NG 1
In the following episodes of our critical series we will focus on the operation of National Gallery in Prague.
Due to the extent and complexity of the issue given we decided to concentrate only on subjects related to the contemporary art operation.
In the first episode we surveyed the criticism of national Gallery from the positions of contemporary artits. Between 2000 and 2011 their activities gained different forms, from protests and demonstrations in front of Veletržní palác to series of more or less legal events and interventions directly in the Collection of Modern and Contemporary Art. The criticism was not institutional in most cases but it rather aimed against the former director Milan Knížák.
A certain catalyst of the events was a conflict between David Černý and Milan Knížák that arised during the installation of the Jindřich Chalupecký Award laureates’ exhibition in 2000. Their dispute culminated when the winnig award was being announced and David Černý accepted his award remonstrantly in front of Veletržní palác. Few months later the Academy of Fine Arts students organized a demonstration against Milan Knížák that resulted in different events of art groups (Pode Bal, Rafani, Guma Guar resp. Milan Knížák) and artists (Avděj Ter-Oganjan, Richard Wiesner, Vojtěch Stoklasa).
An extensive research project of Jesper Alvaer and Isabela Grosse called The National Representation and an event On the Edge of a Hole organized by Rafani in 2006 leave the line by their orientation and generally different approach.
The art theorist Jan Zálešák who also cooperated on the final version of the broadcast, appears in the role of a commentator who puts specific examples and works into a more detailed context.
- We decided to dedicate few chapters of our critical series00:00:00.493
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- to the National Gallery in Prague.00:00:05.112
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- The topic is complex and wide-ranging and that is why we have picked00:00:08.811
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- only few particular problems we plan to deal with step by step.00:00:14.250
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- After 2000, the National Gallery has become repeatedly00:00:18.983
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- an object of criticism by artists. In most cases, however, it was not00:00:22.462
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- criticism of the National Gallery as an institution.00:00:27.970
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- Instead, it was a specific form of protest against its director.00:00:30.559
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- These projects were addressed to someone in particular.00:00:35.825
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- It's important to remember that00:00:39.684
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- while we're talking about a selection of few artistic projects00:00:42.984
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- that are more or less radical, there was also a different discussion00:00:48.196
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- going on at a different level: there were protests by art experts,00:00:53.325
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- after 2000, art professionals started to leave the National Gallery.00:01:00.267
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- The artistic projects can in this context appear as teenage escapades00:01:06.242
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- but they represent a tip of the iceberg, the most radical gestures behind which00:01:13.431
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- there was a more general discussion that was more cultivated,00:01:19.201
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- a form of discourse, a discussion in media, on radio programs etc.00:01:28.573
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- When we see it from today's perspective, it can appear a bit distorted.00:01:39.088
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- During the installation of the exhibition of the finalists00:01:43.552
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- of the Jindřich Chalupecký Award in00:01:47.203
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- David Černý, one of the shortlisted artists, and00:01:50.497
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- Milan Knížák, the director of the National Gallery at that time.00:01:53.699
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- As a result, David Černý refused to ever enter00:01:57.868
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- the Veletržní Palác of the National Gallery again.00:02:01.091
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- He therefore accepted the award he won in front of the building.00:02:03.995
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- And who are you? Just, stop bothering me and fuck off. I'm not interested in00:02:08.247
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- a discussion with the director of Veletržní Palác.00:02:14.368
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- He started screaming like madman and called the chief of the security guard.00:02:18.827
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- The guy came and looked at him for a while. And he said:00:02:26.746
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- Get him out of here immediately! Get him out! He's got nothing to do here!00:02:32.461
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- Like a madman. I had to run out because there was a car coming00:02:35.989
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- with the second piece and he ran to the door, to the security guards,00:02:41.142
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- he started to shout at this young guy who had no idea what was happening:00:02:47.037
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- How do you close the door? And he just closed and locked the main door.00:02:50.251
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- And he said he wouldn't let me in. I said: OK, fine.00:02:55.881
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- And in the end I just decided never to get in that building again.00:03:03.652
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- And I did what I said.00:03:10.526
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- The conflict with David Černý was the impetus to a great extent.00:03:12.513
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- Not in the sense that you would admire David Černý00:03:19.519
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- but because the behavior of Milan Knížák was really bad.00:03:25.174
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- A group of students of Academy of Fine Arts demand that Milan Knížák00:03:32.071
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- be removed from the position of director of the National Gallery00:03:35.802
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- and the head of the Intermedia School of the Academy of Scien...Academy of Fine Arts.00:03:39.078
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- Today, the students have demonstrated in front of Prague's Veletržní Palác.00:03:43.858
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- They have written down their demands in the form of a petition00:03:47.083
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- which has been handed to the Minister of Culture.00:03:49.500
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- The supporters of the petitions met in front of Veletržní palác00:03:51.444
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- but present were also students of the Academy who don't agree with the petition.00:03:55.759
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- I don't agree with the reasons why Milan Knížák should step down00:04:02.058
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- from the position of director of the National Gallery00:04:05.043
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- and his position of teacher at the Academy.00:04:07.628
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