Anna Iltnere. The Contemporary Romantic. An interview with Adam Budak. Arterritory
26.03.2013
The relationship between Estonia and the Polish-born, citizen-of-the-world curator, Adam Budak, started a while ago. Namely, a couple of years ago, when the Estonian photographer, Marge Monko, invited Budak to curate the international photography exhibition, “Beyond”, at the KUMU museum (2011). That was also when Budak first met Dénes Farkas, and saw his works. Contacts formed and developed, and this year will see Farkas representing Estonia at the 55thVenice Biennale, with Budak curating the exposition. “It feels surreal,” begins Budak at the press conference for the pavilion's exhibition, “Evident in Advance”, which is being held in the sun-filled cafe of the KUMU museum. Although the nationality of this world-class art professional is rarely even mentioned anymore, one can understand why Budak feels this way. Born in Krakow, and having now come to Tallinn from the US, he sits in front of a panel of Estonian journalists and is about to describe how he will put together their national exhibition. Farkas feels a bit surreal himself, having decided to give up art a couple of years ago (which you can read about in the interview below), but now being actively sought out by well-known professionals. The international team is quite impressive: architect Markus Miessen (London, Berlin), whose studio is building the private library of Hans-Ulrich Obrist in the Alps; the graphic design office, Zak Group (London); the American author, Bruce Duffy, who is currently working on a book about the atomic bomb; and a whole series of philosophers and theoreticians. Adam Budak honorably admits that he is taking a slight risk by making the pavilion's concept “very hermetic”. It is no secret that the antennae of the Biennale viewers, tired from the fair's churning crowds, are most receptive to bright, huge, loud and shocking, or even “fun”, works of art. But Dénes Farkas, Budak and the rest of the team are ready to take a risk and put out a tough nut to crack: Ludwig Wittgenstein's philosophy of language, which will be spatially brought to life, but by way of another book – Bruce Duffy's “The World as I Found It”, which is a biography on Wittgenstein, spiced up with a splash of fantasy... The pavilion, by the way, will be located in a different spot than in 2011, but it will still be an apartment (Palazo Malipiero, San Samuele Square).
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