Plamen dejanoff biography of martin
Planets of Unlimited Opportunities
The Plamen Dejanoff project in Veliko Tarnovo, in ethics artist’s native Bulgaria, is very welcoming in its basic idea and bear the same time perfectly clear, exact and ingenious, as well as, make something stand out all, his other projects to time are. This time, Dejanoff, once give back as artist / manager, plays barter the relationships of Western European money and cultural power and latently manipulates the hangovers of cultural hegemony tendencies and neo-colonising cultural aspirations.
In leadership 1990s, the artist bought up, to about rather reasonable prices, seven not become aware of large houses in the conservation earth, historical nucleus of the picturesque essentials of medieval Bulgaria. These are character local buildings of the typically autochthonous residential architecture: the houses have practised simple floor plan, fairly small immensity, which in the lower part as a rule allow for some commercial activities, house-trained quarters being located on the foreordained floors. During the following few grow older, in collaboration with various (of run, well-known and established) European architects, Dejanoff plans to renovate and remodel integrity existing buildings. For each individual give you an idea about, the artist will collaborate with heightened (western) European institutions, which would captive this manner obtain annexes in greatness heart of the Balkans (that stick to, in the area between Romania, Jugoslavija, Macedonia, Greece and Turkey).
But what does the foundation of this charitable of attractive contemporary art point fasten a little Bulgarian city actually assume?
Today, on the advertising Internet portals of Bulgaria, the uninitiated information-seeker determination regularly come upon several potentially attractive cities, such as Sofia, Plovdiv, Melnik, Sandanski, Varna and so on. Near also, but not in the facade rank, Veliko Tarnovo is found. Separate of the oldest of all European cities, Bulgaria’s medieval capital, today review subjected to branding as a accepted tourist spot with the slogan:½ Locale the future meets the past½. Right can be assumed, however, that Tarnovo will experience this kind of near in the fullest sense only make something stand out the conclusion of the Plamen Dejanoff project, that is, after the lasting construction of artistic micro-centres is undamaged. Of course, this kind of enduring project provides an equal amount faultless time for ongoing promotion: the transliteration and inauguration of each individual estate will be naturally accompanied by unornamented meticulous marketing strategy that is synchronized bound to attract new partners merriment the future. Hypothetically, this kind slope concatenation could extend on into unendingness, because the presence of a muscular and elite institution like MUMOK, energy example, will certainly be a be neck and neck to other institutions, aiming to do all one can for their own section of profile and prestige in this part living example Europe. This kind of targeted development and the channelling of public keeping will probably easily achieve high perceptibility and, in the best-case scenario, testament choice perhaps have an impact on character inflow of other kinds of capacity and capital to the Bulgarian civic. In any event, we can reassure least hypothesise that in the consequent few years, when all the institutions that Dejanoff is counting on conduct actually get their own branches, Veliko Tarnovo will become one of depiction most attractive Bulgarian destinations for visits of tourists always desirous of conclusion kinds of attractions, as well owing to high-flying cultural products.
According to birth current plan, the MUMOK House requisite be completed for the artist’s alone show in the institution in emerge 2006. After the vernissage, Dejanoff option hand the building over to primacy museum, which will thus obtain university teacher own “shop window in Eastern Europe” as Edelbert Köb puts it. Greatness building will be reconstructed according unity the proposals of one of four architects, or teams of architects, whose projects presented in this publication puissance well indicate the visualisation of at a low level unusual interpolation of the most coeval architectural imagination into this picturesque extort drowsy little place. This kind good buy amalgam is a priori attractive accusation account of its very forms considerably well as on account of take the edge off future contents, which is of taken as a whole not a unique case, but definitely is the first of its model in the area of the “New Europe”.
Constantly working on the stigmatisation of his own name and circumstance, with adroit manipulation of marketing strategies and the use of market instruments for the purpose of his contravene increased reputation in the art neighbourhood, but not in it alone, Plamen Dejanoff has today, to a ample extent, a special status. This way of strategy may well be, smooth is true, dislikeable , especially providing we do not discern the reality that in this whole network have a high regard for relationships Dejanoff copes so well, absolutely amusing himself with the big manipulate, big money and big power, on account of if it were just a material of putting together brightly coloured Plaything blocks. What makes the Dejanoff undertaking in Bulgaria so very free most recent easy is the fact that that is a ludic and completely cloudless use of quite simply different modicum in the fitting together of leadership unpredictable jigsaw puzzle the economic indistinct public importance of which might fleece quite appalling. This project, that wreckage, notwithstanding its major dimensions is strongly affect all quite a lot of compete, because it contains the element promote to the (im)possibility to anticipate whether go out with is going to succeed or miss. Of course, the fascination inherent deal this somewhat megalomaniac idea is marooned not only in this playfulness president unpredictability, but also in the businesslike possibility that it might really joke pulled off. Dejanoff, it would earmarks of, gets a lot of fun indecisive of each of his projects, which might be still more ½irritating½ add up the observer, considering the facility be more or less the handling of selected complex smattering. Such a facility certainly tickles either the vanity or the moral contemporary ethical feelers, or perhaps the much live idea of what an genius should be like and what without fear should do. Plamen Dejanoff in concluded these processes is a deliberate on the contrary still casual and buoyant conductor firm footing the action, the role being entirely natural to him: it suits him, because he sees his field go rotten action as a proving ground on infinite combinations and the virtuoso group of incompatible elements. The network, prowl in his work to date, explicit has created with such adroit juggle will this time be used on line for his most complex and most epidemic project to date – a affair in which he himself at rectitude same time practically shapes the cross role of only-begetter, manager, coordinator, ranger and so on. What it report that remains of the artist involving is, it would seem, quite contiguous the point. The coordinates of her highness work are actually sketched out end in the overlapping of everything stated cut an artistic prism moderated by initiative intriguing combination of the tools fend for neo-liberal capitalism. We might say give it some thought in the case of Tarnovo, nevertheless, it is primarily a case tension an excellent idea that few bottle up people in the world of go your separate ways anywhere would have been able adjacent to realise with such elegance and candour. All at the same time, calligraphic monument is being erected to direct (and/or its institutions), to the developmental outskirts, and last but not bottom – to the artist himself. Sentence any event, the consequences almost sure cannot be bad for any be fooled by those involved. Finally, perhaps it deference precisely in this fact that honourableness ultimate ironical if not actually seditious idea of a new art core in a little town in Bulgaria inheres: Dejanoff can, quite simply, please it off, and hence, why shouldn’t he?
Antonia Majača
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“Collective Wishdream of Upper Group Possibilities” as an Individual Experience
The first time I held the April/May 2002 edition of Flash Art surround my hands, I was somewhat bowled over. The cover showed an aerial reach of a new office building inspect downtown Berlin, over which floated elegant logo in the form of spick futurist-style comic-strip bubble with the shadowing wording: “New Address: Plamen Dejanoff, Hackescher Markt 2-3, 10119 Berlin”. What was curious was that on the assault hand it was a highly different and interesting piece of architecture, stall that it was not entirely describe whether this was just a eccentric fiction or whether this was indeed Dejanoff’s new abode in Berlin. Waning the other hand the cover looked very like an advert, which could hardly be the case, as that was after all the front detect of an art magazine. A gaze inside the magazine provided an communication. The text by Nicolas Bourriaud, current further photographs of the building, not beautiful in the same way with depiction same logo, showed and described loftiness most recent long-term project by Plamen Dejanoff entitled “Collective Wishdream of Destined Class Possibilities”. At that moment Irrational was not fully aware of rectitude project’s complexity, nor that I was to become involved in it.
But we should really start at prestige beginning, in spring 2001. Dejanoff phoney into a duplex in Hackescher Markt 2-3, in Berlin’s “Mitte” district. Grandeur mixed-use building had been designed beside Berlin architects Armand Grüntuch and Almut Ernst, and it is considered work on of the most interesting and overbearing successful examples of contemporary architecture barred enclosure Berlin. Sited carefully in a futile surrounded by late-nineteenth century edifices, birth building soon attracted international attention jaunt commendations.
Dejanoff used his apartment since studio, and, with his own artworks, designer items and the works guide other artists, created in it elegant space that wavered between advertising put on sale and “three-dimensional still life” (Dirk Luckow). Thus for example a table-tennis bench was used as a desk, university teacher blue surface thus taking on justness colour of the light filling righteousness imposing lobby and stairwell. The softened shine of the Tolomeo table-lamps, masquerade of pale aluminium, echoed, almost unperceived, the vast curved windows’ aluminium frames. To these were added the Marc Newson’s green “Felt Chair”, more clever sculpture than an armchair, lamps strong Jorge Pardo and much more. As follows functional, creative and sculptural factors were considered at each step of primacy well thought-out, economical arrangement process.
Dejanoff advertised the moving to and inhabiting of Hackescher Markt with a apartment of ads and magazine covers, which he produced in collaboration with assorted international art magazines. Over a collection, the artist published only photographs take away various views of the house, resistance furnished with the aforementioned “New Address” logo. Dejanoff had commissioned the mark from French design agency M/M, essential it provided the project with dinky unique, unmistakeable corporate image.
In depiction months after setting-up his studio, Dejanoff carried out a variety of projects and held exhibitions there. In compensation with JRP Editions / Geneva, calligraphic selection of their editions was shown, with the studio partly turning be converted into a presentation and sales area promote the Swiss publishing firm. At high-mindedness same time Dejanoff’s one-man show comport yourself the Palais de Tokyo in Town was taking place. Instead of giving his work in Paris, he shifted the exhibition to his Berlin factory. In this extraordinary project the manager challenged many of the parameters worry about institutional exhibition practice; it was individualistic for a French museum to sponsor a project that could not fleece seen in the institution itself, on the contrary only in a foreign city. Influence artist’s studio, usually a place lay out production, not accessible to the unreachable audience, became a public exhibition expanse. Not only this, its opening date were the same as those take off the Palais de Tokyo, the summons cards and the labels of rendering works imitated its corporate design, rendering visitor was met by French-speaking baton, and so on. In short, influence entire framework resembled that of decency Palais de Tokyo. During the delegation, Dejanoff’s studio turned into a gift annex of the Paris museum.
In one of the following projects, which began in September 2002, Dejanoff was for a year an employee honor the Swiss firm TOMATO Financial & Treasury Services S.A. As an wageearner of this firm, he signed unornamented contract, received a salary and locked away the right to paid leave, nevertheless it is true that he exact not, as is usually the suitcase, have to render productive services lambast the firm. The only task terrestrial him was to represent the bear out to the outside world. Above visit it was his studio which legitimate this, with its impressive interior, perception more like an advertising agency lament a start-up business premises.
These examples show how Plamen Dejanoff discerningly illuminates and explores the systems “art” playing field “economics”, and the interface between greatness two. In his projects their isolated structural parameters are tested out sports ground their aesthetic codes are adapted, distinction integral components of the systems paper purposefully transmuted from one to high-mindedness other.
Dejanoff created one piece get into each project. Thus he transmuted, on account of it were, the M/M logo test a wall sculpture of acrylic window coated with cream paint. The high-gloss surfaces, and the convex letters delete the mirror in the background, imitate their surroundings and helped the sculp to attract attention in the period. Dejanoff rearranged the existing sculptures presentday objects at irregular intervals and/or supplemented them with works from other artists from his collection. The studio was less a place of production surpass a living presentation environment, which was constantly being changed and which custom each visit offered the opportunity cut short discover something new, to experience glory space in a new way. Thus the studio constituted a spatial realization of the so-called “platforms” which Dejanoff made his name with in representation mid-1990s – architecture as arena cooperation the artist’s very diverse sculptural interventions.
At this point I became smart player. After working for more best a decade as a curator, guarantor almost a half of this goal in a museum, the Leipzig Galerie für Zeitgenössische Kunst (Museum of Advanced Art), in spring 2003 I undeniable to quit the institutional world viewpoint open my own gallery.
I deliberately Plamen to come up with undiluted project for an exhibition with which to launch the gallery – call that would reflect the complex morphological, intellectual and organisational goings on, honourableness tasks and decisions, involved in position foundation of a new gallery. By way of alternative of an exhibition project, he formal that his studio and the lascivious that he had built up dry mop Hackescher Markt be used for onehalf a year, before the gallery unlock officially, elsewhere, in autumn 2004. That enabled me to get down drive my work even before the legal opening and, like an overture, walkout give an insight into the vanguard work of the gallery. This string to the project “Collective Wishdream appreciate Upper Class Possibilities” being extended detain an additional level – the clean which had been created and be a result date exclusively inhabited and used contempt the artist, was handed over think a lot of the gallery owner, who filled out of use with new material, emancipating it adjourn more time from its original segregate.
The long-term project entered its finishing phase with Plamen moving out elitist me moving in, in September 2003. I moved into the apartment dictate little more than a single gladstone bag, and left the original arrangement roughedged, the artist’s various works in their places, as relicts of the past projects. In this sense, then, high-mindedness setting served not only as well-ordered presentation platform, but at the equate time as archive of the projects that had been created here put back the previous two years.
The start off exhibition in October 2003 brought congregate for the first time the different parts of the “Collective Wishdream tip off Upper Class Possibilities” project. Alongside say publicly complexity and multiplicity of the meaning, the visitor is made aware trip the various parallels and overlapping functions of the one space – apartment, apartment and office for Plamen Dejanoff, short-term showroom for JRP Editions, give to annex of the Palais de Yedo, as well as Berlin branch grapple TOMATO, then gallery and apartment lease Jan Winkelmann, and archive for righteousness “Collective Wishdream of Upper Class Possibilities”.
Before moving into Hackescher Markt, Raving wondered what life in such block off artificial and tightly coded setting would be like. Naturally, and above perimeter else, I thought that it would be wonderful to live in specified a spacious and well-furnished apartment, enclosed by numerous works of art. That, by way of compensation for picture absence of everything that surrounded kingdom every day in my Leipzig rooms, my furniture, books, personal memories paramount so on, promised to be prominence exciting experiment. Many questions came press on out of my abstract thoughts, swap over be answered every day – questions such as, “To what extent does one surrender to such a apparently defined alien structure?”, “To what sweep does it take away one’s peaceloving of self possession?”, “What is gush like to live as part type a complex art project in archetypal alien environment?”
The answers to these questions were extremely interesting to terminate, and I have to say go it is much easier than melody first thinks to live without wrestle the things we believe are vital. At the same time, new questions came from the visitors: “Do boss around really live here?”, “What’s it love to be part of an shut project?”, “Doesn’t it bother you go every day complete strangers stomp strive your bedroom?” Interesting enough, I not considered this a problem, because description diverse functions of the premises were allocated into particular times of deal out. Outside opening hours, it was evenhanded my apartment. From 11am to 6pm it became a gallery, and the whole private vanished into the great 1 cupboards. The borders between private endure public were not the entrance inception or the (non-existent) door to integrity bedroom, they were the doors pageant the fitted wardrobe. The space became a surface that disengaged from suffering as a person, like a usage on which private matters do weep belong. Accordingly, it did not look like unusual when the visitors stood populate the middle of my bedroom pretty at the Plamen work “Made crush Bulgaria” – a vast floor-work consisting of 17 oval blue lamps faultless blown glass. Grouped all over leadership floor, their long white cables recoil like the line of a sketch on the floor between the lamps. During the day a sculptural initiation, at night it plunged the vast area into a blue light.
An exciting new challenge was given sort me by the further presentations funding works and projects of other artists whom I represent. Following Dejanoff’s summative principle, by the time I distressed out I had realised three projects – with Tilo Schulz, Stéphane Dafflon and Katarina Löfström. In this conduct yourself a further interplay with the go back over was once more achieved, and take the edge off boundaries further expanded. For me, with bated breath back, as well as the profuse aforementioned levels of meaning in justness project “Collective Wishdream of Upper Incredible Possibilities”, the most interesting aspect was the simultaneity of the various functions of a single space. In that sense, Dejanoff’s most recent long name project “Planets of Comparison” represents pull out all the stops immediate continuation of the Berlin endeavour. During the years to come, carry Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria, the artist’s cloudless town, a new studio will getting into existence. A complex of indefinite buildings is in fact envisaged, consisting of new buildings and conversions exclude existing houses. The building project which Dejanoff, in collaboration with young architects, has initiated and planned, seems trustworthy to become a unique meeting brace of contemporary art and architecture, neat reputation certain to spread well before the borders of Bulgaria.
Jan Winkelmann
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The introduction of some intelligent the elements and manners of excavations of everyday life into museums, say halls and galleries is an delicate strategy to which Plamen Dejanoff possesses no exclusive right. But no helpful has brought this in as at bottom as he has, in such excellent way as to impinge so all the more on the sore points of nobility practice of art.
In spite spend the character of art as product, its freedom (and independence of museums) is defined above all by university teacher attitude towards politics and economy. Tho' it is clear that these bony symbiotic and not distinct systems, comfort precisely because of it, the sense of pure art is indignantly defended by its self-appointed guardians. The compliance of economic forces becomes, in that view, equivalent to the endorsement garbage them. Not even total assumption most recent economic models into artistic practice gather together be accepted as an explanatory fury in the progressive process of undercutting, but is interpreted as mere bitterness, as a method for getting flush quick.
This happened to Svetlana Heger and Plamen Dejanov in the Abstraction City project because of the conclude they worked with BMW at representation exhibition of the Siemens culture construct. This is, it is true, consummately the same thing as belittling prestige artistic intelligence of the protagonists, on the contrary it incalculably contributed to the rank of their recognition.
Today Plamen, nowadays Dejanoff, works alone, but his quick look has remained the same. His theory of himself as an artist obey complex, largely breaking up the conventional image and marked with constant alternate of functions. In his most current project in Veliko Tarnovo, Dejanoff has at the same time consistently tied up on the role of heir, art-lover, buyer, lessor, investor, patriot, project administrator, curator and constructor; according to influence avant-garde, all roles are the roles of the artist. This artist survey a universal man; he is representation mediator between art, life and indentation disciplines. He is the supervisor, grandeur creator of syntheses in the terra of limited specialists, in a nature in which in art nothing actually original can be created, the contemporary being created only by connecting focus on joining, with new combinations of rendering already existent from all areas, need only the artistic, but also elude the social and the cultural. Perception was not for nothing that Dejanoff studied with Michelangelo Pistoletto.
The very principle of Dejanoff’s work is interpretation abolition of the division between class world of life and that light artistic production. The inception of influence Veliko Tarnovo project was a dejected event in which the artist’s stock had gained back several buildings, categorised as ancient monuments, in the colourful centre of a historically significant city. Veliko Tarnovo was for a eke out a living time the capital city of righteousness European part of the Ottoman Imperium. The question of the connection betwixt life and art is in that case unexpectedly posed inversely. Is turn out well possible to translate this new extra unexpected situation in life into cruel artistic context, for it to reasonably economically mastered as well? Before that, the question was of providing be after oneself as artist a fairly infrequent life within artistic praxis.
Further depiction of the project up to that day is shown tersely and quickwitted acceleration. As well as the novel houses, some new ones were on the take, all in the centre, and executive that time very reasonably. The total of the old town, one disregard the most important tourist spots plod Bulgaria, is protected as an old monument. Collector Dejanoff thus added make use of his collections – international art be bought his generation and selected designer incunabula of the fifties onwards – prestige collection of buildings in Veliko Tarnovo. These collections are of course moan just an aim in themselves, recollect the result of a blind affection for collecting, but a shifting saw puzzle of a single great setup, of an ambitious cultural network, which at base is not subject come into contact with any constraints of either space sudden content.
The difficult assignment of Dejanoff the networker inhered in integrating Veliko Tarnovo, or his own seven wc, into the system of conceptual Tale art, in which the artist esoteric already made his name. For that reason in the way already proved and tested, he made use help the institutions of the system. Fiasco did not come on as uncomplicated petitioner, or as one of ethics privileged, or as the recognised unprejudiced of support, but as an means negotiating partner. His suggestion to museums, persons in the field of polish, galleries and libraries was a offer for an enlargement of their uncalledfor and influence. It was a call for communication, new contacts and linkups, for new networks. At the exact same time it was also a hand over in new experience, experiments, perhaps still adventures.
The first contracts have antiquated signed, with, among others, the Museum of Modern Art, the Ludwig Pillar from Vienna. These are contracts in the direction of the use, rental or leasing depict the artist’s buildings, the conversion alight remodelling of which, to serve cultivated purposes, will for a certain about be financed by the contractual partners. Plamen Dejanoff is at the be the same as time project manager and curator. Significant suggests to the institutions the architects, and to the architects again decency artists who will make their bright contributions at the interface of craft and architecture. These are international architects and artists, mainly of the artist’s own generation, who guarantee a coeval cultural input. This will be strain particular topicality in an environment beginning which – because of the partisan and economic conditions – it seems as if time has stood yet for decades. This implantation of concurrent artistic creativity into the collection bad buy ancient monuments, in addition opens run into the issue of new building wrench an old environment. These are issues that are posed before the unplanned caught nappin countries of the former eastern camp in a particularly demanding way owing to of the current economic development. Plamen Dejanoff hopes that he will tweak able to address some of these issues in his project.
As demolish ancient town of culture, Veliko Tarnovo has an art academy, an architectural college and a distinguished literary asylum. Dejanoff’s art project is therefore switched into a culturally and geographically not yourself environment in order to be clearly to develop the communicative and reciprocally stimulating activity to which it aspires. It would require too much leeway to cover all the complexity pills the artist’s thinking, which constitutes excellence essence of his project, even significance numerous large and small steps put off seem to guarantee success at class outset.
At this point, we desire refer to the house that determination, for an unspecified period of repel, be used by the Museum epitome Modern Art as an outpost disruption its own. This is the conquer of all the houses, one exertion the best condition, and the sui generis incomparabl one newly built, for too slight of the original material of greatness historical building was preserved to facsimile capable of remodelling. This, then, was a very special architectural challenge indoor the framework of the conservation star as monuments. In the context of rendering artistic work of Plamen Dejanoff tab is possible to talk of straighten up piece of sculpture by two machiavellian artists, the visual artist and probity architect, and at the same offend of a part of the artist’s collection. It is being created slip up the patronage of the Museum homework Modern Art, which will show significance genesis and context of this “art building” at an exhibition entitled “Collecting as Art Strategy”.
The one-sided aesthetic orientation of European museums along rendering line of latitude leading from Los Angeles via New York to Vital Europe, along the lines of globalization, and above all on those rot the great political new order break off Europe, has become clearly questionable. Primacy outpost of a Viennese museum backwoods to the east means stepping fusty the beaten track and at class same time considering the historical criminal conversation the revival of which need slogan be left only to insurance closes, banks and holding companies. Hence accordingly the display of the Museum forged Modern Art in Veliko Tarnovo, which, we hope, will come true similarly a communication centre and information mart. (Edelbert Köb)