From the Journal: “Freedom Graffiti in Russia and Syria: The Artistry of Indestructibility” by Diana Bruk

In a very poor city in Russia, where the buildings were crumbling, where middle-aged men were urinating on the bare skeletons of burnt-out cars, where children were playing with pebbles in the puddles of unpaved roads, there was once a peeling wall on which someone had scribbled, in coal, the words, “I can’t take this anymore.” I remember looking at this and thinking that it was actually strikingly artistic, the way the artist had chosen to use a medium that is an internationally recognized symbol for poverty, the way the canvas itself expressed its point, the way it drew attention to this forgotten structure, and the way that, simple and yet irremovable from its context, it could so succinctly express the emotions of its own community.

In my wanderings around Russia, I frequently came across more of these these cave-man carvings onto aging stone. Some of them, like the one above, were expressions of despair in inhumane conditions. Many of them included expletives and imaginative (if somewhat neolithic) illustrations. But most of them, unsurprisingly, were about love.

I remember one in particular that I discovered on the pavement outside my apartment in St. Petersburg in the fall, the words, “Kitten. I love you. Forgive me,” thickly drawn in what I believe to be yellow paint. I remember it because it was still there in the spring, only slightly faded. I wondered whether or not Kitten had forgiven him, and I wondered how it had survived hundreds of shuffles of shoes, sheets of ice, downpours of rain, and the endless coming and going of snow. Read more

from e-flux: Kuenstlerhaus Schloss Balmoral

Call for application for the Balmoral fellowships and the project, foreign and exchange fellowships for 2014

Application period: until 29 June 2013 (date of postmark)

Kuenstlerhaus Schloss Balmoral
Villenpromenade 11 
56130 Bad Ems 
Germany

info@balmoral.de 

www.balmoral.de  

Kuenstlerhaus Schloss Balmoral next to the river 
“Lahn” and the Russian Orthodox Church.
Courtesy: Kuenstlerhaus Schloss Balmoral. 
Photo: Didier Morin.

Preconditions
The conditions for all fellowships with the exception of the curator fellowship are a completed course of study in art (M.F.A. or comparable degree) and two to three years (depending on the respective fellowship) of continuous artistic work after the conclusion of the studies until the beginning of the fellowship. Applications are also possible for autodidacts distinguished by special artistic achievements, as documented by exhibitions and prizes. 

To foster artistic dialog and interdisciplinary collaboration, knowledge of German or English is expected.

I. International residential fellowships 
Six residential fellowships will be awarded to international visual artists. The focus of artistic work for the residential fellowships for 2014 must be on the medium of painting, whereby painting does not necessarily mean just ‘paint on canvas.’ Formal and conceptual exploration of the limits and possibilities of the genre are also welcome. In the future, the residential fellowships will be awarded for a different artistic genre. This offering, which is unique in Germany, is intended to enable deeper mutual creative cross-fertilisation among the resident artists. It will also lead to a more intensive specialist exchange of ideas with external artists, speakers, teachers, curators, etc. 

Two fellowships last three months and begin in March 2014. The other four fellowships last nine months and begin in June 2014. 

The monthly allowance for the residential fellowships is being increased from 2014 to 1,400 EUR per month and include free accommodation in the Kuenstlerhaus Schloss Balmoral.

II. International curator fellowship 
To foster dialog between artistic work and theoretical reflection, Balmoral awards a residential curator fellowship to a fellow in the humanities (preferably art history). The curator fellowship is awarded to persons whose university degree (at least M.A.) was completed not more than five years ago. For the curator fellowship, mastery of the German language spoken and in writing as well as good knowledge of English is essential. 

The fellowship lasts nine months and begins in June 2014. It is endowed with 1,400 EUR per month and includes free accommodation in the Kuenstlerhaus Schloss Balmoral.

III. Project, foreign and exchange fellowships exclusively for artists with relation to Rhineland-Palatinate
Relation to Rhineland-Palatinate means is born in, has studied in, has lived or lives in Rhineland-Palatinate.

- Two six-month project fellowships (not tied to any site)
- One six-month fellowship for New York (Flux Factory/Residency Unlimited)
- One three-month fellowship for South Korea (Changdong or Goyang Art Studio)
- Two six-month fellowships for the Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris 
- One five-month fellowship for Kuenstlerhaus Schloss Wiepersdorf, Brandenburg/Germany

The project, foreign and exchange fellowships are endowed with 1,200 EUR per month, except the fellowship for South Korea, which is endowed with 1,200,000 KRW (approximately 800 EUR) monthly.

Awarding of fellowships
A jury of specialists will award all fellowships, taking into consideration the developmental potential of the applicant’s artistic or theoretical work. The names of the jurors will be published after the selection.

Additional information and PDF application forms are available on our homepage www.balmoral.de. Applications must be made with these application forms. Other applications will not be taken into consideration.

 

Journal 02_02 is online now - great thanks to everyone involved with this issue

Volume 02 Issue 02

Contributors: Loriel Beltran, Tyler Emerson-Dorsch, Domingo Castillo, Aramis Gutierrez, Sam Trioli,Gean Moreno and Ernesto Oroza, Beth Maycumber, and Julie Dickover

Our second issue dedicated to contemporary practices in Florida 
Curated by Meaghan Kent

Journal designed by SITE, Logo designed by Fulano

4.18.13 Pushing Against The Walls: Tyler Emerson-Dorsch speaks with Jenny Brillhart and Carolyn Salas about their exhibition “Cut Outs” at Dimensions Variable

1.26.13 “Cut Outs – Jenny Brillhart and Carolyn Salas” 

1.9.13 The Possibility of Colloquial Aesthetics in Miami: A Three-Way Discussion with Aramis Gutierrez, Loriel Beltran and Domingo Castillo 

3.23.13 Artist Project Gean Moreno and Ernesto Oroza

4.2.13 Beneath a Thread of Stars: A Conversation with Anna Von Mertens by Beth Maycumber and Julie Dickover

2.12.13 Walking through “The Umpire” with Daniel Milewski by Meaghan Kent with Carolyn Salas

1.24.13 Under Diamond Lights by Sam Trioli

Editor in Chief MEAGHAN KENT, Contributing Editor JANET KIM, Copy Editor BETH MAYCUMBER, Copy Editor JENNIFER SOOSAAR