Exhibition
Thursday 8th of May until Sunday 29th of June 2014
Opening: Thursday 8th May 2014, at 20:00
12+17+1
in a dialogue with Michael Cacoyannis’ film
“The Day the Fish Came Out”
A group of postgraduate and undergraduate students from schools of Fine Arts and schools of Architecture in Greece and abroad, approach, are inspired by and interact visually with Michael Cacoyannis’ “The Day the Fish Came Out”, an unexpected film by the great Greek director. Joining them, a young musician, Eugenia Athanasopoulou, attempts a dialogue with musical notes, as much with the film as with the works of the young artists. An exhibition organized at the Michael Cacoyannis Foundation to celebrate the 60 year anniversary since the commencement of his directing career in Greece with the film “Windfall in Athens” in 1954.
Plasticity, art writing, references to realism and Cacoyannis’ deep concern regarding the social and political events of his time, were the investigative starting points for the group of young artists attempting to examine one of the less well known yet one of the most political of Cacoyannis’ films.
His films “The Day the Fish Came Out”, 1966, “Attila ‘74”, 1975 and “Sweet Country”, 1986, make up Cacoyannis’ political trilogy through which he expresses his concerns, his questions, and his political contemplations. Women’s place in society is a factor which plays throughout his entire work and peace as an accomplishment and a major necessity is his political statement. “Attila ‘74” documents the tragedy of his homeland and “Sweet Country” is a merciless accusation against the dictatorships of Latin America. In his film “The Day the Fish Came Out”, Cacoyannis broaches the subject of the Palomares incident in his own particular way.
In January 1966, two American aircraft collided at sea off the Spanish village Palomares during a routine air-to-air refueling of a B52 bomber by a tanker aircraft. All four of the crew aboard the tanker were killed by the collision as well as four of the seven crew members on the bomber. Three of the bomber’s H-bombs landed in or around Palomares, a fourth landed in the Mediterranean. Whilst the countries of the Western Mediterranean avoided a nuclear disaster, the bomb at the bottom of the sea was an open and lethal threat and cause of contamination for the surrounding countries and the marine ecosystem of the Mediterranean. Anti-nuclear demonstrations followed throughout the world.
Cacoyannis, acutely aware of the problems of his time, of nuclear threat and ecological disaster, immediately turned these issues into an incredible film. The cold war climate of the times and the opportunistic political perceptions, however, were able to push the film off its course for projection.
Nearly half a century later, young artists explore at depth the significance of Cacoyannis’ film, addressing its messages and meaning with a multidimensional approach as well as exploring the cinematographic methods used, the photography and the actors. The artistic results are visually outstanding. The works of art “interact” as much with the director’s vision and the film’s structure as between themselves.
The exhibition is being organized under the auspices of the Michael Cacoyannis Foundation in cooperation with the 3rd Drawing Workshop from the Athens School of Fine Arts, directed by professor Marios Spiliopoulos.
Students from the Athens School of Fine Arts will be taking part under the supervision of assistant professor Erato Chatzisavva, postgraduate students from the School of Architecture of the National Technical University under the supervision of the professors Solonas Xenopoulos and Dimitris Sevastakis, students from the School of Architecture of the University of Patras supervised by Associate professor Panos Dragonas, one architecture student from the University of Nicosia, Cyprus and one postgraduate student from the University of Harvard.
Coordinating the exhibition is assistant professor of the Athens School of Fine Arts, Erato Chatzisavva.
The names of the students taking part from the Athens School of Fine Arts are:
Christos Avraam, Andriane Daouti, Chryssa Dourgounaki, Bairon Kalomamas, Evi Kalogiropoulou, Lito Kattou, Lambrini Markou, George Nikas, Liberty Peterson, Filio Samsaki, Andonis Titakis, Apostolos Philippou.
From the School of Architecture of the National Technical University:
Vassilis Aronidis, Xenia Karali, Euthemia Kasimati, Katerina Kouklada, Daphne Lasithiotaki, Nikos Livathinos, Lina Mantikou, Eleni Papageorgiou, Maria Papadopoulou, Elena Xasalevri.
From the School of Architecture of the University of Patras:
Iasonas Giannopoulos, Constantina Schina, Alexandre Lala, Nikitas Zachariou, Dimitris Lambris.
From the School of Architecture of the University of Nicosia:
Raphaella Siagri
From the School of Architecture of the University of Harvard:
George – Spiridon Athanasopoulos.
