ICA exhibit delves into recent turmoil in E. Europe

An exhibition of art inspired by the massive political, social and cultural changes in Eastern Europe since the end of the 1980s opened Friday at the Institute of Contemporary Art at 36th and Sansom streets. Beyond Belief: Contemporary Art From East Central Europe features a selection of works by 14 artists and artists' groups from Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. The mixture of sculpture, painting, video and installation revolves around the upheaval in Eastern Europe since the fall of communism. The collection focuses specifically on family, government, religion and nationalism. It also takes on Western stereotypes of the artists' home nations. Slovakian artist Matej Kren's installation "Idiom" questions the connections between reality and personal imagination and perspective. A tower of books reaches from floor to ceiling, capped off by mirrors on both ends. The mirrors create the illusion of an endless tower of books. "The book is a crucial crossing between the life of society and the life of a person," Kren explained. "Really, the whole is more than the parts." "['Idiom'] pushes young people to question the nature of what they learn in school in books," said Rita Rand, a Philadelphia resident who attended the exhibition's opening. Laura Hoptman of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago organized the exhibition, which stopped in Oberlin, Ohio, before coming to Philadelphia. It will visit Omaha, Neb. next year. "Since the revolutions of 1989 to 1991 in East Central Europe, there has been a tremendous eagerness on the part of the West to 'discover' this region," Hoptman wrote in the exhibition's catalogue. "Beyond Belief presents the premise that for many contemporary artists? it is not a question of substituting one belief system for another but of attacking the very concept of ideological structures." Carrie Ogle, ICA's curator of the exhibition for the duration of its stay, pointed out that the collection does not only apply to Eastern European ideas -- rather, she said, it is universal. "The artists are all challenging us to question our own beliefs," Ogle said. "They are beyond any type of belief system." ICA officials said the exhibition fits well into the Institute's tradition of innovative and intellectually stimulating collections. "Artistically and politically, this collection would be an interest here [at the University]," said ICA spokesperson Wendy Steinberg. "The viewpoint of a lot of these young artists is common, and a lot of students could relate. If democracy fell, it would be a monumental change in our society." Since its founding in 1963, the ICA has established a reputation for discovering talented artists who later emerged on the international scene, including Andy Warhol and photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. The museum is dedicated to increasing understanding of contemporary art through exhibitions, community programs and adult education, Steiner said. Beyond Belief will be on display at the ICA until November 2. Admission is free to PennCard holders.