Kon
Markogiannis and Gabriel Rosenstock offer a collaboration
of image and word focusing on the fragility of life, with haikus in both
English and Gaelic, as well as modern Greek translations by Sarah Thilykou.
|
Kon Markogiannis is an experimental photographer, collage artist, existential poet, philosophical essayist, independent researcher and spiritual seeker with an interest in gnostic themes such as death, mortality, the human condition, the exploration of the psyche and the evolution of consciousness.
Sunday, December 17, 2017
Kon Markogiannis, Gabriel Rosenstock and Sarah Thilykou: Angelic Flights
Monday, December 11, 2017
The Multifaith series
“If we take the world’s enduring religions at
their best, we discover the distilled wisdom of the human race.”
-Huston Smith
-Mahatma Gandhi
“…it is imperative that the followers of
the various religions join their voices in calling for peace, tolerance, and
respect for the dignity and rights of others.”
-Pope Francis
Multifaith is a series of photographs depicting various
religious books and objects found in antique shops, second hand stores and flea
markets. These items were chosen for their aesthetic and symbolic quality and were utilized as tools for research and contemplation. The main idea behind this undertaking was to
create a pluralistic and all-encompassing type of artwork which comments on the variety of religious
beliefs and identifies similarities between them.
The work
was inspired and influenced by seventeenth century Dutch still life/vanitas
paintings, which often contained religious and allegorical symbolism and
generally alluded to the brevity of life and
the transient nature of human pleasures. Another important source of inspiration was
daily life in my hometown Thessaloniki (Greece), a multicultural melting pot where
people from different religious and ethnic backgrounds have co-existed for
hundreds of years.
During the
course of the project I was immersed in the study of sacred texts, comparative
religion, spiritual literature and perennial philosophy. I
discovered many commonalities between religious faiths (eg. monotheistic
religions such as Christianity, Islam and Judaism have common origins and share several beliefs and practices) and also became aware that “spirituality” is a topic which
encompasses a broad spectrum of ideas which are not necesssarily religious or
metaphysical. I was very interested in interpretations of the spiritual as an
attitude of brotherhood,
interconnectedness and compassion towards the “other”. In Ancient
Wisdom, Modern World: Ethics for the New Millenium the Dalai Lama Tenzin
Gyatso defines spirituality as “those qualities of the human spirit -such as
love and compassion, patience, tolerance, forgiveness, contentment, a sense of
responsiblity, a sense of harmony- which bring happiness to both self and
others”.
Unfortunately we are currently
witnessing phenomena such as polarization between the east and west,
ideological extremism and “holy wars” which are threatening world peace and
stability. In an age of
globalization but also fragmentation and uncertainty my
work aims to encourage dialogue between religions, and also aspires to promote
an awareness of the
commonality of humanity and a more
tolerant and universal approach to the spiritual. The
conceptual position at which I have arrived is that my artistic practice is
not an end in itself, but rather a vehicle of research, integration and
transformation, and a way for me to reflect on the social and spiritual
condition of our time. I believe
that the global language of art can help pave the path towards self-
discovery, respect towards fellow
people and the evolution of humanity as a whole.
Selected Bibliography:
Armstrong, Karen (1994) A History of God. Ballantine Books.
Butler-Bowdon, Tom (2005) 50 Spiritual Classics. Nicholas Brealey Publishing.
Collazo
Julie Schwietert, Rogak Lisa (2013) Pope
Francis in his Own Words. Harper Collins Publishers.
Dalai Lama (1999) Ancient Wisdom, Modern World: Ethics for the New Millenium. Little, Brown/Abacus Press.
Eliade, Mircea
(1967) From Primitives to Zen. Harper
Collins Distribution Services.
Frazer,
James George (1950) The Golden Bough: A
Study in Magic and Religion. Macmillan.
Gandhi, Mohandas (1983) An Autobiography: The Story of My
Experiments with Truth. Dover Publications.
Griffiths,
Bede (1994) Universal Wisdom. Harper
Collins Publishers.
Huxley,
Aldous (2009) The Perennial Philosophy.
Harper Perennial Modern Classics.
James,
William (1983) The Varieties of Religious
Experience. Penguin Classics.
Lee, Lydia (2015) Magnificent
Obsessions: The Artist as Collector.
Prestel.
Mazower, Mark (2004) Salonica City of Ghosts. Harper Collins Publishers.
Smith,
Huston (2009) The World’s Religions. HarperOne.
Wolf,
Norbert (2009) Still Life. Taschen.
View the series at:
Thursday, November 30, 2017
Diffusion Volume IX
Superstition Review
My work is
featured in Superstition Review's 20th Issue.
https://superstitionreview.asu.edu/issue20/art/konmarkogiannis
Multifaith: project report
Monday, October 30, 2017
Saturday, October 7, 2017
The Culturium
The Culturium explores the interface between mystical spirituality and the cultural arts. It is devoted to showcasing the compositions of writers, filmmakers, artists, performers, musicians, philosophers, sages and poets who have delved deep into the silence within and created work that is timeless, wise and beautiful.
https://www.theculturium.com/kon-markogiannis-memento-immortality/
Friday, September 29, 2017
Tuesday, September 12, 2017
Interalia Magazine
Interalia
Magazine explores the interactions between the arts, sciences and
consciousness.
https://www.interaliamag.org/emerging-ideas/kon-markogiannis-mind-patterns/
Thursday, August 31, 2017
Paranormal Review
Paranormal Review Photography Competition finalists.http://ruickbie.com/index.php/2017/08/31/the-finalists/ |
Thursday, June 22, 2017
Float Photo Magazine
Constructed
Narratives, Imagined Realities featured in Float Magazine.
https://www.facebook.com/Floatphotomagazine/posts/1370511449712029 Friday, June 2, 2017
Alternative Reality
Thursday, May 11, 2017
Archive: Soul Vessels
(A building)
is nothing else but a “life tool”, a
“life vessel” (a temporary refuge for the human body).
-Aris Konstantinidis
Archive: Soul Vessels is an experimental project comprised
of found ephemera and photographs which form a quasi-fictional architectural-psychogeographical
archive. The term “soul vessels”
was inspired by Greek architect Aris Konstantinidis who coined the phrase “life vessels”
to describe buildings as functional spaces whose sole purpose is to serve human
needs.
The work challenges the
“traditional” concept of the archive: it is not only “important” and
“celebratory” photographic moments that are worth collecting and assembling. The emphasis is on ideas concerning
day-to-day living, the burden of constant wear-and-tear, and the inevitable damage and erosion of all
objects and living beings.
In a
certain sense Archive: Soul Vessels is an attempt to rewrite and re-register
reality, as if creating an array of urban portals which open onto a plethora of
mental spaces. Through this meticulously assembled pseudo-archive the deepest
strata of the imagination can be explored: imprints of past realities, which
are fused into the photographed relics, are rediscovered and reinterpreted generating
new auras of the unknown.
Friday, May 5, 2017
Archive: Soul Vessels
"The various definitions
of congruence describe a situation where a state of harmony and agreement is
perceived or achieved. There is a governing notion of similarity, albeit a
strange one: it is not a complete equivalence, nor a complete disjunction. Furthermore, in psychology, the concept of
congruence is more related to «genuiness», realness and to interpersonal
relationships that are true and «transparent», having no «front», no facade... In
architecture and design, congruence can be encountered and perceived as a
transcendental trait, which has the capability of being constantly adapted and transformed, according to any specific
situation or design problem that must be faced and tackled."
Text by Spyridon
Kaprinis
Wednesday, May 3, 2017
Fraction Magazine Issue 98 (Ninth Anniversary Issue)
Fraction
Magazine features the best of contemporary photography, bringing together
diverse bodies of work by established and emerging artists from around the
globe.
Sunday, April 23, 2017
Artists Inspire Artists
Divine Decay featured in “Artists Inspire Artists”.
http://artistsinspireartists.com/mixed-media/divine-decay-kon-markogiannis |
Tuesday, April 11, 2017
Ghosts_Dreams_Memories (work in progress)
“Those who look outside, dream. Those who look
inside, awaken”.
-C.G. Jung
Ghosts_ Dreams_Memories is an ongoing series of surreal
photomontages which explore the world of the unconscious mind and psychic phenomena.
On a
conceptual level crucial for the development of the work were the theories of
psychologist Carl Gustav Jung whose research involved the fields of religion,
alchemy, astrology, philosophy, mythology and dreams. According to Jung reality
is more complex than what is perceived by the physical senses or revealed by
mainstream science -he believed we all possess psychic faculties, albeit
usually in undeveloped form.
On an
aesthetic level the work was inspired by photographic artists such as Clarence
John Laughlin and Jerry Uelsmann whose experimental and multi-layered work
questions photographic "truth" and representation. The work was also
influenced by "spirit" photographs of the 1800's-1900's which
supposedly depict paranormal phenomena such as human auras, levitating bodies,
ghostly manifestations, disembodied entities etc.
Links:
Thursday, March 23, 2017
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)