Exhibit: Slovak Artists

On the first night of our Fulbright orientation, we attended the opening reception for a marvelous exhibit, "Dreams Intersect Reality: Slovak Visual Artists in their Own Words." It was held at the Palffy Palace, which now serves as the Bratislava City Gallery on Panska Street in Old Town, across from the British Embassy.

The Palace is on the site of a Gothic Palace dating to the 14th century. Over the centuries it has served as a residence for Count Palffy and the seat of city council government. Its lavishly ornate interior was restored in the 1980s. For more information: http://www.gmb.sk/en/page/palffy_palace

The exhibit was curated by Lee Karpiscak, an American on the faculty at the University of Arizona, married to a Slovak. She spent years interviewing Slovak artists, especially about their experiences before and after the fall of communism. Funding for the exhibit was provided by the Fulbright Commission, the U.S. Embassy, the City of Bratislava, and the Ministry of Culture.

At the opening ceremony, we heard remarks in both English and Slovak from the curator and the Ambassador. A waitress brought a tray of salt and glasses of wine for the traditional Slovak opening toast. The curator is in the middle, holding flowers. To her right is the Ambassador, Rudolphe M. Vallee.

I stopped at the bookstore later and bought the book by Professor Karpiscak. All of the interviews are included in both Slovak and English. This 110-page hardcover catalog, on glossy paper, with numerous color prints cost only 250 SKK (about $10!). I would expect to pay many times that for an exhibition catalog at a U.S. gallery. It is filled with fascinating insights on the importance of free speech to these artists and what their lives were like under communism, one of my main interests here.

For more information on the exhibit: http://www.gmb.bratislava.sk/en/exhibition/83

NOTE: Click on any image in this blog to see it full-size.

Imagine America

I went to the opening reception September 11 for the "Imagine America" exhibit at the U.S. Embassy this evening. As expected, we went through a metal detector and had to check all electronic equipment, including cell phones and digital cameras, so I couldn't take any pictures.

For information about the exhibit, see the Embassy's web site:
http://slovakia.usembassy.gov/imagine-america-slovak-american-photos-in-911-exhibit-at-embassy-august17-2007.html

It was a lovely gathering in so many ways. The Ambassador made brief remarks, as did the Slovak Prime Minister and the exhibit curator. They even had a videoconferencing hookup to the American artist in the exhibit, Rick Dingus, at his university home in west Texas, so participants could talk with him. He has never visited Slovakia, but hopes to. Some of us suggested via videoconference that he apply for a Fulbright. His images portray desolation in western Texas, whether the result of drought, technology, or economic changes. Hardly anyone at the exhibit, including the Americans, had seen such images of the U.S., and there we were, halfway around the world, seeing the images and talking live with the artist.

I was especially touched by the images by the Slovak artist Róbert Kočan of lower Manhattan after 9/11, which he knew only from other images. I am reminded of how dependent we are on the perceptions of others in shaping our views of the world -- whether artists, reporters, or editors of television, books, and newspapers.

A small footnote to history: the reception was held in the Claiborne Pell Room. He was the Democratic Rhode Island senator instrumental in the establishment of the National Endowment for the Arts in the 1960s, and I think he would be proud of his legacy abroad.