Artist in the Floating World (celebrating 25th anniversary of the Institute of Contemporary Art)
- Sept. 9, 2017
The present time is a constant change. The reality around us is becoming more and more complex and fast. The multi-level world of global networks and flows is mobile, changeable, and sometimes unpredictable. In art, this uncertainty and unpredictability may be felt more sharply than in other spheres of public life. The figure of the artist, her or his practice, and the whole situation of art, including institutions and general public, are aimed at perceiving the challenges of the time and finding answer to them. Artistic actions unfold in a social space, where the noise of mundane life is structured by the power lines of technological evolution and political conflicts. Therefore, contemporary artist works in the borderland between the public and the unknown, between stereotyped and unspoken, and even inexpressible.
Over the last 25 years, a lot of different artists have graduated from ICA with many of them having won recognition both on the local and global art scene. Studying at ICA was a key stage in the formation of their own professional identity.
During this talk the artists and curators, ICA graduates and teachers will discuss issues related to the ability of contemporary art to perceive the movement of historical time, to overcome the boundaries dividing the possible and the real, to offer strategies for interaction with reality with the aim of changing it for the better.