Bratislava, March 24 – June 4, 2017, http://www.sng.sk
Simply speaking, Milan Adamciak is the Slovak John Cage. This was the main message the exhibition conveyed. The retrospective exhibition exhaustively covered the creations of Adamciak from 1964 to 2017. The majority of works was in the form of notations, sketches and visual poems on paper. There was some video, but rather scarce: Most performances were documented in photographs only. The audio part of the show was leaning heavily on contemporary reinterpretations of Adamciak’s works by a chamber music ensemble, probably Slovakian. One could listen to the pieces on headphones and mp3 players placed throughout the show. One room displayed experimental musical instruments made by Adamciak from discarded drawers and other wooden material. They resembled harps and mandolins.
The long rows of paper sheets could feel a bit tiring, but nevertheless, the exhibition design tried to counter it, and it was largely successful in doing so.
The notations of Adamciak were the most interesting part of the show for me. Some were really very close to Cage’s style, but at the same time, there was Adamciak’s unique handwriting.
The exhibits also showed the morphing of a musical score into a text-based poetry and back.
This simple notation for a sound situation in urban space caught my attention too: 1 marching band, 4 stationary bands and a herd of sheep. It’s also interesting that it says “ca. ‘72” and looks as if it had been drawn recently.
When walking through this exhibition, I could not refrain from thinking about the Julius Koller exhibition at mumok in Vienna. Both of these artists were contemporaries, and their lived very much side by side in the same city. One wonders whether the simultaneous presentation of these two artists is a coincidence or if there even might be some connection between the timing. While the Koller exhibition at mumok felt bloated, the Adamciak exhibition, thanks to the spatial constraints at SNG was just of the right size. It felt comfortable and not overwhelming.
