Around the FIAC

The long week-end at the FIAC in Paris includes a visit to other art shows like SLICK, Show Off, Art Elysees, Access and Paradox and more.

As a tradition, I spend a few hours in Le Marais and this time visited Access and Paradox, rue Vieille du Temple.

The exhibition located in the indoor market is a mixture of galleries, associations, private and public institutions with 32 stands. The artists represented are from France, Iceland, Sweden, Norway, Germany, and one artist from Sarajevo. UNESCO is involved in this project as part of the program "2010, International Year for the Rapprochement of Cultures."

The presentations were very interesting indeed, but I will not detail each of them which would be tedious. A gallery from Norway has an installation and performances, unfortunately, these are scheduled, and time is precious during the FIAC, I could not wait.

I noticed the work from Luc Kheradmand with "Agonizing Memories", 2009-2010, presented by a young gallery (ISDEAD) which is relocating in Belleville in a few months (work is in progress).
It is a collection of documents from 50 computer viruses which have contaminated the Internet from 1980 till 2009, selected by the artist because they give a glimpse into the personal history of the authors or the history of cyberculture.The work is composed of two parts, a book and the viruses stored on memory cards (follow the link on "Agonizing Memories" to look at it.) Most of the quotes on the book are poems like the virus LOVE-LETTER-FOR-YOU.TXT, citations, complaints. The artist is building "an archeology of the future."

Lina Scheynius, a swedish photographer, made me feel like a voyeur. Through a peephole I could look at white and black photographs of her daily life, one per day, for a year, some very personal, each a page of her photographic diary.

Another event was taking place on the first floor: "Art by Telephone". Fourteen artists mailed the material needed to build their work. On the receiving side, two curators are following the instructions from the artists, by videoconference, and build the work. The telephone used in the past by Laszlo Moholy-Nagy in 1922 is now the Internet and I can see (briefly) one artist on the screen. Unfortunately, technology can be tricky and the picture disappears. The sound is almost inaudible at times and the show appears quite desorganized... I never had a chance to see the artist's production.

no photgraphs were allowed