#also LYDIA KONIORDOU?
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gemsofgreece · 2 years ago
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Who were the most famous greek actors of the old Greek cinema and who are the recent ones?
Best Greek actresses of old (dramatic or varied roles or big stars or bombshells):
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From top to bottom, left to right: Marika Kotopouli, Katina Paxinoú, Irene Papas, Ellie Lambeti, Aliki Vouyouklaki, Jenny Karezi, Melina Mercouri, Maro Kontoú, Martha Karagianni, Elena Nathanaél, Mary Chronopoulou, Zoe Láskari.
If you think I am missing some: a) I chose only those who could be first or first female name in their movie and b) yes, I didn't include some huge names. Hang on a minute.
Best actors of old (dramatic or varied or big stars or jeune premier):
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From left to right: Manos Katrakis, Dimitris Horn, Dimitris Papamichaél, Lavrentis Dianellos, Alekos Alexandrakis, Nikos Koúrkoulos, Andreas Bárkoulis, Kostas Prekas, Phaedon Georgitsis, Yannis Voglis, Yorgos Fountas.
Are you shaking frustrated for forgetting a gazillion, potential Greek reader? That's right, here too.
So, I thought, the true niche of Greek cinema has always been comedy. Comedy was always on a whole other level and so did the actors who served it. So I made a separate category:
Best Greek comedic actors:
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From left to right: Lambros Konstantaras, Rena Vlahopoulou, Dionysis Papayannópoulos, Orestes Makrís, Georgia Vasiliadou, Dinos Iliópoulos, Kostas Voutsás, Kostas Hatzichristos, Mimis Fotópoulos, Nikos Stavridis, Thanasis Vengos, Nikos Rizos, Sotiris Moustakas.
I can't begin to describe the manslaughter I committed in order to make this list. And I am being objective in saying I have never made a collage - Greek or not - so overwhelmed with talent. As you might know, the good comedic actors are usually the best actors overall, because 99% of the time a comedic actor can do drama while a dramatic actor can't always do comedy successfully. This is the case with these comedians, as they have also done some dramatic roles, and I can confirm they were heart-wrenching or blood-chilling too. Having said that, the actors and actresses of the two first collages, the pretty and serious looking ones, ALSO did a lot of comedy and with great success. Again, comedy is the mastery of Greek cinema.
After this, why do you want us to drop from that cloud to the hard ground? It's not that there aren't good contemporary actors. However, there aren't literally ANY screenwriters or budget and as a result actors struggle to prove themselves nowadays. I will try anyway. I will go for good, not "just popular".
Best contemporary actors:
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Again from top to bottom, left to right: Kariofylliá Karabeti, Lydia Koniordou, Ares Servetalis, Stelios Máinas, Grigoris Valtinós, Yannis Stánkoglou, Yorgos Voyatzís (as Joseph in Jesus of Nazareth, yep, it's important) Katerina Lehou, Vasilis Haralambópoulos, Haris Romas and Christos Loulis, Eleni Rantou, Pygmalion Dadakaridis, Maria Kitsou.
As I was making this I realised contemporary actors might be better than I thought. We have plenty, as I was making this I thought of many others too. But it's exactly the problem I mentioned. It's one good project every twenty and you see a stellar performance and you go like "where were they hiding this kind of talent?!" but it's not that they were hiding it after all, it was that they had nowhere to channel it. It's a pity.
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imperium-romanum · 6 years ago
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“The Greek government has put renewed pressure on Britain to return the Parthenon Marbles to the country.”
“Greek culture minister Lydia Koniordou wrote to Jeremy Wright, the culture secretary, inviting UK officials to Greece to discuss the return of the ancient sculptures, also known as the Elgin Marbles.”
“The sculptures have been displayed in the British Museum since the early 19th century, after they were transported from Greece by Thomas Bruce, the 7th Earl of Elgin. They originally formed part of the Temple of Parthenon and other sites across Greece.”
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archaeologicalnews · 7 years ago
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Ancient Macedonian Kasta Tomb in Greece's Amphipolis set to open to public after excavation
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Recently appointed Greek Culture Minister Lydia Koniordou announced that 2.5 million euros have been allotted for restoration works executed at Kasta Hill, the excavation site of the Amphipolis tomb.
During a press conference this week, she clarified that the funds will be made available immediately for the restoration of the site in northeastern Greece, where a huge grave from Alexander the Great’s era was unearthed.
The so-called Kasta Tomb, also known as the Amphipolis Tomb is an ancient Macedonian tomb that was discovered inside the Kasta mound (or Tumulus) near Amphipolis, Central Macedonia, in northern Greece in 2012 and first entered in August 2014. Read more.
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periodikonet · 7 years ago
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 It might be the closest an artist can get to time travel: Painstakingly recreating the sculptures of Greece’s ancient masters.
A group of artists working for Athens’ Culture Ministry has the exclusive right to make the officially certified copies, which are meant for sale in Greek museum shops.
“The standard is very high. And every artist tries to emulate what was done by the artist in ancient times,” supervisor Stelios Gavalas, a sculptor by training, told The Associated Press. “For us, it is a very big honor to have daily contact with works of the great artists of antiquity.”
The team of about 50 fine arts graduates works on a range of sculptures, from a three-inch (nearly eight-centimeter) hare from Roman-era Macedonia to a seven-foot (more than two-meter) statue of Zeus, or Poseidon, made in the mid-5th century B.C. and one of the star exhibits of the National Archaeological Museum in Athens.
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All are full-scale, made out of plaster in molds and painstakingly hand-painted to match the hues of the original piece, be it metal, marble, clay or even ivory. Plaster is used because it doesn’t shrink while drying, unlike other materials such as resin, and allows reproductions that are completely accurate in size.
Casts are made in the museums where the originals are kept, and the ensuing moulds are stored in the workshop, together with more than a thousand prototype copies, some dating from the late 19th century.
Each reproduction can take days to complete, with the mid-5th century B.C. Zeus, or Poseidon, requiring nearly two months from beginning to end, including the time required for the plaster to dry. That copy sits near the top of the price range, costing 3,000 euros ($3,700).
For the time being, the copies can only be bought at major museums and archaeological sites. The proceeds are meant to help fund Greek archaeology and conservation projects.
Culture Minister Lydia Koniordou promised at a recent news conference that by the summer they will also be available for online purchase.
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Online:
Greek Culture Ministry Fund of Archaeological Proceeds, which makes and sells the copies: http://www.tap.gr/tapadb/index.php/en/products/original-copies/casts
Greek workshop recreates ancient masterpieces  It might be the closest an artist can get to time travel: Painstakingly recreating the sculptures of Greece's ancient masters.
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festivalists · 7 years ago
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Frame vs context
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The latest edition of Thessaloniki International Film Festival served as a battlefield for two hashtags: #ChooseYourFrame (the official festival tagline) and #WhoIsFuckingGreekCinema (the iconoclasts' motto). Are people on the poster flying high above the sea or in a free fall? The frame seems to persuade us it is the former. Yet, same question applies to the current state of the Greek film industry, too, and the response is a bit more complex. Our Lydia Papadimitriou probes into the context.
Greek cinema found itself under fire at this year’s Thessaloniki International Film Festival. On November 2nd, the day of the festival opening, the Greek Minister of Culture Lydia Koniordou announced the early and immediate dismissal of the Greek Film Centre’s General Director Electra Venaki citing vague differences with the organization’s Board of Directors. Exactly a week earlier, on October 26th, the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation - ERT (Greece’s other main state funding body for cinema) announced the immediate cessation of the decision-makers' committee just a few days before the results of the latest project-funding call were out. Despite being unconnected, the two events created a strong sense of anger and insecurity among the Greek filmmaking community, a large part of which was in attendance in Thessaloniki, because since last year’s change of leadership, TIFF has resumed its key role in promoting and supporting Greek cinema by screening the majority of Greek films produced in 2017.
Who Is Fucking Greek Cinema badges and flyers circulated in TIFF's venues, while the traditional press conference of ERT only served to intensify insecurities among the Greek filmmakers. In response to her sudden dismissal, Electra Venaki, who had been due to attend the festival, sent a detailed and authoritative reply to the press requesting a clear explanation of the reasons for her cessation, and highlighting her extensive contribution to the institution in the 18 months since she took office. Instead of any illuminating reply, a short and vague statement by the GFC's Board of Directors gave no specific reasons for the decision, aside from claiming the General Director's reluctance to facilitate some of the Board of Directors' priorities, and announcing her (temporary) replacement with the GFC's Director of Production Vassilis Kosmopoulos.
Irrespective of the specific circumstances surrounding each of these two separate events, what becomes clear is that Greek cinema is caught up in power struggles within its supporting bodies (and with the government) – struggles that serve anything but the filmmaking community's interests. In the case of the Greek Film Centre, a large part of the problem rests with the vagueness of law 3905/2010 that regulates its managerial structure, as the text is open to different interpretations about the roles and responsibilities of GFC's General Director and Board of Directors, and can thus become the breeding ground for (personal) confrontations. It is a happy occurrence, therefore, that the Thessaloniki International Film Festival, regulated by the same law, has not fallen pray to such dysfunctions, and succeeded for one more year, despite financial difficulties, to both offer a very rich programme of screenings, while also supporting the filmmaking community with its Agora market activities.
Among the “33 Greek feature films directed by both newcomers and established filmmakers” shown in Thessaloniki, and among those I watched, three very different works directed by women stood out: Elina Psykou's SON OF SOFIA / O GIOS TIS SOFIAS (2017), Dora Masklavanou's POLYXENI (2017), and Nancy Biniadaki's THE SURFACE OF THINGS (2017). Psykou's feature (which won for Best Film in the International Narrative Competition at Tribeca this April) is set during the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens and focuses on the experience of an 11-year-old boy who joins his Russian mother in Greece only to find out that she is married to a much older man whom she also looks after. A study of the way in which – despite its characters' best intentions – psychological violence breeds physical violence in a family, the film has thematic and stylistic affinities with the so-called Greek Weird Wave. Psykou's film handles the story in a distinctive and humorous way, in which huge soft toys underscore awkward expressions of love, enable empowering (also ridiculous) masquerades, and assist imaginary escapes.
Masklavanou's film, a costume drama based on a true story set in the 1970s, also focuses on familial and social oppression, only in a very different way. Its titular character, Polyxeni, is a young woman orphaned during the Greek civil war, fostered and later adopted by a rich Greek family in Istanbul. Broken down in its component parts 'poly' and 'xeni', her name and the film's title mean 'very foreign' in Greek, a metaphorical signification overemphasised in the opening titles, where a small gap splitting the word into two is evident. The metaphor does, however, point to the fundamental conflict in the film – the fact that Polyxeni is never fully accepted by her adoptive family, nor by the insular and reactionary Greek community in Istanbul. The film, which won the Youth Jury Award for a Greek production, handles its storytelling very successfully, balancing empathy with social commentary, and managing to trigger emotions without succumbing to sentimentality.
In contrast to the mainstream stylistic approach of POLYXENI, Biniadaki's debut THE SURFACE OF THINGS is an unconventional adaptation of a novel by Angela Dimitrakaki. The work is structured in four unconnected consecutive sequences, in which each of the film's four characters share with us fragmented memories of their youth in the 1980s. In doing so, they gradually reveal a traumatic event involving Athens' semi-mythical ancient rivers and a girl being swept away by them. While it can be difficult to follow all aspects of the story, the excellent performances of its female leads (especially Maria Kallimani and Themis Bazaka) turn this storytelling experiment into a compelling watch, that, while being firmly set in the present, invites the audience to mentally reconstruct aspects of the culture in the Greek capital in the 1980s.
Among Greek newcomers, Dimitris Tsilifonis is certainly worth a mention, as his well-paced and imaginatively orchestrated humorous action movie DO IT YOURSELF (2017) is an eminently watchable, entertaining, and clever genre film. Produced without the support of Greece's beleaguered state institutions but with the financial backing of the pay TV Nova and the large cinema distributor Odeon, it utilises very effectively its limited budget, and will hopefully appeal to a wide public, thus hopefully reinvigorating Greek popular cinema.
Nevertheless, while Greek films are an important part of the TIFF, they are by no means its only focus. One of its most distinctive strands is the Balkan Survey, now in its 24th year, which showcases both recent and classic films from the region. Among the recent films, Hanna Slak's THE MINER / RUDAR (2017) stood out. Based on the true story of the discovery of an unattributed mass grave from World War II, the film skilfully weaves the exploration of older and more recent traumas, dealing subtly but effectively with the history of ex-Yugoslavia. A Slovenian-Croatian-German production, THE MINER had previously participated in Thessaloniki's co-production forum Crossroads, just like Gjorce Stavreski's Macedonian-Greek SECRET INGREDIENT / ISCELITEL (2017), which had its world premiere in Thessaloniki. Stavreski's film uses a comic but also empathetic tone to explore its main character's attempts to help his cancer-suffering father with marijuana-infused cakes, while also trying to avoid the gangsters who try to recoup their lost goods. The film offers a touching portrayal of a father-son relationship, while also pointing to social dysfunctions in the former Yugoslav republic. SECRET INGREDIENT won the Audience Award for the Balkan Survey section.
But it was the older Balkan films, a tribute to literary adaptations from the region, that were particularly worth seeing this year in Thessaloniki, especially as they were screened from 35mm copies complete with flicker and print scratches. Among those I enjoyed are the two Bulgarian films, the anti-war transnational and forbidden romance in Vulo Radev's THE PEACH THIEF / KRADETZAT NA PRASKOVI (1964), and the tragic story of sexual discovery and revenge in Metodi Andonov's THE GOAT HORN / KOZIAT ROG (1972). From Yugoslavia, Aleksandar Petrović's tripartite anti-war study THREE / TRI (1965) and Ante Babaja's harsh depiction of early XX-century peasant life THE BIRCH TREE / BREZA (1967) represented excellent examples of what is now Serbian and Croatian cinema, respectively. Also on the topic of peasants, Stere Gulea's THE MOROMETE FAMILY / MOROMEȚII (1987) vividly depicts a Romanian family's saga during the 1930s, as it is affected by broader social changes.
If old technology was celebrated through the festival's archival screenings (including, apart from the Balkan Survey, a tribute to Ida Lupino and the recently deceased French director Armand Gatti, as well as a number of Greek classics), new technology had also a dynamic presence in this year's festival edition. For the first time, TIFF launched a competition section with 10 VR titles, shown in a new venue near the main cinemas. Among the VR projects shown was the ARTE co-financed DOLPHIN MAN, a VR film complementing Lefteris Haritos' similarly titled feature-length documentary based on the life of free-diver Jacques Mayol. The VR competition winners were the South Korean BLOODLESS (2017) that portrays the last moments of a brutally murdered sex-worker's life and NOTES ON BLINDNESS (2016) that uses the diaries of John Hull to communicate the experience of losing sight.
More treats – the festival opened with Ildikó Enyedi's Golden-Bear winner ON BODY AND SOUL / TESTRÖL ÉS LÉLEKRÖL (2017) and closed with Sally Potter's THE PARTY (2017). In its Open Horizons section, TIFF screened an excellent selection of indies, including Valeska Grisebach's WESTERN (2017) that (ironically) transposes contemporary conflicts between civilisation and wilderness to the European Union's Eastern borders, in Bulgaria. The festival also hosted a retrospective of Ruben Östlund, whose Palme d'Or winner THE SQUARE (2017) was not only screened but triggered the installation of a smaller scale square on Thessaloniki's Aristotle square – half-seriously, half-playfully reproducing the film's critique of the art world, its institutions, and its dependence on media. A charismatic speaker, Östlund gave a highly entertaining and illuminating masterclass open to the public. Alexander Payne also attended the festival with his new film DOWNSIZING (2017) that was very well received in Thessaloniki. Of Greek descent, Payne has been a regular supporter of the festival, having attended seven times and participated as a competition juror twice.
This brings us, finally, to the International Competition itself, programmed this year under the overall theme of Taking Roots inspired by Simone Weil's writings, as explained in the festival's new semi-scholarly publication entitled Non-Catalogue (its name, presumably, a clin d'oeil to Östlund's sarcastic similar references in THE SQUARE). Swedish cinematographer Jens Assur's debut feature RAVENS / KORPARNA (2017) won TIFF's Golden Alexander for the beautifully shot and powerfully narrated story of a 1970s farmer who is trying to resist the modernisation and capitalism's changes. Vahid Jalilvand's unsettling, insightful, and engrossing moral tale NO DATE, NO SIGNATURE / BEDOUNE TARIKH, BEDOUNE EMZA (2017), about a doctor assuming responsibility for a death that may or may not have been of his own making, received the festival's second award, the Silver Alexander.
Despite the clouds of insecurity and anger caused by knee-jerk political decisions concerning the future of state support of Greek cinema, the overall spirit in Thessaloniki was optimistic. In its 58th year, and despite the numerous changes, transformations, and crises of its own during TIFF's long history, the festival remains a major cultural hub for watching, discussing, planning, and reviewing films from Greece, the Balkans, Europe and beyond. The sold-out screenings, the full cafés and restaurants in its vicinity, and the overall festival buzz testify to this. Let's just hope that in the years to come the other film-supporting institutions in Greece will follow the Thessaloniki festival's successful example.
If you are a film industry professional, you can watch titles from Thessaloniki IFF on Festival Scope
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gaiasocialblog · 8 years ago
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Documenta 14 : Beware of Germans bearing gifts?
http://theartnoise.blogspot.gr/2017/04/documenta-14-beware-of-germans-bearing.html
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                                                                                                                                                By Vassilika Sarilaki
At a difficult juncture for Greece, with no light at the end of the tunnel and caught between clashing Schäuble/IMF, the art lovers, the National Museum of Contemporary Art ΕΜST and 40 spaces of Athens greeted the German exhibition Documenta 14 of Kassel, one of the most important contemporary art events. The exhibition is entitled: ‘Learning from Athens’. 160 artists, including 15 Greeks, many performances and events a new artistic occupation of the city that will last months. There’s no doubt that this is a great opportunity to see interesting works of art.
During his meeting with Alexis Tsipras, the German chairman Frank-Walter Steinmeier said: ‘My presence here is a message that Greek and German relations are broader than what is discussed in public. Documenta 14 will enable us to see things from a different angle, a fresh and new perspective’.              
But you see. . Other people don't see the German’s gesture of friendship so favourably and they causion: “Beware the Germans even when they bring gifts”. They are talking about cultural colonialism, about treating us like a protectorate, about an effort draw attention away from the economic suffocation that Germany has imposed on us. Meanwhile, the state of Greek cultural dynamics will be influenced dramatically as the € 70 million Documenta claims that is here to stay.. Even Spiegel admits that “this year's event continues to stand on top of a cliché, which actually wants to benefit the German Documenta, and not only on the artistic level. The cliché is the stereotypical view of a devastated Greece of the crisis.”[1]
Let's see then: What kind of messages does Documenta convey?  What is its main focus? By what procedure were the Greek artists chosen? Does it have any political views and what are they? Which statements have caused an uproar? What did it answer? Does it really want to learn from Athens? And what it is that Athens would like to tell to Documenta but doesn't dare? What are the reactions and the potential benefits? What signs has given it us so far, after a five-month presentation of events, performances, etc.? What is the response from the public, the artists, the galleries, the curators, the youth?
Let's start from the beginning. Athens was initially very positive towards the fact that such a large organization, determining trends and the international avant-garde had chosen this city to co-host Documenta. It would be at least a fruitful summer tourist attraction and would incorporate Athens to the notorious cultural "map of Europe" ..
Documenta’s artistic director, Adam Szymczyk, decided to drive the art world’s attention to Athens, the capital of a country which was threatened at the time by Grexit and a possible total destruction. The theme of “Athens under collapse" seemed to be the most successful exhibition choice. Besides, the thematic analysis was pioneered by Harald Szeemann’s Documenta 5 (1972), referring to the "investigation of reality".
Rather than focusing on the most important artists of his time, Szeemann decided to investigate to the chosen theme.. Now it was Athens’ turn, as a city having acquired the "exoticism of crisis" in the words of Varoufakis. . I wonder, what did Szymczyk really try to achieve? Make a corresponding “investigation of reality”, imitating Szeemann's Documenta ? I believe that somehow this is the case. He has incorporated many performances and lectures to the show, reiterating the old sociological experiment of the seventies. . However, can a lecture by Toni Negri be compared nowadays to that given by Joseph Beuys in '72? No  way.                                                                                                        
                                                                       The "improprieties" of Preciado  
Adam Szymczyk conducted  Berlin’s Biennale in 2008 and was the curator of Kunsthalle Basel .Up to now "he has created good but conventional exhibitions," as suggests Dorothea von Hantelmann, a German professor and art historian dealing with Documenta topics, who urged him to experiment. [2]. It seems that Szymczyk listened to her advice. The public program of the first five months of events was undertaken by a theoretical researcher of the queer movement, Paul B. Preciado– more specifically, Beatriz Preciado who gradually transformed herself into man.
On September 15, 2016 Preciado announced that the bulk of the events would take place at the EAT-ESA showroom in Freedom Park, and that it would consist the so-called "House of Bodies", including 34 Freedom exercises. At the same time the distributed press releases indicated that the ‘queer and the porn industry workers are the new proletariat’. References were also made on the neoliberal theories abolition, the civil self-motivation, the abolition of representative democracy, an ideological return to Foucault’s theories, the deconstruction theories of the ’80s etc. Some literary and social actions, as well as collaborations with various artists then took place.
                                                                      The ‘initiated public’ participates in discussions on numerous issues at the EAT- ESA (a place that Preciado considered to be trendy, as it hosted tortures during the military Junta!). However, some relatives of tortured men and women began to reach their limits when they saw performances by lesbians who were famous ex-porn stars (Beth Stephens & Annie Sprinkle), proposing ecosexualism and flirting with plants in pots. The same pair will repeat its performance in the EMST. The title is: Cuddling Athens. Here, they are depicted in one of their numerous weddings conducted in the past. In the middle one can see Beatriz Preciado.
                       What was Documenta’s response on the curators’ provocative statements against Greece?
Preciado begins to provoke. Annoyed by some Greek newspapers that criticized Documenta, he stated to reporter Luna Svarrer  that Greece had a deficit of Democracy (!): "They moved us directly to the political pages or even to the frontpage, in order to criticise us, because we were speaking about dictatorship or criticising democracy. I mean, hello, we are in Greece, democracy is not exactly blooming “[3].
Meanwhile, Marina Fokidis, responsible of the Athens Documenta 14 office, directly discredits the Greek government policy for its lack of support towards contemporary art in the online magazine Sleek: . “In the absence of State support and strategy for the contemporary culture, and in the absence of a strong public institution for contemporary art, like a museum, Greek artists were struggling to communicate their ideas. Greek artists have been somewhat unknown in the international scene, but not rightly so” [4]. At the press conference we asked Szymczyk if he shares these views and how does he document the "deficit of democracy in Greece."
He tried to make amends, apologizing mainly to Lydia Koniordou , (the minister of culture) who was present and to the director of the EMST (National Museum of Contemporary Art) Catherine Koskina. He replied that they do not wish to offend the Greek government which tries, despite its limited financial means, to do the best and that they did not imply that there is a literal lack of democracy, but were talking in terms of a boost to urge civic participation. Another man replying to my question stated that Documenta has no unified views, leaving the impression that Szymczyk has no control over his team.
This is unfortunately verified once again in South magazine, -created by Fokidis and now used by Documenta- in which one can notice views against the elections and denouncement of the ‘misery of representative democracy’, without offering any alternative.
Fortunately, there were some collaboration with more or less noteworthy Greek artists, with good curators from the EMST, but the ‘impropriety’ had already taken place.
Documenta’s theoretical allusions to the South, to "native" artists, as well as the general ambiance provoked by artists coming and taking photos with the refugees on the islands in order to show them off abroad, Documenta’s failure to understand and respect the vulnerable Greek situation, and the exhibition’s policy made Greeks even more suspicious.
Furthermore, Preciado’s choices made them feel that Documenta came to teach them about the Junta, meaning their own history, which certainly they already knew much better themselves. Many had relatives who were tortured in EAT-ESA. A question aroused: Why does Documenta reintroduce the issue of the Junta?
Moreover, some people don’t understand why Documenta is so interested in the Junta of 1967, but does not go back 20 years behind, when the German Nazis massacred thousands of Greek civilians who resisted heroically. At the press conference they attended an anniversary of killings by neo-Nazis in Europe, but they were not aware at all that the same day was the anniversary of Nazi invasion in Greece in 1941 – a point which I had to remind, before my question on the curators’ statements..
                                                                                Reactions to Documenta
In fact, these peculiar lacks were rightly identified by artist Costas Varotsos in an interview: "They talk about the dictatorship! As if it was their affair! They will bring here all Jobbis (attention, not zombies) of the past! However, they did not mention Gunar Hiring, the German university professor who, during the dictatorship began a hunger strike to turn the German government against that situation. They probably forgot about him! " [5]
Of course, the Greeks understand very well the reason why while Documenta condemns neoliberalism, it does not breathe a word on the contemporary neoliberal stranglehold that Germany is exerting on Greece, threatened openly by Schäuble with Grexit, nor do they mention the economic war that Greece is experiencing, the sellout of our airports to German companies or Siemens’ scandal ..
Yannis Varoufakis boldly declares that it is about ‘tourism in countries under crisis which is reminiscent of the time when several wealthy Americans went to African countries for safari and to demonstrate their humanitarian trends." [6].
Younger artists are beginning to speak of cultural capitalism and cultural colonialism, Kostis Stafylakis Athens biennale curator, clearly refers to chauvinism and others about attempts to exoticise the Greek art scene. A graffiti says: "I refuse to exoticize myself in order to increase your cultural capital".
Hosting Documenta’s office in the ASFA (Fine Arts University) was also commented by students. At the same time, the emphasis given on blurred and endless intellectual discussions organized by Documenta scattered the feeling that it excludes a wide audience, meaning, that it refers to an elite and not to all, while also exuding a didacticism that does not indicate, however, that Documenta came ‘to learn from Athens’. .
I think that George Tzirtzilaki’s statements (who is a known art critic) are particularly interesting; he says that ‘Documenta is very interesting with respect to the issues it raises, but one could assume that they could be addressed within a Free University, having an educational and – emphasizing the word – a didactic character .. Documenta began with a confused concept and do not know, I cannot say if this is good for the relationship of society with it. Everybody confused the dialectic of its curators with the dialectic of the Left party in Greece, and this immediately sparked some very intense debates, inexplicably so, which often reached a level of Medieval scholasticism, like for instance, whether the words Dictatorship and Democracy are used correctly or not ... eventually, I believe that there is just one question that arises: to what extent does political theory identify itself to art and how is it connected to it? " [7]
Naturally, organizers and partners have different views. Deutsche Welle produced a documentary in which Andreas Aggelidakis, a significant artist and a key partner of Documenta 14 indicates that the attention brought on Greece is very positive point. However, at the same time, Nadia Argyropoulou, an experienced curator of the DESTE Foundation – whose important role in the formation of the art scene in Greece is well known to all – mentions in the same report that she is concerned that the Documenta will fail ... A bad omen..
                                                                                               Shortly afterwards the Greek Archaeological Service announced that it declined a request by Documenta to conduct an event that include an Acropolis’ tour with dwarf pony horses in order to represent the horsemen on the Parthenon Frieze! The Service allowed it only with normal horses explaining that the horses on the Frieze were not ponies, as Documenta claims! Moreover, these were not horseback rides, but ceremonial events. . If we assume that Documenta’s curators were not aware of this, then how did they claim something like this for one of the most famous monuments of world culture? [8].                                                                              
Unfortunately, this was not the only provocative move linked to the Acropolis, for which Germany might have a soft spot, ever since the cover of Focus magazine was proposing to Greece to sell it!
75-year old Argentinian Marta Minujin decided to create in Kassel an Acropolis replica with the same dimensions, made of forbidden books. . Then she presented the following "model" of her Acropolis(?), with irrelevant number of columns and a Frieze  equal to the height of the columns!! Want to know what banned books she is referring to? She referred for example to the book of a Russian journalist, indirectly accusing President Putin for her murder, although the trial has been finalized and the murder was attributed to Chechens who had been arrested and confessed!
Meanwhile, persiflage has already began in the social media, especially by young artists who felt excluded therefore began commenting ironically several Documenta’s incidents on a special Facebook page and site. Title: DOKOUMENA. They talk about cultural colonialism and cultural imperialism .. Their videos are largely circulating on their Facebook page. [9].
                                               Winners and losers
The truth is that after Documenta’s events held in Cairo and Kabul in 2013, annexes were created in those areas. The Greek office with Mrs. Fokidis as its director will obviously become a permanent annex, therefore the correlations will change, the "losers" being the poor or impoverished Greek institutions ..
Meanwhile in March, arrangements are made with the National Museum of Modern Art, EMST and its director Catherine Koskina managed to present the EMST collection in Kassel, at Fridericianum.  This is a great success since it will allow the whole world to see Modern Greek Art. . We are talking about around 800,000 people! ..                                                                                      
Finally, Documenta’s opening took place at the EMST in glamour, but it was not open to the public, and was priced with an 8-euro ticket. . Art lovers and all the Greek artists have great expectations from Documenta (even if some important artists were ignored). According to Ileana Tounta (owner for 30 years of a famous gallery and head of the Hellenic Art galleries Association for many years) "no one from the curatorial team of Documenta addressed me, nor did they addressed any other galleries." [10]
The truth is that nobody knows the way the artists were chosen by Documenta, the secrecy prevailed until the last minute. But we noticed that it is not only in Greece that ‘groups of friends write history’..
Alongside the opening of Documenta begins the 6th Athens Biennale entitled Waiting for the Barbarians curated by the Division of Heart and Sword ( Nagia Yakoumaki, Poka -Yio, Kostis Stafylakis and FYTA ).
In its curatorial text we notice a wide photographic reference to the choices made by Documenta 14: [11]
"Will there ever be a ‘Lesson learned from Athens’? What is the meaning of words like "education," "freedom," "queer," "north," "south," "indigenous" in the modern cultural dialogue? Are we witnessing the arrival of the Barbarians or their domestication?
These Barbarians are coming again and again ... Since the beginning of the new century, the Barbarians are at the gates. In the circles of the intellectual elite, as well as on the art field, they are often depicted in positive and messianic terms: as a new nomadic / stateless / hybrid subject. This perception seems to determine the way in which the (im)possibility to resist and revolt is understood today and, simultaneously, it constitutes a key reason for our collective failure to predict the current escalating of regression. ... We are not hosts but we invite the Barbarians to come inside. On April 5th, 2017, we declare the beginning of a year of Active Standing by".
Among the participating artists are the artists / actors from DOKOUMENA. A new fight begins! To be continued. .
                                                                                LINKS
1. http://www.dw.com/el/e
2. http://www.dw.com/en/documenta-14-you-need-the-courage-to-experiment/a-17253286
3. https://medium.com/athenslivegr/documenta-14-what-happens-when-the-international-art-elite-goes-greek-b7be9c0352bb
4. http://www.sleek-mag.com/2016/04/14/why-documenta-14-could-be-good-for-athens/
5.http://popaganda.gr/250384-2/
6. http://www.spikeartmagazine.com/en/articles/doing-documenta-athens-rich-americans-taking-tour-poor-african-country
7.. http://popaganda.gr/250384-2/
8. http://greece.greekreporter.com/2017/02/08/documenta-horseback-event-approved-to-recreate-parthenon-frieze-scenes/
9. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLUHXuVJX3c&feature=youtu.be
10. http://www.dw.com/en/will-documenta-have-an-impact-on-athens-art-scene/a-3794198
11. http://athensbiennale.org/barbarians/
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archaeologicalnews · 8 years ago
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Greek Culture Minister allocates €2.5 million for Amphipolis Tomb project works
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Recently appointed  Greek Culture Minister Lydia Koniordou announced that 2.5 million euros have been allotted for restoration works executed at Kasta Hill, the excavation site of the Amphipolis tomb.
During a press conference this week, she clarified that the funds will be made available immediately for the restoration of the site in northeastern Greece, where a huge grave from Alexander the Great’s era was unearthed.
The so-called Kasta Tomb, also known as the Amphipolis Tomb is an ancient Macedonian tomb that was discovered inside the Kasta mound (or Tumulus) near Amphipolis, Central Macedonia, in northern Greece in 2012 and first entered in August 2014. The first excavations at the mound in 1964 led to exposure of the perimeter wall, and further excavations in the 1970s uncovered many other ancient remains. Read more.
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