Don't write anything about me, you cunt! The artist overcomes and constructs simple concepts and projects which often are seemingly critical and aggressive towards the art system and its mechanisms, although never loosing the capability of self irony and humor.
"Don't write anything about me, you cunt!" by Viktor Freso Viktor Freso
was born in 1974. His works and overall attitude towards contemporary arts
is quite singular and unorthodox within the context of former
Czechoslovakia. It strongly reflects social and cultural conditions. He is
the co-founfer of several art initiatives and groups such as Egoart or
Fifty Fifty group. The artist overcomes and constructs simple concepts
and projects which often are seemingly critical and aggressive towards
the art system and its mechanisms, although never loosing the capability
of self irony, humor, jokes and games.
A typical aspect of Viktor's
work is the overlapping to mass media culture, where he frequently
presents his simple and contemptuous opinions on the society and the art
scene without paying any respect. Freso takes part as a moderator in
different talk shows, he asks famous people to photograhp him, he loves to
be portrayed by the tabloids. His work arises questions like: what is
acceptable and where lies the line between contemporary art and an
egocentric exhibitionism? Viktor Freso is interested in downright use
of visual media. He prefers short intervals between an action and its
reaction and the conditions of the quick recognition of relationships
between the expressing "I" and designated "him".
That's why he prefers to
express himself often with a short tag or a slogan. Freso wants us to know
that the artistic process is an instant creative action and it doesn't
matter if its happening on the street or in the white cube space. All his
writing and tagging projects have definitely a performative character.
Freso's writings imitate writings on the city walls, which are mostly
lacking any artistic ambition and are originated under preasure. On the
other hand we cannot perceive them without the contextualization within
the structures of artistic practices. The project Don't write anything
about me, you cunt! is a direct reaction on a specific curatorial text.
Freso takes out of context a couple of brief content-semantical phrases
which he accompanies with minimal "sprayed on wall gestures", apparently
wanting to avoid any aesthetical decision-making in relation to his
performative intervention. This arrogant gesture suggests that the artist
is aware of his strong position within the slovak art scene and,
therefore, he can just vandalize a wall within the host institution, which
is again profiting from his participation.
opening april 18 2008
Gallery Art Factory
Vaclavske nemesti 15 - Prague
Free admission