Moma MoMA

The Moma MoMA project is an initiatory journey into the world of art and nature simultaneously, Bogdan Tomșa will combine the exploration of the mountain environment with the founding of ephemeral cultural institutions. Together with three artists, a critic and a curator, Bogdan Tomșa aims to question the ambition of artistic consecration in renowned cultural institutions such as MoMA in New York. Bogdan Tomșa and his collaborators in the project will not go to New York, but will create a makeshift museum in the Codru Mountains of MoMA, which they will document through sketches, video and other artistic means.

The concept is to create an ephemeral and improvised cultural institution in the heart of nature, on the highest peak of the Codru Moma Mountains, in the area between Arad and Bihor counties, using land art techniques and perishable materials through which they will realize in-situ interventions. In this way, they will found an alternative MoMA, an institution that combines art with the natural landscape in a way that pastiches a great institution and, why not, even a reflection on their own ambitions to be part of it. Bogdan Tomșa's team will consist of Miki Velciov, land artist, Petrică Ștefan, abstract artist and Alex Boga, multimedia artist. They will collaborate with Miruna Robescu, art critic, and Ileana Selejan, curator, for the exhibition.

Bogdan Tomșa and his team will work on what they call the rudimentary architecture of this cultural institution in the forest. They will video document every step of the process: from exploring the space and choosing the right location, to founding and opening this makeshift MoMA for two days. The process will give them the opportunity to draw inspiration from nature, to make videos, photographs, sketches and to dialog about the emergence of the artistic act between nature and prestigious cultural institutions. Their presence in nature will reconnect them with pure creative intention, far from the ambitions of success and recognition in the art world. They will interact with locals, interview them about the region and local attractions. They will use a video camera, recorder, sketchbook and in-situ intervention as creative media and techniques.

 

This project was powered by an Energie! Creative Grant awarded by the Municipality of Timișoara, through the Center for Projects, within the Power Station component of the National Cultural Programme "Timișoara – European Capital of Culture in the year 2023".