Of What Is the Horizon a Boundary? — Alena Kotzmannová in Conversation
Alena
Kotzmannová
b. 1974 · Prague · Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design · Ph.D. Charles University
Black-and-white photographer, conceptual artist, and philosopher of boundaries. Her question is always the same: of what is the horizon a limit?
On her photography and what it asks.
In her predominantly black-and-white photographs, Kotzmannová deals with the possibilities and paradoxes of the medium. She reveals the thin line between reality and the unreal. Her photographs are distinguished by a refinement, elegance and sensitivity to depicting reality.
The main question of her work is the conceptualisation of the visual metaphor in contemporary art — what it means to represent, and where representation meets its limits.
Your greatest inspirations or influences?
I am greatly influenced by sci-fi literature, space research, the design of spaceships. Volcanoes, stones, horizons of landscapes and seascapes.
I often pose the question to myself: of what is the horizon a boundary of? Attempting to cross over the horizon entails making a journey to the edge of the world — it means moving beyond the boundary of the possible.
"The horizon is a line, a remarkable one, the field of vision, unattainable, not because it isn't near, but because it moves with me, moves away at the same pace."
"This theme concerns the perception of anthropomorphism and its questioning. Is it possible to reach the beyond, if we make the voyage there, to the horizon?"
"Attempting to cross over the horizon entails making a journey to the edge of the world. It means moving beyond the boundary of the possible."
On Greek mythology and the forbidden.
Greek mythology refers to forbidden activities for humankind in relation to the Gods: seafaring, flying, or the theft — the sharing — of fire. Can we in today's world call these the key themes of homo economicus, and perhaps the key traumas of homo sapiens sapiens?
How do you see art and the art world changing in this coming decade?
I perceive art as a reaction to what is happening in the world around us. Chaos — or too much control and organisation, structuring, ruling on how we shall live?
Art was always a specific way of organising time, light, and a mirror to our material lives. It is also something unpredictable, offering an escape from our daily routines.
My question is: what field will be the domain for art when the public space will be governed by artificial intelligence, which incorporates the unpredictable into technocracy and system? What boundaries will art attack then?
"I would love to cooperate with astronauts in the future. I am fascinated by the moment when utopian ideas become reality and the fact that the shape of the future is modelled in the present."
Her favourite website, always at the top of her list: Earth from Space — ISS Live Stream ↗
Antakly Projects — originally Ninu Nina — has been in conversation with the most inspiring voices in art, photography, design and culture since 2003. Alena Kotzmannová's work asks the questions that stay with you long after you've stopped looking.
All works © Alena Kotzmannová. Portrait © Ondřej Host. Thank you to Alena and her studio for the opportunity to talk about her work and inspiration.
And for the personal rants on life, opinions you didn't ask for, and the occasional existential spiral: follow me on Substack.
Of what is the horizon a boundary? ✦
