Interview - David Cerny

"I would so totally "do" David Černý...." blow bubble, pop [gum], suck in with teeth, "like who wouldn't?" -Moon Unit Zappa, Valley Girl era

David Černý is charged, challenging, charming, conceited, condescending, semi-exploitive and sexy as hell. He is also down to earth, conscientious [of his potential impact], uses a mountian bike as main transport, answers his own phone and appears undaunted by public backlash.

After the unveiling of Entropa, and cries of cultural heresy subsided, we wondered if the general mood of MeetFactory would be somber and sullied or charged with flippant indigence as was the norm.

The office was bustling, attempting to beat a grant deadline, half of the room- lined floor to wall with  proposals, the other half: coffee cups and ashtrays. The present quandry was there wasn't any toner left.

For the past year IMG had been cooperating with Jindra Zemanová, Director of MeetFactory (a Černý vision of international artists in residency, only recently establishing its foundation),  David's studio next door would often be blaring Rage Against the Machine, as of March '09 it was eerily silent.

"Is David away on some solace sabbatical after being reamed in the European press and government opinion?" asking tepidly, like, 'as if i cared...'.

Jindra lit a cigarette, "Ach! He's in Florida!" whirling the air with her hand, "Taking aero-acrobatic lessons with airplane." 

We spoke recently with David during an installation at the Dvorak Sec Contemporary Art Gallery, Group exhibition with  our favorite Kristof Kintera  (Dlouhá 5, P1)

Provokator:  Was it your intention to piss people off?

David Černý:  Not piss people off.  My intention actually was first to enjoy it and I think it happened. If I look back to the Entropa installation, people were actually enjoying it, there were a lot of people laughing and there were crowds, so it was more entertaining. Overall I think the general reaction was quite positive.  The first moment, the first week or first two days that was something else; people were a bit shocked. 

P: When you wrote and submitted the proposal for Entropa, was it vetted or researched whatsoever...or did they just trust you?  Did anybody check up on you?

DČ: The only person I heard about me in that verdict was Alexandr Vondra, the Prime Minister for European Affairs and that was it.

P: Did he check it out before it was unveiled?

DČ:  He did, he saw it, he saw all the countries two weeks before we installed it.  So he knew what was going on there he knew what the countries would look like, but he did not know that the designs are not someone’s else’s but the designs are mine.  That was the only thing which was different, and even Prime Minister Topolanek knew exactly – he was there, in my studio, there was the delegation - not official, but all of them saw it.  The only thing which wasn’t correct was there were no other artists. 

P:  Did you at least talk to 27 people that might have been advisory? 

DČ: No, but of course we were sort of thinking about getting people there [as actors] and sort of pretend to [fulfill the] ideaology. The journalists figured out this was fake.

P: Fake or part of the design?

DČ: Not fake, the "27 artists" doesn't exist, 

P: Was that part of the strategy of the conceptual piece? 

DČ: Of course, of course.

P: As well as the sarcasm was part of it, if you’re gonna have freedom of expression and speech you have to suffer the consequences?

DČ: Well that’s what I’m doing – my whole life.

P: That's the hardest lesson [the consequences of freedom; given Černý's well documented expressions of perception, opinion and his innate ability to upset the status quo], it's hilarious that they expected you to stay within the lines.  With your history, did they really expect you to stay within those boundaries? [meaning "any" boundaries.]
 

DČ: Well no, that’s the point you know, they know it will be probably a scandal. It's like … you can mock somebody- make fun of him but still stay clean yourself. Basically to explain what happened, it's just shifting the blame same as if I made fun of someone but pretended not to do it. I have just shifted it up a level, they thought they'll make fun of everybody and I kind of made fun of them a little bit. I added this one more layer to it.

P: Do you think that’s a right of the artist to do what they can to get their art done; by any means possible to achieve your goal? And is it speaking volumes supporting the stereotype that Czechs seem to be an opportunistic culture?  Or is that a misrepresentation? [or a strength.]

DČ: (long thoughtful pause- [translated] i'm thinking- opportunistic isn't exactly the case it's something different…I don't know how to explain… it's complicated.

P: It's important because it's a multi-national stage for your art – the entire European Union is what you’re representing…pretty good opportunity…

DČ: ….um yes there was an opportunity and I tried.