Center for Metamedia Plasy

The Center for Metamedia - Plasy was an art centre located in the former Plasy Monastery, Czech Republic, 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 have 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." [1]

Between 1992-1999, the centre organised a series of annual international symposia. Over the years, more than 350 artists participated in the events. It also held workshops, exhibitions, festivals, meetings and residencies.

Miloš Vojtěchovský: "Woody Vasulka, se kterým jsem se potkal asi dva roky předtím, hlásal, že pro umělce je třeba udržovat po celém světě takové skrýše, kam by mohli přijet a pracovat, a které by byly provozovány v jakémsi mimo-monetárním, postkapitalistickém systému, založeném na ekonomii daru, sdílení a přátelství. Tím jsem byl tehdy poněkud infikovaný. Zdálo se mi skvělé, že bych se mohl sám na něčem podobném v Čechách podílet. Také jsem cítil, že nastala ta pravá doba na pokusy o propojení a poměřování zkušeností a myšlení v západní a východní Evropě, ke které jsem cítil určitý resentiment. Plasy byly asi sto kilometrů od západních hranic, což mi připadalo příhodné i geograficky. Pochopitelně hrály roli i vzpomínky na některé místní neoficiální akce, jako třeba na výstavu fotografií 9 x 9 nebo na výstavy na Suškových sympoziích na statku v Malechově u Klatov." (Source)

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. [2]

Events

• Hermit I: Phonurgiae Liber, symposium and festival, Plasy Monastery, April-June 1992. Curated and organised by Miloš Vojtěchovský, Jana Šikýřová, and Ivo Kornatovský. [3]
• Growthrings: Hermit II, symposium, Plasy Monastery, June-July 1993. Curated and organised by Miloš Vojtěchovský, Jana Šikýřová, Jiří Zemánek, Ivo Kornatovský. [4]
• 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. [5]
• Feedback. Das Phänomen der Rückkopplung in Wissenschaft und Kunst / The Phenomenon of Feedback in Science and Art, symposium, Plasy Monastery, 2-4 September 1994. Organised by Kunstverein Giannozzo (Rolf Langebartels) in cooperation with Hermit Foundation.
• Fungus: Inquiry of a Place (1145-1995): Hermit IV, symposium and exhibition about ecology and art, Plasy Monastery, 24 September-23 October 1994. [6]
• Die Fabrikanten: IRONET, residency and conference, Autumn-Winter 1994.
• Meridian Crossings: Hermit V. Symposium & Entarctic Shelf Festival and Workshop, Plasy Monastery/Emauzy Monastery Prague, June-July 1995. [7]
• 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. [8]
• Rites de Passage, performance symposium,­ Plasy Monastery, 17-24 May 1998. [9]
• Limbo: Festival of "Unconventional Art", Plasy Monastery, 20-22 June 1998. Organised by Center for Metamedia in collaboration with mamapapa, Terminal Bar, and Skleněná louka. [10]
• 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).
• Limbo Festival II: First Paneuropean Sanatorium, Plasy Monastery, 18-21 June 1999. Organised by Society of Friends of Art-Plasy, Hermit Foundation, Mamapapa, Skleněná louka, and Town of Plasy. [11]
• Fairy-Tales, symposium, Plasy Monastery, September 1999. Curated by Denise Carvalho.
• more

Publications

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). [12] (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. [13] (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. [14] (Czech)/(English)
• Fungus: Inquiry of A Place / průzkum místa (1145-1995), ed. Miloš Vojtěchovský, Plasy: Hermit Foundation & Society of Friends of Plasy, 1995, [100] pp. Texts by: Jiří Zemánek, Jimmie Durham, Karel S. Amerling, Stephen J. Gould, and Miloš Vojtěchovský. Catalogue. [15] (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. [16] (Czech)/(English)
• Near the Beginning / O počátku, Plasy: Hermit Foundation & Society of Friends of Plasy, 1997, [86] pp. Catalogue. (Czech)/(English)

Literature

• Lenka Dolanová, "Rozhovor o Hermitu. O Hermitu, sympoziích v plaském klášteře, skrýších pro umělce, intenzívním a extenzívním zemědělství, otevřenosti a uzavřenosti. Rozhovor s Milošem Vojtěchovským", in Mezi první a druhou moderností 1985–2012 / Between the First and Second Modernity, 1985-2012, eds. Jiří Ševčík and Edith Jeřábková, Prague: VVP AVU, 2011. (Czech)
  • "Interview on Hermits. On the Hermit, symposia in the Plasy monastery, refuges for artists, intensive and extensive agriculture, openness and closedness. An interview with Miloš Vojtěchovský", in Mezi první a druhou moderností 1985–2012 / Between the First and Second Modernity, 1985-2012, eds. Jiří Ševčík and Edith Jeřábková, Prague: VVP AVU, 2011. [17] (English)

Links

• Website (archived), mirror, PDF
• Hermit/Plasy online archive, Agosto Foundation
• Photographs (Facebook)