By Glaukos Koumidis
Hearing the outgoing Mayor of our city speak passionately about the "Great Walk of Nicosia", about that ideal route that is already under construction, from the area of the new Archaeological Museum, the Paphos Gate, to the Famagusta Gate, comes back to remember that ill-fated "Contemporary Art Park" that was inaugurated in 1984 at the end of this walled route, in the part of the moat behind the Famagusta Gate, where today various breeds of pets walk and trample, among the remnants of the few works of art that they stood the test of time. Sculptures and other geological constructions chosen by Efi Struza on behalf of the DESTE Foundation. Names that are an additional reason to remember each and every one of the "park", since these days are five years since the award of the distinguished historical art, and two since the City Council of Nicosia awarded DESTE's founder, Mr. Dakis Ioannou , the city's Medal of Honor, for his truly diverse contribution to Art and Culture.
However, the decline of the park in question, visible from Stassinos Avenue, remains irritating, puzzling and unjustified, since no one in charge has so far given us any satisfactory explanations for the disrespect that constitutes the destructive indifference to the works that had been created there, certainly with a lot of effort .
A critical review of the circumstances of the 80s would therefore not be untimely, nor pointless. Perhaps this will shed light on the conditions that led to the deterioration and vandalism, in contrast to the privileged conservation of another work from the same period, the well-known glass "Poet" by Kostas Varotsos which, in contrast, is today in the most prominent spot of Liberty Square , halfway through the "Great Walk" mentioned by our Mayor. A comparative report here, with no trace of empathy towards the accomplished creator, despite my personal opinions regarding the appropriateness of his work.
Age and end of an era, wrote another art critic and historian, the renowned Haris Kambouridis of "Neo" in Athens, when Efi Struza left, at the end of January 2019. Meanwhile, he also left in October 2022. But he managed to inform us in one of his posts on Facebook that the synergy of his distinguished colleague was decisive for the establishment of the DESTE Foundation, at least until 1987, "…when D. Ioannou was disturbed by the indecency of some artists of the so-called "Group of Struza" and severed all ties, turning to Saatchi & Saatchi artists on the advice of Jeffrey Deitch." The 1982 "Europalia" in Brussels had been preceded by "Emerging Images", a successful exhibition designed by Efi Struza, which, according to the H.K.'s post, continued in Athens with individual exhibitions of the participants of artists at the DRACOS ART CENTER, sponsored by Dakis Ioannou.
Although this funeral report of H.K. sounds somewhat gossipy. to legendary disruptions in DESTE's staff synergy, but it is likely that they contributed to the subsequent lack of support for the project, and thus led to its decline and eventual cancellation. Certainly the Cypriot artists who were then selected did not belong to the "Struza Group". But here too there was some kind of grouping, since almost all the artists in the park were related in some way to the DIASPRO ART CENTER on Odu Evanthos, the prominent gallery of the period.
I personally had the good fortune to meet Efi Struza when she came to Cyprus in 1994, to select, as appointed curator, the works for our participation in the second ART ATHINA. Of course, Cyprus was not an "art gallery" that could take part in a commercial "foire", which is why the Cypriot participation was declared as a national presence. It was presented in two historical sections: "Dialogues with Modernism", the first, and "Re-Genesis" the second, under the general title "Cyprus 1960-1994: Contemporary Searches".
Possibly the final outcome of such searches, sometimes the "survival" of works of art as such, is the result of the personal preferences of gallant collectors. In my opinion, the case of the glass "Poet", an orphan work from the exhibition "7 Greek Artists: A New Journey" that Efi Struza had set up in 1983 at the Famagusta Gate, again on behalf of DESTE, is indicative. The recent relocation of this monumental work by Kostas Varotsos, from the secluded parking lot of the Famagusta Gate where it stood for decades, to the new Freedom Square, with the costly material transformation that surely meant its rescue movement and "sophistication", advocate for this, as well as the statements below that we had read in the press when the Medal of Honor was awarded to the founder of DESTE, July 2022:
"On a lightning trip to Cyprus, to attend the event of the municipality of Nicosia in his honor, the collector and businessman Dakis Ioannou and his wife Lietta welcomed us to their apartment, in the emblematic tower designed by the French architect Jean Nouvel in heart of Nicosia. The first thing that catches the eye is the artwork in the apartment, but also the view of the city. The entire view of the penthouse towards the occupied areas is made of glass and from there you can look down on the whole of old Nicosia, Pentadakhtylos, Mesaoria to the east, while towards the west your gaze reaches as far as Morphou. In a closer shot, Eleftheria Square with the "Poet" of Varotsos – a work that the artist created in 1983 for the exhibition organized by the DESTE Foundation at the Famagusta Gate entitled "7 Greek Artists: A new journey" and curated by Efi Struza. Dakis Ioannou remembers that shortly afterwards DESTE organized a second exhibition in the moat park behind the Famagusta Gate, with sculpture works that were permanently installed.
In fact, reading this last one about the allegedly "permanent" installation of the works, one could assume that the donor of the park himself is no longer aware of his bad luck. However, the editor of the news may also be to blame, who did not understand well. In any case, looking at Eleftheria Square from above, one could assume that it was designed for the sake of the tenants of the top floors of the nearby white tower with the hanging anthons. And the nighttime aerial photos of the square reinforce this guess, since the lighting and lanterns make it look like a wonderful embroidery. Seen from there, the illuminated glass "Poet" must seem like an icing on the cake. Phew, only from high! Unfortunately, many of our pedestrian fellow citizens, those who cross it daily, are still faced with the dilemma: To embrace it creatively, or to continue its verbal sabotage. I think the first one is good for all of us. Besides, the Mayor in his recent account on that LegalMatters podcast explained that the real Square is below the surface plateau with the space benches. "Sous les pavés, la plage",* as the revolutionary students in Paris of '68 would say.
*"Under the asphalt there is a beach".