“FRONTIER”

One of the challenges confronting the contemporary human being is the subject of "frontier" or "limit" and related matters. Since the field of ceramics oscillates between art and craft with influences on painting and sculpture without a specific division between applied and visual arts, AD Academy have decided that after its first Ceramics based exhibition “Breakable” the theme for this year’s exhibition will be frontier (limit). This exhibition will be held aiming at the characteristics of ceramics, in order to address the concerns of contemporary world with frontiers. 

Statement:

Frontier is the reflection of a distance between subjects or objects arranged according to a convention. In fact, what a frontier does is to impose a distance between this and that. Limit or frontier can define a realm or symbol of authority/sovereignty while restricting this term to geographical and political borders is to simplify its diverse aspects and real meaning. These aspects could be found in many concealed but vital dimensions of the personal and social life – such as barriers between me and the other, genders, personality and ethics, beliefs, cultures and also draw division lines between arts and non-arts, arts, crafts and artistic media, etc.

Drawing up and fixing borders has had a great influence on the humans' relations from geographical, political, economic, cultural and artistic points of view. Humans have sometimes moved towards a civil and advanced society by defining and drawing borders and limits and sometimes by breaking them, on occasions that:

-        the limits of humanity were determined by those of geography, race and gender,

-        the limits of ethics and morality changed course from idealism to relativism,

-        the limits of modernity were established on avoiding the traditions, and

-        the limits of art from non-art were just diminished to the beauty in the object.

Now that our understanding of the term frontier is intertwined with diverse concepts, the questions is how far and in what fields can we consider clear maintain or remove the artificially imposed borders? Is it necessary to have a new definition of limit or a different explanation for frontiers?

The AD Academy invites all visual artists to consider the present challenges in the contemporary world in connection with problems and the significance of border with its extensive connotations (whether geography which is today regarded as a serious concern in the Middle East and Europe) or any of its other aspects. The exhibition organizers invite artists to deal with this matter using the language of art. We believe that artists, with their different attitude, are able to challenge the extents and presence of borders substantiating them for the ideal world of human being.

Aims of the Exhibition:

-        considering borders and frontiers as zones as well as limits in the contemporary world

-        utilizing the features of ceramics in its expanded field in order to encourage,  recognize and apply the potentials of ceramics in the field of visual arts

-        making an atmosphere of familiarity and interaction with the works of artists from other countries

-        Addressing  local, regional and trans-local concerns

An Important Point:

Here it seems necessary to present a comprehensive definition of the concept of ceramics in its expanded field in order to provide artists and those interested in this field with more awareness and information about the subject. First we give a technical definition of "ceramics". Scientifically, the term "ceramics" is attributed to those non-metallic mineral materials which are pliable and harden after firing as a result of chemical transformation. With a general name applied to all the categories and subdivisions in pottery, porcelain and so on, the term is used extensively. Ceramic objects have specific characteristics from the viewpoint of color, texture, kind and sound reflection. Considering a technical approach, they can have a definite extent too.

But the expanded field of ceramics can relate to an object, a picture or sound that evokes rhetoric, historical feelings and memories of a ceramic object. Therefore, according to the mentioned concept loyalty to the nature of ceramics or blemishing its concealed limits, all in the direction of extending the definition of ceramics, is valid and relevant to this call. In fact, the association or the connection of concepts in a work to the definition and logic of ceramics, even without physical presence of it, is one of the most important factors or features in a ceramic-based object. Hence in this exhibition, works can be from different media, including painting, photography, sculpture, installation, performance and time-based arts.

Policy council

Sima Eftekhari Rad - Rojhane Hosseini

Hamid Severi

Hirbod Hemmat Azad - Mehran Houshiar