20 Dec 2008

The Real.The Story.The Storyteller at Salon of the Museum of Contemporary Art – Belgrade

Stefanos Tsivopoulos - The Real The Story The Storyteller

Opening of the exhibition: Saturday, December 20th 2008, 7 p.m.

Curator: Ana Nikitovic

The year 2008 in the Salon of the Museum of Contemporary Art will be concluded with a solo exhibition entitled 'The Real The Story The Storyteller', by Greek artist Stefanos Tsivopoulos. Truth begins with an axiom of truth. It begins with a decision. Decision to say that an event has taken place.

-Alain Badiou, The Political As A Truth Procedure

In the centre of Stefanos Tsivopoulos' artistic practice is the research, collection and analysis of archive photos, newsreels, film archives and other historically related imagery that constitute part of our collective memory. These documents are taken out of their historical context and used in his work in a reverse mode instead of serving their purpose they are deployed to tell a new story. By questioning the axiomatic value of a document, Stefanos Tsivopoulos is at the same time stating that we are strongly appealed by the document as it is. He is exposing the aura of photographic document in front of us while revealing his own suspicion in it's power to prove validity. He managed to show the paradox of the document and it's inherent contradictions without using the witness, but rather the document itself as subject. And he did it in such a way, without endangering our consensual beliefs in importance of thinking about the documenting as opposed to general relativity. In the core of this presentation exists the following assumption that: It is the way a story is been told rather the story itself. The origin of the story as a true or a not true event comes second to the image's ability to create genuine emotions and overlook facts. So archives are not necessarily serving as 'representatives' of the Historical truth rather are just another way to tell a story.

-Ana Nikitovic

On the occasion of this exhibition, an extensive catalogue/reader will be published, with texts by Jennifer Allen, Sotirios Bachtsetzis, Katerina Gregos, Ana Nikitovic, Petar Ramadanovic, Marco Scotini and Hito Steyrel. This publication is conceived as an extra space for including information that are believed to be crucial for the understanding of the shows' intentions, it's artistic context and its relation to current issues of representation from the historical, political and social spectrum. The project is supported by Mondrian Foundation, Amsterdam

Courtesy of works: Prometeogallery di Ida Pisani, AD Gallery, Beltsios Collection Short biography

Stefanos Tsivopoulos (Prague , 1973), is a Greek artist who lives and works in Amsterdam and Athens . He recently finished a 2 years residency period at the Rijksakademie van Beeldenden kunst in Amsterdam. Recent shows include the Museum of Contemporary Art Belgrade, 1st Athens Biennial, Kassel Kunstverein Friedericianum, 1st Thessaloniki Biennial, International Project Space Birmingham, Sammlung Essl Vienna, Center Photographique d_lle-de-France Paris, Montevideo Arts Institute Amsterdam, Museum Het Domein, Museum of Contemporary Art Athens, the Deste Prize, Manifesta Foundation Amsterdam, Coffee Break Liverpool Biennial. He is the winner of Golden Cube Award 2008, at the 25th Kassel film festival.

During 2009 he will be an artist in residence at the Platform Garanti in Istanbul.