35, 36Newspaper Jan MotVerschijnt vijfmaal per jaar injanuari – maart – mei –augustus – oktoberNO. 43, augustus 2004Erkenningsnummer P309573

Jaargang 9 NO. 43

ik weet echt niet watik moet schrijvendus doe ik maar wat

Afgiftekantoor: Brussel 1V.U.: Jan Mot

Antoine Dansaertstraat 1901000 Brussel 1

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Shot of Grace

Shot of Grace with Alighiero BoettiHairstyle, a piece consisting of 37 black &white slides where this image is taken from,was made during Garcia Torres’ stay inComo (Italy) this summer where he did anAdvanced Course in Visual Arts withJimmie Durham. ‘Shot of grace’(tiro de gra-cia) refers to the ‘liberty moment’ that a cap-

tor gives to his/her prisoner before shootinghim/her on the back, therefore giving the pri-soner the possibility to feel free beforedying. Garcia Torres will show Shot ofGrace with Alighiero Boetti Hairstyleamongst several other works in his first solopresentation at Jan Mot in Brussels. See alsothe interview with the artist on page 2.

35

COMO, 19 JULY - Mario Garcia Torres (Mexico, °1975) was shot in the backwith his camera. This is one of the several images that document the momentswhere Garcia Torres tried to escape from being captured in the photo.

MARIO GARCIA TORRES

SHOT OF GRACEWITH

ALIGHIEROBOETTI

HAIRSTYLE AND

OTHER WORKS

Back Space

RINEKE DIJKSTRATWO PORTRAITS

(advertentie)

Jan MotRue Antoine Dansaertstraat 190

B-1000 Brussel Bruxelles

Tentoonstelling Exposition 4/9–23/10Vernissage 4/9 17-19 u/h

Fotomuseum in Winterthur (March-May2005) and La Caixa in Barcelona (June-August 2005). The fourth and last venue isthe Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, at theend of next year. The show will consist of 70photographs, a.o. the series on the FrenchForeign Legion produced by the gallery, and

two video works. Schirmer & Mosel willpublish a book with texts by HripsiméVFotomuseum in Winterthur (March-May2005) and La Caixa in Barcelona (June-August 2005). The fourth and last venue isthe Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, at theend of next year. The show will cons

newspaper43.qxd 18-08-2004 14:35 Pagina 1

2 Newspaper Jan Mot 35,36Question

ANSWER ISNEVER THE SAMEBy Raimundas Malasauskas

VILNIUS, DATE UNKNOWN – Peoplesometimes get irritated if you ask them thesame question again, especially if it happensin the same conversation. Yet sometimes theyprovide different answers immediately or let’ssay two minutes after the first try (think of theOracle in the Matrix movie or Bill Clinton inhis trial). However when there are 40 years inbetween of two identically asked questionsthere’s a big chance to get the same answer.This does not a priori mean that nothing haschanged or things remained the same. Thesame answer could mirror a totally differentfold of an arrival than the previous attempt,and to illuminate this trajectory is an intellec-tual ride through a number of possibilities thatotherwise might remain mutually exclusive.Which is why an answer could be consideredas a typical media-type of event, while theroute towards it is a terrain where things arehappening always, but occasionally (and live).The fact that one day you might be studyingHegel of course is not as interesting as thepath that brought you there: maybe it hap-pened via Heidegger or perhaps via Spinoza(like you may land to 70’s Disco via HouseMusic or…maybe to Spinoza via Disco), butlet’s face the fact that the ultimate choices andslips happened before the arrival. Thereforeeach new entry-point and route generate anew destination and a new arrival-point. Sothe answer is never the same even if it is thesame sentence.

For a publication of Don’t Expect Anything,a project recently curated by Luca Cerizza atGalleria Massimo Minini, I was browsing anumber of old interviews (from 60s and 70s)with Robert Barry, Ian Wilson, Sol Lewitt andLawrence Weiner as well as more recent con-versations of Jonathan Monk, Hans UlrichObrist, Carsten Höller and Tino Sehgal, try-ing to find questions that would be interestingto ask again. Together with some newly fab-ricated inquiries it resulted in a series of con-versations with Barry, Sehgal and Wilson.Later on the 12 questions have reached MarioGarcia Torres, whose work addresses not onlythe first volume of Conceptual artists likeBarry and Weiner, but also the later explo-rations of Jonathan Monk or Francis Alys. So

basically this interview took off from the ideato construct different entry-points to thesources of inspiration as well as playing withthe genre of interview. Especially when anidentical principle of asking already usedquestions had been exploited in more color-ful publications like Face or AnotherMagazine where Kylie Minogue andGwyneth Paltrow did a similar thing to whatRobert Barry, Douglas Huebler, JosephKosuth and Lawrence Weiner did in 1989answering same 20 years old questions bycritic Arthur R. Rose1. This does not mean thatConceptual Art was earlier than Kylie andGwyneth. Yet the issue of originating is ofcourse constantly recurring, especially in thediscourse of Conceptual art which “has beenmarked by a fierce, absolutely fierce series ofattempts by many different artists to claimprimacy and position”2. By the way, this phe-nomenon is very well pointed out in Untitledby Argentinian conceptualist Eduardo Costawhich is “A piece that is essentially the sameas a piece made by any of the first conceptu-al artists, dated two years earlier than theoriginal and signed by somebody else. 1970.”In this respect new entry-points are intendedto create warps in time and promote connec-tivity instead of competitive dialectics of his-tory. I hope to hear back from Kylie andGwyneth one day too.

1 – Robert C. Morgan, Art into Ideas. Cambridge UniversityPress, 1996.2 – Charles Green in interview with Geert Lovink atwww.nettime.net

MARIO GARCIA TORRES

Question 1*Have you read Jack Burnham’s book BeyondModern Sculpture? He makes the argumentthat we are changing from an object-orientedworld to a system-oriented world, and that artis involved in doing it right now. MGTI guess Burnham referred to post-representa-tional and or post-object oriented practices towhich I will then totally agree, but I would alsosay that we are now trying to counteract theoverwhelming systems that dictate our daily

activities so to restore some sort of chancerelated space for framing art. In other words,I think our artistic practices function as get-aways of the modern project that seems in away still prevailing a lot of thinking nowadays.Since we are overconscious of the systems welive imbedded in, art can still work as a cata-lyst for “mystic” experiences. It is interestingenough to realize that Sol Lewitt´s sentence“Conceptual artist are mystics rather thanrationalists” seems to be as lively as ever.

*Source Patricia Norvell to Sol LeWitt inRecording Conceptual Art: early interviewswith Barry, Huebler, Kaltenbach, LeWitt,Morris, Oppenheim, Siegelaub, Smithson,Weiner. 2001.

Sounds like a long-lasting book. The title is abit outdated, nevertheless the backlash ofobject-based practices makes it relevant today.The idea about “system’s oriented world” con-firms that we are probably on the same courseof Modernity like we were 40 years ago, onlythe entry point has changed. Don’t forget: howmany systems? The book was written whenthere were at least two of them: Communismand Capitalism. There could be even moretoday: McDonalds, Burger King, Pizza Hut,etc.

Question 2*I wonder if we can place any significance onthe idea of real time, not only in terms of atemporal work, but as a subject. We now havedifferent notions of time than we used to… it’snot limitless anymore. What are other notionsof time that are particularly important to you? MGTJack Burnham also referred to “real time artworks” as simulated ecosystems where imme-diate interaction and exchange of informationtook place; that notion was relevant for thatparticular time. I don’t think real time in tech-nology and art is that relevant today since weseem to have come to terms with it. What Ithink is more interesting is the paradox thatthe idea of “real time” seems to be very“dated”.

*Source Bob Nickas’ interview with RobertBarry, Journal of Contemporary Art, Vol. 5.,No 1 Spring 1992, page 14.

The second part of the question is an additionto the original one. Time is a key category forall three of artists [in the show at MassimoMinini’s - JM]: Robert Barry claims that“time is creativity” (see interview with BobNickas), Tino Sehgal talks about his interest“in proposing different notions of history,presence, eternity” (see Hans Ulrich Obrist’sinterview with Tino Sehgal) and Ian Wilsonacknowledges that time was the subject of his

newspaper43.qxd 18-08-2004 14:35 Pagina 2

3 Newspaper Jan Mot 35,36Answer

very first discussions (see the source of ques-tion 3.)

Question 3*Is the notion of truth important in any respectin your work? MGTI think truth is not important to art. Art func-tions in a cognitive arena where the message isread in an intuitive-reasoning act, which is notnecessarily based on actual facts.

*Source Interview Ian Wilson by Oscar vanden Boogaard, Newspaper Jan Mot, issue 32,May-June 2002.

Ian Wilson talks about truth in the interviewwith Oscar van den Boogard. I think it’s morerelevant to talk about truth than to produce it,because it’s a dramatic business.

Question 4*How are you deciding what is art? Or whenis art?MGTThere is no when for art. Art is an endlessnegotiation, in social and personal terms. Inmy own quest, each breakthrough becomesart.

*Source Patricia Norvell to LawrenceWeiner in Recording Conceptual Art: earlyinterviews with Barry, Huebler, Kaltenbach,LeWitt, Morris, Oppenheim, Siegelaub,Smithson, Weiner. 2001.

The second part of the question functions asa reference to Nelson Goodman who in hisseminal Languages of Art book re-formulat-ed essentialist question “what is art?” into rel-ativist “when is art?” A similar attitude isexpressed by Sol LeWitt who talks about art“as verb.”

Question 5*Do you have an idea where does deleted orerased information disappear in general? MGTI don’t precisely know where the informationin De Kooning’s drawing or in the Baldessari’spaintings went, but there is neither a reasonto ask ourselves about that. The void they leftis more interesting than the information theyhad.

There is a saying that explains there is aplanet where all the lost sox are. I find this aninteresting way of explaining these kind offactual phenomena.

*Source Raimundas Malasauskas’interviewabout weblogging with Catherine Fake,Jouke Klereebeezem and Paul Perry in thesecond edition (2003) of the online version ofNU magazine: www.nu-e.nu.

Perhaps this question has to do with info-ecol-ogy related issues that are common to all threeartists (Barry, Sehgal, Wilson – JM) as well.Self-consuming or self-sustaining instead ofself-replicating?

Question 6*Have you ever done work under a differentname? Can you imagine doing a work ofanother artist? Do you sometimes imaginework of another artist that hasn’t been evermade? MGTI have never made a work under a differentname, although as reposition to art history, Ihave completed some works by other artists.An example is a video that David Lamelas andMarcel Broodthaers conceived in the late six-ties but never got to do. Being in Berlin whereit was supposed to be taped, I made the piecealong fellow artist Stefan Bruggeman. It ´scalled Untitled (Historical reposition) and it’s avery simple video where the two protagonistswalk towards the camera. I happen to talk toLamelas in NY early that year and he told methey made sketches for the piece which wassupposed to be done when he came back toEurope after going to America. When back inBerlin, Broodthaers was already in bed andthey could never realize it.

Most of the time I try to evade creative deci-sions and deposit them into prevailing struc-tures or persons so, I guess it could be inter-esting for me as an exercise to ask people tothink in a work of mine and consider the pos-sibility of making it happen.

*Source Unidentified.

The man who taught Blake painting in hisdream is a drawing by William Blake. WhenI saw it first time last year I couldn’t under-stand whether this was a portrait of a man whowas using his dreams to teach William Blakethe way of painting, or whether it was Blakewho was taught how to paint in his dreams.“Can you teach me something in yourdreams?” I would like to ask someone oneday.

“There are many artists I respect. I must beinfluenced by all of them. I must be influencedby Picasso also although I’ve never reallylooked at his work,” claims Tino Seghal (seeHans Ulrich Obrist’s interview with TinoSehgal).

Question 7*Can your pieces be redone in another situa-tion, somewhere else, by someone else, actu-ally? MGTYes. I think in the works as operational struc-

tures, and in that sense they are just platformsto be activated in any time and space. I guessthat is also my way of interacting with otherart agents as curators, art dealers or collectors.

I am right now working in some works thatare only titles to be filled out with content byother agents as: A photograph taken by itsowner before having acquired the piece or Asculpture that was misplaced by a curator.

Source Patricia Norvell’s interview withRobert Barry in Recording Conceptual Art:early interviews with Barry, Huebler,Kaltenbach, LeWitt, Morris, Oppenheim,Siegelaub, Smithson, Weiner, 2001.

Sort of a take on Question 7, only it address-es the issue of repeatability instead of recom-bination, multiple identity and transpersonalcommons. Actually the question comes fromthe statement of Robert Barry about his workin 1969.

Question 8*I was wondering if you use the Internet? Doyou imagine a dissemination of your work viaInternet? Is it appropriate to your work? MGTI use the Internet a lot. I would even think oforal communication as a technology and adissemination tool. When the work is just thebeginning of a speculation (some sort of pri-vate rumor) it doesn’t matter what mediumcarries it. In that sense, if we think the Internetnow possess some sort of credibility -althoughwe all know that its not necessarily true all thetime-, it has become a great broadcasting vehi-cle, just as the museum is.

*Source Hans Ulrich Obrist to Sol LeWittand Jonathan Monk in Jonathan Monk cata-logue, Lisson Gallery & Galerie YvonLambert, 2003.

“I am not into it at all.” (Sol LeWitt to HansUlrich Obrist)

Question 9*Isn’t non-productivity one of the most radicaland violent means to counteract dominantstructures? Do you use the notion of a prod-uct in your artistic practice?MGTYou are right about the violence in non-pro-ductivity, but I would also say that non-pro-ductivity is almost an impossible concept inpractical terms. I think that non-productivitywill most of the time lead you to something.(Maybe I am just thinking on Francis Alys’ twovideo works, Paradox of Practice… (SometimesMaking Something Leads to Nothing andSometimes Making Nothing Leads toSomething). I think non-productivity should beunderstood as a creative tool and not only as

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4 Newspaper Jan Mot 35,36Various

The MAMCO in Geneva acquired ChalkCircle #10 (1968) by Ian Wilson. The workis on display in the museum till the 12th ofSeptember.

Daniel Buren published a text on IanWilson in the Revue des SciencesHumaines, (issue 273, 1/2004) entitled IanWilson, un artiste non figuratif. Hedescribes Wilson as ‘the most singular artistto emerge since the mid-Sixties.’

Honoré ∂’O is invited by the FlemishMinister of Culture to represent Belgium atthe next Venice Biennial (June 2005). ∂’Oalready participated in the Biennial in 1995in the show Among others...onder anderencurated by Bart De Baere and Lex ter Braak.Another gallery artist who will be showingin Venice is Joachim Koester. He will rep-resent Denmark at the ScandinavianPavillion.

Rineke Dijkstra is prepairing a retrospec-

In brief

FOUND TEXT SECTION

tive exhibition which will start on the 13th ofDecember at the Jeu de Paume in Paris andwill then travel to the Fotomuseum inWinterthur (March-May 2005) and La Caixain Barcelona (June-August 2005). Thefourth and last venue is the StedelijkMuseum in Amsterdam, at the end of nextyear. The show will consist of 70 photo-graphs, a.o. the series on the French ForeignLegion produced by the gallery, and twovideo works. Schirmer & Mosel will publisha book with texts by Hripsimé Visser and UrsStahel and approximately 50 images.

Tino Sehgal’s presentation at the Statementbooth of the gallery during Art Basel, enti-tled This is competition, was awarded theArt Baloise Prize. In addition to prizemoney for the artist, the prize involves theacquisition of a work by Sehgal by theBaloise Group which is donated to theHamburger Kunsthalle. The members of thejury were Christian Boros, PeterDoroshenko, Christoph Heinrich, MartinSchwander and Adam Szymczyck. Thepresentation was realised in collaborationwith Johnen & Schöttle Gallery in Cologne.

ROBERT BARRYQuestioner: What is your piece for Prospect ‘69?Robert Barry: The piece consists of the ideas that people will have from reading thisinterview.Q: Can this piece be shown?R. B.: No, but language can be used to indicate the situation in which the art exists.For me, art is about making art, not about someone being aware of it.Q: How can these ideas be known?R. B.: The piece in its entirety is unknowable because it exists in the minds of so manypeople. Each person can really know only that part which is in his own mind. Q: Is the “unknown” an important element in your other work also?R. B.: I use the unknown because it’s the occasion for possibilities, and because it’smore real than anything else. Some of my works consist of forgotten thoughts, orthings in my unconscious. I also use things which are not communicable, or unknow-able, or are not yet known. The pieces are actual but not concrete; they have a dif-ferent kind of existence. Q: How would you characterize your control over the elements of your piece?R. B.: My control is indefinite, but, to a certain extent, I influence the form of the ideas.How much conscious control does any artist have over his art? The situation, this inter-view, also conditions the nature of the piece. I wanted the piece to be the naturalresult of this interview, the result of this time and place.Q: Does this piece in fact exist?R.B.: It does exist if you have any ideas about it, and that part is yours. The rest youcan only imagine.

Robert Barry, Interview Piece, 1969. From the exhibition catalogue Prospect 69,Düsseldorf.

a reference framework or an activist practice. I understand that a product could be anythingthat is the consequence of an action (even ifit is a minimal one) without needing to be anobject, contrary to the way the capitalistic sys-tem understands it.

*Source Carsten Höller in a discussion withDaniel Birnbaum in Production, Kiasma,Helsinki, 2000.

The second part of the question is somethingmore general. The notion of a product issomething that often puts people off, butsince we are in a multi-system reality (seenotes for question 1, it is inevitable to use it.

Question 10*Is oral communication just language? MGTOral communication is a lot more than lan-guage; It is one of the best mediums for thedissemination of ideas. It is in the missing andadding details of daily conversation that thetriggers of aesthetic speculations relay. It hasbeen said that a large part of the success ofConceptual Art is due to the efficient spreadof its body of ideas through academies andarts schools.

*Source Robert Barry to Ian Wilson in LucyLippard, Six Years: The Dematerialization ofthe art object from 1966 to 1972.

Question 11*Is the “unknown” an important element inyour other work also? MGTIt is definitely an important element. AlthoughI have to say that is not “the beyond” (if some-thing like that ever existed) that interests me,but that space where non-likely facts remainobscure but still believable. It is the presuppo-sition of this notion that most of the time acti-vates my works.

*Source Interview with Robert Barry in thecatalogue of Prospect ‘69. Kunsthalle,Düseldorf, September 30 – October 12, 1969.Via Lucy Lippard, Six Years: TheDematerialization of the art object from 1966to 1972) [see also elsewhere on this page forthe complete version of this Interview Pieceby Robert Barry – JM]

Question 12*Can you have a discussion with an InvisibleMan?

I guess I could. I just haven’t seen any recently.

*Source Unidentified. Perhaps this has to dowith immaterial and untraceable character(or….?) of some of the work of Tino Sehgal,Robert Barry and Ian Wilson.

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5 Newspaper Jan Mot 35,36Inauguraton

By Pieter D’ haeseleer

BRUSSELS, 12 AUG – Having set his right footexactly one hundred and twelve times infront of his left foot, Mr. Kant puts one stepaside, taking shelter for the pelting rainunder an extending oriel of a house in therow.

It is odd to be aware of the fierce showers,standing right in front of a club house, builtup with textured stones without joints andenjoying the comfort of this façade’s dryshadow of a bow-window. The public use ofthis private space is a gift for the owners aswell as for its users. The public is takingadvantage of it and is always leaving some-thing behind. This time, unforeseen condi-tions distort daily routine and make Mr.Kant’s eyes stroll around the bas-reliefs ofthis street.

Taking his time to wonder, Mr. Kant’s mindis doodling drawings of what people do notsee, now pacing in the street canyons ofbuildings turned into massive gutters whiletheir heads are facing down and not lookingup against faces of buildings nor people’sfaçades (kephalè is Greek for face). And it is

strange how one keeps discovering and for-getting details of the built architecturaldetails, even in a street one is crossing sever-al times a day.

Architects erect façades of buildings (fac-ciata is Italian for front, and facies is Latin for“figure” or “looks”, while the Latin verb faceremeans “making” in terms of construction).Since architects present their designs forthemselves, they can also let buildings maketheir acte de presence as buildings.

The genius element of a façade is addingprogrammatic beauty to a building, accord-ing to the rules of proportion and gravity.Basic mathematical principles, two wallsbearing one floor plate, vertical in relation tohorizontal, and the aging of the materials aredetermining one’s first impression. Thebeauty of this is not a disposition of the emo-tion, inherent to prescribed artistic conven-tions, inside or outside proportion or thedesigner handling it. Architect’s or artist’sproducts become illustrative when the sub-ject, in this case thefaçade itself, is containingthe fundament for the functioning of theoriginality of art. One should be able to make“Kant-tekeningen” (marginal-, side drawings)at explicit façades. Since they are subjective

BRUSSELS,13 AUG.- On Saturday the 4th of September architect Christian Kieckensinaugurates his new office spaces located at the Quai du Commerce nr. 30 in Brussels.(Photo : P.D’h.)

Gentlemen never run matter, all of us are judging them by com-mon sense, which means all kinds of reasonsand opinions, appropriate or not and turnthem out into art or publicity, again appro-priate or not. Tracing down the mechanismof a façade’s proportion, is trying to relateintelligence with imagination. In art theimagination is free. It goes beyond the nar-row borders of the mind and of concepts.The soul is one of these abilities of emotionwhich constitute the genius, the principlethat can present aesthetical ideas or repre-sentations of the imagination. They evoke alot of thinking, yet without a single thought,a concept, that is relating to it, and cannotbe explained by any language. Sometimeswe are able to redraw systematically some ofthe façades we are touched by. They becomeexplicit and start containing personal beau-ty, like in nature, as well as in products of artor architecture and are expressions of aes-thetical ideas.

In the meantime, depressions have fin-ished sweeping the city clean and after exact-ly three hundred and fifty eight seconds ofdelay, Mr. Kant quietly continues calculatinghis steps to his destination.

Office inauguration Christian Kieckens Saturday 4 September, 3:00 – 7:00 PMHandelskaai / Quai du Commerce 30B-1000 Brussels

er at the Jeu de Paume in Paris and will thentravel to the Fotomuseum in Winterthur(March-May 2005) and La Caixa inBarcelona (June-August 2005). The fourthand last venue is the Stedelijk Museum inAmsterdam, at the end of next year. Theshow will consist of 70 photographs, a.o. theseries on the French Foreign Legion pro-duced by the gallery, and two video works.Schirmer & Mosel will publish a book withtexts by Hripsimé Visser and Urs Stahel andapproximately 50 images.

Tino Sehgal’s presentation at the Statementbooth of the gallery during Art Basel, enti-tled This is competition, was awarded theArt Baloise Prize. In addition to prizemoney for the artist, the prize involves theacquisition of a work by Sehgal by theBaloise Group which is donated to theHamburger Kunsthalle. The members of thejury were Christian Boros, PeterDoroshenko, Christoph Heinrich, MartinSchwander and Adam Szymczyck. Thepresentation was realised in collaborationwith Johnen & Schöttle Gallery in Cohich isdonated to the Hamburger Kunsthalle. Themembers of the jury were Christian Boro

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6 Newspaper Jan Mot 35,36Gallery Show

ByJan Mot

BRUSSELS, 10 AUG. – After having chosenthe new colours for the facade and interiorwalls of the gallery, Joe Scanlan has designeda new element for The Gallery Show: threenew work surfaces for the office spaces. Whatfollows is a fragment of a letter to Scanlan inwhich I respond to some questions andremarks the artist made in a previous e-mail.

(...) Moving from the old, small gallery to thenew and bigger one in many ways improvedthe functioning of the gallery. There are nowtwo exhibition spaces, I have a real and per-manent office space, enough storage for thearchives. There is even a toilet and a kitchen.The old gallery was still a kind of extensionof the private spaces, even if the exhibitionspace had for me the feel of a very tiny butnevertheless museum-like space, with thelight coming from above and the beautifulproportions. The new space is very open, cer-tainly if you compare it to the hidden aspectof the previous one. In the beginning I wasafraid of this openness. Probably I think art isa very private thing, something to cherish onyour own or with some friends in intimatesurroundings. When I had just opened thenew space, I sometimes felt like having ashop. As you know the space used to be ashop. I had anticipated this, and therefore itwas very important for me to work on thenew facade with a good architect, to make thetransition from street to exhibition space, this‘face’ of the gallery into something with aspecial value. I think the architect succeededin that very well. Because the thing I wasmost afraid of, this openness, I now considerthat to be it’s great quality. It is through usingthe space that this became clear. I now wantpeople to look inside; every morning I cleanwith pleasure the hand, finger and forehead

prints on the glass! I think of two showswhere the facade and the openness workedespecially well: Tino’s show of and Dora’s,total opposites: Tino turned the gallery into atheatre stage, the public was both outside andinside the gallery, and Dora closed thegallery, painting the glass with white chalkand blocking the view. Another thing was thatI thought that in such an open space visitorswould feel uncomfortably exposed to thestreet. It seems now that was also an unnec-essary fear. I have certainly more visitors thanbefore and they stay at least as long. There isindeed a new kind of visitor: people enteringwithout knowing what the function of thespace is. So the question most often askedthen is ‘Is this place for rent?’

Although the old and new spaces are in thesame street, the difference between the twoparts is amazing. Being between fashionstores before was something I didn’t particu-larly appreciate, but it was never a problemeither. The new neighbourhood is certainlyvery pleasant and lively, almost exotic butsometimes a bit depressing, the life of animmigrant is certainly not very enviable. Butthere is a great mix of all kinds of people inthe part of the street where I am now, that’sgreat, also to have a great bar opposite of thegallery is a considerable advantage.

When I take a break during the day, I sel-dom look at the show in the gallery. I mostlystand behind the windows and look outside,at the people sitting at the terrace of theWalvis, the bar, or at people just passing by.Recently I made someone I vaguely knewenter, he seemed quite shy and had neverdared to ring the bell. He immediately boughta work and has become a good client since. Ihave the great luck of having the best framerof Belgium and Holland as my neighbour. Ithink some people have discovered thegallery thanks to him being so close.

I don’t particularly enjoy the ritual of open-

Is this place for rent?

BRUSSELS, 14 AUG. – ‘Sylvia Kristel – Paris’(2003) by Manon de Boer was awarded theprestigious Prix Georges de Beauregard dur-ing the International Documentary FilmFestival of Marseilles (2-7 July). The presidentof the jury was Kutlug Ataman, the othermembers were Sirkka Moeller, NinaToussaint, Sohbi Al-Zobaidi and Roger M.Buergel. The film is also selected for theupcoming film festivals in Lyon (6 - 9October), Montreal (14 - 24 October), Belfort(27 November - 5 December) and BuenosAires (April 2005). Please note also thescreenings of the film at Ecran Total inBrussels between the 2nd and the 14th ofSeptember. (see www.arenberg.be or call 02-512 80 63)

The film ‘Sylvia Kristel – Paris’ (2003) byManon de Boer will be screened again inBrussels during the Ecran Total festival inBrussels (2nd till 14th of September).

De Boer wins prizein Marseilles

what the function of the space is. So thequestion most often asked then is ‘Is thisplace for rent?’

Although the old and new spaces are inthe same street, the difference between thetwo parts is amazing. Being between fash-ion stores before was something I didn’t par-ticularly appreciate, but it was never a prob-lem either. The new neighbourhood is cer-tainly very pleasant and lively, almost exot-ic but sometimes a bit depressing, the life ofan immigrant is certainly not very enviable.But there is a great mix of all kinds of peo-ple in the part of the street where I am now,that’s great, also to have a great bar oppositeof the gallery is a considerable advantage.

When I take a break during the day, I sel-dom look at the show in the gallery. I most-ly stand behind the windows and look out-side, at the people sitting at the terrace of theWalvis, the bar, or at people just passing by.Recently I made someone I vaguely knewenter, he seemed quite shy and had never

rity gate. But when I clean the pavement orthe windows, I am always amused because Ithink then of my colleague shop keepers inthe street who all do the same, from the nightshop keepers to the high fashion shop own-ers. I then think that it would be funny if wewould synchronise this cleaning and all singa song with gusto.

Back inside. I am very happy that thetables you designed for the office as well asthe shelves we recuperated will soon beinstalled. It has been quite a long process,and I am sorry for having changed my ideas

so often. I am sure I will be very happy withthem and that they will make me work morein this space. The small exhibition space inthe back will change its function, which isalso a result of our long discussions. It willbe a meeting room, not a lounge and not a‘killing room’, in which a separate, verysmall exhibition will be held. The first onewill consist of two portraits of Rineke. So ifpeople come an’killing room’, in which aseparate, very small exhibition will be held.The first one will consist of two portraits ofRineke. So if people come anthe back will

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7 Newspaper Jan Mot 35,36Stockholm

By Magnus Ericson

STOCKHOLM, 9 AUG. – For the 2004 sea-son, Dutch designer duo Maureen Moorenand Daniel van der Velden have created acompletely new graphic profile for Magasin3 Projekt. Inspired by the park setting, it cen-tres on foliage, images and text, in a playwith phenomena such as junk mail, infor-mation overload/overflow and camouflage,generating vibrant patterns as a visual repre-sentation of Magasin 3 Projekt.

Magasin 3 Projekt is now featuring anexhibition on the Dutch architectural publi-cation Archis, designed by Maureen Moorenand Daniel van der Velden since 2001. Theexhibition shows the designer’s work of con-temporary, innovative graphic design andgives an inside view of their approach.

At first glance, Archis could appear chaot-ic, difficult to grasp and full of indecipher-able visual references. But this magazineshows how graphic design today are search-ing for its limits, transforming an establishedproduct (in this case an architectural maga-zine) into a veritably new medium. With itsdaring approach, Archis has been changedradically from the inside out – from the edi-torial work and visual design, to how read-ers can absorb the content and “use” it. Here,graphic design has definitely taken the stepfrom a subordinate presentation of contentsto an active contributor to the totality.

In some ways, this is fairly straight-for-ward, according to Maureen Mooren andDaniel van der Velden: the magazine hasfive main sections, including features, in-depth articles, project presentations andreviews. All these are visually separated byan introductory page representing an officefolder filled with contents. Each section hasits own identity, appropriating the layout ofother magazines and newspapers. “Politics”,for instance, can sometimes be modelled onTime Magazine, while “Dossier”, which fea-tures various architectural projects, may takeits identity from the Italian architecture anddesign magazine Domus, among others.

This is clearly stated in the inner margins,along with the headline, author’s name, etc.Lastly, the pages are perforated in variousways, so they can be torn out, parts of themserving as independent information carriers,like flyers.

On another level, it’s not quite as simple.The idea behind the radical transformationof the magazine was that Archis should notmerely stimulate cultural debate but partici-pate more actively in it and be an instrument,both literally and figuratively. The designencourages involvement and interactivity,for instance by leaving space for privatenotes, or prompting readers to contact theauthors, for instance by using the attachedprepared fax sheets. The perforated pagesalso encourage readers to organise and usethe material in different ways. The designersalso add a kind of visual “white noise”, madeup of images, messages and visual refer-ences alongside the actual contents, whichalso influences the way we read and absorbthe information in the magazine. Together,the appropriations, the “white noise” and theparallel levels of information give the mag-azine a unique, idiosyncratic function, style,atmosphere and identity.

The design of Archis is an ambitiousattempt to challenge perceptions of whatgraphic design is, and to present a newapproach to information and the role ofdesign in this context. Archis is provocativeand demanding, but also appealing andengaging. It is a publication that resemblesno other, and is definitely an example oftranscendent and innovative design at its bestand most interesting.

Magasin 3 Projekt is organized by Magasin3 Stockholm Konsthall, one of the leadinginstitutions for contemporary art in Sweden,founded in 1987. For further informationplease visit www.magasin3.com.

Maureen Mooren and Daniel van der Veldenare graphic designers based in Amsterdam.Since 2001 they design the gallery’s news-paper.

ing and closing the gallery – I don’t have asecurity gate. But when I clean the pavementor the windows, I am always amused becauseI think then of my colleague shopkeepers inthe street who all do the same, from the nightshop keepers to the high fashion shop own-ers. I then think that it would be funny if wewould synchronise this cleaning and all singa song with gusto.

Back inside. I am very happy that thetables you designed for the office as well asthe shelves we recuperated will soon beinstalled. It has been quite a long process,and I am sorry for having changed my ideasso often. I am sure I will be very happy withthem and that they will make me work morein this space. The small exhibition space inthe back will change its function, which isalso a result of our long discussions. It willbe a meeting room, not a lounge and not a‘killing room’, in which a separate, verysmall exhibition will be held. The first onewill consist of two portraits of Rineke. So ifpeople come and want to talk and receivemore information on an artist we can sit,there and no longer in the office, which wastoo small and unwelcoming. This is going tobe a big change for me. (...)

I hope that we will continue working onthe design of the gallery in the future. Thereare still some things I want to change,improve or experiment with. I want to makeit into a unique place, because of the artwhich is shown but also because of the atten-tion given to the space, the details of it andthe way in which visitors are welcomed. Theold space was exactly how I wanted it fromthe start, rough but precise, small but grand,intimate and not hiding anything. The newspace had to be made and it is still beingmade. I enjoy that a lot, so much that I don’tmind it taking time. It feels I can expressmyself not only through the exhibitions butalso in making the space. And I love to dothat in dialogue with people like Christian,the architect, and you. I hope a lot of col-lectors will come and sit at your table, feelthe good vibes and buy. So that I can investmore in this process. (...)

Maureen Mooren & Daniel van der Veldenat Magasin 3 Projekt in Stockholm

change its function, which is also a result ofour long discussions. It will be a meetingroom, not a lounge and not a ‘killing room’,in which a separate, very small exhibitionwill be held. The first one will consist of twoportraits of Rineke. So if people comean’killing room’, in which a separate, verysmall exhibition will be held. The first onewill consist of two portraits of Rineke. So ifpeople come anthe back will change itsfunction, which is also a result of our longdiscussions. It will be a meeting room, not alounge and not a ‘killing roo

Although the old and new spaces are inthe same street, the difference between thetwo parts is amazing. Being between fash-ion stores before was something I didn’tparticularly appreciate, but it was never aproblem either. The new neighbourhood iscertainly very pleasant and lively, almost

exotic but sometimes a bit depressing, thelife of an immigrant is certainly not veryenviable. But there is a great mix of all kindsof people in the part of the street where I amnow, that’s great, also to have a great baropposite of the gallery is a considerableadvan

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8 Newspaper Jan Mot 35,36Agenda

1–3 november 2001novembre 1–3, 2001

AgendaSven AugustijnenManifesta 5, San Sebastian, 11/6-4/9 (cat.);Vollevox Lounge, Vanderborght, Brussel/Bruxelles, 29/10 – 14/11; Une femme entre-prenante, Argos, Brussel/Bruxelles, 6/11 -9/1 - With premiere of the film at Flagey,Brussel/Bruxelles, 2/11.

Pierre BismuthSchöner Wohnen, BE-PART, Platform vooractuele kunst, Waregem (B), 24/10-16/1/2005; Vollevox Lounge, Vanderborght,Brussel/Bruxelles, 29/10 – 14/11

Manon de BoerScreenings of Sylvia Kristel – Paris at thefollowing film festivals: Doc en courts,Lyon, 6 /10 – 9/10; 33e Festival Nouveaucinéma nouveaux médias, Montréal, 14/10 –24/10; Entre-Vues, Belfort, 27/11 – 5/12 andat the Centre culturel français, Milano, 1/10

Rineke DijkstraUproar of emotions. Passions in contempo-rary photography and video art, Museumfür Photographie, Braunschweig (D),www.photomuseum.de, 15/8-31/10 (cat.);Sommer Contemporary Art, Tel Aviv, 2/9-15/10 (solo); Galerie Max Hetzler, Berlin,2/10-14/11 (solo)

Honoré ∂’OGrasduinen 02, Watertoren, Bredene, until26/9.

Dora García Secret affinities, Caja Madrid, Madrid, 29/6-9/9 (cat.); Art from Portugal and Spain in the90s, Serralves Foundation, Porto, from 2/5(cat.); Procesos abiertos, Hangar,Barcelona/Terrassa, from 16/6 (cat. andwebsite: www.p-oberts.org www.elfac-torhumano.net); Forever, permanent work,Frac Lorraine, Metz, from 15/5,http://aleph-arts.org/inserts/forever; TexasCinema Festival, Austin, Texas, 22-26/9(cat.); Entropie, Galerie MuseumARGE/KUNST, Bolzano, from 17/9 (cat.);Schöner Wohnen, BE-PART, Platform vooractuele kunst, Waregem (B), 24/10-16/1/2005

Mario Garcia TorresOff the Record / Sound, ARC - Cour duCouvent des Cordeliers. Paris, 25/9 - 3/10;Shot of grace with Alighiero Boetti hairstyleand other works, Jan Mot, Brussel/Bruxelles, 4/9 - 23/10 (solo)

Dominique Gonzalez-FoersterEspace odyssée, les musiques spatiales

(advertentie)

JAN MOTrue Antoine Dansaertstraat 190

B–1000 Brussel Bruxellestel.: +32 2 514 10 10fax: +32 2 514 14 46janmot@skynet.be

www.galeriejanmot.com

donderdag–vrijdag–zaterdag 14–18.30 ujeudi–vendredi–samedi 14–18.30 h

en op afspraak / et sur rendez-vous

depuis 1950, Musée de la musique, Paris,15/1-5/9; Alphavilles?, de Singel,Antwerpen, 14/10-19/12 (solo); Atomicparc (White version), Jan Mot, Brussel/Bruxelles, 4/11 – 18/12 (solo)

Joachim KoesterRear view mirror, Kettle’s Yard, Cambridge,18/9 – 7/11; The new land(s) and the tale ofCaptain Mission, De Verbeelding, Zeewolde,until 26/9 (solo)

Deimantas NarkeviciusHang in there, Busan Biennial 2004,Metropolitan Art Museum, Busan, SouthKorea, 21/8-21/10; 45th OctoberSalon/Continental Brekfast, Belgrade,Serbia and Montenegro, 11/9-31/10;Habiter, Maison de la Culture, Amiens (F),12/9-31/10; E.U. Positive, Academy of ArtsBerlin, Berlin, 19/9-7/11; Climats, Centrenational d’art et du paysage, Vassivière (F),3/7-10/10; Screenings, Tate Modern,London, 23-24/10

Tino SehgalLAB, Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo, until26/9

Ian WilsonMamco, Genève, until 12/6

Other artists of the gallery: Eija-LiisaAhtila, Douglas Gordon, SharonLockhart

New PublicationsDominique Gonzalez-Foerster, Alphaville?,published by Kunsthalle Zürich,JRP/Ringer, Les Presses du Réel, Paris,deSingel, Antwerpen, A compendium ofphotographs featuring 80 cities, arangedalphabetically from A – Z, with texts by theartist in collaboration with Peter Fischli andDavid Weiss.

Vernissage gesponsord door / sponsorisé par:Vedett / Duvel Moortgat NV SARestaurant VismetDe tentoonstelling van Mario Garcia Torreswerd gerealiseerd met de steun van deAmbassade van Mexico in Brussel /L’Exposition de Mario Garcia Torres estréalisée avec l’aide de l’Ambassade duMexique à Bruxelles.

ColopfonPublisher: Jan Mot, BrusselsDesign: Maureen Mooren & Daniël van derVelden, AmsterdamPrinting: Cultura, Wetteren

JOE SCANLAN

WORK SURFACES

(advertentie)

Jan MotRue Antoine Dansaertstraat 190

B-1000 Brussel Bruxelles

36Tentoonstelling Exposition 4/9-23/10

The Gallery Show. Part Five

(cat.); Procesos abiertos, Hangar,Barcelona/Terrassa, from 16/6 (cat. andwebsite: www.p-oberts.org www.elfac-torhumano.net); Forever, permanent work,Frac Lorraine, Metz, from 15/5,http://aleph-arts.org/inserts/forever; TexasCinema Festival, Austin, Texas, 22-26/9(cat.); Entropie

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