An online exhibition in the form of an online magazine, commissioned by NADA Curated.

Watch HERE: Fatoş Üstek in conversation with Jorge Rios, Johanna Robinson, and Xavier Robles de Medina

Exhibition HERE: https://issuu.com/fatosustek/docs/reduction_to_satire_final

Artists: Molly Grad, VIROSA, Tristram Lansdowne, Xavier Robles de Medina, Amanda Kyritsopoulou, Hirosuke Yabe, Secil Erel, Sarah Brasier, Johanna Robinson, Leo Mock, Julie Béna, Ellen de Meijer, Maryam Mohry, Sarah Fuhrman, Sahar Khoury, Ekin Saçlıoğlu, Jorge Rios, Maria Petrovskaya, Aideen Barry, Per Lunde Jørgensen, Shannon Wright

A newly coined term–like all others–faces an uncertain future. Will the wording be picked up by the masses and inflict itself in the language to mean something in the future? Or does it have a meaning now? The artists for the Reduction to Satire exhibition were invited to respond to what they think the newly coined term might mean, or how it resonates within their current practices. Borrowed from two distinct disciplines of knowledge production, namely applied mathematics and literature, the methodology of reducing to absurdity–to prove its negation as false–in order to confirm the truth of the assumption juxtaposed with the methodology of employing humor, irony, exaggeration and ridicule in order to make known something that holds truth. 

The thematic umbrella of the online exhibition curated in the form of an automatic flipping online magazine finds its reflections in the 29 works selected from 21 artists participating from across the globe*. A geo-historic stratification of the use of absurd and dark humor culminates in the pages of the magazine–a reel of sorts that brings together paintings, drawings, sculpture and video, that showcases abstract and figurative depictions of artistic expression. The magazine, instead of hosting curatorial texts composed for each artist**, publishes 21 Haiku poems that are formed through a ritual that the curator employed for each and every time while holding the artworks in her mind’s eye. 

Reduction to Satire, is a quest for the depiction of the real; an inquiry into the nature of truths we live in, with and through; a reflection of our times that are scarred with wars, social and political turmoil, induced by fear and anxiety, a sense of separateness and isolation. It is an urge that is charged by instinct to play, to engage with the world that is surrounding us through the eyes of others, different viewpoints and ways of thinking. It is a proposition to lift the weighing blanket of hardships, struggle, trauma–not to deny it, but to form a different relationship to it, so that other ways of being emerge… 

Hereby, I thank all the artists who have submitted their works, and all the galleries for their support. Our selection was guided by a cadence of principles, where analytical thinking and non-repeating patterns of recognition were employed.  

*Reduction to Satire’s curatorial framework was published in four languages, to increase the dissemination of the open call to artists who do not speak English as their first language. Thanks to the NADA team for the Spanish translation and Tobias Hering for the German translation. Timing and resources played a role in publishing the concept in more than four languages.

**Texts included in the online magazine that informs about the artist and the selected works are resourced from the artists and their representing galleries.

Exhibition OPEN CALL:

Reduction to Satire (Reductio ad Satura) is a newly coined term for the NADA Curated series. It is a hybrid term, borne out of the juxtaposition between two distinct approaches of engaging with the truth. Reduction to Absurdity (Reductio ad Absurdum) is commonly used in mathematics and logic, famously by Euclid, as a method to prove by contradiction. Reduction to absurdity can be described as a figure of speech that is defined as arguing to prove one’s own position by showing the absurdity of the position of one’s opponent. Satire (lanx satura), on the other hand, is a literary work that ridicules its subject through the use of techniques such as exaggeration, reversal, incongruity, and/or parody in order to make a comment or criticism. Depiction of the notion ‘absurd’ can be traced in art, through movements of realism and existentialism. The use of satire in visual, literary and performing arts transcends cultures going back to Ancient Greece, with a strong trace in literature, theatre and the arts.

By embedding two distinct methods of relating to reality, Reduction to Satire (Reductio ad Satura) intends to expand the space of speech, expression and viewpoints, by catalyzing new ways of seeing, feeling and thinking. 

The selection process for the exhibition will be solely dedicated to engage with each proposed artwork through a thorough assessment of their relationship with the absurd, and their means of employing sarcasm, mockery and irony. The exhibition supports the applicants to embody a somewhat playful, indirect and ludicrous approach, while encouraging them to present any idea, any thematic, and through any media of their preference. The exhibition that culminates through a selected open call process intends to trigger new ideas, and spark new emerging movements. 

>> TURKCE

Olmayana Yergi (Reductio ad Satura) deyimi, çoğunlukla matematik ve mantık alanlarında kullanılan olmayana ergi metodu (reductio ad absurdum) ile edebiyatın yergileme roman geleneği bir araya getirilerek, NADA Curated sergi serisi için, oluşturulmuş yeni bir kavram. Olmayana ergi genellikle ikilikli koşullarda kullanılan mantık ispatı olarak tanımlanabilir, genellikle antik yunan felsefesinde ve Öklid’in matematiksel savlarında rastlanır. Bir olguyu, olmadiığı üzerinden absürtlüğe sürükleyerek doğruluğunu kanıtlar. Absürtlüğe indirgeme 20.nci yüzyıl sanatında, gerçekçilik, varoluşçuluk gibi akımlarda on plana cıkar. Yergileme, istiare metodu da, şark edebiyatında onemli bir yer taşır. Absürtlük ile bir araya geldiğinde amaçlanan, sanat için yeni söylem alanları açması, yeni bakıs acılarına ön ayak olması, birbiri ile yan yana gelmesi olası görünmeyen kavram, duygu ve düşünceleri bir araya getirme potansiyelidir. 

Sergiye başvuracak kişilerin eserlerinde, absürt ile olan dolaylı ya da direk iliskileri, bu yeni kavram çatışması ile olan incelikli diyalogları ve kendilerini bile dehşete düşüren çıkarımları aranacaktır. 

Olmayana Yergi (Reductio ad Satura), başvuranların oyunlu, dolaylı ve saçma olanı seçmelerini destekler. Katılımcılar istedikleri konu ve mecra ile eserlerini ve dusuncelerini paylaşabilirler. Ortaya çıkan serginin, eğretileme sanatına gönderimi olacağı gibi, yeni duruş ve akımların oluşmasına destek olma gibi bir niyeti vardır.

>> Española:

Reducción a la sátira (Reductio ad Satura) es un término recién acuñado para la serie NADA Curated. Es un término híbrido nacido de la yuxtaposición entre dos enfoques distintos para acercarse a la verdad. La reducción al absurdo (Reductio ad Absurdum) es un método celebrado por Euclides que prueba por medio de la contradicción y es comúnmente utilizado en matemáticas y lógica. La reducción al absurdo se puede describir como una figura retórica que busca debatir una posición personal para mostrar lo absurdo de la posición del oponente. La sátira (lanx satura), por otro lado, es una obra literaria que ridiculiza a su tema mediante el uso de técnicas como la exageración, la inversión, la incongruencia y/o la parodia para hacer un comentario o una crítica. La representación de la noción de “absurdo” se puede rastrear en el arte, a través de movimientos del realismo y existencialismo. El uso de la sátira en las artes visuales, literarias y escénicas trasciende las culturas que se remontan a la antigua Grecia, con una fuerte huella en la literatura, el teatro y las artes.

Al incorporar dos métodos distintos de relacionarse con la realidad, Reducción a la sátira (Reductio ad Satura) pretende expandir el espacio del habla, la expresión y los puntos de vista, al catalizar nuevas formas de ver, sentir y pensar. 

El proceso de selección de la exposición se realizará exclusivamente a través de una evaluación exhaustiva de las obras de arte propuestas con relación al absurdo y sus medios para emplear el sarcasmo, la burla y la ironía. La exposición ayuda a los interesados a encarnar un enfoque lúdico, indirecto y ridículo, al tiempo que los alienta a presentar cualquier idea, cualquier tema y a través de cualquier medio de su preferencia. La exposición culmina en un proceso de selección que tiene la intención de desencadenar nuevas ideas y provocar nuevos movimientos emergentes.

>> Deutsche Übersetzung:

Reduktion auf die Satire (Reductio ad Satura) ist ein für die kuratierte Reihe NADA neu geprägter Begriff. Es handelt sich um einen hybriden Begriff, der aus der Gegenüberstellung von zwei unterschiedlichen Ansätzen zur Auseinandersetzung mit der Wahrheit entstanden ist. Die Reduktion aufs Absurde (Reductio ad Absurdum) ist eine in der Mathematik und in der Logik gängige Methode des Beweises durch einen Widerspruch, für die vor allem Euklid bekannt wurde. Reduktion aufs Absurde lässt sich als eine rhetorische Wendung beschreiben, bei der zum Beweis der eigenen Position die Absurdität und Unhaltbarkeit der Position des Gegners aufgezeigt wird. Die Satire (lanx satura) hingegen ist ein literarisches Werk, das seinen Gegenstand durch Techniken wie Übertreibung, Umkehrung, Inkongruenz und/oder Parodie lächerlich macht, um einen Kommentar oder eine Kritik zum Ausdruck zu bringen. Darstellungen des Begriffs “absurd” können in der Kunst im Realismus wie auch im Existentialismus aufgezeigt werden. Die Verwendung von Satire ist kulturübergreifend und reicht bis in die griechische Antike zurück, mit markanten Spuren in der bildenden, literarischen und darstellenden Kunst. 

Durch die Einbindung zweier unterschiedlicher Methoden, sich auf die Realität zu beziehen, will Reduktion auf die Satire (Reductio ad Satura) den Raum der Sprache, des Ausdrucks und der Sichtweisen erweitern, indem neue Wege des Sehens, Fühlens und Denkens katalysiert werden. 

Der Auswahlprozess für die Ausstellung ist ausschließlich darauf ausgerichtet, die eingereichten Arbeiten und Vorschläge durch eine gründliche Bewertung ihrer Beziehung zum Absurden und ihrer Mittel zur Verwendung von Sarkasmus, Spott und Ironie zu würdigen. Die Ausstellung unterstützt die Bewerber*innen dabei, einen eher spielerischen, indirekten und skurrilen Ansatz zu verfolgen, und ermutigt sie gleichzeitig zu größtmöglicher Freiheit bei der Wahl von Thema, Form und Medium der Präsentation. Dem Auswahlverfahren geht ein offener Ausschreibungsprozess voran. Die schließlich entstehende Ausstellung soll neue Ideen hervorbringen und neue Bewegungen anstoßen.