We play and know that we play, so we must be more than merely rational beings, for play is irrational… 

Opening:

4. 10. v 18:00

Smetanovo náměstí, Ostrava

Adrian Altman

Tomáš Arnošt

Zbyněk Baladrán

Iveta Čermáková & Eliška Perglerová

Petra Doležalová

Anna Hálová

Miroslav Hašek & Tomáš Petermann

Petra Hudcová

Lenka Klodová

Deana Kolenčíková

Richard Loskot

Nina Mikušková

Jan Mocek & Táňa Švehlová

Offcity

Štefan Pecko

Jan Pfeiffer

Catherine Radosa

Jakub Rajnoch

Adam Stanko & Helena Sequens

Petr Švolba

Location information: kukacka.org

SHORT TERM EVENTS

4. 10. / 12:00 – 20:00 / 5. 10. / 10:00 – 17:00 / Iveta Čermáková & Eliška Perglerová / Galerie Jedna hodina /Smetanovo náměstí/

9. – 13. 10. / 18:00 – 20:00 / Jan Mocek & Táňa Švehlová / Play Underground – interaktivní videowalk / podzemní parkoviště na Prokešově náměstí/

16. 10. / od 15:00 / Adrian Altman / STILLLIKEDRESSINGUP /

28. 10. / 10:00 – 17:00 / Offcity / Pravidla parc. č. 159/1 / parkoviště Černá Louka – Pivovarská/

The central theme of the 7th edition is defined by the motto "Rules of the Game". We take into account thoughts of the Dutch historian and theorist of culture Johan Huizinga (1872-1945), who saw in a game the origin of the entire human culture. According to Huizinga, all fundamental activities of the human community are intertwined with game. However, to visual arts, as the only one cultural sector, was the status of the game denied. Let us put aside the relevance of this argument, which was even in the time when Huizinga formulated this idea, somewhat dismissive towards at least part of the interwar avant-garde currents. Nevertheless, let us use this “blunder” for the present times. The basic premise is: We play and know that we play, so we must be more than merely rational beings, for play is irrational… Now, what is at stake, is the question, whether equally irrational can be also socially-engaged contemporary art? We believe, it is not always the case and it is not always sufficient, which often places such art into the role of a mentor, to whom hardly anyone listens. It is true that a game can be taken seriously only if no one is forced into it. Every game is first and foremost a free negotiation. Participating in a game out of duty, ceases to be a game. The most, it can be an obligated reproduction of a game. We also depart from this belief while thinking about the contemporary art. Simply, art must become a game again in order to be taken seriously. The visual arts, just like a game, is superfluous in the world of empiricism and rationality because it stands outside the process of an immediate satisfaction of vital necessities and demands. Above that, the arts even interrupts this process by creating its own rules. These are rules which, despite the belief of many, have nothing to do with truth or good will. Yet there are rules, which are capable to bring into the imperfect world and into our confused lives a temporary limited perfection.