20/06/2010

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27 May 2010, Smooth Structures, Lecture & Screening, SMART Project Space, NL

Speaker: Dr. Martin W. Lo
Lecture time: 19.30 – 20.30 hrs (incl Q&A)
Film screening: Wild Blue Yonder, Werner Herzog (2005), 21.00 – 22.30 hrs
Organised by: Maarten Vanden Eynde, Marjolijn Dijkman and SMART Projectspace
Date: Thursday 27 May 2010
Address: SMART Project Space, Arie Biemondstraat 111, Amsterdam, NL
Admission: 5,00 Euro

SMART Project Space presents Smooth Structures, a lecture on a new theory about dark matter and dark energy by NASA mathematician Martin Lo, and the screening of Werner Herzog’s experimental sci-fi film The Wild Blue Yonder, partly featuring authentic astronauts and scientists (including Martin Lo!). The event takes place in the framework of the exhibition project Smooth Structures that is being developed for SMART Project Space by artists’ initiative Enough Room for Space for November / December 2010. For this exhibition several artists are invited to respond to Lo’s new theory and to the notion of exotic spacetime.

Dr. Martin W. Lo is a member of the High Capability Computing and Modeling Group at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology. He deals with what some claim is the single most important unsolved problem in physics uncovered in the 20th century, which is the problem of dark matter and dark energy. The basic issue at hand is the incredible fact that over 96% of the universe consists of dark matter and dark energy which cannot be directly observed. As to what this dark matter-energy is, no one knows for sure at the moment. The philosophical and metaphysical implications of such a paradigm shift in our understanding of the “concrete, material universe” will be huge, effects and consequences of which we must wait and see. Martin Lo will present a theory for dark matter-energy which is a conjecture by the well known general relativist, Carl Brans, that dark energy-matter is caused by the exotic smoothness of spacetime. This is a topological phenomenon which can only occur in dimensions four and greater. Lo will explain the concept in an accessible language as possible for those without a hard science back ground. After the lecture there will be time for Q&A and a short break.

At 21.00 hrs Werner Herzog’s award-winning film The Wild Blue Yonder (2005) will be screened. Most of the film consists of documentary footage overlaid with fictional narration. The film is about an extraterrestrial (played by Oscar-nominated Brad Dourif) who came to Earth several decades ago from a water planet (The Wild Blue Yonder), after it suffered through an ice age. His narration reveals that the aliens have tried through the years to form a community on our planet, though without great success. Filmed in collaboration with NASA musician/photographer Henry Kaiser, The Wild Blue Yonder travels light years into the stars, and fathoms deep into the Antarctic Ocean, and speaks with noted scientists to offer a unique view of the universe and a cautionary tale which stresses the importance of preserving our natural resources for future generations.

12 June – 10 July 2010: Stardust in a Nutshell, group exhibition, Berlin, DE

Curated  by:  Annette  Schemmel / Enough  Room  for  Space  for  Savvy  Contemporary   
Hosted by: SAVVY Contemporary, Berlin / Neukölln
Supported by: The Mondriaan Foundation  
Participating artists: Stefaan Dheedene, Christian Hanussek / Salifou Lindou, Dunja Herzog, Boris Nzébo, Maarten Vanden Eynde / Alioum Moussa, Patrick Wokmeni.  
Opening:  Saturday,  June  12  2010,  8 p.m.   / At  9  p.m:  Screening  of  'Vita Nova' by Vincent  Meessen.
Opening  hours:  June 13  –  July  10,  2010, Thu  –  Sat:  4  –  8  p.m. 

The exhibition entitled Stardust in a nutshell presents a selection of art works made in Cameroon in the past years, by both Cameroonian and European artists. As contemporary artists they all address politically relevant topics and share a conceptual approach to their practice. But they are also companions in the quest for beauty. The stardust in the exhibition’s title refers to this last aspect; the English expression „in a nutshell“ figuratively denominates a short summary. Stardust in a nutshell is the starting point and take-off for a collaborative project of artists in Europe and Cameroon to be finalized in 2011.

featured works:

The exhibition at Savvy Contemporary shows Ghent-based artist Stefaan Dheedene’s video „Crystal“ (2002-2004, 2:50 Min), featuring a black singer performing George Bizet’s hymn „Agnus Dei“ in front of a jungle scenery: The dissonances of the Christian mission’s history in Africa can’t be ignored.
Salifou Lindou (Douala) and Christian Hanussek (Berlin) have been collaborating for years. Their photo series entitled „Parfum“ represent promising names on colorful boxes and fancy flacons — Cameroonian products altogether. They contrast with the rough shelves that act as their display and offer the possibility of transformation and appropriation of exotic (i.e. Western) elegance.
Dunja Herzog from Basel presents two small bronze-cast animals with the title „Pah’bèt“. An appendent publication explains their function for a mysterious ritual. Stereotypical ideas of “African art” are being led ad absurdum here.
On several canvases and drawings Boris Nzébo combines portraits with typical urban vistas from his city, Douala. He is inspired by a fascination for beauty culture and global pop culture, but also by his background as a poster artist for the countless small hairdresser’s shops — hubs of desire due to their celebrity photos and improvised international chic.
Patrick Wokmeni’s photos feature the girls in his part of Douala in their dizzying night life („Les Belles de New Bell“), the rappers on the streets and street rioters of the 2008 political unrest. A complex choreography of gazes in his pictures reflects the artist’s awareness for the politics of voyeurism. This is of particular importance in a context like Cameroon where a profound scepticism towards photography prevails.
Maarten Vanden Eynde from Brussels and Alioum Moussa from Douala refer to the 50th anniversary of Cameroon’s independence with their public space project represented in the form of a poster print. Cameroon was first colonized by Germany between 1884 and 1919, then by France and England up to 1960. Couples of a black and a white t-shirt bearing the work „IN“, and „DEPENDA NCE“ respectively on their front will be distributed to matches of Cameroonian and European visitors at the triennale SUD 2010 in Douala. The project’s aim is to inspire a dialogue about the recent history and the political present amongst them.

We are happy to announce the screening of the video „Vita Nova“ (2009, 26 Min) by Brussel-based artist Vincent Meessen during the exhibition’s opening. It uncovers the contradictory relationship of the French intellectual Roland Barthes with his grand-father, a colonial officer, brought forward with a compelling visuality.

The latest issue of the Rotterdam-based artist magazine Fucking Good Art! with a Cameroon focus (#25) will be distributed in the show

Spring 2010: Launch Publication Curator Curator # 1- 5, Ghent, BE

Edited by: Maarten Vanden Eynde and Maaike Gouwenberg
Contributions by: Karolin Tampere, Lorenzo Bruni, Remco de Blaaij and Kamila Wielebska, Adnan Yildiz, Jens Maier-Rothe and Hans Martens
Designed by: Raf Vancampenhoudt
Published by: HISK, Ghent, BE
Booklaunch: 23 April, 14.00h. HISK Cafe at Art Brussels

6 Nov. - 19 Dec. 2010: Smooth Structures, Exhibition, Smart Project Space, Amsterdam, NL

Organised by: Maarten Vanden Eynde, Marjolijn Dijkman and Hilde de Bruijn (Smart PS)
Location: Smart Project Space, Arie Biemondstraat 105-113, Amsterdam, NL
Participating Artists: Erick Beltrán, Marjolijn Dijkman, Martijn Hendriks, Toril Johannessen, Mungo Thomson, Maarten Vanden Eynde, Rinus Van de Velde
Participating Scientist: Martin Lo, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA, Pasadena, CA

The universe, most astronomers agree, is made out of three parts: normal matter-energy, dark matter and dark energy. Normal matter exists out of atoms, which form the building stones to stars, planets, human beings and all other things visible in the universe. What dark matter and dark energy exactly are, still remains one of the big problems for scientists all over the world. Its existence is a given since the discovery made by Fritz Zwicky in 1933. Its presence is necessary in order to explain various cosmological phenomena. In the concordance-model, which is generally accepted by science en which is frequently used to describe the universe, its content is for 74% made out of dark energy, for 22% out of dark matter and 4% of normal matter-energy.

Martin Lo is one of the scientists trying to find out what dark matter and dark energy is. Together with several other scientists of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory of Caltech and other institutions (US & EU), his group developed a new theory called the “Brans’ Conjecture” and invited Enough Room for Space (ERforS) to relate to their concept and think of possible ways to visualise the problem.

ERforS and Smart Project Space decided to develop an extensive exhibition with the question of Martin Lo in mind. The works in the exhibition will respond to the Brans’ Conjecture in various ways and shares the underlying question: How can you grasp matter described by science as ubiquitous but not directly perceivable? The questions raised by this are as pertinent for contemporary art as they are for science. How do we understand something that we can’t perceive directly? How do we speak about something that, almost by definition, is impossible to know or fully apprehend? How do you approach it anyway, and what kind of translations does this produce? And what does it mean to speak about something in a language you don’t fully understand yet, or a language that is ill equipped for its subject?