Mladen Bizumic
Kodak: Reorganization Plan
For his second solo exhibition at Georg Kargl BOX, Mladen Bizumic composes a set of works that continue yet another stage of his long-term photographic project dedicated to products of the legendary manufacturer Kodak. Bizumic’s show refers to the recently completed reorganization plan of Kodak.
Founded by George Eastman in 1880, the Eastman Kodak Company, headquartered in Rochester, N.Y marketed the world’s first flexible roll film in 1888 and turned photography into an unexpected popularity with a $1 Brownie camera in 1900. Quickly Kodak became one of the main photography labels in the world and retained its prominence for the entire 20th century. The company's popularity was such that the Tagline "Kodak Moment" entered the common lexicon to describe a personal event that demanded to be recorded for posterity. In 1964 Kodak commissioned its own pavilion at the New York’s Worlds Fair; in 1976, Kodak had a 90% market share of photographic film sales in the United States; in 1984 the company sponsored the Winter Olympic Games in Sarajevo. After more the 100 years in business Kodak began to struggle financially in the late 1990s as a result of the decline in sales of photographic film and its slowness in transitioning to digital photography, a technology which paradoxically originated from the company’s own laboratory. The first digital camera was invented by Kodak’s engineer Steve Sasson in 1975 but the Board of directors refused to market it due to hugely profitable sales of photographic film. Unfortunately they could not capitalize on their high prized invention. In other words Kodak invented its own „death“. In 2012, after over 130 years in business Kodak filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and continued to operate while seeking to reorganize its finances. After only 20 months Kodak emerged from the restructuring profitable once again. Under the slogan „What’s next starts now“, Kodak is nowadays refocusing on their own historical strengths: research, development and innovation of the future technologies. In February 2015 the company got the chance to maintain the best of the analogue past by signing a contract with major Hollywood studios to prolong the 35mm colour negative film production for years to come.
Mladen Bizumic’ interest in the history of Kodak company is on the one hand autobiographically provoked by his exclusive use of their photographic films since the age of fifteen but generally driven by the changing perception of the image from the analogue to the digital. Even if the materiality of the image gets increasingly lost in the digital age, the desire and fascination for the physical object still remains. Bizumic is detecting the traces of the materiality of photography by focusing on the „sculptural“ element of the image itself, the chemistry, the paper that it is printed on, the toning as well as the forms of presenting photography, the framing device and the display.
For the Georg Kargl BOX he creates an atmospherically charged installation by revisiting historical moments from Kodak that follow the transformation of the 20th century imaging. Alongside, an original Bakelite US Baby Brownie camera which was extremely popular between two world wars he displays a disassembled 1980ties Kodak Disc Camera 4000, which intended to reach a utopian future that had never arrived. Thus Bizumic is pointing not only at the successes but also the failures.
The historic development of Kodak from the main „photography“ label to the new structured „image“ company does not only mark the way from analogue to digital, from materiality to immateriality but also represents the shift from the industrial to the post-industrial society. Photography should be always understood within their specific context and in the form it is shown. It belongs to the historically specific process of production and to its materiality that implies the sense of the time when it was shot.
By printing the Kodak’s 2013 announcement of the successful emergence from Chapter 11 on aged paper collected in the bankrupt polish ZNTK (Railway Rolling Stock Repair Company) in Poznan, Bizumic is interweaving two different socio-economic systems and temporalities. He draws the attention to the fact that the neo-liberal strategy of reorganization following the Western model played a key role in the process of deindustrialization with far reaching consequences to the economic and cultural impacts on post-communist countries.
The subtle texture paper affects the text and the image printed on and giving the impression of multilayered times. This has an impact on the whole space due to dense paper sheets arranged in a horizontal line around the gallery walls. The arrangement not only creates a cohesive structure of the installation but also gives the illusion of an enlargement of the small, but architecturally remarkable space. By sourcing elements from a relevant past to accentuate the present situation Bizumic manifests his recurrent artistic exploration of time that subtexts his practice and offers the viewer multiple readings of the past and the present and projecting a potential future.
Text: Fiona Liewehr & Mladen Bizumic
Biography
Solo Exhibitions
2023
COPIA: Collection of Post-Industrial Arts, Georg Kargl Fine Arts, Vienna
2019
The Ecology of Attention, Georg Kargl BOX, Vienna
Interiors of Photography (with Sophie Thun), Camera Austria, Graz
2018
Kunstbüro (with Yuki Hugashino), Vienna
BOOK (Photo Boom Photo Box), Kunstraum, Retz
2016
Kodak Employed 140.000 People. Instagram 13., MOSTYN. Wales
2015
Kodak: Reorganization Plan, Georg Kargl BOX, Vienna
Artissima (with David Maljkovic), Oval, Turin
2014
Bankruptcy and Reorganisation, ZAMEK Centre for Culture, Poznan
Kodak: la présence de l’image, galerie frank elbaz, Paris
2013
Kodachrome Presents, Auckland Art Gallery, Auckland
Keep Me. Protect Me. Share Me, Galerie Karin Sachs, Munich
2012
Hotel Jugoslavija, Salon of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Belgrade
180° (with Andreas Fogarasi), Neuer Kunstverein Wien, Vienna
Hotel Jugoslavija: A Repository with a View, Georg Kargl BOX, Vienna
2011
Untitled (Window Painting #5) (with Benjamin Hirte), Ve.sch, Vienna
2010
From Cube To Ball (Chapter 1), Sue Crockford Gallery, Auckland
From Cube To Ball (Chapter 2), Adam Art Gallery, Wellington
2009
Global Truths vs. Local Reflections, Sue Crockford Gallery, Auckland
America (with Ovul Durmusoglu), Parallel Event/Istanbul Biennial, Istanbul
After the Party, Hirschfeld, Berlin
Everyone is Welcome!, Uszynska Schaufenster, Vienna
2008
1st Translator’s Note – Le desir de philosophie, Zoo Galerie, Nantes
Everyone is Welcome!. Te Tuhi - Centre for the Arts, Auckland
2007
How If - A Translation in III Acts, Künstlerhaus Bethanien & PROGRAM, Berlin
Colonial Atmospheres, Physics Room, Christchurch
An Expedition Yet To Happen, Two Rooms, Auckland
2006
Superstructure Doubled (with Øystein Aasan), Korridor, Berlin
Crystal Memorial, Charim Galerie, Vienna
2005
Planet Wittgenstein, Sue Crockford Gallery, Auckland
2004
event.horizon.black.hole, Dunedin Public Art Gallery, Dunedin
Aipotu: Love Will Tear Us Apart, Sue Crockford Gallery, Auckland
Aipotu: Love Will Tear Us Apart (again), Hocken Collections, Dunedin
2003
Fiji Biennele Pavilions, Govett Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth
The Night Shift, Sue Crockford Gallery, Auckland
event.horizon, Ramp Gallery, Hamilton
2002
Tauranga Guggenheim, ARTSPACE, Auckland
A Beautiful Afterlife, Window, Auckland Art Gallery, Auckland
7000 Rimu Trees, Rear Window, Dunedin Public Art Gallery, Dunedin
2001
Sue Crockford Gallery, Auckland
Group Exhibitions
2024
By the Means at Hand: Vlatka Horvat, Croatian Pavilion, 60th Venice Biennale
Bringing Owls from Athens, Georg Kargl BOX x Callirrhoë, Athens, Georg Kargl BOX, Vienna
2023
Synchron, Ela Nord Studio, Vienna
Unearthing the Collection: October Salon Collection, Cultural Center, Belgrade
Little Precious Things, Georg Kargl Fine Arts, Vienna
2022
Metadata: Rethinking Photography from the 21st Century, The Ringling, Sarasota, FL
AFFAIR, Savremena Galerijy Contemporary Gallery Subotice, Szabadka
Mutual Aid, Neadertal, London
2021
Enjoy - the mumok Collection in Change, mumok, Vienna
GEORG KARGL EDITIONS, Georg Kargl Permanent, Vienna
2020
OUTGOING DISPATCH, Artspace Aotearoa, Auckland
Would You Be Available…, Georg Kargl Permanent, Vienna
Bakelite: The Georg Kargl Collection, MAK, Vienna
Mulberry Tubes, Galerie Göttlicher, Krems
2019
Uncanny Values, 3rd Vienna Biennale, MAK, Vienna
Dialogue, Gesellschaft für projektive Ästhetik, Georg Kargl, Vienna
2018
Futurs Antérieurs, Maison Guerlain, Parcours Privé de la Fiac, Paris
Between Us, Salon of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Belgrade
Concentration - A Tribute, Gesellschaft für projektive Ästhetik, Georg Kargl, Vienna
Reduction, Gesellschaft für projektive Ästhetik, Georg Kargl, Vienna
2017
Traces of Time, Leopold Museum, Vienna
Ponovo Upotrebiti, Zachęta National Gallery of Art, Warsaw
Out of Site, Adam Art Gallery, Victoria University, Wellington
Secret Art Sale, Te Tuhi – Centre for the Arts, Auckland
2016
A Matter of Memory, Eastman Museum, Rochester, New York
This Is Your Replacement, Sies + Höke, Düsseldorf
Ouverture pour inventaire, FRAC Pays de la Loire, Nantes
Undreamed of..., Dunedin Public Gallery & Hocken Collections, Dunedin
2015
Le bon ton, Cultural Centre Belgrad, Belgrade
Repeat / Personal, Porous Space, Vienna
New Acquisitions, Moderna Galerija, Subotica
Etiquette: New Acquisitions October Salon, Cultural Centre of Belgrade
Our Hearts of Darkness, Govett Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth
2014
Hier & Jetzt, Stift Klosterneuburg, Klosterneuburg
Cut it, Scratch it, Stitch it, Keep it, Fotogalleriet, Oslo
Artists Using Photography, GESSO, Vienna
Freedom Farmers, Auckland Art Gallery, Auckland
2013
Chambres de luxe, Kunstmuseum, Thun
Memory of Space – Space of Memory, Moderna Galerija, Subotica
Was ist Kunst? Resuming Fragmented Histories, KM – Künstlerhaus, Graz
Ephemeral Self, Finite Projections, The Gallery of the National Technical Library, Prague
21st Century Collecting, Adam Art Gallery, Victoria University, Wellington
2012
Good Life, 53rd October Salon, Belgrade
Long Day, Fei Contemporary Art Centre, Shanghai
2011
Erschaute Bauten, MAK, Vienna
Dancing in the Rhyme, Kumho Art Museum, Seoul
Pawn Shop, Kopfbau, Basel
This is Happening II, Georg Kargl Fine Arts, Vienna
Opening Borders/Opening Objects, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada
Wallpaper, Motel Campo – espace d’art polyvalent, Geneva
Drift of Summer, RM, Auckland
Dienstag Abend Editions, Ve.Sch, Vienna
First Impressions, TSB Wallace Arts Centre, Auckland
All Black, Tauranga Art Gallery, Tauranga
2010
Phoenix vs. Babel, Fondation d'Entreprise Ricard, Paris
Thriller, Rigaerstr. 69, Berlin
The Forgotten Bar, Galerie Im Regierungsviertel, Berlin
2009
Video from Aotearoa, Heidelberger Kunstverein, Heidelberg
For Keeps, Auckland Art Gallery, Auckland
2008
Common Affairs, steirischer herbst festival, Neue Galerie am Landesmuseum Joanneum, Graz
Space Chase, Magnus Müller Galerie, Berlin
Zapping Unit, Le Ferme du Buisson, Paris
If You Carry A Hammer A Lot of Things Look Like Nails, Skalitzerstr. 64, Berlin
Earth Matters, Auckland Art Gallery, Auckland
Video from Aotearoa, Co-Lab, Copenhagen
In Shifting Light, Auckland Art Gallery, Auckland
Drawings, Sue Crockford Gallery, Auckland
2007
Istanbul Biennale, Istanbul
00s’, Lyon Biennale, Museum Of Contemporary Art, Lyon
Art of the Nation, Te Papa – Museum of New Zealand, Wellington
Through the Painting, 2nd Moscow Biennale, Federation Tower, Moscow
Invisible/Invincible, Curators Without Borders, Berlin
2006
Hidetide, Zacheta National Art Gallery, Warsaw
Hidetide, CAC, Vilnius
Busan Biennale, Metropolitan Art Museum, Busan
Don't Misbehave, SCAPE Biennale, Christchurch
Play, Institute of Contemporary Arts, Perth
Play, Adam Art Gallery, Wellington
2005
Re: Modern, Künstlerhaus Wien, Vienna
Truer Than the Truth, Charim Galerie, Vienna
Playground, Art Play Architecture & Design Centre, Moscow
Skin Oil, Auckland Art Gallery, Auckland
Small World, Big Town, City Gallery, Wellington
Showcase, The Wallace Trust Gallery, Auckland
2004
We are the World, Chelsea Art Museum, New York
Everyday Minimal, Auckland Art Gallery, Auckland
Break-Shift, Govett Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth
International Art Fair and Cake Stall, Blue Oyster Gallery, Dunedin
2003
Vecu, Conical Artspace, Melbourne
Break, Govett-Brewster Gallery, New Plymouth
2002
Sublime Indigo, Waikato Museum of Art and History, Hamilton
Botanica, Gus Fisher Gallery, Auckland
7000 Rimu Trees, Rear Window, Dunedin Public Art Gallery, Dunedin
Video, Sue Crockford Gallery, Auckland
I See, The Croft Institute, Melbourne
2001
Bright Paradise, 1st Auckland Triennial, Auckland
Public Collections / Museumssammlungen
MUMOK - Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Vienna
MAK – Museum für angewandte Kunst / Gegenwartskunst Vienna
Fotosammlung des Bundes – Museum der Moderne Salzburg
FRAC - Fonds Régional d'Art Contemporain, Nantes
Te Papa - Museum of New Zealand, Wellington
Victoria University Art Collection, Wellington
Chartwell Collection, Auckland Art Gallery, Auckland
Wallace Arts Trust, Auckland
Govett Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth
Hocken Collections, University of Otago, Dunedin
Moderna Galerija, Subotica
October Salon Collection, Kulturni Centar, Belgrade
Eastman Museum, Rochester, New York
Inquiry
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