Tonal 2000

The schematic results for this year’s Tonal, a Slovak prize awarded to contemporary artists, makes us think more about the issues facing current trends of contemporary art than the short-listed works themselves. While the four runners-up represent “respected” positions that currently exist (or rather survive) in Slovakia, the selection process did not take into consideration future development.
The winning artist Vanessa Hardi makes uncontentious minimalist paintings. Her work is tolerated because it basically has no precedent in the local art tradition. Therefore it may seem authentic as an artistic position even today. Marianna Čunderlíková’s photographs document the merging of humanity with the landscape as a subtle synthesis with action art, which Slovak art history has not been able to handle theoretically. This gives way to misguidance, playing with the continuity (and development) of this kind of art. A few years after installation artists gave up on using natural materials, Bohuš Kubínsky presented an object sculpture made out of honeycomb and honey. He accomplished an almost populist effect (smell and taste) but the work’s appeal is mostly due to the fact that it does not require any knowledge of direct contexts. It represents a clear expression and clear values. Marek Kvetán’s submitted his already well-known film compressions, ideologically combining utterly up-to-date media with visual quality.
Of the four artists, only the two men raised the question of where and who Tonal, a prestigious award with a scholarship in the US, should be going to. Due to the age limit (35 years), Kubínsky probably had the best opportunity to win the game since he and a number of his works have been known in the art scene for some time. As opposed to Kvetán who has also been exhibiting for several years but is still a student. Kubínsky only reinforces already proved values (even in the context of his work). Kvetán however suggests a possible future course. It’s difficult to say which of these two positions is worth nominating. But the selection of Hardi, this year’s winner, proved that the jury didn’t even get to this stage, which makes Tonal 2000, the only art prize in Slovakia, a cheapened vestige of the original.

01.04.2000