Cultural Therapy and Concern for the Archive. The Case of Documentary Video Archives by Tomáš Rafa

Daniel Grúň

doi:10.25038/am.v0i28.565

Authors

Daniel Grúň Institute of Art History, Slovak Academy of Sciences; Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava, Slovakia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25038/am.v0i28.565

Keywords:

documentary; video; archive; memory; contemporary art; activism; archival care; archival concern; cultural trauma; cultural therapy.

Abstract

In this paper, the author explores current perspectives on contemporary art projects through the concept of the archive. By applying a theoretical framework termed “concern for the archive”, the author aims to elucidate complex relationships between the archive as a medium and the situated practices of contemporary art. The paper examines contemporary art as a form of temporary memory storage, particularly through the analysis of Tomáš Rafa’s documentary films. It addresses two key questions: What specific aspects of concern for the archive can be identified in political or activist contemporary art? How does concern for the archive differ from archival care, and why is this distinction important?

In the first section, the author discusses the “zones of contact” in political activist art, highlighting the formation of dialogical structures and distinguishing them from scientific research and purely documentary creation. The second section traces the layers of artistic training in Grzegorz Kowalski's renowned studio at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, where the author gained experience in organizing and documenting collective workshops. This part reveals the specifics of documentary video creation with its activist and archival overlaps.

In the final sections, the author outlines a theoretical framework for interpreting documentary video pieces in relation to the concepts of archive, cultural trauma, and cultural therapy.

Author Biography

Daniel Grúň, Institute of Art History, Slovak Academy of Sciences; Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava, Slovakia

Daniel Grúň (1977) is an art historian and curator with a specialization in the theory and history of modern and contemporary art. He is senior research fellow at the Institute of Art History, Art Research Centre of Slovak Academy of Sciences and lectures at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava. He completed his studies in the history of art and culture at the University of Trnava in Trnava (2003), defended his doctorate at the Department of Theory and History of Art at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava (2008) and in 2017 was habilitated as an associate professor at the University of Applied Arts in Prague (UMPRUM). He has received several international scholarships, including a Fulbright Scholarship at the City University of New York (2012–2013) and International Visegrad Scholarships (2006 and 2007) at Adam Mickiewicz University and Charles University. In addition, he is in charge of the Július Koller Society and co-curated the artist’s first international retrospective, Július Koller One Man Anti Show, MUMOK, Vienna (2015–2016). He is the recipient of several awards: the White Cube, the Slovak Council of Galleries Award for Contribution to Gallery Activities (2018), the Art Magazine Kuratorenpreis “Ausstellung des Jahres 2016” (2017) and the Igor Zabel Award for Culture and Theory (2010). He is the editor and co-editor of several bilingual books, published in Slovakia as well as internationally: Healing Through Sculpture Juraj Gavula and His Work for Architecture (Bratislava: Čierne diery, The Július Koller Society, 2022); White Space in White Space, 1973−1982. Stano Filko, Miloš Laky, Ján Zavarský (Vienna: Schlebrügge.Editor, 2021); Subjective Histories. Self-historicisation as Artistic Practice in Central-East Europe (Bratislava: Veda, 2020); Tomáš Štrauss. Beyond the Great Divide: Essays on European Avant-gardes from East to West (Dijon: Les presses du réel, 2020), AMA. Ľubomír Ďurček, Květoslava Fulierová, Július Koller and Amateur Artists (Vienna: Schlebrügge.Editor, 2020); Július Koller One Man Anti Show (Vienna/Cologne: Verlag der Buchhandlung Walter König – Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig, 2016); Július Koller Galéria Ganku (Vienna, Schlebrügge.Editor, 2014) and is author of the book Archeology of Art Criticism. Slovak Art of the 1960s and its Interpretations (Bratislava: Slovart – Vysoká škola výtvarných umení v Bratislave, 2009).

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Cultural Therapy and Concern for the Archive. The Case of Documentary Video Archives by Tomáš Rafa

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Author Biography

Daniel Grúň, Institute of Art History, Slovak Academy of Sciences; Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava, Slovakia

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