Z(orten)

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TONI PARPAN
geboren 1979 in Chur
lebt und arbeitet in Zorten und Bern
Projektvorhaben (in Zusammenarbeit mit Manuel Kämpfer):
Toni Parpan und Manuel Kämpfer errichten ganz zuunterst in der verborgenen Schlucht, am Rain digl
Lai, ein sich bewegendes, veränderliches, farbiges Monument, das die Widerspenstigkeit der Landschaft,
den Geist des Tobels und die Kraft des Wassers nutzt.
In diesem abgelegensten, menschenvergessenen Abgrund, herrscht eine eigene (Un-)Ordnung, eine
Freiheit auch; beeindruckt eine pure, rauhe, ursprüngliche Welt. Hier zeigt sich eine Laune der Natur;
hier findet sich ein fremder anderer, üppig-lebendiger Kosmos.
Die beiden Künstler erweitern und lagern in Zorten seit Jahren ihren umfangreichen Materialfundus
aus rückgebauten, vorangegangenen Arbeiten und Projekten. Holzteile vor allem, wiederum ab- oder
losgelöst, immer wieder sortiert, teilweise mehrmals gebraucht. Rohre, Bleche, Tonziegel, Gerüststangen,
Umlenkrollen etc. finden sich dort ebenso. Diese Versatzstücke werden sie nun im Tobel weiter
verwenden und zu einer monumentalen Maschinerie kombinieren. Das Restwasser des Solis-Kraftwerks
sowie das Abwasser der Ara, welches als Tobelbach der Albula entgegen fliesst, wird durch Öffnungen
spritzen, Räder antreiben, Mechanismen in Gang setzen.
Ziel der beiden Künstler ist nicht nur, diesen Unort zu bereichern oder zu bespielen, sondern ebenso
den ihm innewohnenden Geist und die vorhandene Kraft zu bündeln und zu visualisieren.
Ausbilung / Anstellungen
2009 / 2010 Rauminstallatio „Passage“, Pontresina, Satellitenprojekt zum Kunstraum Sandra Romer Chur
(in Zusammenarbeit mit Manuel Kämpfer)
2009 Dozent Modul Grafik und Plastik, Pädagogische Hochschule Zuzern
2007 Diplom bildende Kunst sowie Werk- und Zeichenlehrdiplom,
Hochschule für Gestaltung und Kunst Luzern
2005 Austauschsemester, Burg Giebichenstein, Fachbereich Bildhauerei/Metall, Halle, Deutschland
2003 - 2007 Ausstellungsauf- und Abbau, Halle für neue Kunst, Luzern
2002 - 2007 Studium an der HGK Luzern
Ausstellungen / Projekte / Stipendien
2009 Austauschstipendium, Frans Masereel Centrum Kasterlee, Belgien
2007 - 2009 Umbau Stall in Atelierhaus, Zorten, GR
2007 Entwurf und Ausführung von Epoxidharz-Tiermasken für Opernproduktion,
Hochschule der Künste, Zürich
Preise
2007 Förderpreis für Diplomarbeit, HGK Luzern
2006 2. Rang, Bannerdesign, Stadttheater Luzern, (in Zusammenarbeit mit Claudia Berg)
2. Rang, Kunst am Bau Wettbewerb, Platzgestaltung Schulanlage Buchrein
(in Zusammenarbeit mit Irena Meier)
2005 Innovationspreis, Erweiterungsbau Hochschule für soziale Arbeit, Luzern
(in Zusammenarbeit mit Irena Meier)
toni.parpan@gmx.ch
JULIANA IRENE SMITH
born 1977 in San Francisco
lives an works currently in Ramallah, Palestine
Artist Statement:
The work I make focuses on “human desperation” and the “politics of belonging.” It is about individuals
trying to belong to something greater than themselves. I dislike (ok, I hate) the words „time“, „space“,
„memory“ and the term „cultural exchange“. I have given up being interested in place as a location,
for example, America or Switzerland, and focused on the inner place, (not to be confused with inner
peace). I focus on the human as a place.
The work is often questions, everyday scenarios of the absurd day-to-day, alone. It‘s the voice in my
head. I feel sometimes desperate and want to be liked, even loved. It is the irony of the lonely perverse
artist that is desperately seeking acceptance and approval. Is it just the artist, the desperate artist, or
does everyone feel like this?
It is important that I incorporate participation with the outside world (the audience) and the inside,
the things we are afraid to say. I like the duality of humans, the exterior of what the world sees and what
we really think.
Intention:
For the past three summers I have come to the mountains of Lenzerheide and worked and watched
how the barn has been transformed. I, along side Toni and others, used my physical energies to rebuild
what was made for animals into a place for humans, in this case artists. The surrounding landscape is of
heavenly beauty, community and animals.
I would like to create a tableau of the landscape, literally and sculpturally. The idea is to make a table
out of found (bought) used landscape paintings of the Swiss Alp scenery. Upon this table will be handmade
little animals and people. The last element which is more typical to my work, is I will write a song
and the sound will come from underneath the table. The songs that I write come from the experience
of being in a place, such like the one I did in an installation this past October in Palestine, called “On
Mars.” The song accompanied the installation and was about the first time I was confronted with Israeli
soldiers.
Juliana Irene Smith is an artist focusing on “human desperation” and the “politics of belonging.” The work is often quetions,
everyday scenarios of the absurd day-to-day, alone. It is political and personal. She has a BFA in Photography from Parsons
School of Design in New York and a Masters in Public Art from the University of Applied Arts and Sciences in Lucerne.
She spent a semester at Witswatersrand University in Johannesburg. There she co-founded “Kazoo- it’s a live art thing,”
with Anthea Moys and had a premier event / exhibition at the Premises Gallery. She also co-curated with Moys, the Armed
Response exhibition for the Goethe Institut in Johannesburg. Awards include, Masters Grant in Arts and Design from
IKEA, Language grant from the Goethe Institute and a travel grant from Pro Helvetia. She has participated in three Triangle
Arts Workshops, Jordan, Lebanon and Palestine. She is currently learning Arabic. She worked as the director’s assistant
for Kunsthalle Winterthur in Switzerland and was Salwa Mikdadi’s assistant for the Palestinian collateral event for the
53rdVenice Biennale. She exhibited at the Central Switzerland Annual Exhibition at the Museum of Art Lucerne, RIWAQ
Biennale in Bir Zeit, Palestine, Beneholz Space for Contemporary Art.
Dienstgebaude Project Space, and K3 Project Space in Zurich and in the Young Swiss Artists exhibition, “Why We Worry”
at Gallery Supernova in Riga, Latvia. Her latest project is a documentary film about finding her Iranian father.
Selected Exhibitions
2009 3rd RIWAQ Biennale, Bir Zeit, Palestine; Why We Worry, Gallery Supernova, Riga, Latvia;
Apples for Africa; Gallery Beneholz, Meggen
2008 V. Alonso / G. Galic & GR Gredig / Juliana Irene Smith, Dienstgebäude, Zurich;
Central Switzerland Annual Exhibition, Museum of Art Lucerne, Lucerne;
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