|
The main characteristics of
the works of Laco Cellar and Ivan Vaclavik is the piling
up of meanings, emerging as a result of interconnecting,
overlapping and superimposing of - on one hand - traditional
and on the other hand recent associations of meanings
of symbols and picture compositions they are photographing.
Piling up of real objects, plastic works and paintings
and their transformation into the final shape happens
before and during their work with a negative. Sometimes,
the result is a realistic representation, sometimes,
it resembles an abstract composition. However, the "abstract"
images never have only a decorative function and "art
for art's sake" conception, and the "realistic" ones
are not easily understood on the base of perceiving
depicted real objects only. Each member of these two
groups balances on the edge of real and fictive, thus
creating the richly structured composition where its
content emerges from an interplay of meanings, representing
the "thrown glove" for us (The Thrown Glove being also
the title of one of their photographs). Sometimes, the
authors respect the traditional context and iconography
of the theme (Fenix, The Golden Fish, Quichot, The Tree
of Life), sometimes, they encourage their more radical
transformation (The Birth of Venus, The Third Eye, The
Apple of Quarrel). In spite of the concrete themes of
their artworks, they often lead the viewer toward wider
philosophical considerations. Even the fact, that they
work as a couple (but signing their photographs by both
names merged into one) can be interpreted as a conscious
sign of overlapping of their creative intentions. They
seem not to consider important to determine creative
input of each of them. What matters is the content of
the works as well as the message. To put it into the
postmodern theoretical context, Cellar and Vaclavik
participate in deconstruction of the modern idea of
an autonomous and sovereign artist - the creator of
original work characterized by experimentation with
an expressive potential of means of fine art, and governed
by an idea of novelty. According to many of the recent
theoreticians, a concept of formal novelty belongs to
the past; art should not be considered as a new expression
of the creative potentials of the author's subjectivity,
and the development of art should not be explained as
a linear movement of continuous innovations. On the
contrary, as Giovanni Vattimo claims: what seems to
be recent in time and new in form (in the artworld and
history) cannot inevitably be topical and meaningful,
and what seems to be old (in time and form) can show
itself as the most topical and with deep sense. Thus,
the classical view of the art development is changed,
and the return of old styles, forms and symbols is welcomed.
Paul Ricoeur adds, that the matter of arts is not to
be an individual creation but to represent the significant
sense, the symbol, and the feast, because they are able
to connect the community and to guarantee its duration
in time. The artworks of Čellár and Václavík correspond
with these principles: they are inspired by different
mythological traditions (Slavonic: The Unicorn, Egyptian:
Fenix, Grecian: Danae, The Apple of Quarrel, The Birth
of Venus, Indian: The Third Eye), they use Christian
subjects (The Tree of Knowledge, The Anonymous Prey),
fairy-tales (The Golden Fish), and art history themes
(The Homage to Jesenin, Quichot), as well as those from
other cultures (The Shaman, The Corrida). The strong
philosophical inclination of their creativity together
with the reduction of the images to symbols, often displayed
in the hints and thus enabling their multiple interpretations
confirm clear-cut artistic program of the authors. The
usage of symbols with their double structure - visible
shape and the hidden rich meaning structure behind it
- is a distinctive feature of their artworks. It allows
them to unify visible and invisible, shown and hidden,
determined and vague, obvious and mysterious aspects
of life. Symbols are rooted in our ontological experience
with the world, they are interwoven into our very being.
That is the reason why we cannot understand the symbols
by our language competency only; without going through
some existential experiences; it is even possible that
we might never be able to grasp the symbolical meaning
of many things and symbols around us. This holds also
true for the artworks of Čellár and Václavík - their
photographs call for our understanding not only through
our knowledge of mythological and historical sources,
but also through deep living experiences: a mystic silence
emanating into an empty space from an empty cup (The
Quiet); an unbearable feeling that the world in our
head multiply itself without control in such a way that
it leads into the break of its closed place (The Migraine);
an indifferent relation of the things to human fate
(The Undelivered Letter); the fragility of a newborn
bird baby (Fenix); the boldness of the human being encountering
the fire (Quichot); the feeling of an organic unity
of the human being and the nature, either with the tree
(The Anonymous Prey ) or water (The Water Man)...These
experiences enable authors to adopt the critical attitude
toward many aspects of our contemporary life. However,
their critique is not an explicit one, obvious at the
first sight; it hints at deeper level because it is
a critique of the basic paradigm of our recent existence
- dualistic division of the modern human being. The
photographs of Čellár and Václavík make us doubt about
the dualistic and linear logic of the modern times,
and they offer us to connect with the deeper and the
older logic, the logic of cyclic and circular world
movement. According to it, life and death, soul and
body, visible and invisible are not dividable, they
live together and meet each other in a certain point
- much alike paths in a labyrinth or a snake Uroboros
biting his own tail. The principle of circularity and
cyclical movement is closely connected with that of
the center: many of the photographs of Čellár and Václavík
have cyclical structure with the center axis often marked
by the light. Precisely this point attracts out attention
and draws us into the inner space of the picture. And
the process of meditation on the photographs can begin...
Zdenka
Kalnicka - aesthetician
© 2004, Zdenka Kalnicka,
all rights reserved
Two Slovakian photographers represent
their works which are in many ways original. The first
speciality is that all pictures are mutual work of both
authors with absolutely equivalent accession. Specific
are also by them chosen creative methods, which are
built on instalation of negatives of own shots, drawings
and other elements. Decisive is that final colour positive
enlargements are made by authors them selves what allows
them to give created compositions accurately not only
on the side of composition but also on exactly chosen
and managed coloured scale of tones. Making of frames
of pictures is reasoned out as well by choice of material/rough
wood/ ans variation its coloured staining in dependence
on the tonality of the pictures. The result is collection
where each picture has value as well as individual work
but just all pictures together form original complex:
unit of style and clean. For all that authors use very
various building elements: figural negatives, natural
and material motives, various interferences what allows
them to avoid flashy decorativism and they form comprehensive
, rich and sentimental strong pictures.
They form collection of united fragments which give
together reference about authors edification by history
but also about originality of seeing of contemporary.
For these values the creation is obvious report into
development of contemporary scenic photograph.
Vladimir Vorobjov - curator
|
