Zuzana Bartošová | Institut of Art History of the Slovak Academy (English)
http://www.cead.space | Strategies of Slovak conceptual artists inthe period around 1968: projects, events, issues and research | Liberal cultural and political atmosphere in the second half of the 1960s did not guarantee that the works of action and conceptual artists would be accepted by official institutions. They opted for alternative ways of presenting their works to the public, giving up the official financial support. Conceptual strategies were introduced into Slovak art by Alex Mlynárčik, Stanislav Filko, Jana Želibská, Július Koller, Peter Bartoš and Rudolf Sikora; their action works too had preconceived concepts. This is true mainly of collective celebrations organised by Mlynárčik, member of the broader circle of New realism, who, inspired by his contacts with Pierre Restany, applied this kind of activities in Slovak environment. He was followed by Želibská and Filko. Following the 1972 “normalisation” congresses they preferred ephemeral outputs of conceptual art including projects and manifestos. Three other artists took analytical and critical approach: Koller employed question marks to comment on social issues including ideological restrictions; Bartoš examined changes and possibilities of the processes of both animate and inanimate nature, and Sikora focused on the universe. The aforementioned artists pursued their individual programmes during the entire “normalisation” period in the 1970 and 1980s as the representatives of unofficial art scene. The international recognition of their work has confirmed that they were meaningful. Apart from outlining the oeuvre of the aforementioned artists and putting it into the context of Central European art, the paper will also point out the possibilities of documentation and presentation of works to the broader expert community.
http://www.cead.space | Strategies of Slovak conceptual artists inthe period around 1968: projects, events, issues and research | Liberal cultural and political atmosphere in the second half of the 1960s did not guarantee that the works of action and conceptual artists would be accepted by official institutions. They opted for alternative ways of presenting their works to the public, giving up the official financial support. Conceptual strategies were introduced into Slovak art by Alex Mlynárčik, Stanislav Filko, Jana Želibská, Július Koller, Peter Bartoš and Rudolf Sikora; their action works too had preconceived concepts. This is true mainly of collective celebrations organised by Mlynárčik, member of the broader circle of New realism, who, inspired by his contacts with Pierre Restany, applied this kind of activities in Slovak environment. He was followed by Želibská and Filko. Following the 1972 “normalisation” congresses they preferred ephemeral outputs of conceptual art including projects and manifestos. Three other artists took analytical and critical approach: Koller employed question marks to comment on social issues including ideological restrictions; Bartoš examined changes and possibilities of the processes of both animate and inanimate nature, and Sikora focused on the universe. The aforementioned artists pursued their individual programmes during the entire “normalisation” period in the 1970 and 1980s as the representatives of unofficial art scene. The international recognition of their work has confirmed that they were meaningful. Apart from outlining the oeuvre of the aforementioned artists and putting it into the context of Central European art, the paper will also point out the possibilities of documentation and presentation of works to the broader expert community.