Form for the Platform
https://artalk.cz/2022/10/05/tz-co-nikto-neuvidi-v-galerii-sibir
Despite the positives and popularity of alternative gallery spaces, they still form a certain layer, contrasting with the status of the „others“. What place do these formats play in the contemporary cultural context and has their role shifted, given social changes, the increasing inclusivity of larger institutions or the expanding possibilities for the presentation of young art? Does the space of the new, informal gallery, of an extremely subcultural character, have the possibility to mediate an exhibition that, despite the less than ideal circumstances that resonate in the tangle of relations, limits and demands of the art sphere, reaches out to the audience and professional critics?
The initial idea and the title of the exhibition WHAT NO ONE SEE gradually directed us to consider the relationship between the physical and online presentation of artworks, and their promotion on the Internet. The phenomenon of platforms presenting contemporary artwork (especially those active on Instagram) seems to us to be very significant in this respect, among whose most famous examples we can probably include the Tzvetnik and O-fluxo projects. We are going to approach the latter platform with a request to publish our work on their instagram account as part of the exhibition. This act, if answered in the affirmative, would be essentially self-referential – O-fluxo would publish the request itself. The aim of the work is therefore to thematise the very structures and schemes of the relationship between artistic production and its promotion on the Internet.
Text of the message:
Dear Madam or Sir,We are writing to you on behalf of the exhibition Čo nikto neuvidí (What Nobody Will See) which takes place this October in Brno, Czech Republic’s Sibiř Gallery. As the title suggests, the theme of the exhibition is based on the assumption that only a very small number of people will actually visit the exhibition. There are several reasons for this; the space is situated in the city’s peripheral area and the gallery has only been open for a short while. Moreover, the title also refers to more general topics of seeing and perceiving art.
In general, the fact that only a few people visit exhibitions in person, while the rest perceive them through social media has led us to contemplate the relationship between the physical and online presentation of works of art. What is the relationship between art and its representation on social networks? What does it actually mean to see art?
We believe that the internet and social platforms have shaped not only the distribution of art but the art itself.
We think that the so-called platformization of art creates trends in contemporary art, and changes our perceptions and expectations of art.
We find it important to raise a discussion about it on your platform, therefore we submit this message as an artistic project. We consider this message as our work of art, and we use the application form as our medium.
We kindly ask you to publish this message on your website.
Thank you very much.
Yours sincerely
Jiří Gruber & Tomáš Vobořil
installation, smartphone with a looped record, text on foil
