Center for Metamedia Plasy

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Plasy Monastery, 1999. (Source)

The Center for Metamedia - Plasy was an arts centre located in the former Plasy Monastery, Czech Republic, founded by Miloš Vojtěchovský and managed by the Hermit Foundation and the Society of Friends of Art. The center organised "programs and projects where visual arts and new media, music, performance, theater all had the possibility to be interlinked -- 'metamedia' intimates the creative potential of this informal and organic confluence. Above all, the Center sought to provide a setting which fosters these collaborations, communication in general, and experimentation." [9]

Between 1992-1999, the centre organised a series of annual international symposia. Over the years, more than 350 artists participated in the events, among them Roman Signer, Jimmie Durham, Fred Frith, Ulay, Paul Panhuysen, Paul DeMarinis, Alastair MacLennan, a.o. It also held workshops, exhibitions, festivals, meetings and residencies.

Miloš Vojtěchovský: "Woody Vasulka, whom I met about two years before that, declared that such refuges have to be maintained all over the world for artists; a place to come and work at; a place that is operated in a kind of non-monetary, post-capitalist system based on an economy of donations, communication and friendship. I was quite taken by this idea at the time. It seemed like a great idea to me that I could take part in something similar in Czechia. I also felt that the right time had come to try connecting and gauging experiences and ways of thinking between Western and Eastern Europe and about which I still felt a certain resentment. Plasy is about a hundred kilometres from the western border, which seemed to me geographically appropriate as well. Recollections of some local unofficial actions also understandably played a role – such as an 9 x 9 photography exhibition or the exhibitions at Čestmír Suška's symposia on a farm in Malechov near Klatovy." (2011)

The activities of the Hermit Foundation/Center for Metamedia Plasy/Civic Association of Friends of Art in Plasy took place over the years with the support of several funding bodies, foremost of which were: the Foundation Pro Helvetia Ost-West (1996-1998), Foundation for Contemporary Art/Soros Center for Contemporary Art, Prince Bernhard Fonds, Het Mondrian Stichting, The Ministry of Culture of Czech Republic, and others. (Source)

Gallery[edit]

Events[edit]

  • Hermit I: Phonurgiae Liber, symposium and festival, Plasy Monastery, April-June 1992. Curated and organised by Miloš Vojtěchovský, Jana Šikýřová, and Ivo Kornatovský. [10]
  • Growthrings: Hermit II, symposium, Plasy Monastery, June-July 1993. Curated and organised by Miloš Vojtěchovský, Jana Šikýřová, Jiří Zemánek, Ivo Kornatovský. [11]
  • Transparent Messenger: Hermit III, symposium and festival, Plasy Monastery, June-July 1994. Curated and organised by Miloš Vojtěchovský, Ivo Kornatovský, Martina Tomášková, Lenka Zogatová, Jiří Zemánek, and Petr Bukovský. [12]
  • Near the Beginning, symposium, Plasy Monastery, August-September 1997. Organised and curated by Igor Hlavinka, Vladimír Vimr, Sakai Shin-ichi – Galerie Surge, Christophe Charles, and Miloš Vojtěchovský. [15] [16]
  • Yawning, exhibition of installation art, At Home Gallery, Samorin, Slovakia, 24 July-24 August 1998.
  • Pantograph: A Tool for Mediation, workshop/symposium, Plasy Monastery, 7-12 June 1999. Organised by Center for Metamedia-Plasy (Milos Vojtechovsky & Jo Williams) and Center for Contemporary Art (Jennifer de Felice).
  • Fairy-Tales, symposium, Plasy Monastery, September 1999. Curated by Denise Carvalho.

Publications[edit]

Hermit: International Art Symposium, Plasy, 1992, PDF.
Fungus: Inquiry of A Place / průzkum místa (1145-1995), 1995, PDF.
Near the Beginning / O počátku, 1997, PDF.
  • Hermit: International Art Symposium, Plasy, ed. Jana Šikýřová, Plasy: Hermit Foundation, 1992, [122] pp. Catalogue, with texts by Eric de Visscher and Miloš Vojtěchovský. With audio cassette containing the recordings of performances by Fred Frith (USA) & Pavel Fajt (CZ), Michael Delia (US), Phill Niblock (US), Paul Panhuysen (NL), and Jo Truman (AU), Bram Cox (NL), Lubos Fiedler & Oldrich Janota (CZ), The Horlogue of Dreamers (CZ), Anna Homler (US) & Ad van Buuren (NL). [20] (Czech)/(English)
  • Growthrings - Hermit II. Symposium, Plasy: Hermit Foundation, 1993. Catalogue, with CD containing the recordings of performances by James Fulkerson (UK) & Phill Niblock (US), Tibor Szemzo (HU) & Martin Groeneveld (NL), Peter Cusack (UK) & Michael Delia (US), Irena & Vojtech Havel (CZ), Agon Orchestra (CZ), a.o. [21] (Czech)/(English)
  • Transparent Messenger: Hermit III, Plasy: Hermit Foundation & Society of Friends of Plasy, 1994, [80] pp. Catalogue, with CD containing the recordings of performances by ROVA Saxophone Quartet (US), Hugh Davies (UK), Pavel Fajt (CZ) & Jim Meneses (US), Rajesh Mehta (US), Erhard Hirt (GER) & Martin Klapper (DK), a.o. [22] (Czech)/(English)
  • Meridian Crossings, Plasy: Hermit Foundation, 1995. Catalogue, with CD containing recordings of performances by Tim Hodgkinson (GB) & Jim Meneses (USA), Pavel Fajt (CZ), Anarctica (NL), Vojtech Havel (CZ), Michael Delia (USA) & Jaroslav Koran (CZ), a.o. [24] [25] [26] (Czech)/(English)
  • Near the Beginning / O počátku, eds. Miloš Vojtěchovský and Igor Hlavinka, Plasy: Hermit Foundation & Society of Friends of Plasy, 1997, [86] pp. Catalogue. (Czech)/(English)

Literature[edit]

  • "Plasy", in Denisa Václavová, Tomáš Zižka, et al., Site Specific, Prague: Pražská scéna, 2008, pp 49-60. [28] (Czech)
  • Miloš Vojtěchovský, "Parazité, echo a rezonance: Symposia Hermit a příběh zvukového umění / Parasites, Echoes and Resonances--The Hermit Symposia and the Story of Sound Art", in Zvuky, kódy, obrazy. Akustický experiment ve vizuálním umění / Sounds, Codes, Images, eds. Jitka Hlaváčková and Miloš Vojtěchovský, Prague: ArtMap, 2021, pp 151-158. [29] (Czech)/(English)

Links[edit]