We’re interviewing the leaders of the US exhibition team in Prague to see how things have been going for them, and what their highlights have been. They’ve been working so hard on getting the exhibition curated, designed, built, and installed, they have a unique perspective on the PQ that we’ll be sharing while the Quadrennial draws to a close. We’ve asked each member of the team Five questions to get their exclusive thoughts.
This interview is with Marketa Fantova, Artistic Director for the US exhibition at the 2015 PQ.
How do you think people have been reacting to the US exhibition?
We had lots of people visiting and spending quite a bit of time at our exhibit, many taking time to look at each performance and/or design, videos and listening to sound files. Some enjoyed expanding the wire exhibit by adding their creative touch. Our main mission was to move away from traditional “gallery/wall” exhibition style by creating an immersive and sculptural environment, yet show the best works in design for performance and bring the collaboration into focus by featuring the performance as a whole. Many visitors reacted very positively to seeing works of design. That was a great reassurance that the original mission of PQ is very important and resonates with the viewers.
There was a lot of detail work to complete the US exhibition before the opening, are there any special details you would want someone to look for in the Vortex? Why does this/ do these stick out to you?
My main focus and core of my job was to bring all of the particles together, so, for me, all the details are important. This includes the overall vision and the choice of the font of the labels. Every little detail matters.
What surprised you about this PQ? About the exhibition(s), general atmosphere, changes from previous, or anything in general?
The bravery of putting works of performance against the magnificent backdrop of the medieval city. That choice created an interesting dialogue between architecture and daily dynamic life of the city and the world of PQ. In one way it brought the life of the city and it’s incredible architecture into heightened focus and in the other it made one realize how ephemeral and unfinished the art-form of performance design can feel.
What are you taking away from this PQ (thoughts and/or things)?
That we desperately looking for a change of some sort and that there is a discord between fast-paced life and the art-form. The drive that makes us explore the installation art, performance art, raw improvisation and pretty much any avenue of performance is making me wonder if we are getting farther away to find new meanings or are just getting a bit lost?
What other country’s exhibition do you feel shouldn’t be missed? Why?
I really appreciated Finland‘s “The Other Side” for it’s strong statement and beautiful simplicity, China for the art of theatre design, Brazil for it’s playfulness, and Estonia for showing the power of performance.
