All posts in Videos

“PROPHECIES OF DAYDREAMING”

In popular culture of ancient Greece it was a common belief that our dreams possessed the ability to see into the future. These dreams were considered messages from the gods, which connected people to divinities and the destinies of their lives. Aristotle remained skeptical to this belief however, as discussed in his work Parva Naturalia, and regarded dreams as mere coincidences. More than 2000 years later we continue to find similar common beliefs in the power and meaning of dreams. Why? Is there still a basic human need for superstition? And if so, how can one contemplate the value of superstitions in relation to deductive thinking and religious persuasions.

The title for the show «Prophecies of daydreaming» is inspired by the ancient belief in divinatory dreams and embodies the collaboration between the two artists- merging aspects of history, mythology, fairytales, symbolism, philosophy and poetry. In this exhibition Ivan Izquierdo and Anders Grønlien show newly created work in painting, sculpture, video and installation that revolve freely around the historical artistic representations of 12th century Muslim philosopher Averroes, born in Cordoba.

Through the work the artists connect to Michael Barry’s lecture The True Moor of Venice given at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in which he discussed the presence of Islamic influence in art and philosophy in 14th – 16th century Renaissance Italy. Barry identifies the Muslim philosopher Averroes as the middle figure of the painting known as «The 3 Philosophers» by Italian painter Giorgione. The paintings produced by Izquierdo and Grønlien for Prophecies of daydreaming have chosen to adapt this central piece of art history along side other historic representations of the philosopher.

A public sculpture found in Cordoba of a bearded man with a turban, a generic image as an artistic attempt to commemorate Averroes, signifies the local importance of philosophy. This sculpture makes the basis for a collaborative work between the 2 artists which uses the representation of Averroes, in its site-specificcontext of Cordoba, referencing the idea that philosophical thinking can flow in and out of cultural relevance and how philosophical ideas can be considered obsolete, erased by political force, history or censorship. The work, “Think, prey and do drugs” also makes references to psychedelic art and forms of drug induced higher consciousness, and how this in turn can relate to religious thinking or deductive philosophical reasoning. The artists also collaborate with another piece, “The Little Anarchist”, drawing inspiration from Greek sculpture, Islamic geometrical ornamentation, portraits of philosophers, religious symbols, and saints. Some of the sculpture on display, created to open a poetic interpretation for the audience, has been made using ancient techniques in collaboration with the advice and facilities of local ceramic artisans and bronze workers in Hinojosa del Duque and Granada.

The exhibtion will include a parralel program of activities, in and outside of CoMbo, where the central theme and the significance of Averroes will continue to be investigated.

About the artists:

Anders Grønlien is multidisciplinary artist born in 1979 in Norway. He received his master’s degree from the Academy of fine arts in Prague, Czech Republic in 2009. Since then he has shown work in galleries and institutions in the Czech Republic, Norway, France and Spain. Most recently he has been artist in residency at the Cité des arts in Paris, France. Anders is currently living in Cordoba, working to help construct and run daily operations at Combo, in collaboration with La Fragua artist residency. For more information please visit www.andersgronlien.com

Ivan Izquierdo was born in La Zubia, Granada, in 1983. He received his degree in fine arts in 2006 and is currently doing his PhD in Granada. His work has been exhibited in Ho Chi Minh City, Paris, Sao Paulo, Berlin, Nijmegen, Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao, Valencia and Málaga. He has received several grants for artistic creation including the FPDV in Ho Chi Minh city (Vietnam), IFAA Project, Louvain la Neuve (Belgium), Centre D’art Contemporain pour Essaouira (Morocco), Inspirarte (Valencia), CRIDA, Palma de Mallorca. In March Ivan will be an artist in residence at Prague’s “Meet Factory” with support from the Spanish Embassy in Madrid. For more information please visit www.ivanizquierdo.com