Reconfiguring Realities: On the Intra-active Liminality of Bridges
In: ƎSPES, Vol. 14 No. 1, 2025: Aesthetic Crossroads 6 & Art, Aesthetics, and the Sense of Touch
Bridges, traditionally conceived as architectural structures, are examined in this study as complex aesthetic phenomena with distinct and significant ontological and epistemological dimensions. Drawing from Karen Barad’s intra–active realism and the rhizomatic ontology of Deleuze and Guattari, the research deconstructs the subject–object dichotomy and conceptualizes bridges as liminal entities with the capacity to form new relationships and meanings. Analyses of Kafka’s short story The Bridge and multimedia interventions by Svetlana Volic posit the bridge as a performative space that transcends its original utilitarian function to emerge as a dynamic platform for posthumanist inquiry. The study offers an alternative perspective on understanding space, subjectivity and the relationships between human and non–human actors.
https://espes.ff.unipo.sk/index.php/espes/article/view/21
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.16097955
p. 292- 317
Stillness in Motions. Companion Book to the Documentary Film
Böhlau, Vienna | Monograph, Edited Volume | 2025
This companion book to the documentary of the same name highlights the multifaceted nature of Maria Bartuszova's art, a body of work which lies within a symbiosis between tranquility and the vibrant vitality of meaning and emotion. The book draws upon conversations conducted during the making of the documentary, encompassing personal recollections, academic analyses and individual reflections upon the poignancy of the work of Bartuszová. This multidisciplinary approach juxtaposes the expressive serenity of Bartuszova's sculptures with the dynamism of ideas and intra-actions, inspiring surprising and thought-provoking responses among those within the cultural sphere and beyond. The book also features original quotes in English, Czech, German, Italian, Polish and Slovak, alongside a selection of lesser-known works by Bartuszová and contemporary artists, ranging from emerging talents to established names.
With Cecilia Alemani, Ka Te Blažová, Maria Chapman, Agata Jakubowska, Pavel Karous, Miroslav Kleban, Grażyna Kulczyk, Joanna Mytkowska, Ruth Noack, Bojana Pejić, Ivona Raimanová, Kasia Redzisz, Zora Rusinová, Lucia G. Stach, Boris Vaitovič, Silvia Van Espen and others.
Sample chapter: https://www.vandenhoeck-ruprecht-verlage.com/media/pdf/42/87/c8/9783205222903_sample.pdf
DOI: https://www.vr-elibrary.de/doi/book/10.7767/9783205222910
ISBN: 978-3-205-22289-7
PLAN B. Performativity, Agency, and the Ethics of Responsibility in Contemporary Art. Katarína Balúnová.
In: Ridder. Artdispecing | Review | 2025
The artistic practice of Katarína Balúnová challenges conventional norms and proposes alternatives that reflect the fluidity of identities and values in contemporary society, while simultaneously creating a space for broader discourse on ethics, ecological sustainability, and societal transformation.
p. 15-16
Is it about a bicycle? A posthumanist perspective on the role of women’s bicycles in WWII resistance movements.
In: Sociology Study, USA | Peer-reviewed | 2024
Drawing upon Donna Haraway’s cyborg theory, this paper argues that the bicycle can be conceived as a cyborg extension of body and identity which transcended its mechanical essence to become an integral co-partner for women involved in resistance activities in WWII. More specifically, the study explores how women used cycling during World War II not only for mobility but as a profound expression of courage, endurance and solidarity which enabled them to overcome physical and symbolic barriers under totalitarian regimes. The bicycle emerges not only as a central co-agent but also actively co-creates the situations in which it emerges as a transformative force. Cycling acted as a catalyst for personal and collective empowerment, fostering new subjectivities while transcending physical
and social limitations. This study sparks multidimensional discourse on how technological tools can co-create our societies and identities, offering insights into how bicycles can drive socio-political change, promote emancipation and foster inclusivity.
https://www.davidpublisher.com/index.php/Home/Article/index?id=51228.html
DOI:10.17265/2159-5526/2024.04.004
p. 198-211
Cloaked in Courage. Women´s Coats as an Agency of Resistance: Transversal Realities in Central Europe 1935-1953.
In: Wohlmuth, Petr, ed. History – Theory – Criticism, Prague 2024
This study investigates the role of women's coats as active participants in various resistance movements across Central Europe from 1935 to 1953, employing a posthumanist framework to reexamine issues of subjectivity. By integrating theories of material culture and new materialism, the research moves beyond traditional anthropocentric views to highlight the dynamic inter-actions between women and their coats within a resistance context. This approach demonstrates that the garments were not merely passive symbols of defiance but multifaceted tools that provided physical protection, facilitated the covert transmission of messages and materials and reinforced the wearers' resolve and solidarity. Through historical analyses, personal testimonies and cultural artifacts, this study demonstrates how coats functioned as co-agents in resistance activities, both shaping and being shaped by the social, cultural and political landscapes of the time. The study underscores the importance of recognizing the agency of material objects in historical narratives, offering a nuanced understanding of women's resistance activities and the broader implications for posthumanist thinking on identity and subjectivity.
https://ojs.cuni.cz/dejinyteoriekritika
DOI: 10.14712/24645370.4577
p. 57-99
PLAN B. Intra-active Becoming in Art and Beyond.
Karen Barad | Maria Bartuszová | Samuel Beckett | The Butterfly Effect
Böhlau, Vienna | Monograph, Edited Volume | 2024
The PLAN B project consists of a monograph to be published by Böhlau Vienna in 2024 featuring a Foreword by Felicitas Thun Hohenstein, a series of academic lectures and educational workshops with students in Bratislava, Prague and Vienna and oral history interviews conducted with art historians and scholars. Emerging from a period of uncertainty, PLAN B is a bold manifestation of scientific approaches characterized by the intra-active synesthesia of thought. Adopting a posthumanist approach to the work of the American physicist and philosopher Karen Barad, the Slovak sculptor Maria Bartuszová, and Samuel Beckett, the project not only challenges existing paradigms but also encourages a radical rethinking of the connections between art, literature, philosophy, and physics, prompting a new perspective on reality. Accompanied by pioneering conceptual works by several European artists, PLAN B opens new horizons and fosters lively discourse across the boundaries of academic disciplines. It invites exploration of the seemingly infinite possibilities unfolding in the interstices of creativity and knowledge.
Research supported using public funding from the Slovak Arts Council: https://www.fpu.sk/sk/
Sample chapter: https://www.vandenhoeck-ruprecht-verlage.com/media/pdf/5b/25/fb/9783205219453_sample.pdf
DOI: https://www.vr-elibrary.de/doi/book/10.7767/9783205219460
ISBN 9-783205-219446 eISBN 978-3-205-21946-0
review: STRATEGICON
In: Flash Art, 2024
by Matej Fabian at the Soga Gallery reflects upon military strategy and how it has shaped Central European identity. Eleven large-format paintings spanning an area of 200 square meters offer an unconventional view of various historical events which occurred on the territories of modern-day Hungary and Slovakia between 907 AD to 1866. These events are not merely passive objects of observation but active participants in the shifts and reinterpretations of deeper socio-cultural and geopolitical structures.
https://flashart.cz/2024/04/11/matej-fabian/
Women’s Courage in the Face of Authoritarianism: Voice against Injustice and Oppression.
In: Hlaváček, Jiří; Vrzgulová Monika, ed.: The Divided, Yet Together: Borders in Oral History Perspective. Book of Abstracts. Institute of Ethnology and Social Anthropology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences & Czech Oral History Association, 2023
The communist ideology which applied in Czechoslovakia (and beyond) at the time of the Third Resistance referred, among others, to the exclusionary principle - “if you are not with us, you are against us.” This thinking underlined the conceptual dichotomy of good vs bad, right vs wrong, and friend vs (the ever present) enemy which were the operating tools and power element of the only “acceptable” political subject and which became rooted in the everyday life of ordinary people. The prevalent atmosphere of fear coerced individuals to join the masses, to conform to ideological norms, to acquiesce to contrived rules and to fulfil their “civic duty” as prescribed by the ruling party. Among the subjects of this contribution were three generations of women who repeatedly crossed the Czechoslovak-Austrian border to facilitate the spread of intelligence running and other intelligence activities between 1948 and 1960. The aim of the research is to reveal the complexity, intricacy and multifaceted aspects of resistance activities from a female perspective.
https://www.sav.sk/?lang=en&doc=activity-monography-response-page&institute_no=40&monography_id=319
ISBN 978-80-974434-2-9
DOI: https://doi.org/10.31577/2023.9788097443429
p. 22-23
[fragilités]
Documentary, Galerie Rudolfinum Prague 2023
This multilingual documentary project which was created for the [fragilités] exhibition at the Rudolfinum Gallery in Prague offers a comprehensive portrayal of the exhibition’s multifaceted themes. The title, derived from the French word for “fragilities”, underscores the aim of the curators, Silvia Van Espen and Elena Sorokina, to offer a multi-layered perspective on the theme, presenting not only a single fragility but the concept of fragility in a more general sense; physical fragility, the fragility of the human body, the fragility of human relationships, and the fragility of the environment, the ecosystem of which we are all part, but also the fragility of political or geopolitical issues. [fragilités] is an international exhibition that showcases the work of 17 artists ranging across generations and continents, featuring around one hundred works of art that highlight the theme of fragility as a shared contemporary human experience.
Concept by Zuzana Križalkovičová, Video Editing by Vladimíra Hradecká, Camerawork by Juraj Marcin Vladimíra Hradecká, Colorgrading by Marian Kallinger, Music by Dano Špiner, Subtitles by Gavin Cowper
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3_-xfIi6hI
Supported using public funding by the Slovak Arts Council
Visegrad Quartet: Art Science & Activism.
A transnational and multilingual research project resulting in a series of three publications exploring the issues of material performativity in the work of contemporary female artists from Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic. The project was developed in collaboration with Charles University in Prague, the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw and the Hungarian University of Fine Arts in Budapest and was funded by the Visegrad Funds.
Material Performative Mo(ve)ment in Humanities and Contemporary Art. Czech and Czechoslovak female approaches.
Divé Buki Košice, Prague, Vienna 2023
Prague: The methodologies of posthumanist approaches and oral history research emphasize the significant role which material performativity and creativity play in fostering sustainability in the face of the new realities posed by climate change. Fifteen scholars, artists and authors from the sphere of the humanities in the Czech Republic all contributed to raising awareness of the challenges and possible solutions in contemporary Central and Eastern Europe. The research highlighted the need for reconceptualizing and deepening the understanding of artworks within the context of their intra-actions with the significance of biodiversity and sustainability in art research. The project developed new perspectives on addressing ecological challenges which it then introduced into contemporary art and public discourse.
ISBN 9-788089-677306
Material Performativity in Contemporary Art. Polish-based female artists and scientists.
Divé Buki, Košice, Warsaw, Vienna 2022
Warsaw: A research project which focused on the issue of material performativity across the arts and sciences. Seventeen Polish female artists and academics employed oral history and peripheral approaches to render the invisible visible. Art served as a bridge between culture, activism and society. The project distinguished itself through its capacity to approach marginal and underrepresented topics, providing crucial insights into the material aspects of art and their relationship with sociopolitical dynamics.
ISBN 9-788366-8358
Material Performativity in Contemporary Art. Hungarian-based female artists.
Divé Buki, Košice, Budapest, Vienna 2021
Budapest: The research analysed the impact of material on societal challenges, examining the issue through the lens of posthumanist and performative methodology. Eight novel perspectives addressing social analyses within the fields of art and nature were formulated in the resulting publication.
ISBN 9-788089-677276
Czechoslovak-Austrian Intelligence Services 1948-1960. The Antistate Case of Eliška.
In: Syrný, Marek, ed.: Political Exile from Slovakia after February 1948 in the Czechoslovak and Eastern European Context. Turany, Tlačiareň P+M 2021
A historical study exploring the fates of women under the communist regime of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, many of whose contributions have been overshadowed by those of their male counterparts. Women under the communist regime of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic occupied a position that was often overshadowed by that of their male counterparts. Between 1948 and 1960, several courageous women defied the authorities by acting as couriers and spies, risking their lives for the freedom of Czechoslovakia. The central focus of this study is an analysis of their actions, bravery and the motivations that led them active involvement in the resistance movement. The women were primarily engaged in humanitarian resistance, providing sanctuary to refugees and gathering intelligence for foreign secret services, but they were all united through the courage they demonstrated in resisting the regime. The goal of the research was to deepen our historical understanding of this period and offer a new perspective on resistance from the viewpoint of the women who played key roles in the anti-communist resistance, also known as the third resistance. This study aims to achieve a deeper understanding of the history of this period and highlights the significance of resistance against injustice in the process of shaping societal identity and political changes.
ISBN 978-80-89694-99-0
p. 285-299
Some Thoughts on the Philosophy of Animals. How Otherness has Arisen.
In: Balúnová, Katarína, ed.: Human Animal. Gallery of Spiš Artists 2021
This brief reflection challenges the concepts of mutual respect and tolerance. Animalism theories connect human beings with the world of animals, while teleosemantics presents a theoretical approach in the fields of the philosophy of language, biology and the mind which attempts to explain the essence of meaning through biological function. Donna Haraway urges us to transcend the boundaries of species and highlights the cohabitation of different species. Each encounter between living organisms represents a boundary crossing which can trigger further political and social ramifications. The worlds of nature and culture intertwine, creating an ever-changing process of becoming that operates through processes of mutual interaction. How does animal philosophy influence our understanding of human-animal relationships and social norms? The reflection discusses arguments of animal philosophy, emphasising the fact that animals can also possess mental capabilities and that we (along with all living and non-living entities) therefore have a moral responsibility towards them. It also addresses theoretical approaches such as teleosemantics and specific examples of human-animal relationships. Artistic institutions and theoretical texts reflect contemporary challenges and questions regarding the interaction between humans and animals, thereby reminding us of the relevance of animal philosophy in the contemporary context.
https://www.gus.sk/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/2022_GUS_Human-Animal-I_katalog.pdf
ISBN 978-80-89081-79-0
p. 88-97, in English and Slovak
'Seven' Masked Thrills about the Complex Relations of Soul, Body and Cloth
Documentary, Slovak National Gallery 2021
Documentary on the exhibition 'Seven' Masked Thrills investigates the complexities of the relationships between soul, body, and cloth by analyzing intra-actions within a collection of artifacts exhibited at the Slovak National Gallery.
The interview conducted in 2021 with the senior curator of the exhibition, Lucia G. Stach, adopts the same distinctive intimate penetrating approach which can be seen in Křižalkovičová's recent short film on the fragilités exhibition held at the Rudolfinum in Prague: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3_-xfIi6hI&t=107s and explores the intra-active dynamics between the works of Maria Bartuszová, Boris Sirka and Jana Želibská, drawing attention to their relationships and their contributions to contemporary art discourse and beyond. The documentary also explores the contextual background of the exhibited works from the collection of the SNG ranging from iconic paintings to carved artworks, thereby adding a deeper cultural and symbolic dimension to the current interpretation of artistic practices. Maria Bartuszová's work in particular introduces an x-logical perspective to the relationships between modern, traditional and contemporary art, fostering a more nuanced and comprehensive understanding of these dynamic relationships and their impacts.
The documentary, which was produced in collaboration with Hugo Činčala, videography; Tomáš Jurčo, editing and Gavin Cowper, subtitles forms part of the more expansive international project titled Stillness in Motion.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaagUGipbhw&t=8s
Philosophical Reflections on Grief in Visual Form: The Legacy of Vika Shumskaya
In: Balúnová, Katarína, ed.: Telescope. Gallery of Spiš Artists 2021
The study analyses an interview conducted with the artist Vika Shumskaya, who had recently migrated to Slovakia from Ukraine and had become actively involved in the local art scene. The central focus of the discussion is her series of works titled They Won't See Us from Space I-II and its relevance in the contemporary context. Shumskaya shares her personal grief at the losses suffered by her Ukrainian homeland and her immediate surroundings. Her work reflects upon this individual experience through various media such as painting, photography, and video, integrating contemporary socio-political themes to create art with profound humanitarian implications. The study extensively analyses the dynamics of the relationship between love and grief and their impact within the context of personal change and the search for new identities in a transformed reality. Shumskaya shapes artistic language as a tool for expressing her inner world and reflects upon this creativity on a collective level.
https://www.gus.sk/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/GUS_Teleskop_katalog.pdf
ISBN 978-80-89081-76-9
p. 102-107
Beyond the Canvas: The Spatial Artistry of the painting Crop
In: Benická, Lucia, ed.: Sample Data, Gallery of Spiš Artists 2021
The essay explores the transformative potential of contemporary art based on an interview with the artist Martin Kudla. Kudla, a graduate of the doctoral program in Critical Image Analysis at the Academy of Arts in Banská Bystrica, delves into current themes and dynamic processes within visual, mathematical and informational systems. His work, specifically the painting Crop from 2018 which was showcased at the Template exhibition in Košice, pushes the boundaries between art, technology and reality. Utilizing the concepts of string theory and posthumanism to explore the possibilities of art in multi-dimensional realities, Kudla’s artistic practice, which merges material existence with active perception and context, prompts us to reassess the relationships between art, science and philosophy. Martin Kudla’s art offers an innovative approach to artistic thought and opens new perspectives in understanding the world and its manifold meanings.
https://www.gus.sk/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/GUS_Sample-Data_katalog.pdf
ISBN 978-80-89081-745
p. 52-61