Artūras Raila
The Background
Esu 52 m. šiuolaikinio meno veteranas. Taigi, per ilgą savo kūrybinį gyvenimą esu išmėginęs bene visas įmanomas savo laikmečiui meninės raiškos formas. Žinoma, patirtis didelė. Mokiausi akademinio meno mimezės (ir socialistinio realizmo) ideologijos rėmuose, todėl galiu 'pamėgdžioti gamtą' ir 'kopijuoti realybę' (išsireiškiant laikmečio žodynu). Nuo pat vaikų dailės mokyklos esu mokytas (akademinio) piešimo, aliejinės tapybos, akademinės (realistinės) skulptūros , tačiau tokia programa jau tuomet atrodė visiškai nepakankama šiuolaikinei meninei kūrybai. Studijų metais domino abstraktus menas ir aš tame gana lengvai atradau savo stilių, todėl tobulinimas šia kryptimi buvo nuspėjamas ir perdaug patogus. Aš pats manau, kad keletą kartų transformavau savo veiklos formalius pagrindus (kiekvienas kūrinys įvykdavo lyg radikalus pokytis, reikalaudamas didelių pastangų ir laiko), tačiau kuratoriai dažniausiai įžiūri tik vieną esminį lūžį t.y. nuo skulptūros (objektų/instaliacijų) link socialinio pobūdžio projektų.
[...] He was trained as a sculptor, but some fifteen years ago he set fire to his sculptures and took photographs of them going up in flames. Since then he has applied his acute sense of form to materials even harder to master than oak or granite: interaction between humans, often congregating in groups based on specific interests and beliefs. Raila’s art communicates a sincere fascination with what brings people together, but it also demonstrates with cutting-edge precision how society stays divided into sub-groups that do not always understand or accept each other. [...] Project Description by Anders Kreuger Lund, Sweden, 8 June 2008
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Žemės galia / Power of the Earth
Kūryba yra ne tiek mąstymo kiek intuicijos pasekmė. Esu jautrus socialiniams procesams ir permainų tendencijoms, tačiau netikusi yra pranašų lemtis, nes kai kalbama apie ateitį nieks netiki, o kai jau įvyksta, nieks nebeprisimena. Kaip ir kiti projektai ir sumanymai 'Žemės galia' įvyko nuosekliai ir neišvengiamai, nes rodos kūrybiniai sprendimai susikaupia per patirtį ir nebelieka kito pasirinkimo kaip tik kryptingai veikti.
[...] His works give articulation to phenomena that contemporary culture finds vaguely disturbing. He persistently engages with subject-matter that other artists and intellectuals tend to ignore, since it challenges most current notions of what is worthy or meaningful. Raila has consistently worked with ‘marginal’ phenomena in post-Soviet Lithuania. He has, for instance, penetrated misguided socio-political discourse in the under-educated peripheries (Po vėliava, 1999 - 2000) as well as popular and amateurish, but by no means innocent, interpretations of 20th century history (Kažko vis trūksta, kažko vis negana, 2001 - 2003). He has re-enacted possibly ‘extra-terrestrial’ experiences in semi-rural settings (Pirmapradis dangus, 2002) and brought about subtle clashes between the contemporary art circuit and other ‘imagined communities’ that thrive on context-specific aesthetic snobbery (Roll Over Museum, 2004). [...] Project Description by Anders Kreuger Lund, Sweden, 8 June 2008
Galbūt 'Žemės galia' buvo viso gyvenimo projektas. (Netgi panaudotų priemonių gausos prasme). Žinoma, pasirinkimą lėmė ir subjektyvios priežastys - nustojau filmuoti vardan fotografijos, norėjau atsisakyti socialinio diskurso (nes dirbti su įvairiais žmonėmis nėra labai paprasta). Atrodė, kad tai bus lėtas ir lengvas 'paveikslavimo' projektas tyrinėjant vaizdo galias ir galimybes, tačiau darbo eigoje atsiskleidė vis svarbesni naratyvo sluoksniai ir vėl teko kreiptis į 'dalyvavimo' metodikas.
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The Idea
Nėra nieko paslėpto. Viskas atvira ir akivaizdu. Buvo kalbama apie visiems tuo metu svarbius lietuviškos savasties suvokimo klausimus (21 a. pradžioje). Visa medžiaga pateikta internetiniame puslapyje: www.raila.lt
'Žemės Galia' nuo 2005 ųjų : tęstinis įvairių priemonių (mix media) projektas dalyvaujant geoenergetikos žinovams bei Lietuvos Baltų - pagonių bendruomenei. Kiekvienos konkrečios vietovės detalūs geoenergetinių linijų žemėlapiai yra sudaromi kompiuterinių programų pagalba pagal žinovų surinktus duomenis. Pagal šiuos žemėlapius įrengiamos fotopaveikslų parodos : Vokietijoje - Berlyne (Kunstlerhaus Bethanien) ir Frankfurte prie Maino (kunstverein) bei Anglijoje Allenheads (ACA). Ekspozicijas lydi projekto dalyvių paskaitos bei performansai. Tiek parodos, tiek gyvas dalyvavimas organizuojamas visada skirtingai, atsižvelgiant į vietos ypatybes geoenergetiniu aspektu. A. Raila 2007 m. Vilnius
Kaip išankstinis sumanymas ir susitarimas projektą lydėjo Vaclovo Mikailionio tekstai - instrukcijos. Jie yra vertimuose pagal vietos poreikius ir specifiką.
Die Erdströme. Es ist bekannt, daß die Erde „atmet“: sie strahlt aus ihrem Kern Energieströme in den Kosmos ab und nimmt die zurückkehrenden Ströme auf. Da diese gebündelten Ströme gegensätzlicher Richtung sind und also einander anziehen – die aufsteigenden sind bestrebt, die zurückkehrenden aufzusaugen, entstehen auf der Erdoberfläche Energiestrukturen, die die Gestalt von Romben haben. Diese Strukturen bedecken wie ein Netz die gesamte Oberfläche unseres Planeten, durch „Grenzenlinien“ aktiver Energieströme entstehen, die ihrerseits rombenförmige Zellen bilden.
Die Zellen. Die Oberflächen der Romben richten sich normalerweise ungefähr an den Himmelsrichtungen aus. Die Strombündel, die in den Himmel aufsteigen, verlaufen entlang der Nord-Süd-Achse, und die zurück laufenden – an der Ost-West-Achse. Da an den aufsteigenden Strömen Linden besonders üppig gedeihen, die häufig sogar aus einer Wurzel mehrere Stämme bilden, bezeichnen wir sie als „Lindenpunkte“, während die zur Erde zurück kehrenden Ströme das Wachstum von Eichen besonders fördern, paßt auf sie die Bezeichnung „Eichenpunkte“. Zwischen diesen Punkten pulsieren Energieströme, die aktive Streifen bilden, die in südöstlicher, südwestlicher, nordöstlicher und nordwestlicher Richtung verlaufen und die Zellen bilden. Oft bilden Linden und Eichen in Wäldern und sogar in Parks ganz offensichtlich solche Zellen und stehen als Partner in energetischer Wechselwirkung.
Die Wirkung der Zellen. In urbanen, dicht bebauten Räumen verschwinden die Zellen keineswegs, sie pulsieren immer weiter und beeinflussen unmerklich die Menschen und die gesamte belebte Natur. Die kurzzeitige Wirkung der strahlenden Punkte wie auch der „Grenzlinien“ ist nicht schädlich. Im Gegenteil: ein „Lindenpunkt“ fördert Lebenskraft, Wachstum und biologische Aktivität, während ein „Eichenpunkt“ Willens- und Widerstandskraft und andere für Eichen charakteristische Eigenschaften stärkt. Die „Grenzlinien“ wirken in komplexer Weise auf alle Formen des Lebens ein. Deshalb ist es ungünstig, auf einer solchen „Grenzlinie“ oder Pulsar einen ständigen Schlaf- oder Arbeitsplatz einzurichten, an dem man etwa ein Drittel des Tages verbringt. Ein solcher übermäßig langer Aufenthalt in einer besonders aktiven Zone können Krankheiten und andere Unpäßlichkeiten hervorrufen. Wenn man also sein Leben harmonisieren möchte, sollte man das Bett oder den Stuhl im Arbeitszimmer ein paar Meter von den aktiven Zonen abrücken, deren ungefähre Konturen auf dem Schema erkennbar sind. Andererseits verleihen maßvolle Aufenthalte an Orden der aktiven Erdstrahlung neue Kräfte und kreative Impulse, die sich nicht nur von unserem Heimat- und Mutterplaneten ausbreiten sondern auch aus dem Kosmos. [...] Vaclovas Mikailionis 2006, Berlin
[...] Already the Druids knew that the Earth is ‘breathing’. It radiates streams of energy from its nucleus into the Universe, which at a certain distance are refracted back into the depths of the planet. Such points of active, heightened energy can be observed every 20 or 22 metres on the Earth’s surface. Because these two streams of energy go in different directions and are differently marked, part of the energy streams that rise upwards is captured by the downward streams. Therefore energy ‘lines’ of irregular rhomboid form appear on the Earth’s surface, and these are called grids. The shorter-term impact of both ‘lines’ and ‘points’ is practically impossible to sense. However, trees that grow in such places will eventually either grow much faster than other trees or, on the contrary, lag behind their neighbours or even die.
If a linden or a similar tree (for instance a rowan) happens to be at a point where energy streams upwards from the Earth’s core, it will grow particularly well, and sometimes even sprout several tall trunks. The tree not only absorbs part of the energy, it also reflects it onto the surrounding environment, so that children, for instance, grow faster and become healthier. This kind of energy effect is called ‘feminine’ and the points themselves are called ‘linden points’. On the map they are marked with green.
The colour red marks the ‘oak points’. Oaks and other similar trees are particularly susceptible to the energy streams returning to Earth from the Universe. Oaks not only absorb part of this energy themselves, they also reflect it onto the surrounding environment. This energy effect is ‘masculine’; it strengthens will-power, endurance, stamina and other masculine qualities.
The ‘linden points’ and the ‘oak points’ are not equally powerful all over the Earth’s surface. The power is particularly strong where water reservoirs, geological fault lines or other anomalies are hidden deep down. At Allenheads the impact of technology is also tangible, particularly the empty disused mines. These and other factors have probably encouraged the growing of particularly tall trees in some locations, which are marked with circles on the map. [...] Vaclovas Mikailionis Allenheads 2007
Aišku, buvo ir meno kritikų interpretacinių tekstų spaudoje. Apie projektą rašė Chus Martinez (Uovo # 14), Grit Weber (Art Kaleidoscope 2006/4), Boris Patrik Kremer (be # 14), Lars Bang Larsen (Reading Room 2008/2) etc.
[...] What started out as a series of deceitfully picturesque photographs of rural folkspeople enacting pagan rituals on mythical sites in the Lithuanian countryside, took a new and urban turn when Raila invited Vaclovas Mikailionis and Vilius Gibavičius, two experts in what runs under the, well, scientific term ‘geopathic energy’, asking them to apply their ancestral know-how to cities like Berlin and Frankfurt. On one of the countless websites dedicated to the matter, geopathic energy is rather unspectacularly referred to as “an unknown type of energy coming from the Earth”.(1) According to some geopathic scholars (‘geopaths’?), the potentially harmful earth-rays can best be detected by ‘dowsers’, as experts in divining rod science are commonly called. Though a dowser’s main task, as every child knows, consists in making out underground sources of water or valuable metals, some practitioners – among whom, evidently, the two chaps Raila brought to Berlin – have specialized in mapping our mother planet’s energy fields. Mikailionis and Gibavičius, respectively a philologist and an engineer, initiated their practice back home, where they are part of a wider movement that calls for a new appraisal of our environment and a different relationship with nature on the whole. Authors of a book on druids, the two rod handlers are firmly rooted in the mythological and spiritual substratum of the Lithuanian backwaters, with their share of fairies, witches, elves and other noncommittal creatures.(2) In the course of their scientific research they have successfully dug up long forgotten folk lore, which Raila in turn puts to use in deciphering today’s world.
When brought to Berlin, the two doodlebuggers started their run across the city in the eastern district of Treptow, working their way to the West’s Tiergarten in a matter of two weeks, during which they sampled as many locations as they could. Based on the findings of this rather esoteric dérive, it was possible to draw a chart of the so-called Curry and Hartmann fields over a topographical map on which the energetic hotspots were subsequently highlighted by coloured dots.(3) The result of Raila’s research should please all the hipsters who have been trying to sell Berlin as the place where it happens, since it proves that the city – contrary to the stubborn conviction of a handful of party spoilers – actually has some kind of energy to begin with. More interestingly though, Raila was able to prove that the main energetic divide crosses the Künstlerhaus Bethanien, precisely along the building’s main hall where the artists’ residency studios are located. So whether the artists are inside or outside their studios actually determines whether the vibes they are getting are good or bad – information readily corroborated by anyone who has ever used the communal showers and toilets, which obviously lie on the dark side of the invisible barrier. But seriously, Raila’s map confirms that the city’s master plan, old and new, follows the system of energetic subcurrents, and thus proves that ancient – i.e. ‘irrational’ – knowledge has been transmitted over the years under the guise of modern – i.e. ‘rational’ – science. [...] Boris Patrik Kremer Good Vibrations: Ideomotricity in Art. (Arturas Raila maps Berlin’s energy fields) Kunstlerhaus Bethanien 2006
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The Technology
Darbo metodas patikrintas ankstesniais projektais ir šiuo atveju pilnai įgyvendintas. Metodo esmė yra dalyvavimas/įsijungimas į gyvą veiksmo eigą. Fotografijos, žemėlapiai, parodos, pokalbiai ir t.t. yra susitikimų priežastys ir pasekmės. Technika (pvz. foto) dalyvauja ir padeda. Kartais fotografinė dalis keliaudavo atsietai nuo pagrindinio sumanymo ir projekto (pvz. Liz Wells kuruota paroda Briuselyje/Bozar 'Sense of Place' 2008). Visos plano dalys skirtingose šalyse buvo planuojamos naujai. Galima sakyti, kad visų pastangų rezultatas vis dar gyvas ir veikiantis internetinio puslapio formate.
[...] Zemes galia was originally conceived as a project exploring iconic landscape images and the medium of high-resolution analogue photography; an investigation of ‘special places’ manifested as a series of what Raila calls ‘photo-pictures’ that often evoke 19th century painting. These now form the first component of the project as it has developed.
Raila’s attempts to find those places, which he sensed must be connected with pre-Christian belief systems and ancient Baltic culture, brought him into contact with a small community of Lithuanian dowsers, or ‘geo-energeticians’ as they prefer to call themselves. The second component, resulting from Raila’s ongoing collaboration with these dedicated experts, is a series of paranormal ‘mappings’: of the Vilnius CAC, of the cities of Frankfurt am Main and Berlin and of the English countryside where ‘ley lines’ and ‘straight tracks’ were first invented as concepts.
The third component is more variable. Raila invites representatives of the neo-pagan or experimental pre-historic folklore scene in Lithuania to make ritual appearances and perform music at his exhibition openings. [...] Project Description by Anders Kreuger Lund, Sweden, 8 June 2008
HOWTO
Neįmanoma patarti kitiems kaip elgtis kūryboje. Tai individualu: visada iš naujo ir visada kitaip, nes ir laikas ir aplinkybės kinta. (Kaip ir šie atsakymai tegali nurodyti į 2014 ųjų metų rudens nuotaiką kalbant apie 10 metų senumo įvykius). Manau, projektą 'Žemės galia' pirmiausiai galima lyginti su Kazio Šimonio kūryba ir per tai pamatyti laikmečio įtaką ir turiniui ir formai.
