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Marble Residency Pyrgos

The Pyrgos Marble Residency was launched in the Spring of 2022 and aims to highlight the tradition of the marble carving on Tinos Island and specifically in the village of Pyrgos.

In Tinos marble has been extracted from the quarries around Pyrgos since the 19th century and worked by artisans in the village. Since 2015, Tinos has been included on the Unesco list of Intangible Cultural Heritage with the art of marble carving.

Promoting attention for the marble is done in two ways in the residency:

a) Under the guidance of artist and marble carver Filippos Kagiorgis, the resident learns the material marble and the basic techniques of working marble in a master-apprentice relationship. The resident learns from his 45 years of experience as a sculptor and a lifetime daily experience in a village that revolves around marble. During six weeks, 4 mornings a week, the resident becomes familiar with the skills of working marble (period and frequency can be adjusted if necessary). Personal tools are purchased from the blacksmith. Good physical health and commitment are required; marble is not an easy material and requires time and effort.

b) The resident can conduct a personal investigation into the material marble and its context; think of the (geological) origin, (the history of) the craft of working marble, the community of marble workers, the iconographic and architectural aspects of the marble work on the island, the Cycladic architecture, etc.

Our aim is to give marble a place in today's world by illuminating the image of marble from all sides; the artistic, material-technical and iconographical aspects as well as the social, political and economic aspects.

The residency is a contemporary place where you can learn from nature, traditions and the Greek and Mediterranean culture. Given the somewhat solitary character of the place, the residency can also function as a place where the resident can focus on her/his own work in a different context.

The residents have direct contact with the culture of the place: the landscape; the contact with the sea and the mountains, which is so typical of the Mediterranean countries and the life in a small village of 300 inhabitants. The residents come into contact with the basic values ancient Greek history, mythology and aesthetics. Values that are transmitted through art but are also embedded in ancient Greek society, which is the basis of our European culture and democracy.

The AiR focuses on the long-term impact of the residency on the careers of the visiting residents and on keeping alive the Tinian tradition of marble carving by sharing it on a broader, global scale. The residency is intended for visual artists, designers, photographers, architects/urban planners, art historians and researchers with a specific interest in the culture of this place, in particular the marble and traditional techniques.

FACTS

GOAL

The aim of the residency is to share the tradition of working marble with people from outside the island and outside Greece. In this way, the knowledge of the techniques and the material can be preserved and the tradition is preserved. The old techniques are being revived and the marble crafts get the attention it deserves today. Preserving the marble crafts is important because it is directly intertwined with the Greek cultural identity and, in a broader context, belongs to the European cultural heritage.

RESIDENT PROFILE

We are looking for someone who:

• has an interest in marble and the marble craft
• pays attention to traditional techniques and its visual language
• can work in a master-apprentice relationship

The residency is not so much there to develop the resident's own project, but rather to get to know the material marble, the iconographic traditions and the basic techniques of working with marble in a master-apprentice relationship.

INTEREST

The practice of working marble on the island of Tinos has been listed as an “Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity” by UNESCO since 2015. This recognizes the importance of sharing and promoting the expertise and skills of marble working. UNESCO's website emphasizes the importance of "…encouraging artisans to continue to produce craft and pass their skills and knowledge onto others…". See: https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/tinian-marble-%20craftsmanship-01103

LOCATION

The small white village of Pyrgos on the island of Tinos with its marble streets is approximately 25 kilometers away and 40 minutes drive from the island's capital. The village has approximately 300 inhabitants in the winter and 3.000 in the summer months. There are two small museums under the care of the municipal arts center “Πνευματικού Κέντρου Πανόρμου Τήνου Γιαννούλης Χαλεπάς”; one is dedicated to the famous Greek sculptor Giannoulis Chalepas (Pyrgos, 1851- Athens, 1938) who was born in Pyrgos and the other museum displays works by other famous 19th century Greek sculptors from Pyrgos such as Loukas Doukas and Dimitrios Filippotis. A third larger museum in the village is dedicated to the marble craft and belongs to the Piraeus Bank. See: https://www.piop.gr/el/diktuo-mouseiwn/Mouseio-Marmarotexnias-Tinou/to-mouseio.aspx

The Cultural Foundation of the Piraeus Bank runs nine museums in Greece, all dedicated to local crafts. The museum in Pyrgos shows all facets of marble working in an educational way; from the moment it comes out of the marble quarry until it is worked in the marble workshops. The well-known Marble School in Pyrgos, which falls directly under the Ministry of Culture, has 30/50 students who are trained in the craft of marble working for three years. Many later become restorers or go to art academy. Almost all the people who work on the Acropolis and worked on the restorations were students of the marble school in Pyrgos. See: https://www.ekathimerini.com/society/231994/island-village-keeps-tradition-of-marble-sculpture-alive/

The residencies appartment is located on the same street as the working space within a 2-minute walk. The workplace for the resident is located at Filippos Kagiorgis's workspace where classes are given and the marble to be worked is located, the tools, the workbenches, etc. and the light is right for working. The spacious appartment with a small terrace in front and behind the house, consists of a kitchen / living room, bathroom and two bedrooms and is located on the ground floor.

Partners of the residency are the Marble School, the Πνευματικού Κέντρου Πανόρμου Τήνου Γιαννούλης Χαλεπάς, the Marble Museum of the Piraeus Bank and the Dutch Embassy in Athens.

BIOGRAPHY FILIPPOS KAGIORGIS

Filippos Kagiorgis was born in Pyrgos on the island of Tinos and studied at the Marble School in Pyrgos where he was awarded the school's first prize upon graduation. This prize consisted of the offer to go to an art academy abroad for a year. He chose the art academy in Groningen in the Netherlands. Here he taught marble sculpture at the school for a few months. He worked for two years in Rhodes in the studio of the late Athanasios Strantzalos, who was a student of the famous Greek sculptor Giannoulis Chalepas. In line with this, Kagiorgis worked in the wood sculpture workshop of his father Evangelos Kagiorgis. Later he started to exhibit in different places like Vienna, Amsterdam and Brussels and in Greece. This was followed by the creation of his studio in Pyrgos with its permanent exhibition space, first in the main street of the island and then together with studio under his house at the entrance of the village.


Filippos Kagiorgis works in marble, stone, but also in wood and metal. He creates inspired by Orphic texts, Homer, modern Greek poets such as Dionysios Solomos and Giorgos Seferis and by the surrounding nature on his beloved island. Kagiorgi's work embodies a fusion of ancient beauty and his socialist ideals. Redefining man's relationship with nature is one of the main themes of his work. He transfers his creations directly from his thoughts to the marble. Recurring themes in his work are love, immortality, light; can be found in motifs such as the cypresses, the doves, but also in stories such as those of Orpheus and Eurydice.


Filippo's long-standing friendship with the Greek composer and conductor Yannis Markopoulos is of enormous influence on his work. Markopoulos works like "I Mitera Megalopsiki", "To Tragoudi tou Achillea", "Stratis o Thalassinos Anamesa stous Agapanthous", "I Lysistrati Stamata ton Polemo" were created, inspired by the music of Markopoulos. The strong rhythm and melody of Markopoulo's music is reflected in the movement and power of Filippo's works that display a unique style in their compositions, techniques and symbolism.


Work by Filippos Kagiorgis can be found in the residency of the Greek President in Athens, chosen by former president Christos Sartzetakis and later by former president Karolos Papoulias; in the house of the late Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou, in the house of the former Dutch Prime Minister Max van der Stoel, in the house of the artist Kostas Tsoklis as well as in countless other private and public collections.

RESIDENCY FEE

The residency fee is established at the beginning of each year. It includes the rent of a shared and spacious house with two bedrooms, four lessons in the morning, the rent of a workplace, a reasonable use of marble and organizational costs (project assistance, translations).

In addition to this fee, the costs of tools to be purchased are approximately 100-150 euros. The tools are made by the blacksmith in the village. All tools are personal and cannot be rented out to other people. The weight of the mandraka-hammer is related to the weight and strength of the user. The iron chisels are subject to wear and tear from use; they are sharpened with sandpaper after some days of use.

The residency fee does not include food and drinks, transport and insurance. As for transportation, there are buses on the island, but they only run a few times a day and don't go everywhere. It is recommended to rent a car (occasionally). Rental price per day amounts to approximately 30 euros.

RESIDENTS

Residents are welcome in Spring (March/April/May) and Autumn (Oct/Nov/Dec).

October/November 2024: Esther van der Heijden (Netherlands), Gaia D'Arrigo (Netherlands/Italy) both with support from the Mondriaan Fund, Amsterdam

March/April 2024: Eloise Dieutegard (France) and Elena Giolo (Netherlands/Belgium) with support from the Mondriaan Fund, Amsterdam

October/November 2023: Maria Mavromichali (Greece) and Marianna Maruyama (Netherlands/USA) with support from the Mondriaan Fund, Amsterdam

March/April 2023: Bettina Nelson (Sweden/Danmark) with support from to the Grosserer L.F. Foghts Fond and Camille Cornillon (France)

October/November 2022: Susan Kooi (Netherlands) with support from the Mondriaan Fund, Amsterdam

For more info on the residency please contact Patricia Pulles at plpulles@yahoo.com