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THE EMERGENCY WILL REPLACE THE CONTEMPORARY
A selection of tent art works by Thierry Geoffroy/ COLONEL
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Ideally, the artists should have an important position in our society as free and independent minds that can produce vital reflections about sociopolitical condi-tions of the time we live in.
Unfortunately many times artists’ critical and impor-tant reflections are being used or misused for other purposes such as promotion of products, gentrifica-tion, and cultural colonialism. In that case, the unique role of the artist, as the one independently and criti-cally reflecting our society, becomes a simplified and bounded function with a purpose and task dictated by others.
The only way the artist can avoid that his/ her role becomes a function is by constantly questioning the structures his or her art is being presented within. Bien-nales and big-scale exhibitions like Documenta should, as the most influential contemporary art structures, be a natural object for investigation.
The necessity for questioning the structure- a text by Tijana Miskovic
Documenta is considered to be a Vatican of contempo-rary art today, carried by a belief in the critical poten-tial of art. Documenta promotes itself as the optimal art platform for critical thinking and political postures, which is why decision makers and intelligentsia of the art world, pilgrimage to Documenta in search of latest tendencies. Documenta and other big art events such as Venice Biennale have thus an enormous interna-tional impact and a great power to influence the pub-lic opinion. This influence should be evaluated by par-ticipating artists as well as the audience, who should not only absorb the messages communicated to them through the curatorial strategies, without being skep-tical about their motivation. They should not fall asleep but be critical and constantly question the structure.
A show labeled as “critic show” can give the public a feeling of being critical, but it can, at the same time, be drawing the public attention away from big and se-rious issues that authorities don’t want to create critic
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around. There could be a diversion taking place in the curatorial choose.
Curating goes hand in hand with filtration. Certain topics, artworks and artists get highlighted as cen-tral while others get a peripheral position or even go unmentioned. Furthermore curating always includes an educational element, which facilities learning and achievement of knowledge, values and beliefs. The person or the institution teaching would naturally also have the power to shape the knowledge and thus be in a superior position. The choice of content and the methods is influencing the interpretation of the artis-tic message and the receivers are being led in a prede-fined direction of thinking.
Faking the intention can be another method for diver-sion also used in the world of contemporary art. Often a profile based on inclusion and interaction is being created in order to give an image of openness. Most of the contemporary art exhibitions are thus considered open, good and even humanistic platforms and are as such wrapped in a certain kind of unquestionable goodness, which keeps the critique away.
imposed censorship coming from specific authority, and thus more sophisticated and complex one, which often has an even stronger control effect.A “critic show” can thus be a setting for fake criticism that gives us an illusion of being critique and having the freedom of thinking when we, in reality, are direct-ed in a certain direction controlled by external forces and often interests of economic or political nature.
This fake criticism within the contemporary art today could be the source of apathy in our society. If the lack of real concern or interest in making a change in-filtrates the art community, and what we consider to be the avant-garde force in our society falls asleep, we might risk that our world takes a direction of nar-row-minded and almost totalitarian thinking.
Since 1988, Thierry Geoffroy/ COLONEL has been questioning big staged art events like biennales, art fairs, and Documenta, with critical art formats such as BIENNALIST – an art format that responds to and questions, through artworks the motivations of bien-nials and other global art events. He looks into the art events and their motivations asking questions such as: Could 860,000 visitors have been intoxicated by
A delay in contemporary art could also be seen as a diversion strategy. Even though we believe that the contemporary artists should react on the important issues and emergencies of today’s world, we are not giving the artists appropriate platforms for immedi-ate expression and impact in time. The artists cannot show art connected with the pulsing and unpredicta-ble present, since all the exhibited artworks have to be defined, produced, and explained in advance. Either because of the practical and curatorial planning or be-cause of a wish to control and have a possibility to cen-sure, most of the contemporary exhibitions are from the beginning in delay.
To navigate within these contemporary art struc-tures, the art institutions, the artist and the art think-ers are furthermore recurrently victims of an ongoing self-censorship. The self-censorship makes it difficult to reach the authentic and honest artistic intention. What is exhibited is just one part of the story while the other, at least as important, part has been auto-cen-sured. Auto-censorship is more difficult to localize or fight then the direct censorship, since it is an embed-ded control function the contemporary art is carrying in the DNA of its structure. It is more invisible then
an apathetic gaze that keeps them away from react-ing? Are global art events designed to make people cry about something in order not to make them see something else? Is there a strategy for being delayed in order to create a distraction from the present and avoid debating important topics of today? If the most important contemporary exhibitions in the world like Documenta focus solely on past- or few present relat-ed issues contextualized by curators or art historians, how can we then expect art to be avant-garde?
For decades artists have questioned the canvas, the pigment, and since the1960-70s conceptual artists like Marcel Broodthaers have questioned the structure of the museum which led to Institutional Critique in art with artists such as Daniel Buren, Andrea Fraser, and Hans Haacke. With his art format BIENNALIST, Thierry Geoffroy/ COLONEL questions the global art events. He takes the theme of each biennial seriously and stud-ied in order to contribute to the debate the biennales want to generate. The artist is with this format often on-location testing the pertinence of the biennales.
In 2007 Thierry Geoffroy/ COLONEL did a project called “The Next Documenta should be curated by a
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car” and “The protest school”. In 2012 The BIENNAL-IST project was respectively supported by the ZKM Museum Museum of Contemporary Art for conducting operations at the Athens Biennale curated by Nicolas Bourriaud and by the Sprengel Museum for operation done at the Venice Biennale.
In dOCUMENTA 13 he realized the project “The Emer-gency will replace the contemporary” which got a strong attention in the media and among art critiques. With a UN blue helmet as an artistic metaphor for inno-cence, Thierry Geoffroy/ COLONEL appointed himself to be “a peace-war researcher” and discovered the enormous presence of an active weapon industry in documentaßtat Kassel. The message was communi-cated as text on a tent placed under the Joseph Beuys tree on the lawn in front of the Fredericianum just af-ter the press conference June 6th, 2012. The tent with a statement “THE EMERGENCY WILL REPLACE THE CONTEMPORARY” was removed and confiscated by the dOCUMENTA organizers. Ironically enough this kick started, the same days, a growing occupy move-ment dOCCUPY, that made a tent encampment in the same area and which was welcomed by dOCUMENTA 13 curator.
From March 30th to June 24th, 2017, Thierry Geof-froy/ COLONEL, lookes closer into the Documenta 14 and Venice Biennale 2017 in the exhibition #documen-tasceptic, on location, in a specially designed online platform and in the gallery SABSAY in Copenhagen.
dOCUMENTA (13) - June 6th 2012
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“THE EMERGENCY WILL REPLACE THE CONTEMPORARY”; 3 kilos, 230 cm x 170 cm; spray paint on tent; in the art collection of Museum for Contemporary Art - Roskilde - Denmark; 2012; Statements on each side: “THE EMERGENCY WILL REPLACE THE CONTEMPORARY”, “FÜHRUNG, GUIDANCE AND NAVIGATION IS A THREAT”, “THE CONTEMPORARY IS ALWAYS TOO LATE”
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“THE EMERGENCY WILL REPLACE THE CONTEMPORARY”; 3 kilos, 230 cm x 170 cm; spray paint on tent; 2012; Statements on each side: “THE EMERGENCY WILL REPLACE THE CONTEMPORARY”, “FÜHRUNG, GUIDANCE AND NAVIGATION IS A THREAT”, “THE CONTEMPORARY IS ALWAYS TOO LATE”; in the art collection of Museum for Contemporary Art - Roskilde - Denmark.
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dOCUMENTA (13) - June 7th, 2012
“THE EMERGENCY WILL REPLACE THE CONTEM-PORARY”; 3 kilos, 230 cm x 170 cm; spray paint on tent; 2012; Statements on each side: “THE EMER-GENCY WILL REPLACE THE CONTEMPORARY”, “I AM NOT WORKING FOR THE TOURISM OFFICE”, “ART IN DELAY CAN NOT HAVE IMPACT”, “THE CONTEMPORARY IS ALWAYS TOO LATE, NEVER IN TIME”
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dOCUMENTA (13) - September, 2012
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“THE NEXT DOCUMENTA SHOULD BE CURATED BY TANKS”; 2,2 kilos, 200 cm x 140 cm; spray paint on tent; 2012; Statements on each side: ”FAKE CRITICS CREATES APATHY”, “THE NEXT DOCUMEN-TA SHOULD BE CURATED BY TANKS”, “CAN ART BE IN ADVANCE OF THE ARM”, “ART DISTRACT YOU FROM REALITY”
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“THE NEXT DOCUMENTA SHOULD BE CURATED BY TANKS”; 2,2 kilos, 200 cm x 140 cm; spray paint on tent; 2012; Statements on each side: ”FAKE CRITICS CREATES APATHY”, “THE NEXT DOCU-MENTA SHOULD BE CURATED BY TANKS”, “CAN ART BE IN ADVANCE OF THE BROKEN ARM”, “ART DISTRACT YOU FROM REALITY”
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“DOCUMENTA FAILLED TO DEBATE ABOUT WAR”; 2,2 kilos, 200 cm x 140 cm; spray paint on tent; 2012; Statements on each side: “DONT CENSURE DOG WATCH ART”, “DOCUMENTA FAILLED TO DE-BATE ABOUT WAR”, “ULTRACOTEMPORARY ART IS THE FUTURE”, “KNOWING WHAT I KNOW MAKES ME A MONSTER”
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“DOCUMENTA FAILLED TO DEBATE ABOUT WAR”; 2,2 kilos, 200 cm x 140 cm; spray paint on tent; 2012; Statements on each side: “DON’T CENSURE DOG WATCH ART”, “DOCUMENTA FAILLED TO DEBATE ABOUT WAR”, “ULTRACOTEMPORARY ART IS THE FUTURE”, “KNOWING WHAT I KNOW MAKES ME A MONSTER”
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“DOCUMENTA IS DANGEROUS BECAUSE IT HIDES THE REAL EMERGENCIES LIKE THE TANKS”; 2,2 ki-los, 200 cm x 140 cm; spray paint on tent; white spray paint on tent; 2012; Statements on each side: “DOCUMENTA IS A FLEA MARKET NOT ABLE TO REFLECT ON TODAY EMERGENCY”, “IS DOCU-MENTA IN KABUL TO SELL TANKS”, “DOCUMEN-TA IS DANGEROUS BECAUSE IT HIDES THE REAL EMERGENCIES LIKE THE TANKS”
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60th anniversary of the documenta - From July 14th to 18th, 2015
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“ALWAYS QUESTION THE STRUCTURE”; 2,2 kilos, 200cm x 140 cm; spray paint on tent; 2015; Statements on each side: “ALWAYS QUESTION THE STRUCTURE”, ”IS DOCUMENTA IN ATHENS TO SELL TANKS FROM KASSEL”, “ULTRACONTEMPORARY”.
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“ALWAYS QUESTION THE STRUCTURE”; 2,2 kilos, 200cm x 140 cm; spray paint on tent; 2015; Statements on each side: “ALWAYS QUESTION THE STRUCTURE”, ”IS DOCUMENTA IN ATHENS TO SELL TANKS FROM KASSEL”, “ULTRACONTEMPORARY”.
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“WHAT DOES DOCUMENTA WANT TO EXPORT”, ; 2,2 kilos, 200cm x 140 cm; spray paint on tent; 2015; Statements on each side: “WHAT DOES DOCUMENTA WANT TO EXPORT”, “ULTRACONTEM-PORARY”, “THE EMERGENCY WILL REPLACE THE CONTEMPORARY”,“CAN POETRY BE FRONTAL”
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”LA PLUIE N’ABOLLIRA PAS LES QUESTIONS”; 2,2 kilos, 200cm x 140 cm; spray paint on tent; 2015; Statements on each side: “LA PLUIE N’ABOLLIRA PAS LES QUESTIONS”, “INNONDE PAR L’INSPIRA-TION”
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Athens Biennale 2011/ ZKM, Museum of Contemporary art exhibition in Karlsruhe
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“CAN THE REVOLUTION BE SELFISH”; 3 kilos, 230 cm x 170 cm; spray paint on tent; 2015; state-ments on each side: “CAN THE REVOLUTION BE SELFISH”, “NOW BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE”
“ART= RETARD”; 3 kilos, 230 cm x 170 cm; spray paint on tent; 2015; statements on each side: “THERE IS NOT A GOOD BIENNALE WITHOUT BIEN-NALIST”, “ART= RETARD”
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55th Venice Biennale - From May 29th to November, 2013
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”I COMMITTED SELF CENSURE”; 2,2 kilos, 200 cm x 140 cm; spray paint on tent; 2013; statements on each side: “IS CLIMATE CHANGE STILL AN EMERGENCY“, “I COMMITTED SELF CENSURE”, “SHOULD ARTISTS QUESTION THEIR COMMISSIONERS”
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”IS CLIMATE CHANGE STILL AN EMERGENCY“; 2,2 kilos, 200 cm x 140 cm; spray paint on tent; 2013; statements on each side: “CAN A NATION WELCOME ANOTHER NATION”, “IS CLIMATE CHANGE STILL AN EMERGENCY”, “IS ART FLEXIBLE”, “DEMANDING PALACE”
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”IS CLIMATE CHANGE STILL AN EMERGENCY“; 2,2 kilos, 200 cm x 140 cm; spray paint on tent; 2013; statements on each side: “CAN A NATION WELCOME ANOTHER NATION”, “IS CLIMATE CHANGE STILL AN EMERGENCY”, “IS ART FLEXIBLE”, “DEMANDING PALACE”
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”NOW BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE”; 2,2 kilos, 200 cm x 140 cm; spray paint on tent; 2013, statements on each side: “THE EMERGENCY WILL REPLACE THE CONTEMPORARY”, “IS AMBIGUITY THE NORM HERE”, “ARE BIENNALE DANGEROUS”, ”NOW BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE”
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”KNOWING WAT I KNOW MAKES ME A MONSTER”; 3 kilos, 230 cm x 170 cm; spray paint on tent; 2013; statements on each side: “NOW BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE”, ”EMERGENCY VENICE”, “KNOWING WAT I KNOW MAKES ME A MONSTER”, “THE EMER-GENCY WILL REPLACE THE CONTEMPORARY”
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56th Venice Biennale - May 8th, 2015
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“ARE BIENNALES DANGEROUS”; 2,2 kilos, 200 cm x 140 cm; spray paint on tent; 2015; statements on each side: “ARE BIENNALES DANGEROUS”, “NOW IS NOW”, “NOW BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE”
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Selection of press and reviews
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Welt Online, June 8th 2012 Journal of curatorial studies, June 8th 2012 Artribune, Reportage Documente2013, July 14, 2012art Das Kunstmagazin, November 11, 2011
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Kunstforum, 2015 C&, Reportage from 55th Venice Biennale 2013 Huffpost, May 30, 2013 SV1, Reportage from 55th Venice Biennale 2013
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About the artist
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Thierry Geoffroy/ COLONEL has been using tents sin-ce 1991. Tents can be both looked at as paintings and as sculptures. The artist uses the sides of a tent as a canvas for painted statements. After, each tent be-comes a mobile sculptural object. Some of Thierry Ge-offroy/COLONEL’s tent artworks have been exhibited in The Maldives Pavilion, Venice Biennale, IT; The ZkM Museum, Karlsruhe, DE; Marta Herford - Museum für moderne Kunst, Herford, DE; Kunsthalle Osnabrück, Osnabrück, DE. The tents are also in the collection of Museum of Contemporary Art, Denmark as well as pri-vate collections in Paris, Copenhagen, and São Paulo.
Thierry Geoffroy/ COLONEL’s artistic praxis is driven by the vision of creating awareness about dysfuncti-ons in the world through art. He has since 1988 been working with art formats that can support the pro-duction and presentation of artworks produced in the now. One of the earliest formats Ultrafast gave the setting for a line of exhibitions that were changing in different ways. Either they were moving in space, for example exhibitions on clothes of people who are mo-ving; or they where changing the same place but with new artworks daily replacing the old ones. This ultrafast pulsing way of working has not only to do with speed, but also with time. This is why the ar-tist later introduced another term Ultracontemporary, which links more to the notion of time and carries on a critical positioning to the established understanding of contemporary art. Contemporaneity is an interesting phenomenon because it forces us to make a connecti-on between us and the time. Con –tempo (with time) is alluding some kind of togetherness or closeness to the present moment. To express with time (Con –tempo) would thus mean to express while you are still with in it. Today’s understanding of contemporary has become so open that it basically covers all kinds of art made in
Tent on the roof, Nancy 1978Tent on the roof, Nancy 1978
and after 20th century, or art made and produced by artists living today independently of its pertinence for the present moment. By using the word Ultra and crea-ting a new term Ultracontemporary, the artist brings
the focus to the time aspect and insists on contempo-rary being in the now. Apart from the speed and time Thierry Geoffroy/ CO-LONEL also focuses on the content, which has to be in the now too, relating to what is happening in the world at the moment. There are many burning topics
EMERGENCY ROOM, Moma PS1, 2007
that need to be addressed on the spot before it is too late. The artist calls this kind of art Emergency Art. It is art produced by artists who are alert, who recognize dysfunctions and grab the most urgent ones that can-not wait to be expressed about. This way of working includes ranking of emergencies. Like in a real hospital emergency where the doctor would have to priorities between the different patients based on the level of emergency.
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Thierry Geoffroy / COLONEL, Born 1961www.colonel.dk Thierry Geoffroy, also known as COLONEL, is a French artist, living in Copenhagen, Denmark. He is a format artist devel-oping art formats, most known being EMERGENCY ROOM, BIENNALIST and CRITICAL RUN. Thierry Geoffroy / COLONEL has published 6 books and his artworks are included in international museum collections. He is Chevalier de l’ordre des Arts et des Lettres. SELECTED GROUP AND ONE-MAN SHOWS :
P.S.1/ MOMA New York, USA; ZKM Museum Karlsruhe, DE; Sprengel Museum, Hannover, DE; Moderna Museet, the Mu-seum of Modern Art, Stockholm, SE; HEART- Herning Muse-um of Contemporary Art Denmark, Herning, DK; Plazzo Delle Arti Napoli, IT; The Museum of Contempora-ry Art, Roskilde, DK; Galerie Asbaek Copenhagen, DK; The Maldives Pavilion, Venice Biennale, Venice, IT; Liverpool Biennial, Liverpool, UK, Manifesta Biennal, Murcia, ES; Natio-nal Museum Rejkavik, FI; Galerie Olaf Stüber, Berlin, DE, IKM Museum, Oslo, NO; Fries Museum, Leeuwarden, NL; Devron Arts, Huntly, Aberdeenshire, SCO; The Model, Sligo, IR; Fo-tografisk Center, Copenhagen, DK; Cairo Biennale, Cairo, EG; Blackwood Gallery Toronto, CAN; Galerie Ileana Tounta, Athens, GR; Kunsthalle Osnabrück, Osnabrück, DE
Contact information: Thierry Geoffroy/ COLONEL
Manifeste, 1989
Produced by Gallery Ultracontemporaine
© Thierry Geoffroy/ COLONEL
