Night Vision In Broad Daylight
Observations in contemporary Czech video.
- Daily / , Municipal buildings
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Thursday Sep 8 / 15:00, Municipal buildings
/ Commented screening with curator Sláva Sobotovičová and films´authors
A series of videos from the video archive of the Academic Research Centre of the Academy of Fine Arts (VVP AVU)
Represented artists:
Dana Balážová, Pavla Dundálková, Kateřina Konvalinová, Barbora Kropáčková, Dita Lamačová, Artur Magrot, Marie Lukáčová a Jakub Roček, Vojtěch Novák and Andrew Hauner, Vojtěch Pollák
Curated by Sláva Sobotovičová (VVP AVU)
The aim of observation is to reveal fundamental interrelationships. The observer should have healthy sensory organs, be capable of making accurate estimates and of remaining focused (ca. 20 minutes), should be free of negative influences and bias or prejudices, and should keep immediate detailed records.
(translated from the Czech Wikipedia entry for “Observation”)The camera can be like an extension of the artist’s sensory organs, an eye that records what it sees. When it comes to artistic research, the “partiality” of the artist’s gaze and its subsequent recording are of central importance. In fact, this “partiality” not only drives the work’s creation but also has a vital influence on its final form. The artist’s concentration requires the elimination of unnecessary information and is something like night vision during daytime. Deciding what information is unnecessary depends on what we want to see, hear, find – and wanting presumes emotion and will. Naturally, this entire chain of implications means that the final result will be manipulated.
We cannot really say that the series of videos chosen from the VVP AVU Video Archive for this this year’s 4+4 Days in Motion work with “observation”, “research” and “subjectivity,” since by its very nature art made using a video recording cannot avoid these subjects. The selected works show the potential to reflect on research and subjectivity in various ways, for instance by viewing observation as exposing the observer, understanding a viewpoint as critique, or seeing awareness as preparing for an event or merely for the future.
Although the word archive in the name “VVP AVU Video Archive” makes us think of historical materials, in this case we have consciously suppressed this association and have primarily chosen works by members of the youngest generation of artists, for the most part students or recent graduates of Czech art schools.
The VVP AVU Video Archive was founded in 2007 as a systematic collection of Czech video art and documentations of art on video. It primarily covers the period from the 1980s to the present day. The collection is gradually being made on available via an online database.
In addition to using video material for research, teaching, and curatorial activities, VVP AVU also organizes screenings for the public. Since 2011, it has published selections from the archives on DVD as part of the VIDA Series, and since 2012 it has published selected videos in the Window to Video Archives section of online television station Artyčok.tv.
More information at: http://vvp.avu.cz/videoarchiv/o-videoarchivu/
Open:
Mon – Fri: 4 – 10 pm
Sat – Sun: 2 – 10 pm
8. 10. 15:00
Commented screening with curator Sláva Sobotovičová and films´authors
