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Course: Tate > Unit 2
Lesson 5: Creating ContradictionPersonal memory versus political history in Eastern Europe
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“Going from one political formation to another is a big, radical change,” says Lithuanian artist Deimantas Narkevicius. Originally trained as a sculptor, Narkevicius soon began working with film, now using it to explore how we interact with memory in the face of ideology and oppression. His films examine the relationship between personal memory and political history, particularly in relation to the profound social changes experienced in Eastern Europe. Employing archival footage, voice-overs, re-enactments and found photographs, Narkevicius's films reinterpret historical events by placing them in different narrative structures, such as memoir, documentary, and drama.
“Going from one political formation to another is a big, radical change,” says Lithuanian artist Deimantas Narkevicius. Originally trained as a sculptor, Narkevicius soon began working with film, now using it to explore how we interact with memory in the face of ideology and oppression. His films examine the relationship between personal memory and political history, particularly in relation to the profound social changes experienced in Eastern Europe. Employing archival footage, voice-overs, re-enactments and found photographs, Narkevicius's films reinterpret historical events by placing them in different narrative structures, such as memoir, documentary, and drama.
Narkevicius believes that stories and novels can be “more authentic” than historical documents. What do you think he means by this? More authentic in what way?
. Created by Tate.Video transcript
the people formed the political orientation according how they relate to the past I mean to the solid pass so veteran was not a monolith block was composed of different nations i would say which have completely different standing of history and will be different experience how your entities within socialist ideology which we have to accept because there was no other way 87 88 people really wanted to get independent and rid of communist ideology going from one political formation to another one is a big big radical change ethical code is different your priorities of life is changing I attended this ceremony of taking down of this monument had to symbolic values one was ideology like a communist ideology leninism or whatever the other one is a mark of occupation these monuments were also marked of foreign presence and irie edited this footage instead of then being taken down it was priced it was back if they would be back as it is in my film it means that you understand what you're bringing so it would suggest you bring you back what revolution can be we had other statute is just in front of the town hall which was of local kind of communist leader there were no Christmas trees at that time when there was monument a serious monument in the in the square it all was kind of serious you couldn't make fonda here in Grutter park which is in lithuania it's actually a very evocative and rather strange sort of theme park we're in this film is basically a monologue of 15 minutes by Peter Watkins outstanding English film director and there is footage I found in Brighton at our hive by Jeffrey cook and other person they were filming in the 60s like for the pleasure I guess and also drawings of a way to that Buddhist park where all these monuments are its kind of component the footage and the drawings also the conversation is really kind of like exposed and there is really intellectual with intellectual effort from the viewer to put all this together because without therefore there will be no film I'm still interested in archive but more like in a digging kind of stories there to how some people will monitor it by secret services like by KGB or even police or something sometimes novels provide more authentic material and also poetry and the poems descriptions of certain facts which were more precise than then kichibee reports