Mai and Kateřina Adamová Linhartová
The work of Maud Kotasová is characterized by a consistent grounding in utterly ordinary realities. Already during her studies at the Faculty of Fine Arts at Brno University of Technology, this was evident. I clearly remember her bachelor’s project, when during a performance she futilely washed plates printed with remnants of food. The action culminated in the spontaneous reaction of one of the professors, who, during the discussion, poured a basin of soapy water over his own head.
We can also find an existential trace in her current installation titled Živý nás nedostanou (They Won’t Get Us Alive). Here we encounter residues of lived events, which mostly orient us toward something dramatic, something deeply embedded in memory that is certainly not a walk in the park. Memory, above all the viewer’s memory, is a key phenomenon in this installation. The artist assumes active participation in the content and proceeds from the idea that we share a kind of universal mnemonic trace. A trash bin is almost unwittingly connected to the loss of home, while a car fragment points to a crash. Lockers evoke similarly grounded meanings, and it is almost impossible to perceive them in isolation. Yet Maud actively disrupts these memes with intelligently chosen interventions of visual play. At times, it is difficult to distinguish what is authentic and what is her own artistic contribution. Except for the embroidered texts. These are a clear visual accent applied to anything that is thematically compelling for Maud. What attracts her is almost always the material world of objects whose golden age has already passed. Ideally, these objects also hold the capacity to awaken imagination.
A distinctive chapter in Maud Kotasová’s work is her application of the written— or more precisely, embroidered—word, inserting text into the pictorial space. She operates fluently in several world languages, and this may be the reason why the embroidered word on a tire is something we sense rather than read. It takes a moment to realize which language it is, so the remaining energy is preserved for further visual sensations.
Maud Kotasová seeks to redress harmful matters in a manner entirely different from activist-oriented approaches. She aims to reveal meanings within subtle connections and the indistinct context of expanded consciousness. Rather than instructing us through simplified information, she guides us along a more demanding path toward personal responsibility. Moreover, she does not insist that viewers uncover everything she intended to communicate through her work. We are confronted with a message spectacularly concealed.
Authentically experienced and absorbed reality is transformed into an image in the artist’s mind. In the case of Maud Kotasová’s work, such an image has no fixed content, let alone a purpose, and it certainly does not strive to offer unambiguous understanding. Her installed objects are meant to be read in motion—both physical and, above all, through the open engagement of the viewer’s mind—as an actively shared, interactive, experiential event.