XI BALTIC TRIENNIAL OF INTERNATIONAL ART aka “MINDAUGAS TRIENNIAL”

Vilnius, Lithuania, 2012

A triennial in the form of one man - Minduagas

Curated by Defne Ayas, Benjamin Cook, Ieva Misevičiūtė, Michael Portnoy.

Organized by the Contemporary Art Centre (CAC), Vilnius, 2012 08 24 – 09 09

The 11th edition of the Baltic Triennial of International Art took a turn to a more condensed format: a 12-day event focused exclusively on performance and film. Countering the tendency of biennials to be pluralist, all-encompassing multi-platforms, the curators have chosen to present the contributions of artists through a radically minimized vessel: a single human being.

Mindaugas, one of the most common Lithuanian male names (literally 'much fame' or 'one who has many ideas'), was played by actor Darius Gumauskas and served as the medium through which the artists channeled their works. He appeared each day throughout the Triennial, animated by different instructions, scripts, scenarios, and scores by the participating artists played out in the city of Vilnius or nearby surrounding areas.

Parallel to Mindaugas's daily activities was a program of films under the title Cinema of The Self that plaid in CAC Cinema Hall—a solipsistic cinema which consciously travels from 'it' to 'I' over the course of the day.

In the evening, while Mindaugas rested, the constellation of ideas he has embodied were transmuted by different solo performers and cinema-based events within a shifting stage environment called the Charismateria.

Reviews:

Kate Sutton, Dream Catcher, Artforum, Sep 1, 2012

Vivian Sky Rehberg, “Mindaugas Triennial”, Art-Agenda, Sep 6, 2012

Katia Redzisz, 11th Baltic Triennial of International Art, Frieze, Dec 2012

For more info see: http://www.cac.lt/mindaugas/en/

Participating Artists

Daily activations: Eglė Budvytytė, Aslı Ēavuşoğlu, Steve Cosson (The Civilians), Oscar Dawicki, Tim Etchells, Ragnar Kjartansson, Adam Kleinman, Valentinas Klimašauskas and Morten Norbye Halvorsen, Michael Portnoy, Catherine Sullivan and Farhad Sharmini, Rimas Šapauskas, Marianne Vitale, Hu Xiangqian

Evening performances: Alexandra Bachzetsis, Ivo Dimchev, Goodiepal, Krõõt Juurak, Ragnar Kjartansson and David fiór Jónsson, Ursula Mayer, Benjamin Seror, Mark Aerial Waller, Claude Wampler, Miet Warlop

Cinema of the Self: Ed Atkins, Eric Baudelaire, Neļl Beloufa, Moyra Davey, Luke Fowler, Ursula Mayer, Rania Stephan, Catherine Sullivan and Farhad Sharmini, Marc Aerial Waller

Photos: