“Sonia Iosifova” – The Banality of the Visible

“Sonia Iosifova” – The Banality of the Visible
Dance – fiction
FUTURE Solo performance by Galina Borissova

“This time I wanted not to submit myself to my impulses. Not to be poetic. But to lose myself in my nature. And at the same time to be real. Even more than reality.”
Galina Borissova

After wandering in the abundance of stylistic trends in the arts of the 20th century, the comprehension of which demands not a few efforts, the return to Realism brings a sigh of relief to many art-minded people. The popularity of the so called “New Realism” is likely to be due to the fact, that actually there is almost nothing much new in it. Unless we decide to add the relative Realism, the stolid Realism and all kinds of whims for the banality of the visible. I was provoked by Kerstin Stremmel’s book “Realism”. I decided to contemplate on quotes by Pablo Picasso, Gustave Gourbet , V. I. Lenin, John Berger, Francis Bacon, Wolfgang Tillmans and other artists and personalities.

If we always bear in mind the fact, that in each moment we are endangered by catastrophe, then why do not we see Realism as substantial issue and avoid for a while the abstraction that would not be of use in moments of personal, state and social decisions. Realism, in the sense of dealing with the reality, would always be welcome, unlike the figurative language of the suppressed objectivity. Of course, the half-abstract language of the stage suggests, I think, loneliness and self-confidence, distance and presence. But some hardly agree that this works of art that show nothing but beauty and elegancy could be regarded as art at all. What is usually expected are social messages, sorrows, expression of inner conflicts – things that do not interest me at all. My work on this project is directed to creation of a world I want to live in. Hence, it is about creating ideas by means of realistic methods.

Reproducing reality interests me in so far I can provoke a reason for a change in its designation. In this sense the sign of equality between “naturalistic” and “anti-artistic” is not a new problem of Realism. Imitation is not a new reality. It has to be deformed! Perhaps deformation is the zone, where art can be discovered. In this sense the “embarrassing” Realism fascinates more aesthetically and personally as well.

I feel that to see means to believe.

“Sonia Iosifova” – The Banality of the Visible is a performance – fiction, born on a market in Paris. Its title comes from the name of a French woman of Bulgarian origin, who sold me the costume.

With this project I do not declare that this is necessarily Realism, but I want to reach the reality. The striving to change the reality by means of art pretty often has proved to be an utopia. But notwithstanding it can call response. And so we come to the maxima that although we cannot change the world, by looking at it from a different angle we can change our attitude to the angle.

15th February 2007
Galina Borissova