“RECONFIGURE AT WILL. SHORT LECTURE ON THE PRODUCTIVE ASPECTS OF DISOBEDIENCE IN ARTISTIC PRACTICES” – a lecture by Silvia Vasilescu at PAVILION center

On the 20th of March, 2014, Silvia Vasilescu held a lecture at PAVILION center under the title ‘Reconfigure at will. Short lecture on the productive aspects of disobedience in artistic practices’.

From feminism to institutional critique to the apartment gallery movement and relational aesthetics/social practice/community art there is, in some measure, an act of disobedience. The act of disobedience is important in every society or community, even in the art world, not just to fight the wrongdoings of a corrupt governmental power, but also to test the system in place and give to those who are a minority the same power as the majority.

In the context of artistic practices, it is an action of defying or denying the rules set by institutions (in a small percent by the museum, the gallery, even the art market and, in an overwhelming percent, by the art school). As in the case of feminist art, the apartment gallery movement or community practices, these actions of disobedience proved to be productive, by creating an alternative to institutions, mediums and functions already known. In the case of feminist art, one positive effect is the emergence of other mediums, mediums considered peripheral until then, such as ceramics, fibers and performance. The apartment gallery movement in cities like Manchester (mid ’90s), or Chicago (’80s/’00s), tried to create an alternative to the small and elitist art scene, continuing the creative process and defying the idea of prestige as being tied to a space. A third example is community art, or social practice/relational aesthetics, that created a new function for the space and the practice itself.

On the other hand, there are acts of disobedience that prove to be disruptive in the sense of lacking any creative outcome. At the same time not having these acts of disobedience proves to be much worse, as for an ever changing system, such as the art world, stagnation is by far the worst scenario.

Silvia Vasilescu (b.1986) works as an artist and arts administrator. Received her MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago/SAIC, in 2012, and her BFA from The National University of Arts – Bucharest, in 2008. Adopting a collaborative practice, she has worked with different curators, artists and writers, among those projects are Public Opinion (with Christina Long), and [perplex] (with Simina Neagu). Since 2009 she has worked as an arts administrator and was part of various curatorial and educational projects in institutions such as Enclave in London; School of the Art Institute of Chicago and Hyde Park Art Center in Chicago; Pavilion in Bucharest.

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