Anton Čierny (*1963)
The Holy Communion/For Jozef T., 2006
Object, chipboard, paint, 160 x 140 x 60 cm, video, color, sound, 2´20´´
Acquired by purchasing from the author in 2012 (grant of the Ministry of Culture of the Slovak Republic)
The work was created for the exhibition Pantheon – Heroes/Anti-Monuments (2006, Medium Gallery, Bratislava), and then presented at the exhibition IN(TER)MEDIA(S)RES at the Museum of Art Žilina. It stems from the author’s earlier works, characterized by exploration of the environment, to which the author has mostly personal ties. Ideological precursors of this work are his earlier pieces dealing with the theme of identity associated with family and on a larger scale with birthplace, extending the author‘s reflection towards broader historical and social context associated with a particular area.
The work The Holy Communion/For Jozef T. connects the author’s bond to his birthplace, mediated through a relevant historical reality. The scale object shows a location of the church in Bánovce nad Bebravou, where Jozef Tiso served masses (nearby the author’s birthplace). The author’s “transmission” into the priest and president of the Slovak Republic commemorates the (still present) ambiguous perceptions and interpretations of Tiso’s actions as part of our history. Through his artwork, the artist communicates not only a personal relation to the location (his birthplace), but also highlights the importance of individual and collective memory that shape the memory of place.
