Szpilman Award
Encyclopedia
that exist only for a moment or a short period of time.
The purpose of the award is to promote such works whose
forms consist of ephemeral situations.
Since its beginnings in 2003 it is still the only art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
prize for ephemeral
Ephemeral
Ephemeral things are transitory, existing only briefly. Typically the term is used to describe objects found in nature, although it can describe a wide range of things....
works in the world. The Szpilman Award is awarded annually. It carries with a dynamic cash award (sum of money collected by members of the jury parallel to the competition, called "Jackpot Stipendium"), a trip to Cimochowizna
Cimochowizna
Cimochowizna is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Suwałki, within Suwałki County, Podlaskie Voivodeship, in north-eastern Poland. It lies approximately east of Suwałki and north of the regional capital Białystok....
(Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
), and a huge challenge cup will be handed over to the next prize winner
in the subsequent year. The prize is open to the public, the jury choose up to seven artists for the short list and one winner.
History and development
In 2003 art students of Hochschule für Gestaltung OffenbachHochschule für Gestaltung Offenbach
The Hochschule für Gestaltung Offenbach am Main is an art and design university in the German State of Hesse. The school is divided into two departments. It was given university status in 1970. The degree course offers a choice of five different final examination topics: art, communication design,...
(Germany) and Städelschule
Städelschule
Städelschule, Staatliche Hochschule für Bildende Künste, is a contemporary fine arts academy in Frankfurt am Main, Germany.- History :The Städelschule was established by a foundation set up by the Frankfurt merchant Johann Friedrich Städel in 1817...
Frankfurt (Germany) founded the Szpilman Award. In the beginning only people from Germany could apply, 17 participants took part. They changed regulations and opened the call for Europe in 2004, 23 participants took part. The public interest in the prize raised, so the attendance raised up to 173 in 2005. One year later Szpilman abolished any restrictions: everyone from all over the world can apply now for the Szpilman Award (2006: 358 participants / 2007: 203 participants / 2008: 298 participants / 2009: 375 participants).
People from around the globe participate (Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Colombia, Croatia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guernsey, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Macedonia, Republic of Moldova, Mozambique, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia and Montenegro, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, UK, Ukraine, USA, Venezuela, Vietnam). Szpilman Award is based in Berlin (Germany).
Winners
- Catrin Bolt (AustriaAustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
), 2004
Awarded the Promotion Prize for Fine Arts of Kärnten/AustriaAustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
which obliges her to arrange an exhibition at the Galerie Kärnten, Catrin Bolt
will not exhibit paintings but announces a performance at the opening instead.
When the speeches begin (the commissioner of culture in Kärnten is Jörg HaiderJörg HaiderJörg Haider was an Austrian politician. He was Governor of Carinthia on two occasions, the long-time leader of the Austrian Freedom Party and later Chairman of the Alliance for the Future of Austria , a breakaway party from the FPÖ.Haider was controversial within Austria and abroad for comments...
),
she leaves the event. The opening itself ( the speeches, the audience, the buffet)
turn out to be the actual performance. Catrin Bolt hires a photographer to take
pictures of the night which she wants to exhibit at the show the next day.
However, the gallery refuses the hanging.
- Doug Fishbone (United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
), 2007
A young British Muslim, in traditional dress, is placed in a cage by Doug Fishbone in the middle
of a busy private view at the Freud MuseumFreud MuseumThe Freud Museum, at 20 Maresfield Gardens in Hampstead, was the home of Sigmund Freud and his family when they escaped Nazi annexation of Austria in 1938. It remained the family home until Anna Freud, the youngest daughter, died in 1982. The centrepiece of the museum is Freud's study, preserved...
in London. The young man sits impassively,
not interacting with the audience at all throughout the opening, while people mill around him
chatting and drinking. The entire performance takes only several hours, only for the opening
of an exhibition. The exhibition is entitled 'ParanoiaParanoiaParanoia [] is a thought process believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of irrationality and delusion. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of conspiracy concerning a perceived threat towards oneself...
', and looks at different kinds of cultural
paranoias operating in the contemporary West.
- Martin Flemming (GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
), 2006
Climbing up a 8 meter long streetlamp Martin Flemming measured out the
distance between a highway bridge and the top of a streetlamp. After
measuring he has produced an empty book put it in the gap between
bridge and lamp and shot a photo of that situation. He produced a second book. This book -
fitting exactly, so it can not be opened - is containing a photo of itself in that given situation.
So it is impossible to see the photo but possible to see what is on it, if you are standing under
the bridge. If the book is taken out by anybody, the work is eliminated.
- Albert Heta (KosovoKosovoKosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
), 2005
In a Czech newspaper Albert Heta places an advert announcing
the ceremonial opening of the Embassy of Kosovo. The
advert is austerely designed, formal looking and placed in a prominent
position where it cannot be overlooked. With this glimpse on an outwardly
standard ceremony – the opening of a diplomatic mission –,
Albert Heta draws attention to the unsolved status of his native country:
At this time Kosovo was under UN protectorate (UN protectorate over Kosovo).
- Hank Schmidt in der Beek (GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
), 2009
Hank Schmidt in der Beek stands in the manner of a plein air painter (En plein airEn plein airEn plein air is a French expression which means "in the open air", and is particularly used to describe the act of painting outdoors.Artists have long painted outdoors, but in the mid-19th century working in natural light became particularly important to the Barbizon school and Impressionism...
) surrounded by
mountain scenery and paints the pattern of his shirt on canvas.
- Kamila Szejnoch (PolandPolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
), 2008
Kamila Szejnoch installs a tiny swing at the monumental bronze 'Berling Army
Soldier' in [Warsaw]. She suggests a change in the function of the monuments,
attempting to build a bridge between the present and the past, adding a contem-
porary layer distinct from their original style and function. She asks, what a
particular memorialMemorialA memorial is an object which serves as a focus for memory of something, usually a person or an event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or art objects such as sculptures, statues or fountains, and even entire parks....
actually refers to and what kind of history it conceals.
- Michal Sznajder (PolandPolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
), 2007
Michal Sznajder studies and scrutinises reality. He creates several images of moments.
Recorded with a simple digital camera without sound, only a few seconds, short looped
motions are shown. These little few-seconds sequences are presented as well in a loop.
In contrast to the linear way of perception every moment repeats endless.
- Julia Weidner (GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
), 2003
In a gesture of a reporter Julia Weidner sits without asking
next to sleeping and reading people on park benches in Vienna. She confronts and comments the situation again and again with the chorus of the song
'Keep on the Sunny SideKeep On the Sunny SideKeep On the Sunny Side is a popular American song originally written in 1899 by Ada Blenkhorn with music by J. Howard Entwisle . The song was popularized in a 1928 recording by the Carter Family...
'.
Jury
- Bernd Euler
- Dirk Fleischmann
- Lise Harlev
- Leonard Kahlcke
- Patrick Koch
- Tina Kohlmann
- Claus Richter
- Tina Schott
- Michal Sznajder
- prize winner of the previous year