Women’s Coats as an Agency of Resistance. A Transversal Redefinition of Subjectivity. 1935-1953
Wohlmuth, Petr, ed. History – Theory – Criticism, Prague 7.2024 | work in progress
This study explores the relationships between identity, power and women’s resistance to totalitarianism between 1935 and 1953. It focuses on alternative attitudes and the significance of military and civilian coats as objects within a historical context. Utilizing an analytical framework grounded in posthumanist theories and oral history, the work reevaluates anthropocentric perspectives, favouring an approach to subjectivity that encompasses non-human aspects of existence. The result views women’s resistance to totalitarian regimes as part of a complex of social intra-actions and material environments.
KEYWORDS | Agency, Military and Civilian Coats, Posthumanism, Feminism, Resistance, Oral History
PLAN B. Intra-active Becoming in Art and Beyond.
PLAN B. Intra-active Becoming in Art and Beyond.
Karen Barad | Maria Bartuszová | Samuel Beckett | The Butterfly Effect
Böhlau Vienna 2024, ISBN 9-783205-219446 eISBN 978-3-205-21946-0
The PLAN B project consists of a monograph to be published by Böhlau Vienna in 2024 featuring a Foreword by Felicitas Thun Hohenstein, a series of academic lectures and educational workshops with students in Bratislava, Prague and Vienna and oral history interviews conducted with art historians and scholars.
Emerging from a period of uncertainty, PLAN B is a bold manifestation of scientific approaches characterized by the intra-active synesthesia of thought. Adopting a posthumanist approach to the work of the American physicist and philosopher Karen Barad, the Slovak sculptor Maria Bartuszová, and Samuel Beckett, the project not only challenges existing paradigms but also encourages a radical rethinking of the connections between art, literature, philosophy, and physics, prompting a new perspective on reality. Accompanied by pioneering conceptual works by several European artists, PLAN B opens new horizons and fosters lively discourse across the boundaries of academic disciplines. It invites exploration of the seemingly infinite possibilities unfolding in the interstices of creativity and knowledge.
Research supported using public funding from the Slovak Arts Council: https://www.fpu.sk/sk/
Sample chapter: https://www.vandenhoeck-ruprecht-verlage.com/media/pdf/5b/25/fb/9783205219453_sample.pdf
Women’s Courage in the Face of Authoritarianism: Voice against Injustice and Oppression.
Hlaváček, Jiří; Vrzgulová Monika, ed.: The Divided, Yet Together: Borders in Oral History Perspective. Book of Abstracts.
Institute of Ethnology and Social Anthropology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences & Czech Oral History Association, 2023, ISBN 978-80-974434-2-9
The communist ideology which applied in Czechoslovakia (and beyond) at the time of the Third Resistance referred, among others, to the exclusionary principle - “if you are not with us, you are against us.” This thinking underlined the conceptual dichotomy of good vs bad, right vs wrong, and friend vs (the ever present) enemy which were the operating tools and power element of the only “acceptable” political subject and which became rooted in the everyday life of ordinary people. The prevalent atmosphere of fear coerced individuals to join the masses, to conform to ideological norms, to acquiesce to contrived rules and to fulfil their “civic duty” as prescribed by the ruling party. Among the subjects of this contribution were three generations of women who repeatedly crossed the Czechoslovak-Austrian border to facilitate the spread of intelligence running and other intelligence activities between 1948 and 1960. The aim of the research is to reveal the complexity, intricacy and multifaceted aspects of resistance activities from a female perspective.
https://www.sav.sk/?lang=en&doc=activity-monography-response-page&institute_no=40&monography_id=319
p. 22-23
A transnational and multilingual research project resulting in a series of three publications exploring the issues of material performativity in the work of contemporary female artists from Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic. The project was developed in collaboration with Charles University in Prague, the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw and the Hungarian University of Fine Arts in Budapest and was funded by the Visegrad Funds.
Visegrad Quartet:
Art Science & Activism
Material Performative Mo(ve)ment in Humanities and Contemporary Art. Czech and Czechoslovak female approaches.
Divé Buki Košice, Prague, Vienna 2023, ISBN 9-788089-677306
In Czech, English, German, and Slovak
Prague: The methodologies of posthumanist approaches and oral history research emphasize the significant role which material performativity and creativity play in fostering sustainability in the face of the new realities posed by climate change. Fifteen scholars, artists and authors from the sphere of the humanities in the Czech Republic all contributed to raising awareness of the challenges and possible solutions in contemporary Central and Eastern Europe. The research highlighted the need for reconceptualizing and deepening the understanding of artworks within the context of their intra-actions with the significance of biodiversity and sustainability in art research. The project developed new perspectives on addressing ecological challenges which it then introduced into contemporary art and public discourse.
Material Performativity in Contemporary Art. Polish-based female artists and scientists.
Divé Buki, Košice, Warsaw, Vienna 2022, ISBN 9-788366-8358
Warsaw: A research project which focused on the issue of material performativity across the arts and sciences. Seventeen Polish female artists and academics employed oral history and peripheral approaches to render the invisible visible. Art served as a bridge between culture, activism and society. The project distinguished itself through its capacity to approach marginal and underrepresented topics, providing crucial insights into the material aspects of art and their relationship with sociopolitical dynamics.
Material Performativity in Contemporary Art. Hungarian-based female artists.
Divé Buki, Košice, Budapest, Vienna 2021, ISBN 9-788089-677276
Budapest: The research analysed the impact of material on societal challenges, examining the issue through the lens of posthumanist and performative methodology. Eight novel perspectives addressing social analyses within the fields of art and nature were formulated in the resulting publication.
Czechoslovak-Austrian Intelligence Services 1948-1960. The Antistate Case of Eliška.
Syrný, Marek, ed.: Political Exile from Slovakia after February 1948 in the Czechoslovak and Eastern European Context.
Turany, Tlačiareň P+M 2021, ISBN 978-80-89694-99-0
A historical study exploring the fates of women under the communist regime of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, many of whose contributions have been overshadowed by those of their male counterparts.
Women under the communist regime of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic occupied a position that was often overshadowed by that of their male counterparts. Between 1948 and 1960, several courageous women defied the authorities by acting as couriers and spies, risking their lives for the freedom of Czechoslovakia. The central focus of this study is an analysis of their actions, bravery and the motivations that led them active involvement in the resistance movement. The women were primarily engaged in humanitarian resistance, providing sanctuary to refugees and gathering intelligence for foreign secret services, but they were all united through the courage they demonstrated in resisting the regime. The goal of the research was to deepen our historical understanding of this period and offer a new perspective on resistance from the viewpoint of the women who played key roles in the anti-communist resistance, also known as the third resistance. This study aims to achieve a deeper understanding of the history of this period and highlights the significance of resistance against injustice in the process of shaping societal identity and political changes.
p. 285-299, in Slovak
Some Thoughts on the Philosophy of Animals. How Otherness has Arisen.
In: Balúnová, Katarína, ed.: Human Animal. Gallery of Spiš Artists 2021, ISBN 978-80-89081-79-0
This brief reflection challenges the concepts of mutual respect and tolerance. Animalism theories connect human beings with the world of animals, while teleosemantics presents a theoretical approach in the fields of the philosophy of language, biology and the mind which attempts to explain the essence of meaning through biological function. Donna Haraway urges us to transcend the boundaries of species and highlights the cohabitation of different species. Each encounter between living organisms represents a boundary crossing which can trigger further political and social ramifications. The worlds of nature and culture intertwine, creating an ever-changing process of becoming that operates through processes of mutual interaction. How does animal philosophy influence our understanding of human-animal relationships and social norms? The reflection discusses arguments of animal philosophy, emphasising the fact that animals can also possess mental capabilities and that we (along with all living and non-living entities) therefore have a moral responsibility towards them. It also addresses theoretical approaches such as teleosemantics and specific examples of human-animal relationships. Artistic institutions and theoretical texts reflect contemporary challenges and questions regarding the interaction between humans and animals, thereby reminding us of the relevance of animal philosophy in the contemporary context.
https://www.gus.sk/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/2022_GUS_Human-Animal-I_katalog.pdf
p. 88-97, in English and Slovak
Philosophical Reflections on Grief in Visual Form: The Legacy of Vika Shumskaya
In: Balúnová, Katarína, ed.: Telescope. Gallery of Spiš Artists 2021, ISBN 978-80-89081-76-9
The study analyses an interview conducted with the artist Vika Shumskaya, who had recently migrated to Slovakia from Ukraine and had become actively involved in the local art scene. The central focus of the discussion is her series of works titled They Won't See Us from Space I-II and its relevance in the contemporary context. Shumskaya shares her personal grief at the losses suffered by her Ukrainian homeland and her immediate surroundings. Her work reflects upon this individual experience through various media such as painting, photography, and video, integrating contemporary socio-political themes to create art with profound humanitarian implications. The study extensively analyses the dynamics of the relationship between love and grief and their impact within the context of personal change and the search for new identities in a transformed reality. Shumskaya shapes artistic language as a tool for expressing her inner world and reflects upon this creativity on a collective level.
https://www.gus.sk/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/GUS_Teleskop_katalog.pdf
p. 102-107, in English, Russian and Slovak
Beyond the Canvas: The Spatial Artistry of the painting Crop
In: Benická, Lucia, ed.: Sample Data, Gallery of Spiš Artists 2021
ISBN 978-80-89081-745
The essay explores the transformative potential of contemporary art based on an interview with the artist Martin Kudla. Kudla, a graduate of the doctoral program in Critical Image Analysis at the Academy of Arts in Banská Bystrica, delves into current themes and dynamic processes within visual, mathematical and informational systems. His work, specifically the painting Crop from 2018 which was showcased at the Template exhibition in Košice, pushes the boundaries between art, technology and reality. Utilizing the concepts of string theory and posthumanism to explore the possibilities of art in multi-dimensional realities, Kudla’s artistic practice, which merges material existence with active perception and context, prompts us to reassess the relationships between art, science and philosophy. Martin Kudla’s art offers an innovative approach to artistic thought and opens new perspectives in understanding the world and its manifold meanings.
https://www.gus.sk/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/GUS_Sample-Data_katalog.pdf
p. 52-61, in English and Slovak
review: STRATEGICON (2024) by Matej Fabian at the Soga Gallery reflects upon military strategy and how it has shaped Central European identity. Eleven large-format paintings spanning an area of 200 square meters offer an unconventional view of various historical events which occurred on the territories of modern-day Hungary and Slovakia between 907 AD to 1866. These events are not merely passive objects of observation but active participants in the shifts and reinterpretations of deeper socio-cultural and geopolitical structures.
[fragilités], documentary (15:14), Galerie Rudolfinum Prague 2023
This multilingual documentary project which was created for the [fragilités] exhibition at the Rudolfinum Gallery in Prague offers a comprehensive portrayal of the exhibition’s multifaceted themes. The title, derived from the French word for “fragilities”, underscores the aim of the curators, Silvia Van Espen and Elena Sorokina, to offer a multi-layered perspective on the theme, presenting not only a single fragility but the concept of fragility in a more general sense; physical fragility, the fragility of the human body, the fragility of human relationships, and the fragility of the environment, the ecosystem of which we are all part, but also the fragility of political or geopolitical issues. [fragilités] is an international exhibition that showcases the work of 17 artists ranging across generations and continents, featuring around one hundred works of art that highlight the theme of fragility as a shared contemporary human experience.
Concept by Zuzana Križalkovičová | Video Editing by Vladimíra Hradecká | Camerawork by Juraj Marcin Vladimíra Hradecká | Colorgrading by Marian Kallinger | Music by Dano Špiner | Subtitles by Gavin Cowper
Supported using public funding by the Slovak Arts Council