Daedaleia One of the most fascinating aspects of museum communication with the public is the development of a fertile dialogue between ancient art and modern artistic creation. Through this process, ancient forms are transmuted into new shapes, the horizons of artistic inspiration are expanded, new models of high aesthetic, sym- bolic and ideological value are revealed, which are capable of expressing mod- ern questions in the light of diachronicity. Meanings and aesthetic approaches from antiquity are also disseminated to the wider public through the artist’s per- sonal experience as it emerges from his or her works. At the same time, ancient art is renewed, as its semantic load is redefined and its content made more familiar and immediate.
The accomplished modern artists of the ARS V group have been invited to inter- pret the ingenious inventions of the legendary Daedalus in their personal artistic language. This is the challenge of the museological narrative of the major Her- aklion Archaeological Museum temporary exhibition “Daedalus. On the Trail of the Mythical Craftsman”, which is inspired by the mythical inventions of the em- blematic craftsman and highlights innovative technological achievements from the peak of Minoan civilization and the early historical era. The result of this dialogue is displayed to the viewer, activating new interpretive challenges.
Accompanying the ARS V art exhibition during the temporary exhibition “Dae- dalus. On the Trail of the Mythical Craftsman” are educational activities mainly aimed at the teaching community, given that three of the group’s artists are educa- tors themselves.
We would like to thank the artists for their willingness to participate in the whole project with works inspired by the museological narrative of the temporary exhibi- tion. We would also like to thank the group coordinator Mrs Aggeliki Zacharatou, for her support and excellent cooperation.
Dr Stella Mandalaki Director of Archaeological Museum of Heraklion Daedaleia
The Daedaleia exhibition is presented by the ARS V group, consisting of Maria Grigoriadi, Vicky Kamenou, Stella Kukulaki, Kostas Pagomenos and Thanos Vi- dakis, at the Heraklion Archaeological Museum, this significant space in which Crete reveals her archaeological treasures to visitors. ARS V, with 17 modern figu- rative/plastic fragmentary testimonies, ingenious, inventive and original works, launch the dialogue with Master Craftsman Daedalus and his Labyrinth, power- fully and dynamically crossing their art with his. The group’s works record and survey the myth and the past, shaking off its dust and smoothing out its wrinkles, weighing it up in the present day, ignoring the superfluous and the redundant. These are works that explode out of the dark, transforming it into light and seek- ing communication with tangible time, dreams and memory. Imaginative creations which, built on their ancestor’s legacy, urgently hasten to catch the now before it becomes yesterday.
ARS V and its members create their own personal fiction around the technologi- cal progress and the cultural development that accompanied the political peak of Minoan Crete, “working ingeniously” like modern Daedali in a multitude of inventive ways, struggling with materials, colour and mass, transforming them into recorders of vision, labyrinths of thoughts and imaginings. They present a new aesthetic proposal featuring paradoxical equilibria that match and marry differ- ent works, through contrasts that move, enchant, surprise and amaze the viewer, inviting them to go above and beyond for the subject depicted, making the viewer yet another character who must transcend any possible message in their turn and construct their own spatiotemporal arc.
ARS V would like to thank Dr Stella Mandalaki, Director of the Heraklion Archaeo- logical Museum, for her invaluable contribution to the planning of the Daedaleia exhibition and for allowing it to be hosted in the Museum. We are also grateful to Katerina Athanasaki and Eirini Nikolakopoulou. Thanks are also due to the scien- tific and technical staff of the Heraklion Archaeological Museum for ensuring that the exhibition is presented in the best possible way.
Aggeliki Zacharatou, educator ARS V coordinator and contact person Daedaleia
THANOS Thanos Vidakis studied Applied Arts at the VIDAKIS Vakalo School in Athens (1981-1984), Paint- ing under the supervision of N. Kessanlis and Mosaic under G. Valavanides at the Athens School of Fine Arts (1984-1989). He attend- ed master’s degree courses at the School of Arts in Complutense University of Ma- drid (1990-1991), with a scholarship from the Spanish Government. During the period 1999-2001 he attended master’s degree courses on History of Art in the University of Crete at Rethymnon. Since 1992, he has been working in the Secondary Education. Contact Since 2007, he has been teaching in the Art 2810346956 School of Heraklion, Crete. He has held two 6973522010 personal painting exhibitions and has partici- [email protected] pated in a number of collective ones.
Construction materials for Daedalus studio Light and darkness - Black and white Full and empty - Positive and negative Colours as elements The birthplace of the Αrtist Daedaleia Εxhibit catalogue
Conifer cone, as three seals and three sealings
Six pencil drawings 70 x 100 2018-19 Daedaleia Εxhibit catalogue
Four references to the Minoan chromatics
Four watercolours 50 x 70 2018-19 Daedaleia
MARIA Maria Grigoriadi was born in Kalo Chorio, Heraklion, Crete. After studies at the Petra GRIGORIADI school under A. Apergis, she studied Painting at the Athens School of Fine Arts (1982- 87) in N. Kessanlis studio, Lithography with T. Exarchopoulos (1983-85) and Set Design with V. Vasileiadis (1985-87). She earned Scholarships from the State Scholarship Foundation for painting (1983-85), Set Design (1987) and Creative Writing (2009-2013). She has participated in many group exhibitions in Greece and abroad (Trienale of Sofia, Dubrovnik, Bulgaria, Belgium, China). She has exhibited her works in solo exhibitions since 1988 in art galleries in Korinthos, Athens, Contact Heraklion and in solo exhibitions in Medusa 2810262473 Art Gallery in Athens (1994, 1997, 2000, 6945893151 2005, 2011), and in Saint Marcus Basilica at www.mariagrigoriadi.gr Heraklion in 2018. Paintings by M. Grigoriadi are in the Vorre Museum, the School of Fine [email protected] Arts Collection, the Visual Arts Museum of fb: Maria Grigoriadi art, Heraklion, Minoan Lines, embassies of Europe Μαρία Γρηγοριάδη and many private collections.
The Artist escapes from the Labyrinth of his own torment when an artwork is produced. And then he feels as if he is flying. Daedaleia Εxhibit catalogue
Empty
box with transparent cubes and Little figures: figures, acrylic, wood, fishing wire, gauze, acrylic line, clay 30 x 10 x 3 30 x 30 x 30 2008 Daedaleia Εxhibit catalogue
ID Plaggones
The viewer sees his face and the figure at the same time, as perpetu- four dolls in plexiglas boxes ally mirrored towards all directions. A comment on the (im-?)possibility of modern man to shed the superfluous. Striped | Dappled | Big | Multicoloured A comment on the gaze - the attitude of modern man towards himself and others. A look at the mirror of oth- ers which will definitely stay with us in all flights. After all, who are we looking at?
22 wooden boxes with little figures Multicoloured and mirrors cernit, mixed media mixed media 11 x 7 x 10 / 21 x 21 x 21 21 x 21 x 21 / 8 - 10 2019 2019 Daedaleia
VICKY (VIKTORIA) Born in Cyprus in 1972. Studied at the KAMENOU School of Fine Arts in Athens at the sculpture workshop under professor Th. Papagiannis. She also attended scenography and engraving workshops. She has taken part in group exhibitions in Greece and Cyprus and her works are in private collections in Greece, Cyprus and the Netherlands. In addition, she works on many kinds of artistic creation such Contact as sculpture, constructions, painting, designing 6932273219 and making scenes for theatrical performances, fabric design, handmade dolls, puppets theater www.kamenouvicky.gr and masks, handmade jewelry, etc. She is a [email protected] member of the Greek Chamber of Fine Arts. fb: Vicki Kamenou She teaches Art in Public Education.
the artist as a modern Daedalus ...we could find commonalities between modern artists and Daedalus, as the artist must combine multiple skills, such as imagination, ingenuity, technical problem-solving, aesthetics, boldness, determination etc. And Daedalus certainly possessed and applied all the above... Daedaleia Εxhibit catalogue
Kore Ariadne
The artwork is inspired by a sculp- ture of the Daedalic period, the Lady of Auxerre. The decorative motifs are drawn from Minoan vases with representations of birds, flowers etc.
The work is inspired by the sculp- tures of the Daedalic period. Dae- dalus’ Kore as another Ariadne presents the thread to the viewer.
papier mâché, cardboard, cloth, papier mâché, cloth, acrylic paint acrylic paint 120 x 23 x 23 150 x 53 x 25 2019 2019 Daedaleia Εxhibit catalogue
Thinking Daedalus Delicate
«Thinking» Daedalus, the crafts- man, the inventor, the creator shortly before the action. Think- ing before the next step. Medi- tation before action. Labyrinthine top view.
papier mâché cloth, thread, acrylic paint 14 x 16 x 14 110 x 70 2019 2013 Daedaleia
STELLA Studied in the Accademia di belle Arti in Florence, Italy (1981 - 1985), in the studio of F. Farulli, paint- KUKULAKI ing, photography, industrial design, foundry tech- niques (Fonderia), conservation of artworks. She also studied in the Capiello academy Graphic Arts and Advertisement. In 1986-1987 she specialized in silk-screen printing on paper-textile and in the Ba- tik fabric technique in the Accademia Italiana Moda. In 1987 she earned the “Angello Badiani” scholar- ship in engraving. Select Solo Exhibitions: St. Marco Basilica 1986, Chrissostomos Chania 1987, House of Cyprus 1993, 34th National Convention 1995 USA, AS Gallery 2016, “ArtCode” Artion Galleries, Thessa- loniki 2018, “Curriculum Chromae” in the Municipal Art Gallery of Heraklion. Select Group Exhibitions: Hellenic Postwar Print 1988, National Art Gal- lery 1988, 1st Mediterranean Print Biennale 1998, «Oikade» (exhibition of Cretan Artists), Municipal Art Gallery of Rethymnon 2003, 8th International Biennale at Padru, Italy 2010, Museum «Villa Abbas di Sardara», Italy, 4th and 5th Beijing International Art Biennale 2010 and 2012, China, “The body as a locus of presence and absence”, Andros 2013, Greece, International Modern Greek Art Exhibition, Shanghai, China 2014, Petit Paris d’ Athènes Festi- Contact val, Athens 2014, Report to Kazantzakis, Museum 6972822167 of Contemporary Art of Crete, Rethymnon 2014, 2810256587 “Donna in Questione”, Marconia di Pisticci, Italy 2014, Lucania Film Festival - Pisticci, Italy 2014, In- [email protected] ternational Athens Digital Art Festival, Technopolis, http://kukulaki.gr Athens 2014, “Sphinx International Art Exhibition”, fb://stella.kukulaki Thebes 2015, Euripedes Art Gallery, Athens 2017.
Through artificial labyrinths, the evolutionary stages of a human are repre- sented by turns that they themselves have created artfully throughout the past centuries. The present and the past go hand in hand wearing different facets each time, which through abstraction create geometrical movements as part of the play of the urban landscape, combining personal and collective adventures taking place in locus amoenus and locus horridus. Daedaleia Εxhibit catalogue
Dual Mind
The dual nature of the artist is shared between passion and resourcefulness. The discovery of processing metal signifies a technological breakthrough as seen through the architectural structure condensed within the QR code, a modern labyrinth that reflects the course of the hero in time. The brain, the mind, the driving force of the craftsman is the creator of this multilevel reality. installation of inox, electronic equipment, cables, tft displays, segments 48 x 52 x 150 2019 Daedaleia Εxhibit catalogue
Οbfuscation QR Labyrinth
Finding a way out of the labyrinth the man creates is definitely a personal Walking through a labyrinth whose and universal matter. The mystery architecture keeps on changing, with surrounding everyday life unfolds in walls rising higher and higher after today’s globalized labyrinth turns into each step, the hero gets trapped in mazy dilemmas requiring decisive an attempt to find their way into the answers to existential, individual and city streets. Each turn reveals a little collective issues. The subject increases white imprinted above that triggers its kinetic energy in an intense effort the beginning of a new story, a new to maintain and prolong its life intact. page waiting to be filled with change and progress, the only way out.
wooden QR Code construction, construction of multiple Canvasses, acrylic, oil acrylic, QR Code architecture, wood, 59 x 59 x 60 plexiglas, LED lighting, projections 2013-2014 200 x 200 2018-2019 Daedaleia Εxhibit catalogue
Labirinto Interiore
The human body acts as a reflection of the human soul and intellect. Thoughts go on through existential pathways stripped of their identities, and as each riddle remains unanswered they change pace and gait. Innerness gives birth to experiences, children of knowledge, which form the foundations for growth and prosperity. Humans facing their im- age are no longer able to create arti- ficial realities as their entity encounters their existence.
oil on canvas 70 x 100 2010 Daedaleia
KOSTAS Born in Heraklion, Crete in 1960. He has PAGOMENOS lived in Belgium, where he studied painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Charleroi, taught by the painter Charles Sczymkowicz (1976- 1980). Since 1992, he worked mainly on con- struction and sculpture. He has presented his work in four solo exhibitions in Greece and has participated in 85 exhibitions in Greece, Belgium and France. He has created public works (statues) in Heraklion, Gazi, Gergeri, Keramoutsi Rethymno, Tylisos, and has made presentations and artistic constructions in the Natural History Museum of Crete and the Cre- taquarium Thalassocosmos in Gouves Crete. He has taught in the department of art and de- sign in the CBS Studies School and visual art in the workshop Kochlias in Heraklion. He has Contact created stage scenery for the theatre “Vivi” 2810822520 for many performances. He collaborates with 6977566884 the Museum of Natural History of Crete and the Aquarium of Crete in many artistic inter- www.kostaspagomenos- ventions. He is a member of the Greek Cham- sculpture.com ber of Fine Arts. His works are in museums, info@kostaspagomenos- galleries and private collections. He lives and sculpture.com creates in Heraklion, Crete.
Pagomenos, insisting on recycling materials, shapes his own Daedalus, a tragic figure, fallen, who is lost while trapped somewhere between his arrogance for perfection and the compromises of voracious reality. Daedaleia Εxhibit catalogue
Voices from the Stone Human Creations
Deeper... Memory of the toil rooted ...” the tragic figure of history, then and in the rhythm (G. Seferis) forever, lost while trapped somewhere Daedalus is a Creator. He constructs, between his arrogance and his compro- invents and finds solutions. He seeks mises...” the Light; the ancient memory is awakened, it cries out.
natural materials, wood, recycled paper plexiglas, light, sound and 90 x 70 x 70 motor system 2019 72 x 72 x 85 2006 Daedaleia Εxhibit catalogue
Labyrinth
Our journey into the Labyrinth is long and endless. Our voices are echoing to the ancient stones and we are daily tested seeking the truth and our freedom through the labyrinthine paths of ignorance. An awry edifice, the trap, the isolation, the walls we build, the place to get lost, the dead end... but also the manoeuvers we follow... Labyrinth is not our limits, we are not alone, so let’s go out in the Light.
mixed media 118 x 100 x 25 2019