23th November Dope Dialogues or Talks to Me, Myself and the Self

21st December ALGORITHM

Let us imagine two friends sitting at a bar. They are relaxed and in a good mood. One of them mentions a situation that happened in the office last week. Shortly before he gets to the point, a friend of a friend comes to greet them. He tries to understand what they are talking about. Suddenly they burst out laughing while he remains solemn. They continue laughing and he is watching them amazed and baffled. Why? Because he didn’t get it, that’s why. It is not difficult to conclude that he knows neither the context nor details of the story. In the communication process, some information was missing. That is why he was not able to make it. Allow me to use this situation as an example of a typical communication conflict. One we may experience if we direct our steps to an art gallery.

Let me attempt to outline an ideal work of art.

An algorithm that should be above all based on the communication rules. And I would like to make a situation from my private life part of it and, in short, make it into a work of art.

Feeling with our friend I will try to work out a common viewer perspective: of the uninformed one, an amateur and art enthusiast.

The whole process will be divided into two debates, the so-called dialogues. During each debate, I will let myself be influenced by a situation or contents that will disrupt the boring sobriety of everyday life.

Stay connected! 

(Piotr Sikora)

This whole process initiated by the curator and art theoretician Piotr Sikora was divided into two debates, so-called dialogues, happening in the form of a performative lecture. In the course of each, the author’s awareness was influenced by a situation or contents that disrupted the boring sobriety of everyday life.

After the trip through different states of consciousness when the lecturer, in an effort to capture the complexities of art talk, step by step intoxicated himself with alcohol, in the second lecture we finally got to the climax of the Dope Dialogues – a presentation of algorithm defining an ideal artwork. In his lecture Piotr Sikora made use of his experience collected during his stay at Yogyakarta (Ark Gallery), which he combined with his previous research on communication. The Javanese mysticism and local distinctive conditions provided a comprehensive context for the lecture. It took place at the Sesama venue in Yogyakarta, and a live broadcast of the performance was provided for the public outside Indonesia.