Video art in Slovakia (1990s-2000s)

Artists

Anetta Mona Chisa, Anna Daučíková, Anton Čierny, Dušan Zahoranský, Elena Pätoprstá, Erik Binder, Gabika Binderová, Jana Želibská, Juraj Dudáš, Mário Chromý, Ilona Németh, Michal Murin, Miroslav Nicz, N. Ružičková, Pavlína Fichta Čierna, Peter Agat Huba, Richard Fajnor, Roman Galovský.

Forms

• Features on identity, consummerism, body, gender, socio-cultural questions, ecology.
• Film footage manipulations.
• Video installations (Rónai, Meluzin, Želibská, Kvetán)
• Interactive video installations (Rónai)
• Video performances (Murin)

Exhibitions

Imago – Fin de siécle, 30 May to 10 July 1991 in Bratislava. First video art exhibition in Slovakia. Art from Netherlands curated by René Coelho, premiered in 1988 in Amsterdam.
Oscillation, 30 June to 20 September 1991 in Komárno. Slovak and Hungarian artists.
Objects and Installations, 1992 in PGU Žilina. Included video-installations.
New Acquisitions, 1993 in PGU Žilina. Included video installations.
First Floor, 5-23 March 1993. Curated by Radoslav Matuštík. Exhibited Peter Meluzin (Impo(r)tant) and Roman Galovský (L.E.D1, L.E.D1).
Power Station T, 1993 in Poprad. Exhibited Peter Rónai (Oheň-Voda-Zem-Duch), Jana Želibská (Dialóg) a Peter Meluzin (Life After Life).
ON/OFF, 1993 in Škola úžitkového výtvarníctva J Vydru Bratislava. Exhibited the sampler of videos from six events of Slovak artists (Meluzin, Želibská, Oravec-Pagáč, Galovský, Nicz, Pisár) at various locations.
Video vidím ich sehe, 1994 in PGU Žilina. Curated by Katarína Rusnáková. Videoart from Slovakia (Jana Želibská, Peter Rónai, Peter Meluzin), Czech Republic and Switzerland. The catalog contained first more complex texts on Slovak video art. The gallery was the only one consistently researching and acquiring Slovak video art. Later exhibition included retrospective of Jana Želibská (1996-97) and Peter Rónai (1997).
Peter Meluzin - Mouse Killer, 1995 in PGU Žilina. Site-specific video-installation by Peter Meluzin.
Videoart VŠVU, 1996 in Rock Café Gallery Prague. Curated by Juraj Čarný. [1]
Videoanthology, 1997 in PGU Žilina. Curated by Katarína Rusnáková. 13 video works by Peter Rónai.

Works

IDENTITY POLITICS

T.R.A.N.Z.I.T., 1992. Peter Rónai. Video installation. Tautology.
Second Hand Art, 1992. Peter Rónai. Video installation. Tautology.
Alter ego, 1993. Peter Rónai. Exhibited in UBS Bratislava. Site-specific video installation.
Cogito ergo Kunst, 1994. Peter Rónai. Video installation with morphing animation on LCD display.
AIDS, 1995. Peter Rónai. Interactive video installation.
Autoreverse, 1997. Peter Rónai. Video installation with morphing animation on LCD display.
Elastic Reality, 1997. Peter Rónai. Video installation with morphing animation on LCD display.
Cannibale ante portas, 1997. Peter Rónai. Video installation with morphing animation on LCD display.
After Alter ego, 1998. Peter Rónai. Interactive video installation.
Hello Dolly, 1998. Peter Meluzin. On cloning.
Real Virtuality, 1998. Peter Meluzin. On cloning.
Babyc/l/on, 1999. Peter Meluzin. On cloning.
Mr. Bra Apartment No 3, 3 Františkánske Square, Bratislava, 2000. Richard Fajnor and Marek Kvetán. Video installation. The imaginary figure 'Mr Bra' created by layering of records from everyday rituals. Two artists spent one after each other several days in one room, recording their unlimited scale of activities. The movement of the latter was limited to the recorded movement of the former.
Janka Saxonová, 2002. Pavlína Fichta Čierna. Life in isolation.
Juvenile David R., 2004. Pavlína Fichta Čierna. Life in isolation.

TELEVISION AND CONSUMMERISM

Life after life, 1992. Peter Meluzin. Video installation. A person in the living room watching television program about the man from France who died in the sofa while watching the television.
Teletextament, 1995. Peter Meluzin. Video object.
Wordburger Column, 1995. Peter Meluzin.
Home Video, 1996. Peter Meluzin.
Titled, 1999. Anetta Mona Chisa. Installation of television sets wrapped around by pink foil with the latin text cutout: 'proto horror-neo vacui'.
Caché, 2000. Anabela Žigová. Record of a performance of the artist, when she was giving away the promotion bags full of garbage to the public.
The Viewer, 2000. Jana Želibská. Video installation. A young man caught in the environment of a room, whose facial expression betrays boredom and apathy.
Flyers, 2001. Veronika Šramatyová. Record of a performance of the artist giving away the empty 'flyers' to the public.

GENDER

Zákaz dotyku, 1992. Jana Želibská. Demystificating female and sexuality from ironical distance.
Jej pohľad na neho, 1996.
Sisters II, 1999. Jana Želibská. Installation. Video of two young females in a dialogue, occasionally touching each other. A towel, wash-basin with water and other bathroom accessories installed next to the TV set.
Three Men of Life, 2003. Pavlína Fichta Čierna. Consists of three video works (About Jozef, With Maroš, From Vlado) and a slide projection Without Kamil. Various approaches to portray men, who represent specific motifs. Questions categories of success and happiness in the hierarchic society.

FILM FOOTAGE MANIPULATION

New Slovak Dream, 1994. Peter Rónai. Appropriation of Warhol's 6-hour film 'Sleep' of a man sleeping in a bed. Video plays only one frame still from the film.
Red, Blue, White, 2000. Marek Kvetán. Comprimated versions of the Kieslowski's film trilogy.
Telenovela, 2001. Dušan Zahoranský. The scene from the TV series JAG, when the main character is interrogating the arrested female character. The dialogue is manipulated by the artist.
D’art’agnan RE:PLAY, 2003. Ivan Dudáš. The young artist-musketeer is accepted to the older and famous artists-musketeers.
Jánošík, 2003. Mário Chromý. Scene from the execution of Slovak national hero manipulated by the artist.
Mullholand Drive, 2004. Anna Daučíková. Dialogue of female characters on lesbian sex is accompanied by the artist's visual commentary.

APPROPRIATION

G. Bellini 1487 - V. Kordoš 1996, 1996. Vladimír Kordoš. Live interpretation of Bellini's painting of Madona.
Psychop, 2000. Marek Kvetán. Interactive video installation. Appropriation of the shot from final sequence of Hitchock's film Psycho. On entering the room the viewer was confronted with a projection of a freeze-frame image, in which his projected image was participating.

ABJECTION, BODY AND MYTH OF BEAUTY

On Diet, 1997. Jana Želibská. Addressed the issue of bulimia. Cycling sequence of the girl overeating, then throwing out. Along the shot of another girl, excersizing and giving instructions of how to solve the overweight problems.
Sisters, 1997. Jana Želibská. Addressed the issue of drug addiction.
What you do not think of, it is not, 1997. Pavlína Fichta Čierna. The camera slides the body of sitting actress and her reactions.
Clone Line, 1997-98. Peter Meluzin. The shots of two soviet working pair alternating with the shots of Barbie and Ken dolls.
Les Amies, 2000. Anetta Mona Chisa and Lucia Tkáčová. Urban girl and her barbie-doll friend episodes filmed in the TV advertisement form.
Arrangement, 2001. Pavlína Fichta Čierna. Symbolic representations of female body.
What the fuck are you staring at?, 2001. by Anetta Mona Chisa. Ex-model threatens with resolute gesticulation to the camera.
Back to the Trees, 2002. Jaroslav Kyša.
Kiss, 2004. Jaroslav Kyša. Male lips resembling the sweet female ones.

POWER STRUCTURES

Priamy prenos, 2000. Miroslav Nicz. Interactive installation. Internet-based closed circuit - image of visitor is projected on the gallery wall and at the same time streamed on the website. Exhibited at the Gallery A in Nitra on June 2000. http://www.profil-art.sk/00_1/082_085.htm

 ?

Spojenie živlov, 1987. Vladimír Kordoš.
Pocta F. X. Messerschmidtovi, 1989. Vladimír Kordoš.
Pálenie vlastného tieňa, 1991. Vladimír Kordoš.
Námorníček, 1992. Vladimír Havrilla.
Dipól, 1993. Richard Fajnor.
Blízke stretnutie, 1993. Vladimír Kordoš.
Čas miesta, 1996. Dušan Zahoranský. Akčná inscenácia v Kittsee, 1997. Vladimír Kordoš. Prantl on Prantl - Stone on Stone, 1998. Michal Murin and Peter Kalmus. Meditative videoprojection at the symposium Laboratorium 4 on Prantl Stone in Vyšné Ružbachy.
Double, 1999. Videosculpture for public space. Exhibited at Experimental Intermedia in Gent, Belgium.
Dark Side of El, 1999. Lengow & HEyeRMEarS. Video installation. Exhibited at Experimental Intermedia in Gent, Belgium.
Prepared piano, Plasy, 1999. Michal Murin. Video, 50 sec.
Digital body fog, 2000. Michal Murin. Video sculpture. Exhibited at the festival Bratislava in Motion, Roland Café, Bratislava.
Piano Dallagret, 2000. Michal Murin. Video, 2 min.
Eva Č's Real, 2005. Pavlína Fichta Čierna. Video-portrait.
Lady in Blue, 2005. Pavlína Fichta Čierna. Video-portrait.

Video performances

Transmusic Comp., 1990. Michal Murin. In Bratislava.
Burlaci na Volge, 1991. Michal Murin. For STV project Patafunus, Bratislava.
CensorSHIT II., The Feeler into the Slovak’s Soul, 1993. Michal Murin. In Tatranská galéria - Továreň, Poprad.
Zavlečenie performera preFOR miera, 1995. Michal Murin. At Performance Art Festival Malamut – Ostrava, TransArt Communication, Nové Zámky.
Mäsiarov portrét, 1996. Michal Murin. At Performance Art Festival Transart Communication, Nové Zámky.
Sound in move, Hudobné ekofakty a artefakty od eocénu až po futurocén. Michal Murin. At Tatabanya, Banské múzeum, international symposium Kép-Ze-Let in Sound Bath of Viktor Lois.
Music for Piano Hotel, 1997. Michal Murin. In Synagóga Šamorín.
LSSD, 1998. Michal Murin. On symposium Rites de Passage, Plasy.
MATRIXXX, 2000. Michal Murin and Peter Kalmus. In Ritz club, Vienna.
MATRIXXX, 2000. Michal Murin and Peter Kalmus. At the festival Human Body Electronics.

Articles

Jana Geržová: Interview with Juraj Čarný on Videoart+ international symposium. Profil 4/2000. http://www.profil-art.sk/00_4/038_043.htm (Slovak)
Katarína Rusnáková: Video art. In: Zora Rusinová and collective: History of Slovak Fine Arts of 20th Century. Bratislava, Slovak National Gallery. 2000. (Slovak)
Katarína Rusnáková: Video art. In: Jana Geržová and collective: Glossary of Fine Arts of second half of 20th Century. Bratislava, Profil. 1999. (Slovak)