Karolina Breguła, still-frame from the video "Wyjście", 2013. Image courtesy of the artist
The artist's latest video project leads employees of Warsaw's Centre for Contemporary Art (CCA) out from behind their desks and beyond their workspace
Leaving, presented within the framework of the CCA's Video Room, likens the operations of a contemporary art institution to that of a factory, and its employees to manual labourers. Breguła's aim is to demonstrate how the character of the art world has changed by reflecting on the traditional ethos of hard work and craftsmanship and juxtaposing that image with the realities of today.
She invited current and former employees of the CCA - from its technical staff to its curators and the director himself - to participate in the project. Formally, the video recalls themes of the 1895 film Workers Leaving the Lumière Factory in Lyon (La Sortie des usines Lumière à Lyon), which was the first work of cinema to be screened in public, produced by Louis Lumière. Breguła chose to maintain silence in the video, keeping her focus on the very act of leaving the space of the institution. The performative action of exiting is at the heart of the work.
The artist, who is among the artists representing Romania at the Biennale of Art in Venice this year with her film Fire-Followers (2013), shared her thoughts on the Leaving project in an interview with Culture.pl:
People who aren't associated professionally with culture often believe that art institutions are set up by light-spirited individuals consumed with concepts that are cut off from reality. Meanwhile the constant work carried out there and often there is not enough time to drift among the clouds.
Leaving is another of the artist's projects aimed at entering into dialogue with the institution, with the knowledge it produces, its language and activities. Breguła set up the Internet project Art Translation Agency in 2010, which was meant to translate works of art on commission - anyone having trouble understanding the meanings behind a work of art could submit a request. The explanations that arose often deviated from the official statements offered by the artists and curators. For Breguła, this approach underlined the infinite character of the artistic form, open to various interpretations, inviting the spectator to participate in this process of making meaning.
Her latest video, Leaving, enters into the art world debates on its roles and meanings, but it also reflects the situation CCA has found itself in and the troubles it has faced. Conflicts between the staff and director Fabio Cavallucci have been ongoing for nearly three years, pushing many bright and talented employees and curators to leave their posts. Inevitably, this revolving door must lead to some degree of chaos and general discontent that impacts the centre's work and productivity.
Karolina Breguła - Leaving/Wyjście is on show at the Centre for Contemporary Art at Ujazdowski Castle in Warsaw between the 30th of July - 8th of September 2013.
Curator: Marcin Krasny
For more information, see: csw.art.pl
Author: Agnieszka Sural. Translated (with edits) by Agnes Monod-Gayraud
Source: CCA, info from the artist, own materials
16.07.2013