Page 29 - Masters

personified by little girls. But this symbolic impression of pure, unsullied a very gloomy view of the possibility of forming satisfying interpersonal
childhood is shattered by the elements applied to the frocks: the one on relationships. Each figure has become a simplified copy of the other; and
the left is slashed from top to bottom by a long, jagged scar; the one on instead of having a real dialogue, each seems to be talking to itself.
the right has real hair attached to its bodice over the breast. The direct Against the background of Daniel Pešta’s early creations – the figurative
symbolism of ‘All-Scars Frock’ creates an unequivocal image of the damage and abstract forms that seem to come from the unconscious world of
and distress suffered by innocent children – a shocking yet sadly all-too- dreams; the assemblages that evoke a fascination with cosmic space
familiar phenomenon even today. Daniel Pešta’s attitude to this problem – his post-2000 work has evolved thematically in a more or less logical
is clearly one of outrage, though he avoids making specific judgements. progression. In a world obsessed with progress and technology it has
He simply confronts us with the unpleasant thought that such things are become increasingly difficult for the individual to shape his own life
part of the world we live in. according to his own free will and inner conviction. The work of Daniel
In the sculpture ‘Whispers’ (2004), two figures made of wax, fabric, leather Pešta presented in this volume represents his own critical appraisal of
and resin float side by side in space, their heads inclined towards one this world, where phrases like ‘Sweet Home’ and ‘Gardens of Paradise’
another. The bodies are bandaged like mummies, they have no eyes, and seem almost comically gratuitous. The French sociologist Jean Baudrillard
their mouths are no more than gaping red holes. The string bandages has warned of an extreme scenario in which the hi-tech civilization of the
encasing their bodies are criss-crossed by a mass of scars held together 21st century threatens to obliterate the boundary between the real world
with surgical stitches. The two figures have different genitalia and are and the virtual. The individual now lives only for the present moment,
recognizably male and female, but otherwise totally lacking in individuality. and is losing not only any awareness of such phenomena as memory
While the title ‘Whispers’ suggests some kind of dialogue between the and the past, but also the capacity to keep alive traditions and maintain
sexes, it also implies secrecy. By giving his figures only rudimentary relationships. We have become a cold, hard, unfeeling society – and we
mouths and schematic, injured-looking bodies, Pešta presents us with never even noticed. Or did we?*
Meike Behm

 mIDIGHt. , 2006 OIL ON CANvAS 8,5x13 FT. / 270x400 CM.

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masters of today