Re: [nettime-fr] Fw: RHIZOME_RAW: How a fake is manipulating theart scene

[Louise Desrenards <louise.desrenards@free.fr>]

ben ça devait finir par arriver...

> De : "nck" <nck@ifrance.com>
> Répondre à : "nck" <nck@ifrance.com>
> Date : Tue, 16 Dec 2003 09:30:55 +0100
> À : "Liste nettime fr \(nck\)" <nettime-fr@samizdat.net>
> Objet : [nettime-fr] Fw: RHIZOME_RAW: How a fake is manipulating the art scene
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Agricola de Cologne" <agricola-w@netcologne.de>
> To: <list@rhizome.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, December 16, 2003 9:12 AM
> Subject: RHIZOME_RAW: How a fake is manipulating the art scene
> 
> 
>> [How a fake is manipulating the art scene - a new form of cyber crime]
>> 
>> A statement by Agricola de Cologne,
>> media artist and New Media curator from Cologne/Germany
>> 
>> ---->
>> "Herewith, I announce officially my disengagement in
>> "Biennale de Paris 2004"  (20 February - 15 March 2004)
>> www.biennaledeparis.org
>> and the cancellation of my participation with effect on 1 December 2003."
>> <-----
>> 
>> Cancelling meant taking responsibility
>> in order to protect all those institutions, organisations, curators and
>> artists,  which had joint already my project,
>> but in second place  also to prevent any further damage
>> from my personal reputation as an artist and curator.
>> 
>> What was happening:
>> 
>> When I was invited on 7  October 2003 to participate in the event
>> called "Biennale de Paris", I saw it as a chance to realise my ideas
>> of "networking as artworking" in the project "RRF 2004"
>> which I initiated also on this occasion.
>> The concept of my project extended the networking ideas of the concept of
>> the Biennial.
>> There was really no reason to mistrust the organisation of the Biennale,
>> as I had several professional contacts during several years
>> to  a person named Alexandre Gurita, currently the >director< of "Biennale
>> de Paris",
>> there seemed to be a lot of internationally well known artists
> participating
>> (at least at that time, nearly nobody of them is left now) and, above all,
>> I had not any negative report about this event at that time, in contrary.
>> 
>> The magic of the name "Biennale de Paris" did not only impress
>> and blinded me, but also all other people who came in touch with this
>> name.
>> 
>> In order to give my project RRF 2004 concrete dimensions,
>> it was necessary to fix as soon as possible all technical details of my
>> participation directly in Paris.
>> And in this way, the Biennial organisation and I agreed a lot of things
>> which had to
>> be prepared for that purpose and I fixed a date when I would go to Paris.
>> And then, I was recently in November in Paris, indeed, and on my own
>> expenses.
>> 
>> Knowing, how professional organisations are structured and working,
>> I expected to meet competent people working professionally,
>> but this was the first shock, there was  nothing like that.
>> 
>> The Biennale organisation consisted actually of one single person,
>> Alexandre Gurita, who calls himself director of "Biennale de Paris".
>> We met each other in his small and shabby privat flat,
>> as there is no official office of "Biennale de Paris",
>> and nothing we had agreed was prepared, at all.
>> 
>> I had expected to view several artspaces (as agreed) which would host the
>> installation of my project in physical space,
>> to meet professional people at medialabs etc
>> but finally, I was offered one single very poor space, which manifested
>> itself as a disgusting underground space
>> somewhere at the Parisian suburbs far from any public.................
>> It was shocking to see, that this person was only talking and talking and
>> nothing happened in the end.
>> My visit to Paris was a nightmare and I had to be a tourist against my own
>> will, as I visited some museums , instead of preparing my art project.
>> 
>> But there were some good reasons why all that happened to me,
>> as during my stay in Paris I found out the following by research:
>> 
>> Some years ago, the French Ministry of Culture
>> (together with the municipality of Paris responsible for the "Biennale de
>> Paris")
>> moved the official French Biennale  (Biennale de Paris) from Paris to Lyon
>> (now- Biennale de Lyon) as a result of the decentralisation in France,
>> and a guy, named Alexandre Gurita took the chance to buy the rights on the
>> name "Biennale de Paris".
>> When he started to use this once official name for his privat purposes,
>> the result was a conflict  with nearly
>> all official instances as French Ministry of Culture etc.
>> 
>> Someone from outside might even  find this story quite amusing --->
>> a kind of Robin Hood was fighting against the Parisian establishment,
>> which is most hated by many people  in France.
>> In this way, Alexandre Gurita seemed to be well tolerated by some
>> people, mostly artists, of course.
>> But the matter is anything else than funny,
>> while viewing all aspects and consequences connected, and they are only
>> shocking.
>> 
>> One of the serious consequences are,
>> that the French Ministry of Culture and  a lot of other official instances
>> refuse any contact and
>> support to the Biennale organisation, as long as
>> Alexandre Gurita keeps the name "Biennale de Paris" as his private
> property.
>> As this conflict is still cooking
>> it must be expected  the Biennale would be closed  or stopped by juridical
>> order immediately at the opening or even earlier or later.
>> To be involved in such a situation would be a most horrible  perspective.
>> 
>> Of course, there are also many events which have no public funding at all,
>> and many of them are on an high qualitative level, even if they have no
>> budget, at all,
>> but in this case the consequences are very fatal also in some other
> concern,
>> as the Biennale organisation  cannot offer any artist any public artspace
>> (which all belong to the municipality or the state),
>> but also not any other appropriate artspace,
>> due to the incompetence and the lack of any professional contacts.
>> 
>> The legal conditions were in addition completely obscure, as there was no
>> contract
>> which was settling essential questions as liability, insurance, expenses
> etc
>> and this became also no matter of discussion.
>> 
>> But it was also nearly consequent that I could actually not agree with
>> the pseudo-philosophical ideas coming more and more in front in the
>> discussion.
>> 
>> In this way, it became clear, why I had to go to Paris in vain ---->
>> in the framework of "Biennale de Paris"
>> there was simply not anything possible on a professional level.
>> What was called "Biennale de Paris" was a caricature and a fake, in fact.
>> 
>> After four days in Paris, I was completely exhausted from all this
> nonsense.
>> However, I wanted to be legally correct,
>> and before I left Paris I set the organisator a final deadline (Sunday, 30
>> November)
>> until he had to offer me a well respected institution in Paris,
>> which would be hosting my project during the "Biennale".
>> 
>> I do not need to explain to you, how I felt when I left Paris
>> and I actually did not know, what to do,
>> as I saw not only my project RRF 2004, but my entire artistic career in
>> high danger, and felt the heavy burden of responsibility.
>> RRF 2004 was initiated on occasion of this "fake" and had the magic label
> of
>> this "fake", and I felt like a criminal who was an accomplice of this
>> "fake".
>> 
>> I did honestly not expect anything from this final deadline,
>> and it passed and nothing happened, indeed .
>> 
>> But meanwhile additional details underlined the "fake" character of this
>> event as it had become obvious, that  a number of the artists listed as
>> participating and nearly the entire "International Support Committee"
>> seemed to be  purely fictive and a fake, as well.
>> You find there a lot of names of persons who exist physically,
>> but these people do not know about their function in Biennale de Paris at
>> all, they do not even know anything about this event, some other people
> are
>> even dead as Pierre Restany ( a charismatic and well known person in the
>> Paris art scene), who died already much earlier this year.
>> 
>> Then I heard that also other artists who had obviously recognised
>> what the "real" Biennale represents were cancelling their
>> participation..........
>> ........
>> (1 December 2003)
>> ... now the deadline had passed and while viewing all that and much more
>> there was really no other alternative
>> than cancelling my participation in "Biennale de Paris"
>> immediately and waste no more time,
>> in order to prevent any damage from those who joint my project as an
>> institution, organisation, curator and artist
>> and to protect my reputation as an artist and curator from any further
>> damage.
>> 
>> (11 December 2003)
>> Was already all this what I explained a nightmare, it was even topped,
>> however, by what was following:
>> Alexandre Gurita took my name and the names of some other artists
>> who had also cancelled their participation, as a hostage and refused for
> ten
>> days
>> to remove our names from the website of "Biennale de Paris".
>> He manipulate continuously the information posted on the Biennale site and
>> moved the names from one document to another, it was a kind of cat/mouse
>> game and
>> there was no chance to remove our names from this criminal environment,
>> until I took a lawyer in Paris who took juridical steps against Mr.
> Gurita.
>> On Tuesday, 10 December in the evening not only my name,
>> but also the names of the other artists hostages were removed.
>> This was really hard work in quite a short time, as the legal conditions
>> between different countries
>> (Cologne in Germany/Paris in France) are always complex, but the nightmare
>> had now an end.
>> 
>> ------->
>> 
>> There was no other way, but it was also extremely bitter, to inform all
>> those
>> about 250 people, institutions and organisations individually
>> which were connected ever to the organisation of RRF 2004 and
>> ask for their understanding and  whether they would remain participating
>> in my project or continue discussing their participation without the magic
>> label of the fake.
>> 
>> I am really glad and most grateful, that immediately some of the involved
>> institutions
>> re-confirmed the collaboration process as the
>> National Museum of Contemporary Art Bucaresti/Romania,
>> New Media Festival Bangkok 2004, Folly New Media Institute Lancaster (UK),
>> BEK Bergen/Norway and some others, so that the damage seems to be limited.
>> My re-organised global networking project RRF 2004 can now be further
>> developed
>> on a really professional level and can be operating until the end of 2004,
>> as it was planned.
>> 
>> signed on 16 December 2003
>> by
>> Wilfried Agricola de Cologne
>> Cologne/Germany
>> 
>> 
> ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
>> //////////////////////////////////////////
>> 
>> Resume
>> 
>> As "Biennale de Paris" had been once the official name of an official
> event,
>> it would have been in any case most stupid
>> if anybody would have used this name for his private purposes.
>> It was most unlikely that anybody would get such an absurd idea.
>> Therefore all people who  came in contact were blinded by the magic of the
>> name.
>> 
>> Even more stupid and adventurous  was the idea to put this new
>> "Biennale de Paris" on a same level as Venice Biennale,
>> Tokyo Biennial or DOKUMENTA/Kassel, as it had been done.
>> And this all the more, as the pseudo-organisation of
>> Alexandre Gurita has no budget, at all, to finance only the paper for
>> writing a letter.
>> 
>> Such an idea can come only from a schizophrenic,
>> who has lost any sense for reality.
>> In so far, such a  person is most dangerous,
>> as he brings disaster to everybody who comes too close.
>> 
>> The most frightening thing is, however, that this person, named Alexandre
>> Gurita, -
>> it is meanwhile not even clear whether this name is true or not -  was and
>> is still protected
>> by a lot of people, in first place by a mafia-like structure of buddies,
>> and in second place, and this is most relevant, by all those people
>> who know about the matter and do nothing against it.
>> 
>> These sponsors listed on www.biennaledeparis.org
>> support officially "Biennale de Paris 2004"
>> 
>> Alyasis http://www.aliasys.fr/
>> ARCHISTORM  http://www.archistorm.com/
>> ART PROCESS http://www.art-process.com/ , an empty domain
>> BATOFAR http://www.batofar.net/
>> CRANE http://www.plus.asso.fr/
>> ETNOKA  http://www.etnoka.com/
>> ESPACE SD http://www.espacesd.com/
>> G2J  http://www.g2j.com/
>> OPENAY http://www.openay.com/
>> PARIS ART  http://www.paris-art.com/ , also sponsor of  Musee d'Art
> Moderne,
>> Paris
>> PULPE  http://www.pulpe.fr/
>> STAMINIUM  http://www.staminium.com/
>> SOUSSAN Ltd  http://www.soussancom.com/ , also listed as participating
>> artist
>> 2 PIECES CUISINE, no website available
>> 3DWEAVE - http://www.3dweave.com/
>> 
>> ---->
>> Probably, the Parisians are accustomed to such a kind of absurd theatre
>> (the "absurd theatre" was invented in Paris once) and
>> probably they even like the thrill to watch how many people are brought
>> disaster.
>> It was necessary that someone from outside of the French capital unmasked
>> this theatre
>> and acted  in the only possible way - -->
>> not accepting, not tolerating, taking responsibility and becoming
>> immediately active against it.
>> 
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> 
> 
> 
> 
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< n e t t i m e - f r >
 
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