Zuzana Stefkova, a curator at the Center of Contemporary Art in Prague, spoke about the state of contemporary Czech and Slovak political art. Stefkova began by laying out some possible ways of constructing the term political art as applicable to post-socialist Central Europe. Some definitions include art that is intentionally critical and socially conscious, activist art, art that serves as an ideological message, and art tackling political issues. A more encompassing representation is that any art is political because its production and evaluation depends on social, economic, and political powers. Stefkova then discussed various key themes associated with political art, introducing examples of work representative of each. For example, Tamara Moyzes addresses racism in "Miss Roma”, in a video telling us that a young Roma woman, looking as she does naturally, was not allowed into various establishments. The video then shows the woman being painted with anglicizing makeup, which we are told allowed her access to all areas. Commenting on another theme--nation and statehood, the artist group Rafani’s work "Demonstration of Democracy", involved them burned a black and white version of the Czech flag, an act which of course is not technically illegal. The group viewed the burning as a positive act stating that only by the destruction of symbols can they (we) approach their original essence. Other themes relevant to political art included control and surveillance, contemporary global politics, ideologies and religious beliefs, consumerism, sexuality & gender, and the politics of art production. Stefkova also specifically addressed the issue of censorship in reaction to political art. "The Limits of Tolerance" by Guma Guar, exhibited the propaganda of a banned communist youth party as well as letters of support, and evidence documenting the case against them, among other related items. Shortly after being opened, the exhibit was damaged by vandals, an event used as pretext for closing down the show. Another instance of censorship occurred with the same group's work, when it was exhibited outdoors in spaces owned by the municipality. The work was a reaction to the advertising for Prague 2016 Olympics which included posters bearing the slogan "we are all part of the national team" over images of national athletes. Guma Guar reproduced likenesses of the posters, replacing the photographs of athletes with those of notorious criminals. These posters ended up being painted over by vandals, and taken down at the demand of the municipality. The controversy also resulted in reduced funding for the next year for the gallery behind the show—essentially an indirect form of censorship or punishment. I found one of the most interesting aspects that came out in the course of Stefkova's many examples to be the issue of the consequences of political art, and what work resulted in censorship, legal action, or even no reaction. Two similar works by David Cerny show this diversity of response. "Pink Tank", in which Cerny painted a tank that was part of a national war memorial, sparked controversy and was quickly repainted back to green by officials, only to be painted pink again by another group of MPS in a show of support. A later work where he replicated a sculpture of Saint Wenceslaus upside down and hung it from the ceiling caused little stir. In another case, when an artist group hacked into a tv network and inserted footage of an explosion into a morning broadcast of country scenery, they were subject to criminal charges and fines. At the same time, the group ended up winning an award for their work as well, highlighting the disconnect in reception of political work by the public, government, and art world.
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