MAN 2010 / 2010 HUMAN
Bratislava - Olomouc - Kroměříž, 4 June - 10 September 2010
The theme of man in the early 21st century not appears by accident in this year's festival Forfest. Questions about the meaning of human habitation in the world remain current, and are perhaps even more urgent, therefore, are an important part of the inspiration sources of artistic creation today. Turn between 19 and 20 century was experienced by their contemporaries with more strong hope - there was great expectation that should be the age of technological progress, peace, understanding and prosperity. In comparison, we experienced a shift from the 20th century to 21st century much more cautious. Instead of the glorious visions, we have become bizarre scare recipients. Absolutely do not mind the gloomy predictions of most anything fails, it is important that the threat was a strange name inhuman, such as "Y2K" or "mutation of H5N1." Meanwhile, tremors are coming to any sort of self-proclaimed prophets imagined. Repeated large-scale terrorist attacks, natural disasters, or the onset of economic crisis suggests a number of troubling issues, not least the fact that similar events are not yet able to predict, let alone do anything to avoid them. Technocratic measures are often applied to retrospectively and presented as only possible due to their narrow perspective, in fact, irrational, does not solve the underlying problem, just postponed their impact on later. It is necessary to involve the intellect and the will to a much greater range and much suggests that the change should be directed to the greater sensitivity to the outside world and to its own heart. Italian philosopher Maurizio Malaguti talking about intellect as the ability to read the inner meaning of things: INTUS LEGER (cf. La metafisica del Volto, ed Fuori Thema, Bologna, 1996). Artistic creation is part of the process, working on their visibility. An example might be a Rodin sculpture Metal Age (1875), which could hardly be called a simple celebration of the former triumphal industrial era, much more work that opens new questions and the gap does not deny the tension between the vibrant humanity and the ties of dark, cold metal. When we move to the period around the turn of the century, we might mention Munch's The Scream (1893), and Kandinsky Dame in Moscow (1912) from the collections of the Munich Gallery Lenbachhaus, with strikingly large black spot in the center of semantic composition, as the idea of tragedies that have yet to come and hit a large piece of the world, not just Russia. Supporting artistic movements have, despite differences in time something in common. Do not share the optimism and the obligatory epic visibly disagree with superficial campaigns journalistic style. When we project into the context of street action Noli me tangere Italian author Angela Colangelo, the 2009, we encounter a similar desire to touch the inner meaning of things, perhaps just as anecdotal props. Colangelo´s "electronic age" concept is its intrinsic sensitivity and intense all at once strikingly similar to Rodin, the metal age.
This brings us to the exhibition Letters to Heaven II. (Chapel of St. John, Bratislava, 8 6-16 7th, 2010), which is referred to the Italian author and which part is the most comprehensive art event of this year Forfest. The exhibition itself arises from the interplay of several mutually reinforcing factors. You can not start from the chapel itself, ascetic emptied, shaved the whole High Gothic buildings, which gives the impression as if it were just completed and is still waiting for his recovery and open to the public. Equally important is to mention the extremely friendly, open approach of the Franciscan Order of Friars Minor, who are the object and think about his regular use for cultural projects, such as hosts and active partners, with a focus on new, current forms of artistic creation. Author of the concept of the exhibition is Ján Kodoň, an architect and versatile artist, who put emphasis on the principle of maximum respect for the environment. This was headed toward the selection of artists and cooperation with them in the preparatory stage, when in fact its all created objects, hanging paintings, video installations and customized space, interact with the atmosphere. For the realization of the exhibition itself is an important part of the Union of Visual Artists of Olomouc, which ensures the presence of authors from Poland, Austria and Italy, and cooperation of art theorist Antonio Zimarino, which accompanied all the events by critical reflection.
Name of the exhibition shows continuity with previous actions. This is the first exhibition of letters to heaven first, which took place in June 2009, at Gallery G in Olomouc, but also a number of previous projects by Slovak artist Michaela Klimanová, which were launched in response to a terrorist attack in New York and were successfully introduced in the United States , the Slovak Republic and Belarus. Each of the participating authors are fating with space of the chapel on his own way - from paper objects "Letters to Heaven" by Michael Klimanové hanging in space, through a joint project combining music author Martin Burlas with digital projection Ján Kodoň directly on a broken arch structure, to a remarkable concept Thomas Rossi, which made the paintings in the pre-tailored format, the following fragment of Baroque altars in the entrance of the chapel annex. Molenda Krzysztof prepared large woodcuts in the non-figurative compositional structure, which encoded rates and proportions of the human body. Large size collage by Svetozár Ilavský creates a dramatic counterpoint to vertical medieval architecture, while the meditative installation by Betty Majerníková resonates with medieval space by simple and quiet way. Several other authors interested in his work endorsed the concept of the exhibition within the meaning of an imaginary task of creating an original work that would stand up in the area as a sacred object of decoration, which is certainly true for dimensional polyptych of Václav Vaculovič, video series Jiří Hastík, delicate color drawings of Petr Štěpán multiply layered semi-transparent paper, a set of minimalist paintings Miroslava Trizuljakové - open canvas without framing. Both participants of Italian authors deals systematically with the creation of new media. Mandra Cerrone in Bratislava is a powerful and disturbing human life is a circle of the project, which combines art and modified photos and video with the above-mentioned Angelo Colangelo brings the digital documentation of the above street performance. The exhibition as a whole, bringing together various manifestations of contemporary art, classical art artifacts, music and work in the field of new media in an equal partnership and mutually inspiring interview.
In connection with the capital city of Slovakia, where the festival Forfest enjoys good acceptance with the public interested and qualified response in the media, not to mention the fact our typical conditions, that this activity is long-standing international awards and respond more abroad than in their own home arena. This is true both for the good cooperation with major groups Forfest overseas (Mobius Center in Boston, the Art Galleries of California State University, Los Angeles, and others), and for the long term, developing contacts with top music and arts scene, many European countries.
Project Man 2010 / 2010 HUMAN forms the main axis of the visual program of the XXI. International Festival FORFEST CZECH REPUBLIC. It combines the activities abroad (exhibition Letters to Heaven II. And author presentations Factory Studio, both in Bratislava) and programs implemented in the Czech Republic (Slovak author Ivica Krošláková exhibits in Kromeriz Gallery Artuš). Everything corresponds with the main festival week devoted to the music (18th June to 24th June 2010), attended by composers and performers from 9 European countries and which has a solid place in the world's leading new reports current work (Gaudeamus Amsterdam ECPNM British Music, Musical America, KadmusArt and others).
Exhibiting Authors: Svetozár Ilavský, Michael Klimanová, John codon, Bety K. Majerníková (Slovakia) George Hastik (Austria, CR), Thomas Ross, Petr Stepan, Miroslav Trizuljaková, Vaculovič Vaclav (CZ) Molenda Krzysztof (Poland) Mandra Cerrone, Angelo Colangelo (Italy). The exhibition is organized in collaboration with the Festival Forfest Union of Visual Artists of Olomouc, a partner organization and the host is a province of the Franciscan Order of Friars Minor, based in Bratislava. Cooperation on music-related projects with the exhibition Martin Burlas, Kate Mraz, Svetozár Ilavský (Slovakia). The project was supported by Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic and its major media partners are the Slovak Radio and the magazine Studio.
Marek Trizuljak
(Chairman of Union of Visual Artists of Olomouc, organizer of exhibitions and coordinator of cycle Letters to heaven I and II.)
Letters to Heaven
Converse with the heavens, or maybe we are talking about heaven in different languages, through different cultural and artistic experiences that meet each other at an extraordinary exhibition in Bratislava with an inspiring and perhaps somewhat mysterious name. The second, substantially related to the theme of the project today is a man who he is and how it manifests itself in relation to the universe.
I wonder how much we can do about heaven say. His understanding can be manifested in a thousand forms, from a contemplative perspective to the contrary, if not negating attitudes, which cannot talk about the spiritual dimension, not a confessional approach. Heaven can be described as "something above us" or as a reality that accompanies us in life. We agree on many shades of metaphorical and symbolic content, or seek association with concepts of time, space, freedom, or infinity. And so we use the word heaven spontaneously, in relation to matters of everyday observation to light and atmospheric effects, transformations of, or the existential experience of apparent immobility of the dead of night.
Everything is contained in the human relationship to the sky and "communicating" with him concerning the cultural foundation of society. The position of the unattainable, our forces uninfluenced , is a substantial anthropological topics. Infinite space around us can be considered from a certain angle to describe as "something else", but undeniable, a world in which we set in and every day with him struggling. All civilizations during its development reviewed the basic relationship and formulate a new set of semantic and symbolic content associated with it. Communication with "sky" position requires passion, particularly the need to recognize its otherness, whether in the physical sense or nature, or in the plane of the symbol and mystery. However, we cannot avoid touching the ground up, perhaps you can speak of a confrontation with the mystery with a capital "T". All cultures mingle an element of soul-searching, while the sky is a general human experience, that "another world" is not automatic for simple answers. Almost inadvertently happens that in certain extreme situations we are waiting for "inspiration" to "sign from heaven." In recent years, perhaps too embracing to explore distant ends of the universe, though the final answer found there, but still remains before us many things we are not able to influence more just register the various properties such as weight and immateriality, space, light, movement, to the various forces and their interaction. We can perceive the sky as a hypothesis and as a drama with an endless series of new questions marks and great difficulty in finding clear, definitive answers. Perhaps it will eventually be the main knowledge that the very possibility of asking questions is only achievable answer that we live in an attitude of continuous questioning, trying to reach new horizons and tackle other issues that appear in them. I have outlined topics related to their perception of the exhibition and together with researching how to approach them participating artists. Relationship to "heaven" in the sense of another, different world's leading designers in a variety of times to fundamentally reevaluate difficult soul-ties, and their ability to perceive the current level of knowledge about the meaning of life in diversity, the basic meanings and their complex interaction. Undoubtedly the Bratislava exhibition reflects the experience of the environment in which individual artists have grown up, while the general dimensions of the human quest, which includes issues and challenges, interpretation, cultural references, astonished admiration, celebration and contemplation. It belongs to the space under the sky, inhabited by people with their development of civilization and daily efforts to find new ways and new knowledge.
Antonio Zimarino
(Art theorist and publicist, curator of exhibitions)
