FOR EXPORT ONLY. 09.10.07- 09.20.07. Tallinn, Draakon Gallery, Pikk 18.
FOR EXPORT ONLY
Lithuanian Prints
09.10.07-09.20.07. Tallinn, Draakon Gallery, Pikk 18.
Curators Jūratė Rekevičiūtė, Ignas Kazakevičius. Print Biennial „Now Art Now Future“.
"We have no oil... we have no gas...we have no stone... But Lithuanians
are very spiritual, as we know. So we have only one commodity for export
-our spirituality". Prime Minister Of Republic. Vilnius, 09.10.2009.
Spirituality. There’s no word in English defining this mysterious concept, understood only by us, Lithuanians. Spirituality in Lithuania shows up through thousands of crosses on the hill near Šiauliai; enormous and always full shopping centers; more than ten people dieing in car accidents each week in Lithuania and the United Kingdom and...too many artists. (Lithuania officially had 3640 artists in 2006). We can guess that this is connected to some metaphysical wish of Lithuanian people to emigrate into Heaven still being alive.
Our Spirituality shows in our pride in Lithuanian history and mysterious understanding of it. We know that the Great Dukedom of Lithuania spread from the Baltic up to the Black Sea; but we don’t know when and why.
We’ve our own Dukes, but we don’t know how to show it, there’re no their residential castles left. As they were wooden. We never had and we still don’t have stone for normal castles in Lithuania, as e.g. Estonia. We’ve paved the Central Square in Vilnius and built gravestones from granite taken from China. We import gas and take a habit of drunken fights from Russia.
The Lithuanian pride - basketball players sport in the clubs around the world. The girls, who’re making Vilnius known for sex tourism, count pounds and euros somewhere else now.
It remains to be proud of culture and that’s very spiritual.
The combination of words- Culture-Art-Spirituality – is well understood by Lithuanians and it’s treated as one of the National virtues. The artists in Lithuania were always honored and treated as one of the most Spiritual social classes. Of course, only after priests. And politicians. Eloquent fact: it’s possible to buy the masterpiece – a painting from amber at twenty-four-seven in Vilnius Old Town.
Some may express Spirituality in Lithuanian culture claiming “give me money and then I’ll create”. Others say „it’s not an art, as it’s not from my gang“. There’re also weirdoes who simply create. They’re called Spiritual dissidents. The organizers of „For Export Only“ distance from these and support the Official Policy of Culture, based on some doubtless art authorities, amber obtained in Russia, and the cult of the genial Lithuanian composer and painter Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis.
The organizers, inspired by the speech of the Prime Minister, said exactly in two years - 2009.10.09, present Lithuanian Prints „For Export Only“ and export the commodities reflecting Lithuanian spirituality specially created for IMPACT5 exhibition Print Biennial “Now Art Now Future”. We warrant that this free commodity will get your attention.
Sincerely. Organizers.
