17 Apr 2008

Viktor Freso: 'Don't write anything about me, you cunt!'

"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.
Viktor Freso opens 18.04.2008 at 18:00 in gallery Art Factory in Prague.