Screening of the documentary TERIADE by Simos Korexenidis
Saturday, November 18 at 12.00
Duration: 75’ | A discussion will follow
Free Entrance
The documentary TERIADE, which will be presented at EMST on Saturday November 18 at 12.00, is referring to the life and work, of the Lesvos island born, Stratis Eleftheriadis – TeriadeArt critic (Cahiers d’Art, L’intransigeant, La Bete Noir, Minotaure) and Art book publisher (VERVE,Grand Livres) Stratis Eleftheriadis -Teriade who topped the artistic life of France from 1920’s up to 1960’s.
Teriade was born in the village Varia of Lesvos island in 1897 (completing this year 120 years since then) and died in Paris in 1983.
Sharing the same land origin with the naive painter Theophilos, whom he met a few years before he died, helped his promotion in the art world providing him all the means (home, canvases, colours, money) so that he could create without the livelihood stress. These canvases are saved are because of Teriade’s actions.
Collaborating firstly with the most important art magazines of his era, where he was writing critics, or as a chief editor or director, afterwards he became a publisher, taking advantage of the Parisian artistic and literary creativity booming during the Interwar period. He became friends with the biggest names in Art: Picasso, Matisse, Miro, Chagall, Giacometti, Leger, Juan Gris, Le Corbusier, Rouault, Braque, Michaux, Cartier Bresson, Bonnard, Villon, Brassai and the Greeks: O.Elytis, Tsarouchis, N.Ch.Ghikas, Venezis, Kanellis.
A deeper wish to offer to the fatherland forced him to establish and fund in his own land in Varia, next to his family home and then donate two Museums: The Theophilos Museum (where his paintings collection are displayed) and the Library-Museum Teriade (where all his published work is displayed), which is supposed to be the first Modern Art Museum in Greece.
For his contribution in Art he was honored by the French Academy with the “Knight of the Arts” title.
“Even though he is well acknowledged in France and Europe, we can’t claim the same for Greece. Only few know who Teriade really is and also few know the existence of the Library-Museum that has got his name. That, along with the problems that the Museums were facing then, was the reason that we decided to procced to this documentary” says the director Simos Korexenidis.
“We started wanting to make something small but our research revealed an extremely genius man who loved Art with an uncountable passion and carrying his fatherhood education was able to combine in his work the Greek and the European philosophy. We loved so much this man and we hope that this love can be shown in our work.”
In the documentary important aprofessionals from the art world talk about Teriade, such as Katerina Koskina (Director of EMST), Katina Charalabidi (Director of Teriade Foundation, Stratis Pallis (Pharmacist/former Mayor of Mytilini), Annie Kontogiorgi (Art historian Dr-Theatrologist), Stelios Daskalakis (Museograph), Marina Lambraki Plaka (Director of the Greek National Gallery), Katerina Kamara (Secretary of Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art), Kostas Koumbas (Doctor/former member of administrative council of Museum-Library Teriade), Dimitris Chalkiotis (Professor at the Greek Open University), Manos Stefanidis (Art critic/Art historian), Sophia Peloponisiou (Museologist), Niki Tsarouchi-Grypari (Director of Tsarouchis Museum), Dominique Szymusiac (former Director of Museum Matisse/Cateau Cambresis), Kostas Charalabidis (painter), Kostis Ioannou (nephew of poet Odysseas Elytis), Niki Eleftheriadi (painter), Stratis Frantzeskos (architect), Dimitris Nikoretzos (Author/Univercity teacher), Kostas Maniatopoulos (painter/Director of Museum-Library Teriade).
The documentary was and will be presented in many different Festivals and spaces, such the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, the Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art in Thessaloniki, at the Archaeological Museum of Mytilini, the 31 Griechische Filmwoche Festival in Munich,Germany, the 4th Free Flying Festival in Brussels and at the Greek National Broadcast, ERT.
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMeOFW3vVKA
Contributors
Production: WONDERSPOT (www.wonderspotmedia.com ) & Simos Korexenidis
Production Manager: Barbara Gkigkilinis
Research: Simos Korexenidis & Barbara Gkigkilini
Cinematography: Kostas Stamoulis /P.Avagianos/Giorgos Chrisafakis
Editing: Giorgos Chrisafakis
Music: Dramamini
Translation (English):Dessi Verveniotou
Direction: Simos Korexenidis
