50/50 inner/inter act (fresh wind from the south) - for french & dutch scroll down
Quatoreze Juillet
is the traditional get-together since 96, but has been wavering,
so this year we'll keep it simple - considering that last years switchover from tent to tent only halfway made it, this year we'll just leave it at the latter
traditional radio centraal quatorze-bash at the scheldapen:
or perhaps a wee gathering on the beach beforehand....
October 2010 the Fifty-Fifty-Fumoir bustrip for Argos salon 5 by Emilio Lopez Menchero....
preliminary report:
The trip began a bit late, so that the schedule had to be compressed all the way along... we rode towards Zaventem by way of city streets rather than boulevards which worked out but maybe added to our time-constriction. At the St. Martin’s church we had an animated guide that told us all about the Van Dijk painting of the saint – a cloak and dagger story if there ever was one: and fifty-fifty: he didn’t give the beggar half a coat because he was stingy, but because he only owned half to give away... the question arose whether he gave away his own part or the one that belonged to the Roman Empire... hmm... among other artifacts we wondered about the painting on donkey’s hide & why... encrusted with leaf gold and with a dog smoking a very large pipe...
Then we proceeded to have lunch, which was perhaps a bit dangerous, considering that we had a schedule to keep and the weather made people less inclined to press on... creating a leisurly attitude that slowed us down even more... but we managed to get back on the bus and head down the highway for Antwerp.
behind the museum (visiting the statue of Antoon VD who's picture we just admired in Zventem)
Along the way we watched Ludo Mich’s film ‘Arthur is Fantastic’ depicting the auto-exposition of Arthur Indenbaum at the “Vacuum for New Dimentions” – which for our purposes set the tone of the historical origins of the sorts of mental state leading to fifty-fifty... Originally we had planned to visit the actual space created by Luc Deleu, Filip Francis and Wout Vercammen in the early seventies, but the current occupant (LD) was out sailing somewhere between Maritius and Durban. But though it might seem far fetched, the connection might be the exhibition of fifty-fifty-instigator Wout Vercammen’s 1971 exhibition revolving around ‘left-turning amino-acids’...
(did hava a small surprise to find a version of Luc Deleu's "X" on the keyside...
as part of the archtex promo (students of his) concerning the renovations...)
But for details on that period I refer you to various publications by Johan Pas*... for our purposes the flavor of the activities of that period can shed some light on the (non-) activities of fifty-fifty in the eighties... In the case of Ludo’s Film it was the idea of “reinte(r)gration of life into art” (a line used during the fifty-LJA exhibition in 1988) – the (then new) notion that the daily life an goings-on of a person(age) can be considered art.... prompting further the investigation into the synaptic relations between life & art (eh...) *(listing publications relative by Johan Pas ICC beeldenstorm in een spiegelzaal, happening antwerp, vacuum voor nieuwe dimensies....)
anciennes meet, a rare view of the former Belgian Institute for World Affairs in front to the former Inexistent... Volkstraat 45
First stop at Antwerp was to be the closed Historical Art Museum scene of some contestation in the sixties and area where various interesting initiatives took place (A 37 80 98 , Wide White Space) that had a lasting impact on the scene. Due to the fact one can’t get anywhere in Antwerp by tour bus we had to walk from the river, setting the schedule back even more – the waiting delegation (consisting of a temporarily recontituted BIWA, Ria P, Frank FC, Meeester X and Brunhilde) at Café Hopper was already settling down for some serious sunbathing... but we got most of them to tag along, also brothers Van Tichel, Vered Ben Kiki joinded us there... short pause at the site of the first V2 to hit Antwerp and it’ relation to the exhibition of ELM at inexistent – before heading there to have a look at the closed shop window (now a parquet-floor business)- across the street, where at the time was a youth hostel (the first haunt of VBK and even before that Meeester X lived there) – and which over the years had also been an underground gallery run by Ludo Mich (C.R.A.C.) and a popular watering hole until recently (King Kong Bar) – and now had become an up-market retro-design shop, architectural playhouse with gallery allure and curator- a contemporary phenomenon that might be construed as an interpretation of the integrating spirit we might investigate – but with a serious commercial slant – it was the riverboat cabin installed on the roof that made it part of our investigation – to reconsider the old adage- “hmmm, interesting, but is it art?” – and an example of what had become of the once dilapidated avant-garde area.
Harbor: Houtdok with the 'Vage Bond' palmtrees advancing ( action Djos & Marc), police deconstructing....
Onward towards the river, where the old harbor infrastructure is being torn down to make room for new and expensive developments... here too the question is more about how that why... renovation was necessary, but the city is again threatening to throw out the baby with the bathwater... There have been a number of art-installations on the harbor-front since 1993, but have been conveniently forgotten... for yet another mega-project by an architectural consortium – which has by way of logo the “X” containerwork by Luc Deleu as brash announcement... another (re)appropriation by the commercial sector of what originally was deemed to be playful public art? Main thrust of the discussion was to be the last remaining original and free-standing Hangar at St. Andries – but time and the stifling crowds of cars made us decide to have our picnic further along.... we didn’t even take the time to look at the plans or the architectural digs along the way, such was the crush of parked cars that we became disgusted.... perhaps this is a conscious strategy- to turn the once quiet walk along the river into a hellish automotive nightmare in order to convince critics like ourselves that anything would be better than the current situation... a sort of reverse conscience-plein action- fill the place with cars in order to ban them...
(we didn’t even go to see the work of Maria Nordman – would have been a good illustration of the malaise- vandalized, forgotten, surrounded by parked cars – and not included in the new plans) – we had also not seen the video of the installation of the AZRART alphabet near the site, so there was not so much context to go on – neither was Guy Rombouts with us to explain how the letters were cut in half, spent some fifteen years in the Netherlands and recently came back to find a new home on the other side of the river... in full color. Fifty-fifty.)
Emilio Lopez Menchero & self after palm-action & before leaving (fotoRP)
At the but we had some more participants waiting for us ( already for some time) but they were there by bicycle, so they had independent means while we clambered aboard for some more traffic towards the harbor. Along the way we saw pictures of Frank F. Castelyns latest trash sculptures, even if he wasn’t with us, to prepare for our next stop: the tail end of a ten-day festival in the last remaining section of the old harbor before renovation- invited by the Vage Bond (the vague association or perhaps syndicate if you will) for a ‘wild’ exhibition – not only was it well under way but was already being threatened with closure by the police due to signs posted by some Dutch participants reading “this area reserved for the Roma Nation”... and in effect, the newcomers in the area with their expensive lofts and shiny cars called the cops to what had been a wonderful mix of rusting post industrial trash, riverboats, renovation projects for the disenfranchised, bits of nature and impromptu artworks.... to clear out the riff-raff, which by now included us, for we had set up our picnic right there and then... In fact it gave us a very definitive deadline, and so the fraternization with there nomadic art-groupings was very short-lived and most of us didn’t even get aboard the squatted ferry... a reference to the fifty-fifty meeting Hemiksem-Bazel & Back & forth & back.... (we saw the video on the way home) Bud we did have our picnic table & all, soiled white cloths, originals form way back, and even had a fifty-fifty performative act by Marc Rossignol and Djos Janssens with singing palms (- like those that Broodthaers used) – heading south by way of town, dropping off a delegation and then along the river to the last turn-off, heading towards brussels by way of the old road, the A-12, also used for the bus trip on the same day in 1969 to ferry participants form the closing of one ‘section’ of the Musee de Aigles to the other.... a fifty-fifty avant la lettre, or are we just, as usual ‘toujours en retard’ as Wout Vercammen, who sent his regards, would say...
The question of whether the whole thing is just a figment of the imagination remains...
------ ------- ------ --------Don’t forget white flag day OCOBER 18th 
precuser for white flag day... T-paper try-out at vage ond 10.10.10. (fotoRP)
Developments concerning the ambulatory meeting 10.10.10.
The fifty-fifty bus excursion / 10th of October 2010
Ambulant meeting conference or colloquium as you please...
Has all the hallmarks of a regular meeting – confusion, miscommunication, a clarity that makes the Amazon look crystal clear... but all in all one might consider it a wonder that it is taking place at all...
The format is somewhat A2B, a field trip by bus from Argos in B to Bonaparte in A and back again... we will be going to church since it’s Sunday... The whole affair will be split down the middle between Fumoir and Fifty-fifty, and associates. The notion of ‘Fifty-fifty’ as red thread through a consideration of the ‘salon’ effect – the tendency of like minded artists to group together for various reasons, more often than not one of protest or opposition to the dominant tendency of the day... but also for ex & interchange... which is perhaps more the case here...
Taking it only from the short period of regular editorial meetings in the eighties would be selling the idea short, so we’ve decided to embed the whole thing historically and then highlight the most recent trends –say from the seventies, already an interesting fifty-fifty period between the sixties and the eighties... no, really?
At this point the specific venues have still not been fixed in stone, iron or paper bags for that matter – it is a constantly fluctuating situation which will surprise even the participants once they realize that they have been had again by what has become known as fifty-fifty...
Itinerary update Friday 8 oct 2010: Major turnaround:
Instead of the planned itinerary, we’re going to reverse it and come into Antwerp by the south, stopping to unload passengers at the Royal Fine Art Museum (KMSKA) (arround 14:15 hrs) – weather permitting we will walk around the (closed) museum and on towards the pedestrian tunnel by way of the Volkstraat, Scheldestraat, Kaaien, where we’ll look up some old plans for refurbishment (M. Nordman’s hole)
We will repose for a while at the endangered Hangars at St. Andries where the bus will be parked and have a bite and a sip while considering the river’s tides...
Continuing at arond 15:15 hrs towards the northn harbor dock “HoutKaai” where we will assist in the last manifestations of a ten-day bash concerning ‘La Campine’ – a come-as-you are exhibition and get together proposed by the “Vage Bond” ( theme: hanging and floating things...)
(10.10.10 -Wilde Expositie – art improvisation sur place all day long: thema: “Hangende, Flottende Zaken” acoustic intermezzo’s bienvenue, Food & drinks OK, Welcome to be involved, Men zegge het voort...
From there we will begin the return journey towards Brussels by way of the old main road A-12
objet d'discourse: 
the remaining hangars at St Andries - along with a long list of destroyed heritage this could be a good meeting point of various strains that make op the ffifty-fifty complex - remeniscent of the destruction of the Royal Entrepots some twenty years back...
The bus trip will be something of a wild goose chase, barking up the wrong tree etc... or the “zone” in Tarkovski’s Stalker... lost sites and inexistent venues- a sort of socio-archeological mapping to begin with - here the notion of the map being as large as the territory becomes questionable... touring around Antwerp and investigate the stones where once some indistinct or in distinguished player acted out some unnoticed contribution to the general catalogue of fifty-fifty occurrences, be they of note or not. In fact that is what this delegation is here for – to investigate the affair and make a recommendation as to it’s relevance to anything, let alone the field of the artworld machinations.
It is also not an easy task to figure out how to go about this – on the one hand it should be a group effort of sorts, but as we all know it’s difficult to make concrete and practical decisions in a gaggle, so it’s a matter of planning some, checking back (maybe even receiving some feedback?) and continuing as best possible in order to ensure the basics are in place in order for the players to have space... of sorts. The itinerary has to be fixed and flexible at the same time, detailed and vague, clear and mysterious....in the meantime changes take place every day... here more possible venures being considered
one boat can hide another (une bateau peut cacher une autre)
ten days of festivities of which we might catch the tail end...
La Campine in a restful pose... 
all still to be considered somehow... here a sort of schematic chrono-proposition ( affiche )
to be folded, hung, cut & dried....
in fact already rejected: hex-aquarium "Gunther" daring duo Vaast & Dennis preparing nex coup:
what went before/ rehash
another precolloquial meeting (a short preliminary report )
Quatorze Juillet 2010:
ELM explaining october project in Angel's (with camera) monumentent
Quatorzereport tentatieve monument avs 14 juillet 2010
Well, that went well... there was some doubt if the weather would allow us to meet in Angel’s red & yellow tentative (new) monument... Laetitia called early from down south (normally she should have been on her way to France but postponed specially... and warned us that weather-watch was on code orange... in Antwerp the sun was shining innocently enough, so we proceeded.
The monumentent was a perfect location, and for the first part of the session all was well – the wind picked up and soon buckets of water were falling out of an angry sky, but this could not diminish our determination to continue our most important discussions... The crew was mainly francophone Brusselites – some arrived dry, others arrived dripping wet, so already we had a fifty-fifty situation... wet ones and dry ones... as the afternoon went on more Antwerp consessionaires came along, and after the main bulk of the storm subsided we had our president for life & instigator Wout arrive...
(trois espagnoles)
So all in all, a good showing – Laurence and Isi provided the historical connection to the ‘Salto d’Arte’ tent on the place Flagey in the seventies, Angel the connect to cafés here & there & over the years,
(also Isi’s reminder of the white flag project initiated by Cladders ( white flag date 18 october) is something one might investigate in the context of our activities – we did in fact hold a manifestetion of white (empty) flags at Oostende in 1999 I think – so it is not so far off from our concerns ( the space in between – also see-through flags from the same year or one year earlier... school project bleekhofstraat 2002)
Emilio did his bit explaining the project for argos (finally the date has been set at 10/10/2010 which is a fine fifty-fifty configuration, and Carlos made cheer to get this Spanish mondial-cup festivity on rollers – so aside from the nitty gritty of cutting edge negotiations we also had fun – appearance of a D-K multiple and a pair of historic archival 50/50 books made it all very worth while, Lise kept detailed minutes, so this time no one can say they didn’t know what was going on...
acid shadow in archivebook
The storm created a bit of a shortfall in as much the second part – moving to a tent in the north of town – didn’t materialize... but that was just about the only down side... our little tent held steady and is still standing today...
for the second part too many people had to head back to brussels while too many antwerpians only come out of their haunted chateau’s after dark... thus another fifty-fifty- situation – I myself was prohibited, but I heard later on that there were a few representatives at the second tent, to wit Dennis & Peter radio and all the airwave-friends, and even a lone Brussles cowboy Frédéric... probably wondering where all the others were... and seemingly some decided to hold a impromptu picnic halfway between brusselas and Antwerp... at the side of the highway E19 Petite dejeuner sur l’herbe d’un parking pour poids lourds à coté du autoroute coincé entre des zones industrielles et l’aeroport nationale...
SOME POINTS MADE
Specifics were not really discussed, but one aspect, the possible use of a space for the fifty-fifty archives at the Fort 8 was mentioned... here there are two tendencies: one is that it’s a good idea to have a separate archival – workspace that is accessible to all at any time – as well as gatherings, presentations and the like... otherwise there is the question of viability... it’s quite a ways out of town, and come winter it’s not really the kind of place to hang around in... depending of the configuration ‘Scheldapen’ and if they will actually remain there or not...
As for more clarity surrounding a definition for fifty-fifty activities, no real progress was made, though some tendency towards the “investigation of the (synaptic) space / borderline zone/ no-man’s land between the idiotic and the genius” seems to be a basis that might be used in both academic as entertainment contexts. (it does rely somewhat heavily on Filliou’s ‘bien fait, mal fait, pas fait’ equivalence... but that influence has never been denied). As for a straightforward description, the idea of an editorial meeting still seems the most useable – in the widest sense... but this is still all wide open to discussion..
The project proposed by ELM for Argos had some problems but now the date has been set for the 10th of the 10th of 2010 everyone seems happy... it is however a wider view on salons in general anf fifty-fifty figures mainly as a bottle-rack... which is fine... the idea to maybe include the white-flag aspect is still open to discussion – as are various other options... in principle the idea of an ambulatory conference or colloquium seems accepted...
the idea to use this project for a beginning of a digitalization process of the archives is a more interesting route to follow, but is work-intensive... (also, the idea of a general-access website or such was left open again – for the moment we will continue with the page on the gruze-site and the blog begun back in 08...) the notion of usin online spreadsheets is one option mentioned...
More pressing is the creation of a combo-timeline affiche for the argos project which has to be done in tandem... bureau du Port Fumoir & gruzeFifty-fifty... the idea of a work-session along the lines of an “Vota Bene Popolo” (1994- session at AK37 in which an affiche for the elections war created communally – it was double-sided and a oeil clignotant at BVP, a defunct political party created during documenta 9 by BiWA & co) might be useable...
People present:
Veronique Boudier, Yves Grenet, Emilio Lopez Menchero, Marc Rossignol, Martin uit den Bogaard, Lise Duclaux, Carlos Montalvo, Toni Geirlandt, Marc Van Tichel, Sylvie Janssens de Bisthoven, Hilde Wildiers, Leo Reynders, Isi Fiszman, Laurence Taca, Loa & Tartine, Viviane Klagsbrun, Lieve Lambrecht, Charlotte van Buylaere, Patrice de Maeyer, Pieter Goudriaan, Liliane Dewachter, Menno Meewis, Harry Heirmans, Laetitia Yalon, Thomas van Lierde & entourage, Wout vercammen, Guche Vercammen, et quelques irregistrees... heroic attempts were made by Fons Brepols, Dennis Tyfus, Tin Jacobs & Els de Graeve, Frederic Tolmatcheff, Patries Wichers, Guy Rombouts and many others, some joining the crew at site II...
on the ninteenth a small delegation (ELM Dialogist kantor & myself) participated in Leo reynder's wolkenbreier programme on radio central... yet another archiveproduction on tape...
the preamble - invite
(Angel Vergara cleaning carrots for the 'soupe del Año' Inexistent 1990)
By now it’s just over twenty years since the ‘antarctica’ fifty-fifty meeting in Angel’s Café in Inexistent at the Volkstraat, in itself a moment to get together and reflect... but also because there has been some recent interest in the goings-on of fifty-fifty and similor droppings in a wider sense. In her paper Katrien H. Noted that there was very little to be found on fifty fifty either published on paper or the net, raising the question if there is/was any fifty-fifty at all or if it’s just a figment of the imagination. By chance Emilio Lopez Menchero proposed to investigate this matter in an ambulatory (historio-) 50/50-colloquium as part of a wider view of artist’s movements, groupings and salons slated for the autumn at Argos in Brussels.
Since the dissolving of F44 and the dissipation of material, aside from the archival meeting at Wol 33 in 2008, the need for a reconsideration of the matter seems more apparent that before. It’s up to the participants to consider the possibility of perhaps finding a more useable definition that ‘association libre sans but’ (free association without aim/goal) or editorial meetings... Who better to undertake such a review than the veterans of ‘fifty-fifty’ as well as some of it’s younger acolytes... Proposal is to meet in the tent-installation in which veteran Angel Vergara entertains various parties- at around tea-time 4 p.m. until about 9 p.m. at which point we would switch tents and continue on in good 50/50 tradition to Pierre Elitair’s (Radio Centraal 106.7 FM) Quatorze Juillet Party in the tent-o-mirrors ‘Magiq’ at the Northern Castle (Noordkasteel)
venue a) 4-9 p.m. Sculpture Park Middelheim, Middelheimlaan 61, 2020 Antwerp, in the red & yellow tent in from tot the chateau.
venue b) from 9 p.m. onwards.. Mirrortent ‘Magiq’ Noordkasteel, Oosterwielsesteenweg, 2030 Antwerp North,
(at the bar in Café del Año in 1990)
all part of an ongoing quest:
Selon le Salon II
As part of a wider investigation into groupings and sideline-fenomena slated for presentation at Argos in the fall (of 2010) , a proposal by ELM (emilio lopez menchero) to research in an active way the influences of the fifty-fifty-gatherings and related situations seems to be a perfect opportunity to investigate the propositions still awaiting decisions... aside from being just an archival problem, it could imbue the concept with fresh energy and lead to interesting developments....
( ELM and AV at meeting AK-37 ...1994?- background Kunstrover-Match)
so, by way of gearing up towards a series of possible exchanges, an open letter has been sent to former participants and curently interested parties, related associations and crossover sympathisers etc. etc... (partially reproduced also on the gruzemayer bureaublog) in order to begin an exchange of thoughts, views and tendencies that would lead up to another (precusory) meeting...
Traditionally the Quatorze Juillet would be a good moment for a get together .... (mercredi 14 - 07 - 2010)
if not before already... (in parts or bits & bobs, small groupings & gaggles)
meeting basement AK-37 (1994)
By now the memory of the regular meetings is slipping away, one researcher considered if there was anything to research at all or if it (fifty-fifty) was just a figment of the imagination ( sort of like that idea...) and it's true that a search on the web brings up allsorts except what we're talking about here... high time to make some waves for 'posteriority' if not for posterity...
invitation 1993 radio centraal BDsession
collage Burggracht 5050 Tea-Party (radio centraal)
MORE SOON
in the mentime considering the production of a 'numero spéciale' of LJA/DUE for september with only fifty-fifty material...
original "La Jeune Avrill" invitation 1988
translations
Français:
Détente à tente : re: Illumination, fraternité, égalisation…
(de Monocle d’Amérique – à ma tante a l’envers)
Quelques pensées sur le Rendez-vous fifty-fifty Quatorze Juillet 2010 dans la tente d’Angel Vergara Santiago au Musée Middelheim dans le cadre de l’expo ‘nouveaux monuments - nous avons encore besoin ?
( image de Angel preparando la sopa en ‘cafe del año’ …)
ça fait un peu plus que 20 ans depuis le rendez-vous ‘antarctica‘ de fifty-fifty dans l’installation d’Angel V.S. « Café Del Año » au Inexistent en juin1990… Déjà une raison de faire une petite réunion… mais aussi la résurgence récente de une certaine intéresse des activités du fifty-fifty et groupements pareilles… dans une essai l’étudiante Katrien H. remarque qu’il n y a pas beaucoup publié sur fifty-fifty ni en papier ni sur le net… comme si veux dire qu’il n’ait rien en fait… et en proposant la question si toutes les activités était en fait une sorte figement de l’imagination… (a figment of the imgaination)
Avec un certain hasard dirigé la proposition de Emilio Lopez Menchero de faire un rendez-vous itinérante / ambulante pour Argos (bxl) en septembre pour la série d’investigations sur la fonction du ‘salon’ artistique arrive comme appelé.
Avec la dissolution de F44 et la dispersion des matériaux d’archive, et sauf le petit rdv chez Wol33 en 2008 rein était fait…une certaine récapitulation est une bonne manière de reformuler la demande de quoi en fait se traite :
C’est au participant de trouver une définition valable de cette ‘association libre sans but’ (spécifique… sauf peut-être comme rédaction d’une revue inexis/tent…) et qui meilleure que les anciennes combattants et les jeunes acolytes ?
Nous proposons un rendez-vous dans l’après-midi vers 16 heures (temps du thé) – il aura une agenda de discours léger (voir ci-joint) et une micro ouvert pour les interventions…
Nous proposons également de changer la tente verte 21es – dans le style et tradition du fifty-fifty /Q14 – et assister à la fête de Quatorze Juillet de Pierre Elitaire (Radio Centraal 106,7 FM) à la tente de miroirs ‘Magiq’ au Château fort du Nord (Noordkasteel)
Pratique :
16 – 21 hrs
a) Musée Middelheim, Middelheimlaan 61, 2020 Anvers - la tente de AV en jaune et rouge devant le petit château administrative….
A partir de 21hrs
b) Spiegeltent Magiq/ Noordkasteel – Oosterwielsesteenweg, 2030 Antwerpen-Noord – quelques mètres plus loin que le AIR ….
Nederlands
TentatieveTentendetentie in de tent
Illusie, broederlijkheid, gelijkenis
Enkele gedachten rond de Fifty-fifty Vergadering op 14 Juli in de tent-installatie van Angel Vergara Santiago op de ‘Nieuwe Monumenten -een vraagstuk’ tentoonstelling Middelheimmuseum.
(beeld van Angel bij het soep maken in Café del Año)
Het is intussen ietske meer dat twintig jaar sinds de ‘antarctica’ 5050-vergadering in Angel’s ‘Café Del Año’ in Inexistent aan de Volkstraat... alvast één reden om nog eens samen te komen... maar ook omdat in laatste tijd wat interesse voor fifty-fifty en gelijkaardige groeperingen is opgekomen... in haar paper over fifty-fifty beklaagde zich Katrien H. Dat er haast niets over de groepering te vinden was, niet op het net en niet in publicaties... en dat de onduidelijkheid de vraag doet rijzen of het wel ect is, of misschien maar een schim – a figment of the imagination - een interessant vraagstuk dat ook deel uit maakt van een onderzoek naar artiestengroeperingen of ‘salons’ dat Argos voor het najaar plant en waarbij Emilio Lopez Menchero een soort ambulante vergadering van fifty-fifty voorstelt.
Met de opheffing van F44 zijn de dossiers wat verspreid geraakt, en behalve de archiefbijeenkomst in WOL33 in 2008 is er niet veel meer gebeurd met het materiaal. Dus een goed moment voor een soort recapitulatie om de gebeuren alsnog in kaart en context te brengen –
Aan de deelnemers om een betere omschrijving dan ‘association libre sand but’ – ‘redactievergadering’ te doen en toch een soort definitie kan geven – wie beter geplaatst dan oud strijders en jonge acolieten?
Voorstel is om samen te komen in het tentwerk van AVS in het Middelheimmuseum rond het koffie-uur 16 uur dus, - er zal een lichte agenda afgehandeld worden en plaats geboden worden aan interventies – (soort open podium)
Verder zou er rond 21 uur een tentenwissel plaatsvinden waarbij de lieden traditiegetrouw de feestelijkheden van de Quatorze Juillet van Pierre Elitaire (radio Centraal 106.7 FM) bijwonen in de spiegeltent Magiq aan het Noordkasteel.
Praktisch:
16-21 u
a) Openluchtmuseum Middelheim, Middelheimlaan 61, 2020 Antwerpen, in de geel en rode feesttent voor het kasteeltje
Vanaf 21 u
b) Spiegeltent ‘Magiq’ Oosterwielsesteenweg, 2030 Antwerpen Noord – juist voorbij het AIR...
-2009- things turned out a bit different this year... here a preliminary report:
fiftyfluxfifi
Wel, the little fact-finding trip to the passage de Retz by way of the fôrét de Retz was after all, quite educative. The decision to do so came up quite spontaneously, aided by the fact that a small accident (cuts & bruises, no permanent damage, but none the less a small fright) after the eleveth-‘quatorze’ party underscored the realization that life is frail & short... so why not?
The presentation ‘soudin l’été fluxus’ was presented by Ben Vautier and a thinning crew of fluxists Geoff Hendricks, Eric Andersen, Charles Dreyfus, Ben Patterson, Ester Ferrer, Takako Saito... a good opportunity to see some of the originals at work (or play)...
But one of the main reasons was to see how on earth one might collate and present an amorphous entity such as Fluxus in a more or less classic context... In this instance perhaps a bit too classic... in his stream of mails Ben opted for a variant approach including actual contemporary work and a grand flux-east wall, which I didn’t see anywhere really... and though the ‘classic’ presentation was chaotic enough to emulate a bit of the spirit, the whole thing was a bit isolated under glass as it were... a bit more museal than amusing. But then it was supposed to be an educative exhibition as illustration rather than ‘the real thing’ as Ben said during the ‘concert’...
The concert did give a good idea of what it’s about, even though the works were presented in a sort of fac-simile way, Ben referring to works for so-and-so rather than by so-and-so... This tendency to try and liberate the work from the author (authorship, copyright and all that) only functions in part and is dependent on the good will of the beholder... in the exhibition also one finds works grouped slightly and authorship stated...
The concert was a series of executions, slightly rough around the edges and tending towards the ludique, but none the less illustrative of the heyday...
fifty-fifty: Ben & Ben at the piano executing 566 for Henry Flynt
Since attempting to situate fifty-fifty in a broader context last year I found that fluxus was after all one of the main influences... I had been reticent to see how much was owed to the movement, but on this occasion I had to admit it all looked very familiar, right down to the problematic of ‘what to do with it all?’ – One of the reasons for going to this flux-show... and yes, the question still remains... and the show still remains, and the spirit is still live & kicking, even though less energetically... (there were quite a few young people there, not sure how enthusiastic they were though)
One of the more interesting moments was when Ben Patterson did an overview re-enactment in miniature... making me think of RF’S toy model of space...(eh, was it RF?) - and a good way to put in all in a bôite en valise, as the catalogue attempted (much like 5050’s pizzabox idea)
Fiftyfluxfifi nl
De kleine onderzoekscommissie die via het bos van Retz naar de passage de Retz voeren om te zien hoe veel flux in fifty zit en omgekeerd was een spontane ingeving na een accident komende van de Quatorze-party op de elfde... een realisatie dat het leven kort kan zijn en waarom niet...
De presentatie van ‘soudin l’été fluxus’ werd gepresenteerd door een onvermoeibare Ben vautier en een verder uitdunnende fluxcrew: Geoff Hendricks, Eric Andersen (geboren te Antwerpen no less) , Charles Dreyfus, Ben Patterson, Esther Ferrer, Takako Saito.... een geknipt moment om de originelen aan het werk (spel) te zien...
Maar de eigenlijke reden om er naar toe te gaan was om te zien hoe men een amorfe situatie ale fluxus in beeld kan brengen, hoe presenteren en ordenen... in deze context eerder klassiek,- in zijn Mail-stroom had Ben het over ingestuurde bijdragen en een heuse fluxus east wall, maar daar is toch niets van in huis gekomen... de rest was wel goed, bijna clean, een zwwem van voormalig chaos, maar toch onder (plexi-) glas geïsoleerd...
Meer museal dan amusant, maar zoals Ben tijdens het concert zei, het is maar een illustratie, niet le vrai...
Het concert zelf gaf wel een beetje van het spontane van weleer weer (of stuntelig als je zo wilt) een soor fac-simile van een fluxavond, en de vraag rond auteurschap werd relativeerd door de stukken als ‘voor’ ter presenteren als ‘van die-en-die’... maar de poging om de auteurschap te bevrijden van alle ego-commerciele verwachtingen is natuurlijk een oefening voor de toeschouwer... of de goede wil ervan... Ook de tentoonstelling blijft in het keurslijf van groeperingen naar auteur, de uitvoeringen ‘voor’ ook natuurlijk ‘behorend tot’... dus nog steeds een moeilijke kwestie.
Sinds ik begn van vorig jaar op zoek ben gegaan om een vorm voor fifty-fifty te vinden bleek dat fluxus veel meer aanwezig was dan eerst evident, in feite soms nauwelijks te onderscheiden... zelfs de vraag wat er met al die ‘archiefproductie’ moet gebeuren is wederzijds... Niet meer zo krachtig als vroeger, maar nog steeds actueel, maar waarheen ermee? Ook hier bleek de vergrijzing een rol te spelen, er waren wat geïnteresseerde jongeren, maar hoe enthousiast die waren was niet duidelijk.
Wel interessant vond ik Ben Patterson’s voorstelling van klassieke flux-stukken in miniatuur, met speelgoed,- moest aan RF’s toy model of space denken – en wat luchtiger... goed voor een boite en valise en doen denken aan 5050’s pizzabox van weleer...)
en français /
Pour les francophones je propose une visite sur le site de Ben. (www.ego-ben.vautier/newletters/JE M/’EN FOUS PAS) De la vue du ‘Fifty-fifty c’était interessant au niveau de la problématique de présenter en cadre classique les œuvres – ouvrages flux-fluides… Mais aussi le faite que, comme soupçonné, fluxus avait beaucoup d’influence sur des activités inex-fifty… encore plus que ça. Les problèmes d’archiver et de organisation des pièces fiftyflux sont plus ou moins égales.. les questions d’origine et du ‘droite’ d’auteur aussi… voilà – résultat du recherche : status quo (plus) ante.
sideline investigation into (for dutch & french please scroll down)
Fifty-Fifty: pre-colloquial attempt (june 19, 2009) 
An attempt was made to reconnect with matters past by proposing a double-bill excusion to Brussels for a presentation of the latest book by Jef Lambrecht at the HOB library, and then to proceede to Angel Vergara's café-installation "Nous les oeuvres d'art"... JL is an 'ancien combattant', as is AV, and it is in hios first cafe (Del Ano) that we met profusely back in the inexistent days... (1990)... so what better manner to pick up some loose ends - threads and see what gives...
not much... of course there are all sorts of reasons, and it would have to take more than just a single flash to get things going again... nevertheless here is some comment on the afternoon ( in dutch ) - more soon...
Jef L. during presentation 'the holy worldwar'
Het fifty-fifty ‘précolloquium’ was wel wat van een slag in het water. Logistieke communicatiefout en gewoon ‘bad timing’. Vrijdag is natuurlijk niet iedereen vrij, en dan zijn er natuurlijk ook fysieke hindernissen en medische omstandigheden enz.enz.
Maar al bij al was het nog een interessante uitstap. De kleine treindelegatie (elf uur elf) bestaande uit Rudi, Annemie, Lieve, Marc & Luc, Odie en mezelf vonden in het salon van de Hoofdstedelijke Openbare Bilbiloteek te Brussel nog Anversoises voor, o.a. Hilde Pauwels en Jean-Jacques Stiefenhofer. Het was een rustige affaire, goed bezocht en toch wel aangenaam te noemen, Het gesprek tussen Jef Lambrecht & Jos Bouveroux was min of meer hetzelfde dat al op diverse radio-uitzendingen te horen was, en de vragen achteraf hielen zich ook beperkt tot een bijsleutelen van algemene kennis, en wat gedachten over mogelijke toekomstscenario’s. Het boek zelf ging als zoete broodjes over de toonbank, zodat alle van een gelaagde middag konden spreken.
Gezien dat het toch wat vroegen gedaan was dan verwacht nam de Antwerpse delegatie, intussen vervoegd door D-K-helft Toni, wat tijd om aan de viskraam van wijn en kabeljauw te proeven, een duik in de bakkerij te doen en even stil te staan in de rue de Flandres voor de vitrinetentoonstelling en de binnengevel van La Bellone.
Het café van Angel Vergara, ‘Nous les Oeuvres d’Art’ deed sterk denken aan de installatie te Amsterdam zowat vijf jaar tevoren, met enkele herkenbare elementen (lepelgordijn). Het weer was aangenaam genoeg om op terras te zitten, waar intussen ook Jef, Ariane, en een klein entourage van ‘Het beschrijf’ zich bijvoegde. Aanwezig was ook Oostenrijkse wijnhandel-kunstenaar Kurt Ryslavy en natuurlijk ‘the unsinkable Titania Altezze’, Laetitia. Een rustige namiddag, de vraag naar een agenda of vergaderstructuur werd stante pede van de hand gewezen en zo was er wat tijd voor enkele korte portret-sessies en om even enkele nabijgelegen galerijen te bezoeken: Jan Mot, CCNOA, Filles du Calvaire (Bxl) en galerie sans titre... vooral ten benefit van Odie, die niet zo dikwijls in de buurt komt... er was dan ook juist een video of twee van Bas Jan Ader te zien, en zo een teruggrijpend connectie met de laatste reeks van Odie in 2007 ... kringloop.
Hij moest ook vroeger terug naar Antwerpen, voor een afspraak rond zijn project voor Logement... ( zo ben ik met heb even naar station gereden) & back again, just in time voor de presentatie van Isi Fiszman.
Had ik op voorhand geweten van deze archiefpresentatie had ik ze zeker vermeld op de info-flyer... maar toeval wilde dat dit allemaal zonder planning gebeurde. De keldertentoonstelling presenteerde documenten en werken van de archieven van Isi Fiszman rond de tentoonstelling ten bate van het progressief blad ‘POUR’ in het Musee d’ Ixelles in 1973(?) die hij samen met Harald Seeman bijeenstak en die een hele boel klinkende namen bijeen bracht, o.a. Beuys, Ono, Lewitt, Buren, Byars, etc... De kleine tentoonstelling op zich was al goed de moeite waard, maar rond half zeven liep het café vol en konden wij genieten van het verslag van Isi en ook uitleg van de redacteur van POUR (Jean Claude Garot - ook een extra avond op vrijdag 3 juli met hem) ... Er waren heel wat jonge academici aanwezig en de vragen sessie begon eerder op een discussieavond te lijken, en wij dreigden ons laatste trein te missen...
(Er was nog een bijkomend oponthoud te Mechelen wegens agressie, zo waren we toch heel wat later thuis dan oorspronkelijk gepland.
Het POUR archief deed weer een toevallig connectie veroorzaken met fifty-fifty... ten tijde van de reguliere 5050-vergaderingen die plaatsvonden in de Volkstraat was er twee straten verder een garage vol onverkochte nummers POUR en dozen vol administratief rommel en documenten... waarschijnlijk van de latere jaren POUR en niet zo interessant als de nummers die in deze keldertentoonstelling te zien zijn... Maar het hele gegeven deed weer aan herinneren dat er toch een reden is om de archieven te bewaren, bewerken, bekijken, ontleden ontsluiten etc... Fifty-Fifty mag dan in een heel ander rayon zitten en van een totaal andere orde zijn, blijkt toch dat ook haast vergeten zaken vroeg of laat weer interesse genereren... (de vermelding van de garage vol POUR-materiaal als illustratie: toen wilde niemand ervan weten, zelf ik niet....(uiteindelijk is het leeuwendeel van dat materiaal toch bij een of ander unief verzeild...) maar zodra het verdwijnt zou er wel interesse voor blijken..)
Dus de vraag die tijdens de colloque-bijeenkomst in de WOL 33 is blijven hangen, blijft nog steeds hangen: what to do with the archive? Het is wel waar dat er niet veel ermee kon gebeuren wegens verhuis en verbouwing, maar gelukkig is het er nog steeds, want verleden jaar was het helemaal niet duidelijk of het mogelijk was om het nog bijeen te houden. De optie van digitalisatie en ‘redactie’ per internet is nog een mogelijkheid, een voorbeeld zou de gruzemayer-reeks ‘rear-view-review’ kunnen zijn, verleden jaar gestart op wwaow, nu ‘unibook’.... of gewoon als virtueel archief ( - blog bij voorbeeld, in dezer... Maar ook hier heb ik de neiging te denken dat niemand echt ermee bezig wil zijn...)
Voor mij heeft deze précolloquiaanse uitstap juist deze vraag weer doen opwerpen: zou er behoefte zijn aan nog eens een bijeenkomst en/of tentoonmoment? Er werd geopteerd om ‘verder te doen’ maar hoe dan best?
colloquium summer 2008:
As part of but not entirly integrated into the 'submersible research' the archive material from the late eigties concerning the activities of "fifty-fifty" keep popping up... so at this point it might be worthwhile to onvestigate how this aspect relates to the project as a whole, and, seeing that this also concerns former participants, an attempt is being made to see if there is any interest to revisit the archives and try to make sese of it all. Part of the archive has already been sifted through for the attempt at a chronology of the period 1986-1996 calles "editorial machinations surrounding an inexistent review 'fifty-fifty' up to and including AK-37" but it soon became apparent that there were large gaps in the archive and these need to be filled if a reasonable overview is to be attempted. the problem is that the material needed to do this is spread far and wide among the former participants, if at all still available... so,... ...To make a start of this process, a smal archive-overview and reunion in the form of a mini colloquium is being organised at
WOL 33 - Wolstraat 33, 2000 Antwerp on Monday, 14th of July at 4 p.m.
on the "quatorze juillet" (a semi-traditional fifty-fifty date)... the 'colloquium' will take place on the ground floor, where Christ Delaet is currently holding a stockroom exhibition of material from het gallery which coincides nicely with the period concerning fifty-fifty, the archive exhibition is to take place on the first floor , where Elisabeth Lemahieu has just renovated the space into a golden and a silver room... just recently she found a series of photographs of a 5050 meeting in a drydock... never before seen material... the exhibit will run through to the next weekend, - to be visited in the afternoon or by appointment.
some views op the first day of installation with still lots to come... view of the silver room...
stockroom ashtray...
Initial report on the proceedings, (check also 'gruzeblog A' on blogspot and / or picasa ( heiniobst/fiftyfiftyA)
Meeting on Monday is never such a great idea, but the Quatorze juillet has a sort of tradition... anyway, considering the circumstances, it was quite well attended, and though the meeting itself was rather short, there were some aspects of the agenda which were dealt with and some interesting proposals considered. Thee is still some amount of work to be done in organizing the archive before we can consider offering it to whichever institution... there were various offers to dissect portions of it for that purpose... the audio-tapes for instance, which have until now not figured in any scenario... what is also interesting to note is that there is a younger generation that is prepared to get involved, which freshens up the matter considerably... there were offers of help on the electronic documentation and distribution side... various possibilities which need to be investigated, and even offers of space for ether archive material and/or even activities... so the intent to get the ball rolling in terms of stocktaking has been a success... now it's time to do something about it.
momentary view of the meeting in the stockroom
Luc VT's interior panorama hat in action, Ludo M & Jacques 'The Rapper' Ambach
Toni G with Vergara poster from the gallery christ delaet archive
Luc Van Tichel's hat connection 5050 to 'recherches submersibles'...
short pressrelease in dutch:
Archieftentoonstelling en klein colloquium in zake “Fifty-Fifty”.
Intussen 20 jaar geleden kwam in de toenmalige galerij “Inexistent” (Volksstraat 45, 2000 Antwerpen) een reeks “redactievergaderingen” op gang onder de noemer ‘Fifty Fifty’. Bedoeling van dit losse groep kunstenaars was oorspronkelijk de creatie van een alternatief kunstentijdschrift gemaakt en beheerd door kunstenaars. Uiteindelijk werd het project een lange reeks activiteiten en manifestaties allerhande, maar behalve enkele multiples en aanverwante documenten werd een tijdschrift per se nooit geproduceerd.
Toch waren de activiteiten van ‘fifty-fifty’ in hun geheel gezien een interessant gebeurtenis van een vrijblijvende groep kunstenaars die het ideaal van een onafhankelijke en niet-hierarchische samenwerking benaderde. Vooral in de jaren tussen 1988 en 1995 werd intens vergaderd en heel wat archiefmateriaal geproduceerd. Tot nu toe zijn de activiteiten schetsmatig opgenomen in een overzicht van de periode in een chronologie genoemd “redactionele machinaties rondom een kinesisten tijdschrift fifty-fifty tot en met AK-37” (isbn 978-9-0812-9031-9) als voorloper van de periode van Factor 44 vzw, (1996-2006) waarbij “fifty-fifty” een stichtend rol heeft gespeeld.
Het colloquium vindt plaats op 14 Juli vanaf 16 uur in WOL 33 – Wolstraat 33, Antwerpen, - meer precies het “Stockroom” van Christ Delaet, (waar archieven van haar toenmalige Galerij Christ Delaet op de E. Van Dijkkaai te zien zijn). Op de eerste verdieping in de onlangs door Elisabeth Lemahieu gerenoveerde Goud-en Zilver-zalen zal een kijktentoonstelling plaatsvinden met vooral grote werken op papier door ‘fifty-fifty’ die sinds lang niet meer gezien waren.
Bedoeling van het colloquium is de verder aanvulling van het onvolledige archief uitgaand van de voornoemde chronologie door toenmalige medewerkers en het onderzoek naar de haalbaarheid van een overzicht uit verschillende invalshoeken.
Aan de hand van deze korte terugblik zal nagegaan worden of er een coherente documentatie van de activiteiten van ‘fifty-fifty’ wenselijk of inderdaad mogelijk is.
De tentoonstelling zal nog te bezoeken zijn op vrijdag18, zaterdag 19, en zondag 20 juli van 14-18 uur.
WOL 33 Wolstraat 33 2000 Antwerpen
en français:
Colloque 50
Présentation & réunion académique 5050
Entre temps ce fait vingt ans depuis le début des réunions fifty-fifty avec le « Meeester X & Heinrich Obst find half » dans l’espace du ‘Inexistent’. Dans le cadre de ma recherche préliminaire à la base de la publication ‘Redactionele Machinaties rondom een inexistent revu fifty-fifty tot en met AK-37’ je propose la prochaine Quatorze Juillet comme date pour une présentation archivale et réunion pour investiguer la possibilité d’augmenter les archives te créer une vue d’ensemble plus complet.
A côté d’une exposition d’œuvres sur papier de grandes dimensions (entre autres les ‘nappes’ des réunions) au premier étage, le colloque propose investiguer la possibilité de la production d’une vue d’ensemble de diverses perspectives, et d’augmenter et corriger les archives actuelles du fifty-fifty avec matériel encore caché dans les archives des anciennes combattantes… Pour cette fin, je voudrais bien si les participantes de l’époque faisant une plonge dans leurs archives et porte avec eux quelques documents ou des notes sur ce thème.
Une sorte de ‘show and tell’
Pour suite, le colloque veut traité la possibilité d’une publication basée sur des archives plus complet que ce du ‘Machinaties’ avec plusieurs points de vue et contributions. (Cette idée existe déjà longtemps ( c.f. ‘telefoonboek’) et est revitalisée par mes « recherches submersibles » actuellement en course…
Ce n’est pas l’intention de relancer une ronde de réunions rédactionnels, mais une rencontre pour discuter les possibilités sera une excersice intéressante pour voir s’il y aura une possible suite d’affaires fifty-fifty.
Le colloque même se prend lieu dans le ‘stockroom’ de Christ Delaet au rez-de-chausee du WOL33, ou elle présent pour le moment toute une archive de l’époque de sa galerie. Au premier étage dans les salles Argent et Or, récemment rénovées par Elisabeth Lemahieu une exposition de grandes œuvres et des matériaux produit par fifty-fifty; de multiples, publications, correspondances…
Le colloque est prévu le 14 Juillet vers 16 heurs (tea time) et la exposition dura jusqu’au week-end suivante (ven, sam, dim 14-18 heurs).
H. Obst / Chris Stratling / Bureau Gruzemayer
adresse coloque: WOL33 – Wolstraat 33, 2000 Anvers,- à côté de ERCOLA, près du Café De Kat,- de la gare tram 10 et 11, arrêts justes en face.