stands for compassion, tolerance, love and friendship amidst a bitter contest for wealth and status.

Yael Gezentsvey

Hello. I'm Yael Gezentsvey. I have just completed a BA in Acting at Unitec, and before that I completed a BA in Film and Theatre at Victoria University in Wellington. I was born in Venezuela and moved to New Zealand as a baby. I'm an actress, singer, artist, musician, teacher, collaborator, creator, daughter, sister, wife, friend and I am very passionate about people, their stories and their essence. Film and theatre credits include A Piece of My Heart (TVNZ Tele-Feature 2008) and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (ATC 2008)

Leanne Clayton

Born and raised in Auckland New Zealand, Leanne Clayton is of Samoan and European descent, graduated from the Auckland University of Technology in 2006 with a BVA in Visual Arts majoring in print making. Since graduating Leanne was an assistant curator for Jim Vivieaereworking on 'Black White Black Pearl' in 2008 at the Te Karanga Gallery. Subsequently she curated the exhibition 'Strengthening Sennit' 2008 at the St Paul St Gallery where the works of 15 young Pacific artists were showcased. Leanne has recently been involved with 'Whats That' 2008 exhibition at the Ramp Gallery in Hamilton and is currently exhibiting at the Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts in Taiwan for the 'Le Folauga' 2008-2009 exhibition; 'The Past Coming Forward'. Leanne is currently working on an exhibition for the Pan Pacific Nation in Hawaii responding to King David Kalakaua's dream of a Confederation of Pacific Nations to be showcased in March 2009.

Esther Page

I come from the ghetto which is West Auckland and this certainly has a strange effect on my personality and the kind of work I produce. Quirky photos of family members in leotards and girls in togs on bathroom floors. I also enjoy taking photos of adolescents (particularly my brother), model railways and cake floats. I am also really interested in film and animation; hopefully these will be incorporated into my practice one day.

Hannah Clarke

I am twenty two and finishing what feels like what has been a mighty haul of a Bachelor of Design majoring in Media. When recently asked 'What's good to do in Auckland' by a friend traveling from California, all I could suggest were places or activities outside of the city. Auckland is a great means for getting to other areas. Places with magnificently wild beaches, fascinating native beaches, fascinating native bush and many relaxed yet interesting little communities. I was lucky to grow up in Muriwai, one of these such places. Living there may have lead me to this view of the city and has helped me to appreciate and prefer the simple, honest things in life. This is definitely reflected in my design practice. I enjoy bike riding, snowboarding (as well as yeti's); the art of storytelling and the process of turning kooky ideas into reality. Mediums I especially enjoy are illustration, motion graphics, typography and screen-printing. It is always interesting observing the different ways these are responded to.

Dina Arakelian

My name is Dinara, but everyone calls me Dina. I was born in Novkuznetsk, Russia. Before coming to New Zealand in 1996, I lived in Novosibirsk. I have been to St Petersburg, the same year I left for NZ and I love that city. I live in Auckland with my mum, brother, sister, a doggy - Juliette, a cockateil - Jojo - and a mouse - Mikey. I'm the eldest in my family, 23. My brother is 16 and my sister is 10. I'm very close with my family, especially my mum. She's my best friend. Last year my granddad passed away, he also lived with us and that was very hard on me and my family, so now our family is smaller without him. I am majoring in Media Design this year at Unitec. I love design, fashion, especially accessories!!! I'm quite a social person, though being in the last year of my course does make it a bit hard to go out, most of my weekends are spent on the computer designing work, but I love it! I finished grade 8 violin a few years ago, have done drama and have really enjoyed it! - did some hip hop dancing!

I only travelled once since I've lived in New Zealand and that was to Cape Town in South Africa. It was an AMAZING trip. It was an unforgettable experience, a beautiful country. I think that's it for now. Thank-you.

Dina Arakelian/Khametvaleeva.

Kristina Heep

The name on my passport is Kristina Heep. I hope to use this passport again soon.

I'm interested in communication, technology, the environment and the role images play in creating our sense of what all these things mean. Sometimes, for a multitude of reasons, I feel both attracted to and repulsed by glossy magazines and shopping malls. This makes me think about things like desire, dissatisfaction and tension in relation to our contemporary consumer culture. I mostly aim to represent in a responsible fashion in my life and my art.

Hazel Smith

Hi I'm Hazel. I'm a person who loves to make things and ideas. At Unitec I am currently in a third year studying Media Design, although you won't find me there at the moment. I am in melbourne on an exchange semester at RMIT University. It is a great experience but they are trying to put me in a 'graphic design box' and i don't fit. I live to create and execute crazy ideas, the outcomes of which vary from motion graphics to typography, from sound to print and from illustration to performance.

Hannah-May Thompson

Born in 1981, I spent most of my childhood growing up on farms around the North Island of new Zealand. When I was eight years old, our family settled in the Helensville area just North of Auckland. growing up in small, isolated places has been a huge factor in my current world-view.

I currently live in Point Chevalier, near central Auckland and I am between jobs. I spend my time working on my first chapbook Menagerie, cooking for my lover, knitting for various projects and craft-fairs, organizing collaborative ventures and stealing plants from neighboring properties.

Anneliese Kuegler

I wear clothes which is lucky because I dislike the appearance of my body. My clothes insinuate this, they also allude to the idea that I am an artist and just a wee bit cool. Both of these are questionable but fair conclusions one may glean from looking at me. My art embraces social concern from a personal to global level...'oh my breaking heart, the brutality of guns, ducks and mating for life'. nature is too precious to be 'prescious'. Jesus wants you to consume less and so do I.

Rachel Bell

I was raised in rural eastern Bay of Plenty and now I reside in central Auckland where I moved initially for study, graduating from Unitec in 2006 with a Bachelor of Design (hons) majoring in 3D, Contemporary Jewellery.

The use of textiles in my practice stems from an upbringing in which handcrafts were vital combined with ongoing research and contemplation on their wider social and cultural implications.

I am interested in the way in which familiar materials can be appreciated for their beauty and comport while also having the ability to occupy a slightly uncomfortable space.

Introductions

Marcus Williams - Curator for 'The Idiot'

I was born in Auckland and live there now with my partner of 20 years and our two children.

I have a cross-disciplinary art practice working in a wide range of media with a strong emphasis in lense based media. I have an enduring interest in collaboration and have collaborated with my wife over many years as well as other artists in all sorts of different ways. Our children are now integrated into the collaborative process and we have made photographs, videos, animations, drawings and performances.

My conceptual interests are tied up with this notion of ‘creative’ collaboration in as much as it is concerned with the hopelessly entangled nature of what Julia Kristeva calls the ‘social contract’ and the immediacy of lived experience; for example, love. Put another way, I am interested in the uncertain dimension of human behaviour which lies somewhere between social and mediated experience; the process by which all that is biological or ‘natural’ (that wonderfully problematic word), is ‘processed and codified into a highly complex system of signs. This is one of the reasons that I am so interested in FFC and it is the aspect of curatorial practice which attracts me; the possibility of facilitating collaborative projects.

Chto Delat

Gluklya and Tsaplya are members of a group formed in 2003 dedicated to bringing art and politics together. Chto Delat have a regular newspaper and are participating now in Quadrennial for Contemporary art, Copenhagen, Denmark with a new installation dedicated to perestroika.
Here is the URL for the website of Chto Delat and an associated Blog. The image is from their website and is credited to Chto Delat.
http://www.chtodelat.org/
http://chtodelat.wordpress.com/

New Zealand collaborators - guidelines

Gluklya and Tsaplya have just returned to St Petersburg from the Sea of Azov where they have completed a project in Rostov on the River Don.

Also recently the first meeting of New Zealand collaborators occurred in Kingsland, Auckland; August 26, 2009; with Hannah, Caryline, Esther, Rebecca, Kristina, Dina and Marcus. Jessie, Hazel and Hannah T apologised. All will consider potential others who may be interested in this project.

At this meeting it was decided that by way of introduction, each collaborator would write a short biography (100 words approximately) and post a small photograph (250kb approximately). These should be sent to Marcus Williams who will post these details to the Blog site.

Also; collaborators are greatly encouraged to read Dostoyevsky's celebrated novel; The Idiot. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Idiot_(novel)

Let the introductions begin…

The Shop of Utopian Clothing

Long running FNO project: Shop for Utopian Clothing

Located at Pushkinskaya 10 Art Centre, St Petersburg http://www.p10.nonmuseum.ru/index_e.html

Statement

This shop was created in order to remind people (be they men, women, girls or boys) that they are free, that there is true love on earth, and that they are not obligated to follow what others say, neither their parents nor the boss at work, but rather, they can find ways to solve all problems, ways to exist in this world.
Their internal world (including all weaknesses, fears, and illusions) is a treasure, despite the brutal reality of everyday life which often argues against this tenderness.

In the store, there are very dear things (this means that are hard to part with), and likewise, there are very cheap things. This is in accordance with a desire to make the store truly democratic. Because a dear thing can be given to any person as a reward for what he achieved, or plans to achieve, in life.
The things in the store try to converse with the observer about his or her desires, longings, unquenchable hopes and dreams. These things differ from ordinary objects in that they have already conversed with people (other people wore them, and the artist pondered over them.) They are wiser than ordinary things and, it follows, much closer to the human heart. It could be said, that the FNO Shop sells things “inside out,” because unlike ordinary clothing that hides the sensitivities of its wearer as an apparatus of the collective mindset, this clothing actually reveals it. By showing a glimpse of the wearer’s soul, it manifests a relationship to the world as to an ideal lover who understands and accepts you as you are, or even as more than you are.
The FNO Shop can bravely be called a project, because it also functions as a teaching program, a cognate-analog to the European “workshop,” including in its practice art therapies that the creators of FNO developed over the course of many years. In connection with this program, the store does not have ordinary salespeople; rather, there are young women who participate in the project themselves and try to help you in choosing precisely Your clothing.

You can also borrow something or order something new, something originally for you!

Factory of Found Clothing - Manifesto

Manifesto of Factory of Found Clothes

The place of the artist is on the side of the weak.
Weakness makes a person human, and it is by overcoming weakness that heroes are born.
We do not extol weakness, but rather appeal to kindheartedness and humanity.
The time has come to return compassion to art!
Compassion is an understanding of the weakness of others and a joint victory over that weakness.
You cannot call it sentimentality.
It is Freedom standing on the barricade with naked breast, defending the child in each of us!
You say that art is only for the very smart, that it’s an intellectual game? That there is no place left for true impact, that strong emotions belong exclusively to Hollywood? It’s not true! Because in that case, art would be meaningless, cold, incapable of extending a helping hand.
Art is not an abstract game but an adventure; not cold rationalism, but live emotion. The artist is not a mentor or tutor, but a friend; not a genius, but an accomplice. Rather than enacting didactic social projects, we must help people to stop fearing themselves, help them to accept themselves and grow better. Society is made up of people. Only by helping these people follow the path of self transformation, do we change society. There is no other way.

Gluklya and Tsaplya

The Idiot - Introduction

This is the blog for a project called ‘The Idiot’.

The blog serves as the arena for a dialogue between a network of young New Zealanders and the Russian artists Gluklya and Tsaplya. The blog and the network will be coordinated by Marcus Williams; New Zealand based curator/artist.

Based in St Petersburg, the ongoing project of Gluklya and Tsaplya is the Factory of Found Clothing (FNO) for which clothing forms a central signifier of human fragility. Through collaborative projects and public interventions art serves as a vehicle for social transformation in the FNO operation. The outcomes often involve the direct participation of other individuals and groups in projects where art and direct action are inseparable; projects which involve performance, video, installation and intervention. The longest running project within FNO is the Utopian Shop of Clothing which produces and retails re constituted clothes/art objects made and sold by young female collaborators from all over Russia. The Utopian Shop generates its networks from magazine articles and advertisements and operates as a kind of resistance to market consumerism and the world wide phenomenon of label fetishism. The manifesto of FNO states; “The place of the artist is on the side of the weak. Weakness makes a person human, and it is by overcoming weakness that heroes are born”.

The Moving Image Centre http://mic.org.nz/ in central Auckland will exhibit and host the FNO project in Auck;and; forming the hub of the workshops and resulting projects generated by this collaborative network. This iteration of the Factory of Found Clothing will form part of the Visual Art Program of the 2009 Auckland International Arts Festiva; AK09 http://www.aucklandfestival.co.nz/. FNO will work with young New Zealanders from a range of backgrounds and facilitate the development of artworks aimed at social transformation

Gluklya and Tsaplya will be Artists in Residence at the School of Design and the schools Snowwhite Gallery http://www.unitec.ac.nz/?955E7D8E-D07C-459F-A675-547AB533278F will accommodate aspects of the Auckland venture including a concomitant exhibition with MIC. Over the coming months; conversations will begin through this blog. FNO will arrive in Auckland in February 2009; the workshops will then begin and the Festival opens in early March. After the opening of the festival a Symposium about art, design and social transformation will happen at the School of Design. This will be followed by a second symposium in Otago focused more on contemporary Russian art.

The workshops and projects in Auckland will draw on a novel called ‘The Idiot’ by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Written in 1862 the book is a bitter critique of the ruling class revolving around the somewhat guileless and generous spirited ‘Prince Myshkin’ who gets drawn into the vitriolic and self centered world of the Russian aristocracy.

Gluklya and Tsaplya will utilize this story and its central character to weave a discourse around which the New Zealand collaborators will develop their projects.

Marcus Williams