Processes of Lithuanian contemporary art are well explored from various perspectives, but most of these studies address the appearance of a new phenomenon and analyse its meaning within the context of common field of art praxis. There is very little attention, or it is fragmented, to the questions which deal with conditions that enabled emergence of a certain phenomenon.
In his book ‘Theory of Avant-garde’ the German literary critic Peter Bürger notices, that historical distance has led the Avant-garde to perceive art as an institution and this notion is what distances Avant-garde from the rest of modern art. Looking at the contemporary art in Lithuania from a certain position it is possible to notice the principle of historical distance in some artistic practices. That is clearly expressed in most of the projects by Deimantas Narkevičius, or in latest projects by Dainius Liškevičius – ‘Museum’ and ‘Tranquillity’. Both Narkevičius and Liškevičius now are considered as middle generation artists and the question for this discussion would be if it is possible to talk about historical distance in praxis of younger generation of Lithuanian artists?
Giedrius Gulbinas, PhD student in Art Theory at the Vilnius Academy of Arts.
Inquirers. PhD series.
Inquirers is a series of lectures, readings and conversations organized in order to have a look at the ongoing research of Lithuanian contemporary art. Conceived as such, it is concerned, first of all, with processual nature of insights and hovering-like state of hypothesis put forward by both academia-related and independent researchers. In this sense, Inquirers is interested in the very process of contemporary art research and, in turn, the challenges it produces: the nowness of the objects of inquiry; the problem of naming, generalizing, and guessing when it comes to artistic tendencies; and, at last, the necessity of yet again novel theoretical approach. Inquirers will draw attention, in an attempt to emphasize its processual origins, to both focus and results of the research, and the omnipresent significance of the conversation to analyze this always already changing scene of contemporary art.
The first series of the Inquirers include Dovilė Tumpytė (Vilnius Academy of Arts), Giedrius Gulbinas (Vilnius Academy of Arts) and dr. Lina Michelkevičė.
