DRAWER XXII
Decomposed Pictures

Bazeos Tower
July 23– September 2, 2011
Daily: 10:00 - 17:00
Opening:  Saturday, July 23, at 20:30

The exhibition organized every year at the Bazeos Tower, under the auspices of the Naxos Festival, is a result of exploration, attraction and cooperation.  This year, the organizers revisit the photographic archives of the Benaki Museum, and, together with the curators of the archives, retrieve some very original and interesting material.
The exhibition is about photographs that would have never been put on display under normal circumstances:  images that, despite their accuracy from a photographic point of view, have lost their narrative context.
In an archival photographic collection the loss of narrative context is the result of the partial or total destruction of the original material.  This damage is mainly the result of unavoidable chemical reactions within its substrate, worsened by unsuitable environmental conditions in their storage prior to their induction into the Benaki Museum collections.  What sparked the creation of this exhibition were the contents of drawer XXII, part of a metal filing cabinet located in an area housing the Archive’s original photographic material.
The contents of this “Drawer XXII” were an integral part of the archives of many well-known photographers such as Nicholas Tombazis, Dimitris Harissiades, Pericles Papahatzidakis, and Nelly’s and, despite extensive chemical decay to the substrate, they had been preserved.  Obviously these images are not representative of the body of work of these photographers nor had they been stored with the intention of ever being put on display.
The “beauty” of decay was the source of inspiration for Benaki Museum photographer Leonidas Kourgiantakis.  The “destroyed” negatives have been approached from a fresh perspective and were developed into images of intense aesthetic interest.
The presentation of these photographs in Naxos can be seen as a counterpoint to the ravages of time that are prevalent on the 17th century tower that hosts the exhibition.  In an environment of this kind, the viewer is called upon to look beyond the apparent decay, from a personal perspective, to discover the “beauty”….to discover the essence within the remains.  ‘Less is more’ after all, is the theme of the 11th Naxos Festival, which is characterized by presentations that are rich in content but minimal in form.

Curators:  Leonidas Kourgiantakis, Aliki Tsirgialou
(Benaki Museum)
Coordinator:  Marios Vazeos (AEON)
Organized by:
AEON Cultural Organization – Benaki Museum

22:00
Aegean Jazz Concert
A journey through the world of Jazz led by a group of excellent musicians, such as the renowned German trombonist and composer, Markus Stockhausen, and the Greeks Yorgos Kaloudis on the cello, Vasilis Rakopoulos on the guitar and Takis Farazis at the piano.

21:30
Piano recital with Alexandra Papastefanou
The exceptional virtuosity and dexterity of the (Greek) international reveal special musical connections between works by Schumann, Mendelssohn, Chopin, Gulda, Debussy, Stravinsky, as well as by our very own Naxos composers, Kalogeras and Koukos.

21:30
An Evening with Alexandros Issaris, author-translator-artist.  Excerpts from his latest prize-winning book, “Winkelman or, Destiny”, read by the actor Christos Stergioglou.  Live musical fragments and videos of his artistic work will accompany the readings.

22:00
Jazz Duo
Anders Lonne Gronseth, saxophone & David Skinner, piano.
The Norwegian popular duo, famous for their fusion of American jazz, European classical music, and works by contemporary composers such as Messiaen, Bartok and Ligeti, unfold their unique musical improvisations.  Under the auspices of the Norwegian Embassy in Athens and the support of Norwegian Institute.

21:30
The Partali
A man who learnt to dress in women’s clothes and earn a living by transforming his traumatized life into performance is the protagonist of the monologue by Theodoros Grigoriadis.
Performer: Christos Stergioglou
Director: Stelios Krasanakis
Costumes: Kostas Velinopoulos
Lighting: Eleftheria Deko
Movement: Amalia Bennet
Video: Christos Dimas
A production of the Athens Festival in collaboration with the Naxos Festival and DI.PE.THE of Kavala.

20:00
Why does the wind blow?
Puppet theatre with live music, songs and games based on a fairy tale from the island of Lefkada.
Adaptation of text and direction: FTOUXELEFTHERIA Group.
Narration and guitar: Kostantis Mizaras
Master Puppeteer: Angeliki Gounaridi

21:30 – Temple of Dionysus in Iria
The Voices of the City
Mania Papadimitriou: narrator, vocalist and Kostas Vomvolos: keyboards, electronics and vocalist, perform excerpts from Italo Calvino’s “Invisible Cities”, Elias Canetti’s “The Voices of Marrakech” mingle with songs of Jacques Brel, Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen, Lou Reed, Manos Hatzidakis, Mikis Theodorakis and others.
In collaboration with the 21st Ephorate of Classical Antiquities.

21:30
Maran Atha
Jasmine Kilaidoni in a two and a half hour tour-de-force monologue breathes life into the protagonists who dwell in the memories of a 90-year-old monk who proceeds into confession, after a 65-year vow of silence.
Adapted for the stage from the novel of the same name by Thomas Psyrras.
Director: Dimos Avdeliodis
Music: Vangelis Giannakis
Costumes and set design: Maria Passali

21:30
Camille Claudel: The Wave of Madness
The text traces the collision of the woman-creator with the triumphant force in a profoundly conservative era, in the throes of social change and male-dominated attitudes.  Camille Claudel is crushed between her ambitious brother, the writer Paul Claudel, and the exuberant creator, her mentor and lover, August Rodin.
Actress: Lydia Fotopoulou
Direction and adaptation for the stage: Stelios Krasanakis
Translation: Roula Tsitouri
Set design and costumes: Dora Lelouda
Video:  Christos Dimas
Movement:  Amalia Bennet

Friday-Monday 26-29/8
Seminars in Drama Therapy
Conducted by Robert Landy, Professor of Drama Therapy at New York University.