Trans-ex-communication
Michal Murin
Anthology of Forgotten Thoughts
At the end of the 1980s, activities in both unofficial culture and so-called grey zone emerged, and greatly influenced, determined and marked the character of the first years of the 1990ies. The enormous dynamics of the emergence of artistic societies, associations, unions and associations after the 17th November 1989 created the potential and hope of a vibrant artistic and cultural scene. The political climate was favorable, even it was only for a short period of time. From the beginning of 1993 onwards, there was a gradual but visible decline of cultural projects and activities especially outside the state institutions, and this process continuied until 1998/1999. Same time, the spliting of Czechoslovakia into two separate states, and setting of borders. To cross them was connected with obstructions three years after the old regime changed, was also phenomen of this period. The shock from the decline of the Czechoslovakia and reactivation of contacts didnt happen automaticaly.
Of course there are individual "success stories" of some artists after 1989. But in terms of the overall situation bears this period after a very vivid years until 1992/93 symptoms of decline. I don't want to claim this also counts for myself, I am referring to the memories of my friends and colleagues. I worked then for the magazine Profile of Contemporary Art, which was founded in 1991. The gradually declining funding from 1993 onwards led to its suspension in 1995-99. It was again reborn in 2000 and still exists.
The Soros Center for Contemporary Art (SCCA) played an important role in the 1990s as a sub-program of the Open Society Fund in Slovakia, assisting artists with its grants, annual exhibitions and promotion of art by Slovak artists to curators from abroad. Among the highlights of its activities on the scene were the large-scale recapitulative exhibitions prepared by the Slovak National Gallery, such as The Sixties in Slovak Art (1996), The 20th Century in Slovak Art (2000), and The Art of Action 1965-1989 (2001) - exhibitions that brought the first processing and publication of information on a large part of the history of art in Slovakia.
From my point of view, the most significant activity was the Transart Communication festival, founded in 1988. It played in the nineties a significant European role and untill today it is the longest existing performance festival internationally. (continuously, though under different names). More than 400 artists have taken part and its influence can be traced back in fouding of similary oriented festival in Japan. It was this festival that, through the invited artists, beside Society for Unconventional Music, became part of a network, where Hermit was also part of.
The activities in Plasy monastery started same time when we started diminish our activities in Bratislava. Because 1990 – 1992 were very intensive. I came to Plasy for the first time together with Phil Niblock in the summer 1992. Plasy is an impressive location and Miloš Vojtěchovský managed to invite artists of similar kind as we did to SNEH in Bratislava. Some names were same and we were meeting them also on other symposiums in Europe. The reactions to Hermit Plasy events were superlative and it became a platform offering different concept of art than presented in galleries. More intense collaboration came after 1996 at the workshop Sub Rosa, where I presented the book Avalanches, and later I came for workshop Rites de Passage in 1998 with Peter Kalmus and the same year I returned to shoot two experimental films there. In August 1998 I came to Plasy again with the Australian composer Ross Bolleter.
So we were in Slovakia aware of the activities in Plasy continuously, we knew from participants.
Overview of Michal Murin's activities in the 1990s:
Bratislava: The Boulder - Balvan (1987 - 1993)
Experimental theater/performance group,
Society for Non-Conventional Music (1990-),
Transmusic Comp.(1989 – 1996, 2011 – 2018),
Evenings for New Music – festival (1989-),
Veni ensemble (1987-, San Francisco Performance Art Festival (1991),
Festival intermediálnej tvorby (1991),
John Cage (exhibition in Slovak National Gallery and performance in Slovak Philharmony),
Hills and Mills exhibition in Bratislava (1992),
MusicSolarium festival (1994),
BeeCamp (1995 – 1996),
Sound Off festival (1995 – 2000),
web RadioArt – Slovenský rozhlas (2000-),
Nové Zámky: Festival of experimental art later TransArt Communication (from 1988),
Wiesbaden: Ben Patterson, Budapest: MaMű Gallery, Magyar Műhely (art magazine),
Brno: Ticho (art magazine),
Skleněná louka, Střepy Gallery, festival performancie A.K.T. Brno,
Ostrava: festival Malamut,
Festival People to People (Praha: 1991), Linhartova nadace, Akční Praha,
Ars Electronica (Linz: since 1987),
Schrattenberg: Symposiums
Berlin: Institut Unzeit (Mathias Osterwaltd),
Jon Rose (Rosemberg Museum),
Eindhoven: Paul Panhuysen and Het Apollohuis,
Gent/New York: Experimental intermedia and Phil Niblock.
